I Noticed A New Anthrax Song Today, Oh Boy

 And it reminded me...I haven't reviewed the last-ever Megadeth album yet. 

 

MEGADETH

1/23/2006

 

After 43 years, Dave Mustaine decided full-length #17 would be the final one. The legacy of Megadeth is "The Band That Wasn't Metallica," thanks in large part to Mustaine himself. No matter the millions sold, no matter the musicians influenced, no matter the listeners impressed, no matter the awards garnered, Dave could not shut up about the pain of being thrown on/under the bus by James and Lars. 

So of course the last song on their last album is a Metallica classic. 

"Tipping Point"--The first song is the first single is the best song, in my estimation. There's enough snarl and shred here to impress both types of rabid pit. New guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari is a complementary addition, and drummer Dirk Verbeuren is much better than the mix wants us to believe. 

"I Don't Care"--A diss track to anyone, much less a jerk-o perv-o former bandmate, lives and dies by the lyrics. It doesn't have to be "Not Like Us," but it shouldn't be whatever the title was of Chingy's diss track to Nelly. Dave's words here are insipid, and the band's reassurances only slightly less so.

"Hey God?!"--I guess it don't mean a thang if it ain't got that interrobang. (Hey Dave, does your house always smell like burnt waffles?!) Staying snotty and young with the music is beautiful. With the music.

"Let There Be Shred"--Couldn't be a farewell without one last direct ode to a life lived metal. A little of this goes a long way, but why would I only want a little of it?!

"Puppet Parade"--Millionaire cosplays as working man. Next.

"Another Bad Day"--The Sour-Lucked Schmuck Chronicles continue. The whiny riffage hearkens back to the band's worst moments. 

"Made To Kill"--The pace picks up, and the edges curl. Thank Jebus. 

"Obey The Call"--Overthrow the government, great idea. Side A thinks so, and Side B thinks so, but Side A thinks Side B is advocating for the ruination of civilization, and Side B thinks Side A is advocating for the civilization of ruination, and that's why the government will never be overthrown. See?

"I Am War"--Yeah, War of 1812.

"The Last Note"--Eh...I get what Dave's aiming for, but he's too self-conscious to ever show bone and thus really make this a devastating listen. 

"Ride The Lightning"--Here we go, the "bonus track," the worst-kept secret in metal music history. Dave doesn't see this as a true cover, considering he co-wrote the thing, but actually a tribute to Metallica. As a result, this is a restrained take, tuned lower and played just a bit faster. There are no chances taken here, and that's really the only thing to hate about it. On its own merits, Megadeth's "Ride The Lightning" is extremely enjoyable. And I actually prefer Dave's vocals here. 

No, the 'Deth didn't go out with a classic. They didn't dive slavishly into the past, or taunt the present, making an album that is serviceable in the main, with sparse moments of evisceration still outnumbering those of enervation.

Why Reflect When You Can Refract?

 

 

There’s something to be said about getting old.

There’s many things to be said about getting old, actually, a glut of things. Sift through long enough, and you’ll discover a diamond. Whether the effort is worth all the agate is entirely up to you.

I am old. I am older than I ever imagined. At age ten, age thirty seemed impossible. The day I turned thirty, I sat with my mother and siblings in a funeral home. 

This is all very depressing. No one should type through tears. And what a woman staring fifty in the creepy peepers has to say about aging is nowhere near as probably interesting, as potentially enriching, as what a woman sauntering down decade seven has to say. 

Especially when that woman is Kim Gordon.

People marvel over Kim Gordon at her advanced age making such audacious, challenging (call it what it is, young) music and leave the scary part unexamined. Which is how it probably should be. I won’t be the one to tear the tarp off the beating heart. It’s not my tender spot to expose. 

“Joyous” is one word of the many Kim Gordon has used to describe the songs on “Play Me,” the diamond descriptor. (“Jagged” and “glitch-y” are fine, if flourite.) And when I set aside a half hour to listen—which I’ve done three times in the past two days—the insect-ridden noise-hop party does indeed leave me feeling cheerier. The breezy horn sample in the title track, the plucked feathers of “Dirty Tech,” the phases of abrasion, the realization that Kim Gordon is the girl with the look and the hook…it’s all good, except the parts that are great. 

Play Me, like No Home Record and The Collective before it, is so much more than off-kilter speak-sing over trip-trap beats. Her vocal performance, for example, is better here than it's been in years. But it’s like Marvin Gaye’s cousin said: “The dumb are mostly intrigued by the drum.”

(Dave Grohl plays drums on “Busy Bee.” He’s getting old too.)

The Top Favorite Best Greatest Blog of All-Time (Pt. 8--It's Like A Jungle Sometimes, It Makes Me Wonder How Pitchfork Hasn't Gone Under)

So yeah, Pitchfork busted out not one but two lists of "The 100 Best Rap Albums of All-Time," one courtesy of the site, one courtesy of the site's readership. One is considerably more entertaining than the other. 

Per the preamble, these are "the most essential and influential albums" of the genre. Words such as "essential" and "influential" suggest, to me anyway, a greatest list...y'know, those wreck-hards that maybe you really love, maybe you really don't, but they're important, and can't be ignored. Words such as "essential" and "influential" do not suggest, to me anyway, artistic excellence. The word "best," however, suggests nothing but. 

Oh well!

Of the 100 choices on P-fork's official list, 59 of them belong. Among the 41 fakers are records released within the last five years (Ka's Descendants Of Cain), records that are just not good (Suga Free's Street Gospel) and records released within the last five years that are just not good (Sexxy Red's Hood Hottest Princess). The readers fare worse--a clean 50-50 split. 

Pitchfork's Top 10 is solid, save for a wildly-overrated 400 Degreez and Rich Gang, the latter of which wins the coveted "We Don't Really Believe This, But It'll Get People Talking Online" slot (which I'd feared momentarily might go instead to an outside-the-top-10 Illmatic. Guess the PF offices go for that rotisserie chicken with minimal additives). 

Terrible omissions from both lists: any MC Lyte, any Kool Keith, Funcrusher Plus (the single most influential independent hip-hop album ever), Big Pun's debut, any BDP/Krs-One, It Was Written, The Future Is Now. PF's readers had the common sense to include 3 Feet High and Rising and Midnight Marauders, as well as to rank the Wu debut over any subsequent member solos. Do not understand this as a blanket celebration of the non-professional opinion, however; readers put seven whole-ass Kanye albums in the top 100 and zero Redman. 

Of course the official top 100 is receiving much more attention, as it should. Pitchfork has a rich creamery history of these "definitive" rankings painstakingly designed to send the average clicker on a roller coaster ride of emotions. In their eagerness to represent every region, era and sound, they've put together as inessential a list as possible. 

 

 

Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical

 

AIRDATE: 8/15/2025

STORY:  Charlie Brown's final year of summer camp is here, and in classic Chuck Biz fashion, he can't have too much fun before the worry warts pop up. Decreasing attendance means his beloved Cloverhill Ranch will soon make way for the marvels of progress, and his little sister Sally won't know the joys of bonding with nature. The solution? A music festival. 8

MUSIC: Is the thing. This is the third Peanuts musical, and first in 37 years. The five songs here shine bright and sweet, even Sally's hilariously Schulzian protest "A Place Like This." Although that song, and the opener "Best Time Ever," are the tunes that hung around my mind after watch #1, the other three offerings (written by Ben Folds) only improved upon subsequent listening/viewing. 8.5

ANIMATION: Nature's beautiful bounty (bountiful beauty?) is rendered gorgeously throughout. "When We Were Light"--arguably the slowest grower on the soundtrack--is enhanced by the visuals, including a captivating night sky over the lake waters that rates among the finest animation ever seen in a Peanuts special. 10

VOICES: Salute to Etienne Kellici, who is now narrating Mutual of Omaha's Wild Puberty, and probably won't be called back for another go as Charlie Brown. (Additional hand-on-head to Jayd Deroche, who provided CB's singing voice.) Isabella Leo is a fine Lucy as always, but Hattie Kragten's Sally steals the show. If the mind is a playground, Sally's is nothing but swing sets. Grumpy forth, despairing back. Smitten forth, indignant back. 9's all around. 

 

 

 

WE ARE FANS OF PROGRESS 

--Snoopy's side-shenanigans actually affect the main plot! 

--The flashbacks of Charlie Brown's earlier camp excursions feature animated versions of OG Chuck and puppy Snoopy (although not for the first time).

--So, Sally hates camp so bad she'll sing about how much she hates camp, but she runs into a horse and then all of a sudden camp's great? Uh, yeah. 

 

 

I WAS JUSTIFIED IN BEING WARY 

--The plot does feel rushed, and an extra five to ten minutes would've helped quite a bit. 

--No human voice for Snoopy! Third time truly is the charm.

--The eco-friendly messaging may strike some viewers as heavy-handed and borderline insulting to audience intelligence. I call these viewers, "offline."

--The Snoopy siblings make an appearance, and that's wonderful, but Olaf on drums? Schulz would not allow this Andy disrespect, and Homer Simpson would not allow this jug disrespect.  

 

 

Although pacing issues keep A Summer Musical from joining the likes of One-of-a-Kind Marcie and Welcome Home, Franklin, it's still a cute way to pass forty minutes. The earnestness and hope on display may cause some more cynical observers to bristle, to which I say, real life is giving us enough crap. Don't be afraid to smile, laugh, sing, or give a damn. 

 

 

Mind The Gash (Bottlecap Press)

 My first chapbook, now on sale!

 

25 poems, real and raw, celebrations of strength and struggle. Head over to the Bottlecap webstore! (And if you buy two chapbooks, you can get a third free--just use discount code BTGO)
 

Fall Down On The World, Risk Burns

LITTLE ROPE

1/19/2024 

Album Eleven is Ten Strong, Thirty-Four Long, More Songs About Our Collapsing World, produced by The Paper Chase Guy. On the surface, a familiar equation. 

Sleater-Kinney were halfway through the writing process for Little Rope when Carrie Brownstein received word her mother and stepfather had died in an auto accident while vacationing in Italy. The resultant recording is not a soaring lament or a sour tantrum. Little Rope is, first last and foremost, the whistles of a warrior hobbling along the battlefield. 

"Hell"- Some of you have never gotten older, and it shows.

For whatever "trademarks" S-K have seemingly abandoned (the dual vocal lines, the snotty snoots, the jagged journeys to right front quadrants), the yearning choruses are still full-throttle. This here Hereafter is choked with scentless smoke and methanol flames.

"Needlessly Wild"- For Portland's finest to put the word "needless" in a song title given the mess of slop certain former acolytes have found fit to fling in their general direction since the departure of drummer Janet Weiss is pretty bold. 

Oh, the song? A self-aware Cars-ian bop, mixing straw and sound under the influence of Grenadine syrup. 

"Say It Like You Mean It"- Flexes the lean muscle of the heart one minute, injects a slow-acting paralyzing agent the next. It's easy to wallow and ring hollow, harder to find salvation in the sparks.

"Hunt You Down" - Everything, everything is dangerous. Including dancing. One trip, one slip and it's RIP. Carrie sounds scared the music might swallow her up, and there's something oddly reassuring about so venerated a flyer still demonstrating doubts in their co-pilot. 

 "Small Finds" - Vibe on red honey, vibe on.

"Don't Feel Right" - There's not thing one inherently wrong with the nag, the catch, the cajole, the hook so thickly-baited the steel bends. 

 "Six Mistakes" - Probably deserves better verses; definitely not to be confused with Six Murderous Beliefs. 

This is racket-gang Sleater-Kinney, and I love love some racket-gang S-K.

"Crusader" - Echoes contain multitudes. Now, more than ever, more than when this album was released, the wretched must die. 

"Dress Yourself" - The new-girl march, complete with synthesized chants. One thing this band will never abandon is their belief in sound as the purpose, the panacea, the pretty little monster.

"Untidy Creature" - Carrie did not run from music when tragedy struck; she picked the guitar up and played more than ever before, to know that she could, do it and good, and she also needed her band. Specifically: "I needed to hear Corin's voice."

More of the world needs to hear Corin Tucker's voice. Siren, separator, scintillating. All music, of whatever quality, evokes mortality. A song I love makes me want to live forever. And this, "Untidy Creature," is a song I love, another brilliant album-closer from a band who's gotten especially good at them. 

 

Sleater-Kinney have now released two albums since their drummer's rough, public departure, two sonically and emotionally distinct albums that navigate their unchosen minefields with a dexterity and passion that is admirable at worst. They've dug in here, feet planted in the dirt even as their legs tremble. 

 
 

My 100 Favorite Songs Of All-Time, Some of Which Are Great

Back in the month of June, I examined the triumphs and follies inherent in making a music list. In the final post, I included my personal 100 favorite albums. I intended this post to also include my 100 favorite songs, but changed my mind for the sake of space. An eighth post in the series, then. Or not. Why blast the gas all at once? I decided, then, to save my 100 fave songs list for a special occasion. As with the albums, I've only a single rule: one song per artist.

Happy birthday to me.

*****

100. “Raisans,” Dinosaur Jr. (1987)
99.   “North Beach,” George Duke (1973)
98.   “Say Goodnight,” Reks (2008)
97.   “The End,” Best Coast (2010)
96.   “Just A Song Before I Go,” Crosby, Stills & Nash (1977)
95.   “Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1),” Yo La Tengo (1995)
94.   “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Thelma Houston (1975)
93.   “Lilacs,” Waxahatchee (2020)
92.   “Journey to the Center of the Mind,” Amboy Dukes (1968)
91.   “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst,” Kendrick Lamar (2012)
90.   “Windspeaks,” Uyama Hiroto (2007)
89.   “Good Vibrations,” Beach Boys (1966)
88.   “Cry For the Bad Man,” Lynyrd Sknyrd (1976)
87.   “Limelight,” Rush (1981)
86.   “Words,” Missing Persons (1982)
85.   “Don’t Change,” INXS (1982)
84.   “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry (1958)
83.   “Both Sides Now,” Joni Mitchell (1969)
82.   “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” The Police (1981)
81.   “Blonde Redhead,” DNA (1981)
80.   “What Is Life,” George Harrison (1970)
79.   “One Fine Day,” The Chiffons (1963)
78.   “Tighten Up,” Archie Bell & The Drells (1968)
77.   “Classical Gas,” Mason Williams (1968)
76.   “Tragedy,” Bee Gees (1979)
75.   “Die Matrosen,” Kleenex (1980)
74.   “Never Say Never,” Romeo Void (1982)
73.   “Super Falling Star,” Stereolab (1992)
72.   “Vibration Blues,” McCoy Tyner (1976)
71.   “Bye Bye,” Kim Gordon (2024)
70.   “Corpse Pose,” Unwound (1996)
69.   “Try Again,” Aaliyah (2000)
68.   “So Wat Cha Sayin,” EPMD (1986)
67.   “Your Woman,” White Town (1997)
66.   “Get Down Tonight,” KC & The Sunshine Band (1975)
65.   “Refuse/Resist,” Sepultura (1993)
64.   “Can’t Truss It,” Public Enemy (1991)
63.   “Got To Give It Up,” Marvin Gaye (1977)
62.   “Marquee Moon,” Television (1977)
61.   “Will It Go Round In Circles,” Billy Preston (1972)
60.   “Buffalo Stance,” Neneh Cherry (1989)
59.   “Oh Bondage! Up Yours!,” X-Ray Spex (1977)
58.   “Coat of Many Colors,” Dolly Parton (1971)
57.   “Dance,” ESG (1983)
56.   “Iron Galaxy,” Cannibal Ox (2001)
55.   “Crazy,” Patsy Cline (1961)
54.   “Oblivion,” Mastadon (2009)
53.   “Save The Last Dance For Me,” The Drifters (1960)
52.   “Making Plans For Nigel,” XTC (1979)
51.   “Journey In Satchidananda,” Alice Coltrane (1971)
50.   “Be My Baby,” The Ronettes (1963)
49.   “Dance to the Music,” Sly and The Family Stone (1968)
48.   “Eight Miles High,” The Byrds (1966)
47.   “World Without Words,” Nujabes (2004)
46.   “Spellbound,” Siouxsie & The Banshees (1981)
45.   “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” The Rolling Stones (1968)
44.   “Venus In Furs,” Velvet Underground (1967)
43.   “Fantasy,” Earth Wind & Fire (1977)
42.   “Entrance of the Gladiators,” Julius Fucik (1897)
41.   “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’,” Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
40.   “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” Nas (1994)
39.   “Work It,” Missy Elliott (2002)
38.   “Sinnerman,” Nina Simone (1962)
37.   “For Ex-Lovers Only,” Black Tambourine (1999)
36.   “So Far Away,” Carole King (1971)
35.   “I’m God,” Clams Casino (2011)
34.   “Nasty,” Janet Jackson (1986)
33.   “Controversy,” Prince (1981)
32.   “Only Shallow,” My Bloody Valentine (1991)
31.   “The Hunt,” New Model Army (1986)
30.   “Chains of Love,” Erasure (1988)
29.   “Dive,” Nirvana (1992)
28.   “Our Lips Are Sealed,” The Go-Go’s (1981)
27.   “Band On the Run,” Paul McCartney and Wings (1973)
26.   “Twilight Zone,” Golden Earring (1982)
25.   “Gold Dust Woman,” Fleetwood Mac (1977)
24.   “Shook Ones, Pt. 2,” Mobb Deep (1995)
23.   “Mysterious Vibes,” The Blackbyrds (1977)
22.   “Heroes,” David Bowie (1977)
21.   “(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real,” Sylvester (1978)
20.   “Waiting Room,” Fugazi (1989)
19.   “Song For a Future Generation,” The B-52’s (1983)
18.   “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely,” Husker Du (1986)
17.   “Things We Said Today,” The Beatles (1964)
16.   “Painkiller,” Judas Priest (1990)
15.   “Peg,” Steely Dan (1977)
14.   “Never Let Me Down Again,” Depeche Mode (1987)
13.   “Sir Duke,” Stevie Wonder (1976)
12.   “S.O.S.,” ABBA (1975)
11.   “You’re No Rock ’n’ Roll Fun,” Sleater-Kinney (2000)
10.   “Fire,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
9.     “Raining Blood,” Slayer (1986)
8.     “Photograph,” Def Leppard (1983)
7.     “B.O.B.,” Outkast (2000)
6.     “Linus and Lucy,” Vince Guaraldi Trio (1965)
5.     “West End Girls,” Pet Shop Boys (1986)
4.     “I Feel Love,” Donna Summer (1977)
3.     “Hungry Like the Wolf,” Duran Duran (1982)
2.     “Starpower,” Sonic Youth (1986)
1.     “Beat It,” Michael Jackson (1982)

*****

Note the absence of Bob Marley on my list. Note, indeed, the dearth of any reggae on my list. Alongside its white boy sidekick ska, there is no genre of music I loathe more sincerely. My opinion aside, any list of greatest songs must include something by Bob Marley…”Get Up, Stand Up” preferably. Additional songs that should appear on any greatest list worth its shakers: "The Twist," "Hound Dog," "Rock Around the Clock," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Be My Baby," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Born to Run," "Good Vibrations," "I Feel Love," "Billie Jean," "Like a Rolling Stone," "Satisfaction," "What’s Going On," "Respect," "Johnny B. Goode," "You’ve Really Got Me," "When Doves Cry," "Rapper’s Delight," "The Message."

Looking over my list, I’d say close to a quarter of the tracks would not look out of place on a Greatest List. Which is to say, most of the songs that mean the most to me don’t really matter much in the larger picture. My favorite Beatles song, for example, is pretty much no one else’s favorite Beatles song (although Bob Dylan’s cover of it filled me with a validation of sorts). “Fight The Power” is more universal, but Chuck D has never sounded more ferocious than he does on “Can’t Truss It.” Possibly the only thing I have in common with Thurston Moore and Courtney Love? Our favorite Nirvana song.

(All 100 songs are intense audio-visual experiences for me. I have no clue if that’s anomalous or not.)

Songs considered “great” are associated with movements, while “favorite” tunes are associated with moments. Great songs are legend-makers; favorite songs are button-breakers. And I guess, finally, great songs represent adults at work, and favorites represent children at play.