Favorite Albums of All Time: Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die (1994)

Favorite Song: "Gimme the Loot"

Favorite Lyric: "If I wasn't in the rap game, I'd probably have a key knee deep in the crack game. Because the streets is a short stop, either your slingin crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot."

Why? I don't listen to much rap these days, its such a bloated over saturated market of people trying to imitate the genre's for fathers, but in doing so never paying any homage or respect, and rather are just jerkin themselves off as the next latest and greatest. The thing about Notorious BIG that I've always respected is that you actually believe him, his songs are honest, humble, and a true portrait of rags to riches success. BIG isn't some rapper who claims he was from the ghetto and actually grew up in the suburbs, he lived a tough life, and he's one of the few rappers who could actually convey this without sounding like a total tool. That said the songs on "Ready to Die" are about a lot of the same things other rappers of the era were singing about: big booty hoes, smoking grass, violence and drug dealing, stuff that when coming out of most others mouths can come across misogynistic, asinine and just plain laughable. BIG actually had a sense of humor about these things and his songs are more of a celebration of life. He was just a happy dude who was thrilled he didn't have to sell drugs to feed his daughter anymore. I still love the look on peoples faces when I can out of no where recite word for word "Gimme the Loot" and "Juicy," fairly priceless. See also Nas-Illmatic, one of the only other 90's Rap Albums I can call a favorite.

Favorite Albums of All Time: Misfits - Walk Among Us (1982)

Favorite Song: They're all good

Favorite Lyric: "Brains for dinner, Brains for lunch, Brains for breakfast, Brains for brunch, Brains at every single meal, Why cant we have some guts, HEY HEY HEY"

Why?: Maybe its because i've listened to this album a good 20 times in my car over the last few days (it only clocks in at around 25 mins), but every song on this album is golden. Every single song is a sing along anthem, and about the best things you could ask for: zombies, murder, brains, martians, murder, satan...you know, cool shit like that. Few albums get me as amped up as "Walk Among Us," Danzig's voice has the uncanny ability to make me shout at every utterance of the word "oi" or "hey" and pound my fist on anything with in site (frequently the steering wheel). The album itself is a perfect exercise in punk, short sweet and too the fucking point with no bullshit, and when it's over you don't know what hit you, but you have a bloodlust for more. The bands taste for theatrics and schlocky horror and sci-fi are what got me into them the first place, their have been many imitators of the "horror punk" genre but no one will ever be able to touch the success of their style, and dedication to the craft of it, with a ten foot pole.

Favorite Albums of All Time : Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room (1969)

Favorite Song: "The Old Revolution" and "Story of Issac"
Favorite Lyric: "Even damnation is poisoned with rainbows"
Why?: Leonard Cohen is a fucking poet. Songwriters are songwriters, but Leonard Cohen is actually truly, first and foremost, a poet, with the aid of simple, apt, and appropriate musical accompaniment. Amongst Cohen's discography, "Songs from a Room" is the one that stands out to me the most. It's such a musically simple album, but the stories its songs tell are some of the most heartbreaking, hopeful and honest, ones about the human condition I have ever came across. Good album for late night pondering.

My Record Store Day Bounty

Well not really a bounty, I only got one thing, but its pretty damn sweet.
"Psychopathy Red" is Slayer's first new track since 2006's "Christ Illusion" and it came to me in the form of this ridiculously packaged "blood red" 7" available for the first time today. More info on the packaging:

The blood-red vinyl "Psychopathy Red" 7-inch collectors item will be packaged in a special Russian crime scene "evidence envelope," as the song was inspired by the heinous Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, aka the Rostov Ripper, who confessed to brutally murdering 56 children

Yeah...anyways...go find it, only 5,000 copies out there.

Several Things...

These guys are coming to the Nightlight.

Holy Fuck - Super Inuit



So is this guy:

Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate)


And this is my song of the day:

Judas Priest- Take on the World


And hell I just bought this Priest album on vinyl, and the guitar rift in this song is stuck in my head. Double dose of Priest and song of the day.

Judas Priest - The Helion / Electric Eye

Song of the Day - Portishead- Deep Water

Ignore the weird video...which is actually kind of awesome and fitting. Pretty great song from the classic "Third," which I've concluded, per today, is a great album for a sunny day.



Mainly I just love and am relating to the poetic lyrics:

I'm drifting in deep waters
Alone with my self doubting again
I try not to struggle this time
For I will weather the storm
I Gotta remember
Don't fight it
Even if I
Don't like it
Somehow turn me around
No matter how far I drift
Deep waters won't scare me tonight

Song of the Night (Day)- Converge-Plagues

Talking with Cleanthous and Dave the other night about Converge has got me on a massive kick. This shit grooves. I also had a weird epiphany about the similarity between hardcore music and hip hop...odd. Any who this is what was standing out to me on my stagger home.



Here's another little video they just posted on their site, which features above song, along with and interview with bassist Nate Newton, as well as a snippet of the rad new song.

The Only Movie Starring Steve Guttenberg You'll Ever Enjoy: Diner (1982)

Other than Steve Guttenberg (of Police Academy, 3 Men and A Little Baby fame) Barry Levinson's first entry in his Baltimore films also features the likes of Tim Daly (one of the brothers from "Wings"), Daniel Stern (the not Joe Pesci home invader in "Home Alone"), Paul Reiser ( Annoying as shit Carter from "Aliens" and the god awful "Mad About You," and all around annoying as shit comedian), Kevin Bacon (mofo's in everything), Mickey Rourke (recently resurrected in "The Wrestler") and Ellen Barkin (the cougar in Oceans 13). With their post "Diner" filmography looking like a big steaming pile of shit, who would of thought this ensemble cast could provide such great performances in such a great little film.

The flick surrounds a group of mid 20 somethings who are making their way through post college life during the end of the 50's. The close knit group of friends is lost amongst the bustle of finding love, getting married, sticking together and all around trying to figure out what to do with their lives, with the only thing staying constant is their frequent late night bullshitting sessions at the local diner. The film, much like many other films of its nature ("Dazed and Confused," "American Graffiti") doesn't really follow a strict narrative, rather just unfolds in front of you as if your watching the guys live their daily lives and the confusion and shenanigans that follow.

I think flicks like this transcend any time barriers, it doesn't matter when it was made it's message is something that people from all walks of life can relate to, regardless the era. Life is what it is, and films like this highlight the nuances of everyday life, the hilarity and hardships in the most basic things, and above all the importance of friendship in getting through it all. It was kind of great to watch this movie after watching "I Love You, Man" just a few hours prior (which was also fucking great), they rarely make great movies highlighting the importance of friendship and brotherhood like these do and its a damn shame, because its such an important reality of life. To often movies attempt to do this and get caught up in macho bullshit and objectification of women, which is no where near what this kind of friendship is all about.