Listology Secret Santa: 2005, #1 (Somethin' Tells Me I Been Here Before...)

Thank you. Listening to this disc without and then with the liner notes was two very different experiences. Looking at the liner notes with groups, titles and the language disclaimer makes it easier to say thank you very much. The swearing made the first run through socially awkward. Once I knew what was going on it didn't trip me up so much. Thanks.

Zombie Apocalypse - Welcome to the Jungle
The further removed I get from Guns the more I am able to forget their horrific personalities and the more respect I give their music. The intro to Welcome to the Jungle is tremendous and it seems impossible to mess up. And then the screaming starts. I like the changes in tempo, the upshifting and downshifting, but that musicality and musical ability just makes me resent the vocalist all the more. This might be unfair. If "Zombie" wasn't a spoiler then "Apocalypse" surely should've been. Did Axl swear this much in the original version? Have I been listening to a radio scrubbed version all this time?
[Let me just state for the record that I'm very sympathetic to Axl's bipolar depression. It may explain behavior, in his case I think it explains a lot, but it cannot excuse behavior. Also, the image of Buckethead is something that I cannot forgive.]

Mos Def, Q-Tip & Tash - Body Rock
I do love me my old school, "Brooklyn in da house!" rhymin' and represent'n. I wish this had him (them?) hitting the one harder. Or a sampled backing track. This is hitting me like a heart monitor. This just in: it is a "them." And they're very complimentary of each other. Bonus points for mentioning Thomas Dolby. Tiger Woods is a push. This can't be old old school, can it? I'm having trouble picking out the lyrics. Whoah, that ended quickly.
[I really wish they had thrown in a Blinded Me with Science sample quote.]

Mannequin Porn - Kittie Blows
I love women on the mic. Is every artist going to use their potty mouth? "Dildos"? Uggh. I do not like the speed dialer computer beeping sound effects. Okay, "F-*** fakin'" rhymed with "Canadian bacon" for no reason that I understand... I'm out. It was nice to hear the word "hurl" again.
[Again, knowing the artist's name and the song title helps me have a higher opinion of this song... and to listen to it all the way through.]
[I still have no clue as to what these women are doing. Or why.]

At the Drive-In - Arcarsenal
That was such a nice tom intro and then a nice bass line/snippet. And then that guy started shouting at me again. I like the vocals being mixed on an equal footing with the band. Who would he really like to meet?
[I looked up the lyrics and what I thought was "F-***" was actually "barking." Good for them.]

Mr. Len with Mr. Live -What the F@$k?!? (Gritty Version)
Hey! The F-word given the up-front "Let's Do The Time-Warp" treatment. Maybe I haven't listened to all of this with a sense of humour. It could be one of those days and I'm just missing the joke. This is where the party ends, "homo" isn't funny and it stops here.

Richard Hell and the Voidoids - Blank Generation
I like the guitar lick in the left ear, bass over to the right and then the second guitar in the right. This is the kind of yelling, close to screaming, vocals that I like. What the heck was that guitar solo? That was cool. Has the guitar in the left ear been playing in the background all along? I think it has been. That was excellent. Tasty.

Self - Trunk Fulla Amps
Okay, swearing is a theme. Nice to hear Freddie Mercury and ELO mentioned and the very neat sound-a-like music quotes/snippets. And Danzig. But I've got it now, he's gotta a trunk fulla amps and Tourette's. And Lenny Kravitz who I'm not all that thrilled with ("Buddy my friend...") That's a really neat bridge. Maraccas, clock winding, that echoey keyboard thing that sounds all "I'd love to change the world but I've got a trunk fulla amps, motherfucker."
[Hey, look at that: I got the correct spelling on the song title.]

Christiansen - The Reformation Takes Hold
Ooh, nice hook. There's the F-bomb. And now I can come out of my defensive crouch and listen warily. The second time I listened I was able to relax and enjoy it more (much more.) If it has melody and more than two verses can it be called "punk." I don't know what else to call it. But that was good.

Tenacious D - Kielbasa
This was hilarious. I thought that second guy at the beginning sounded like Jack Black but couldn't remember his name... and I didn't recognize that is was him singing until his high-pitched "Get it on!" They can't possibly be saying "butt cheese"... can they? Is "Dianetics Junior" a reference to Dinosaur Jr.? Or am I not hearing that properly? The juvenile posturing swearing really fits here. I almost died laughing when they hit the Nirvana accelerator.
[That's the second appearance that Mr. Black has made in the mixes this year. This can mean only one thing. It high time for a Jack Black Holiday Album.]

Fear Factory - Obsolete
I have no idea what that voice is saying. At first this sounded like a white Living Color... the later stuff where Vernon Reid was losing his mind. Now it's sounding like hot house Megadeath on 'roids. The drummer cannot possible be rolling the kick drum that fast even if he has a double bass set up. "Obsolete" is the only word I could confidently make out so reading the title is no help. I have no idea what they're sayin' or if they're swearin'.

Grits - Seriously
Wow. Even the rap tracks have the wall-of-crunching-guitars sound. Who are they accusing of selling out? Love the orangutan in lipstick image.
[I bet they buy concealer in bulk.]

The Union of a Man and a Woman - Grand Design
This has very nice song-like elements. That's not an attempt at a back-handed compliment. It's more of a lost opportunity. I have no idea how the elements/sections are supposed to make up a song.

Big in Japan - Dig That Stupid Sound
I have to admit that when using headphones I usually have the volume up too high. This music has all been so muscular and aggressive that I'm having to dial it back a bit. I'm getting overwhelmed. Loved this cut out everything but the guitar on the left and then bring everything back intro. That is one drummer with a strong grip. Whups, it's over.

Ruby - Grace
Serves me right for opening my big mouth. I turned the volume back up on this one... and not just because of the female lead vocals. I wish the vocals were mixed more out in front. Nice big drum track. I'm going to have to listen to this again to figure out the lyrics.
[I listened again and I have no idea what is going on.]

The GC5 - A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
The intro scared the hell out of me... serves me right for turning the volume back up. What a nice pop punk number. I love vocals where it sounds as if there's a lot of spittle getting thrown about. I'll say it again: what a great two-and-a-half-minute pop punk number.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Mark David Chapman
I have heard/read about this track for years. For the longest time I could never remember whether it was a band with the unfortunate name of "Mark David Chapman" or if that was the title. It's the title. That's a whole lotta crash cymbal going on right there. That was interesting and not at all how I'd imagined it regardles of the name of the group and/or song. I think I'm going to have to look up the lyrics.

Ministry - Dead Guy
Who did I use to know who was a big Ministry fan? That is going to bug me for a while. Big guitar sound, big drums, aggressive... nice. I love unison guitar and drum lines. Back come the F-bombs. I enjoy the evil processed sound of the vocals. Hey! mid-song stick clicks, how cool is that? The answer is: very. You sure do love your guitar crunching.

Firewater - The Man with the Blurry Face
Yipee! A beat with some swing in it. Love the four bar tom and keyboard breaks. I hope the tambourine player was paid handsomely. I'd love to figure out who the drummer is on this. He's fantastic.

Aesop Rock with Mr. Lif - 11:35
The automaton delivery of, "I entered my data right into your screen," was a delightful touch. I like this story. Where did the music go? That was a little weird, it's back now just for a second and then there's this ending with backward mixed something (guitars?) I was really gettin' into it.

Nine Inch Nails - Eraser
I admit it... I kept waiting for the potty mouth vocals. That is such a cool jangle-keys beat in the soft middle section. (Hey! I also have a soft middle section.) Nice way to close out.
[I've noticed that I have fewer and fewer after-the-fact comments the deeper into the mixes I go. My stamina is not what it used to be. Then again nothing of mine is what it used to be.]

This mix can kick (and did) my scrawny butt and soft middle section. I know because it kept screaming that at me. I feel wrung out. I'm going to take a couple tracks and drop them into my random tracks of music pool (aka Mr. Tomp.) Some I really liked and some I think I liked but it was difficult to tell because I began to feel mother f****** bludgeoned. I am never listening to Mr. Len with Mr. Live again. Aside from that track, thank you. I'm looking forward (listening forward?) to the next disc.