Brian's Tribute to Lemmy and more

This wasn't originally planned, but I had to upon hearing the news. Scott said it well enough yesterday though. Lemmy lived to be 70, and must've had at least 3 lifetimes inside just that one. Do I even need to tell you how awesome Motörhead was? I'll give you my own personal Lemmy memory. When I was little - 8 years old maybe, mid-80's - I was watching the short-lived UK comedy show "The Young Ones" back when it played late on MTV...

 http://youtu.be/YOAz4nPNvLI )

And upon the cue of "Music!", up pops this wart-ridden dude in mirrored glasses, tearing into "Ace of Spades", screaming up into a microphone in front of the most badass rock n' roll ever laid down. It blew my mind as a child, and easily led to me being a rabid metal fan later. And that's one bit of credit Motörhead should be truly hailed for... You would've never gotten to thrash, death, or black metal - period - without Motörhead. They were the first ones to bridge the punk attitude and the metal sound, and they did it superbly. Every fucker that's ever cranked it to 11 and roared in front of a double kickdrum owes Lemmy everything.

So, here's their '81 live album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith. It's a great sampler of their peak period, it's really goddamned loud, and it's one of the Top 10 live albums ever, easily. It's a necessity, and it will be on your test later...

Henry Rollins once told a story about sharing a flight - and a seating aisle - with Lemmy once. He said Lemmy smelled like a tobacconist's, a leather tannery, and a brewery all rolled up in one. That's rock and roll. Lemmy himself once said that if Motorhead moved in next door to you your lawn would die. My buddy may have summed it up best. When I told him Lemmy died, he said: "RIP you ugly, glorious bastard..."

And may the fields of heaven turn brown at your approach.

And keeping the covers projects going, we have one here of The Doors' first album. The Muddy Reds' "Break On Through" is nice and punk-y. Patti Smith's great "Soul Kitchen" is from her covers album Twelve. While I've personally never liked Robyn Hitchcock, I do dig his take on "The Crystal Ship". John Mellencamp makes a return to our covers series with his version of "Twentieth Century Fox". Can anyone place the era of Bowie's great live cut of "Alabama Song"? To me it sounds like maybe the late 70's "David Live" period....it's hard to tell. And yes, I know it was originally a Kurt Weill song.

Etta James' "Light My Fire" has a slow burn, sexy groove. I love it. (Honorable mention also goes out to Al Green's version). Now, when it comes to "Back Door Man", I didn't want to put somebody covering the Doors own cover of the song, so I included Howlin' Wolf's spooky-as-fuck original. I also couldn't resist Etta leading into the Wolf! With "Take It As It Comes", I've never really liked The Ramones' version, so I found a live cut of Tom Waits doing it. From an audience recording in '88. The sound could be better, but it's still Tom Waits. Just pretend it's one of those weirdly-recorded tracks off of Bone Machine.

I only found out about this Hidden By Ivy track lately, but I think you'll agree they do a great version of "End Of the Night". Now, when it comes to "The End", there really is only one version to include, and that is Nico's. This version was the inspiration for this whole comp. She may be an acquired taste, but she manages to take it to the same dark place Morrison did...maybe even more so. That withered croak that ends the Oedipal sequence defies description! A truly haunted recording. And don't forget: that's John Cale, Phil Manzanera, and Brian Eno destroying their instruments behind her!

This next comp is one I put together of G.G. Allin. May look familiar; I had posted it earlier this year, but the files were corrupted and I don't think they worked for people. So now, here it is, reassembled and with new cover art.

Keep in mind though, it still sounds gloriously shitty. I'm not even gonna attempt another synopsis of G.G. A crime scene with a band. There. Some of the most misanthropic, raging, fucked-up sounding punk rock ever recorded. So messed-up it's use of the "N" word is the least of its sins! And the disc slides in at just about 79 minutes. Burn CDs and put them in trick or treater's bags next year! Slide 'em into library books! Jam one into a hateful valentine! Some may miss warm and cuddly favorites like "Suck My Ass It Smells" or "Dog Fucking", but I think I still made a good summary of the man. And now, since I can't resist writing this track list one more time....

1. Death Before Life/Bloody Cunt Slider

2. I Hate People

3. Guns, Bitches, Brawls, and Bottles

4. Die When You Die

5. I Kill Everything I Fuck

6. I Don't Give A Shit

7. Swank Fuckin'

8. I Wanna Kill You

9. I Wanna Eat You

10. I Wanna Fuck Your Brains Out

11. Fuck Authority

12. Brutality and Bloodshed For All

13. Fuck Off, We Murder

14. Drink, Fight, and Fuck

15. Shoot, Knife, Strangle, Beat and Crucify

16. Raw, Brutal, Rough, and Bloody

17. Outlaw Scumfuc

18. Kill the Police/Destroy the System

19. I'm A Rapest

20. Scars On My Body/Scabs On My Dick

21. No Rights

22. Slaughterhouse Deathcamp

23. Interview From Prison

This was the first of my homemade compilations, and I'm still proud of it. After all, GG would never get a real comp himself. This one will work when nothing else will. And the interview at the end explains a lot of what came before. Hope you guys like this stuff. Happy new year!