Dan's "Beginning" Comments

Not necessarily the album I would have expected from Mixdorf. Among the songs there were none I did not previously know, and I was thinking he had drifted off to more ecclectic realms. Nevertheless, I have known that his pulse has long been more firmly on popular alternative than mine, as well as the straight-ahead rock vein. And it shows in this first, fine offering.
- Go: I'm assuming this is the album after Yellow Ledbetter (sp?). Nice, fun, & relentless. Couple very heavy-metalish guitar solos in there! Not your style, I would've thought...
- Army of Me: Next to "anything by U2," you may remember this album as being a party staple for some of the earliest Johnson Street get togethers. I love the album, and this is a great song. During choruses (are they choruses-"and if you complain once more..." I love the distorted little guitar be-de-de-de-dehs in the background). And I think I hear the power-ups. What's not to like about that? You could also say there is an ongoing synthesizer sound of when you meet the turtle at the end of every level.
- American Idiot: Sounds like they still have (or can have) a similar sound & energy to the "Dookie" album. While I appreciate the sentiment of the song, and think it's a fine song overall, I don't find the melody particularly inventive or groundbreaking.
- Seven Nation Army: So compelling a bassline, that it feels like I've known it since long before the song came out. Do you remember my old Time Did Yank Us song, "Pizza Man?" Not unlike that, oddly. I love the line, "If I catch you coming back my way I'm gonna serve it to you, and I know that's not what you want to hear but that's what I'll do."
- London Calling: Never been a Clash fan. They've always been such amazing critical darlings, & that probably didn't win them any points with me. But I'm really not a fan of his voice. The song is OK.
- Zoo Station: What can I say? Not only the kickoff song to one of the most convergent albums in terms of our musical tastes from all times, but also a Time Did Yank Us acoustic concert staple. Rest assured, I would sing it better these days. Not the best song from the album, but definitely a good one for setting the stage.
- Black Dog: Not just dorm yahoos, but classic rock stations with unbelievably short playlists. It really is tough to separate yourself from your association with how overplayed this song has been in the past 30 years. But it is a great one.
- Smells Like Teen Spirit: Great, landmark song-and the beneficiary of perfect timing. Not much to say that hasn't been said. It's tough for me to hear this song without thinking of Weird Al's version, which would thrill Kurt Kobain to no end.
- Tom Sawyer: I do think they are a silly, silly band, and anytime I start to get into one of their songs, I start picturing them taking their lyrics & theatrics seriously, ala Spinal Tap, and I once again cannot take them very seriously.
- Stop: Great song; unfortunately, one of few on this markedly worse follow-up to Nothing's Shocking. Jane's Addiction was way, way ahead of their time and way, way underrated, lyrically musically, and technically-wise.

Mixdorf's CD

I have to say that the more that I listen to Mixdorf's CD, the more I enjoy it. I have been listening to it at night while I write my lesson plans. It keeps me awake and it makes time fly. It is really a energy boost. Thanks again Mixdog! By the way, my mother-in-law mailed your snowpants to you for me yesterday. I can't wait for the Middle CD and the End CD.

Volume 1 - September 2005

A simple theme to start: that of the beginning itself.

We all know and love albums that are a coalescence, an organic whole that seems complete when heard from beginning to end. Those albums have great beginnings, middles and ends. The ten songs chosen for this, the first, collection are not necessarily to be found on those perfect albums. What they do have in common is that they kick off their respective albums with a fury. They’re a slap in the face.

You’ll know many if not all of these songs, so I’m not blowing any minds with my first collection, but there is something about a thundering start to an album that is to be admired. And in honoring them, I honor this, the first of our CD of the month selections.

All of these songs come from actual albums and not from soundtracks or greatest hits collections. The tracks date from the beginning of me all the way up to the present.

1 Go Pearl Jam Versus 1993
2 Army of Me Bjork Post 1995
3 American Idiot Green Day American Idiot 2004
4 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes Elephant 2003
5 London Calling The Clash London Calling 1979
6 Zoo Station U2 Achtung Baby 1991
7 Black Dog Led Zeppelin IV (Zoso) 1971
8 Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana Nevermind 1991
9 Tom Sawyer Rush Moving Pictures 1981
10 Stop Jane’s Addiction Ritual de lo Habitual 1990

Go:

A kick-ass start to a kick-ass album; and an obvious choice for the first track in this collection. This is Pearl Jam slightly removed from the acclaim of Ten and Jeremy. They’re still angry, and for a follow up album to a stratospheric first album, they do not disappoint. Full blast vocals, guitars and drums all the way through..

Army of Me:

Bjork at her most demonstrative, which is certainly no match for the testosterone fueled explosions in some of the other tracks, but still, pretty rocking. She’s got lyrics that everyone should love coupled with a relentless drum, bass and synthesizer under it all. Listen for the Super Mario power-ups.

American Idiot:

Pure Green Day, but with a slightly more political bent from an album with a more cohesive structure than their usual 3 minute catchy thrash collections. They seem to have done a bit of a concept album, though nothing like those from the 70’s. They still manage to get as many beats and notes into each measure as humanly possible on this track, and with their usual gift for a great hook, what’s not to like?

Seven Nation Army:

Once this bass line gets in your head, it’s almost impossible to shake out. A great start to an unbelievably good album. Jack White seems to be able to channel a glam rock god and put it all to a stripped down straight ahead rock tune, without all the glam rock hysterics. If this band can manage anything close to the quality of Elephant on future releases, the world will be a better place.

London Calling:

A classic from a classic. Punk never sounded so polished. It amazes me that the Clash gets classified in that genre. Yeah, they’ve got the lyrics for punk, but their songs are way more complicated than the usual three chord romps you get from The Ramones and The Sex Pistols. These guys weren’t just angry guys with a garage full of instruments. They could play.

Zoo Station:

Can’t have a Mixdorf collection without U2 in the mix. This album is one of those perfect ones, but it took some listens in the fall of 1991 to get it to sink into my Joshua Tree mind. This song also found a home in Ulla’s Garden’s repertoire, which gives it a special place in my heart. Not really rocking out of the gate, but it definitely twists your perceptions and gets you in the mood for what’s to follow.

Black Dog:

One of those songs that yahoos in dorms everywhere love to blast until your ears bleed, and until you’re sick of it. Too bad. This song kicks ass, and in so doing created the public face of a band who sang more mid or low tempo songs than anyone gives them credit for. Hard Rock? People were afraid of what this was doing to their children? Good lord! All the while ABBA was making their children gay.

Smells Like Teen Spirit:

Many songs evoke memories specific to the time they saw ridiculous airplay. This is one of those songs. It was a bridge between shitty hard rock and pop. It has a hook that you can’t resist, but bludgeons you over the head with its chorus. It feels like college to me. And what an album this kicked off. Nearly every song could have been or was a hit, and not because they followed any sort of formula. They were just phenomenally good songs.

Tom Sawyer:

Ahhh, Rush, the undisputed kings of concept albums. Every one of their albums is a concept album. If they’d ever just sat down and wrote songs just for the fun of it, their albums might have appealed to more than just hard rock nerds and guys that lived in their parent’s basement smoking pot. There’s a ton to like here, particularly the quality of their playing. These guys could play. The voice may not appeal to everyone, but in the end it’s the ridiculous lyrical concepts that drove normal people away. Still, a kick ass song, even if it makes almost no sense.

Stop:
No question this baby should be in this collection, It grabs your attention and never lets go. It’s certainly too bad that Jane’s Addiction couldn’t hold themselves together. They too created a bridge between crappy hard rock and pop. They could rock, but did it in a way that people not drinking Bud Light and sporting mullets could dig. They were way more manly than those make-upped, lace and spandex wearing crap bands of the late 80’s early 90’s ever were.

So that’s it, pretty straight forward. Ten songs to get your juices flowing, with enough variety of styles to hopefully keep it interesting. You probably couldn’t make a perfect album out of 10 songs like this, perfect albums require moments of pause and reflection, but for those times when you need a pick me up, this batch should do it.

Anyone get a CD yet?

Anyone?

The nitty and the gritty

Couple things about our little endeavor.

It cost me about $10 to buy the envelopes and for postage to you four yahoos. Pretty reasonable.

I spent more time on the graphics for the liner notes than I will likely do for future installments. With easy access to software and printing capabilites, I'm probably at a significant advantage, but even still, I wanted to set a good tone for our co-op. They're no Camden Garden, but they look semi-professional. The verbage, because of the chosen theme, are not necessarily that remarkable.

Themes, as you will come to know, will likely have a huge influence as this progresses. This first theme of mine is not indicative of those to come, instead more of an inauguration of the process.

More soon.

Wait a minute Mr. Postman

On second thought, don't wait, just deliver the mothers.

The CDs were sent over my lunch hour today - look for them in a mailbox near you later this week. At that point I may post the liner notes that are included or something similar.

We'll put Dan in charge of the October selections, Aaron in charge of November, and Gibby in charge of the holiday selection. Cory remains free to particpate or to just comment.