End Of An Era...

Just finished the definitive GG Allin biography/autobiography America's Favorite Son. Half-ass written by some gawking pseudo-fan; then edited, retyped, and handwritten by GG, it is easily the most amazing 120 pages I've read in a long time. Until someone comes along and grills Merle about what really happened up there, this is the closest thing we'll ever have to account what really went on in New Hampshire and Vermont all those years ago. It's a crazy read, from childhood, through the Jabbers, through the Scumfucs... and then through any plug-and-play band he could find on the road. Was he a tortured higher power sacrificing himself for our sins? Sorry kids, probably not. Poor GG was just an abused alcoholic with a shitty childhood. His miserable mommy complex manifested itself into female abuse as he got older but don't fool yourself, he ran back to females every chance he could throughout his life. For all the "I love nothing" rap he dropped on vinyl he was in reality that guy we all know who can't seem to let go of his ex-girlfriends. Sure he got drunk when he was in public and went fucking crazy beating up on sluts but that's the booze (and a good circle of friends) talking. Don't get me wrong, I fucking love the guy but any Psych 101 student can see the pathos in it all. Regardless, the book ends with GG getting blood poisoning (again!) after his infamous 1988 gig at the Covered Wagon Saloon in San Francisco so I thought it only fitting I watch the Live And Pissed DVD of the show. Hilarious after reading page after page of bitch-punching, cunt-kicking, slut-slapping bravado to see the speeded-up scumfuc acting almost humble with his backstage entourage. Sad to see how the prison system turned him into such a bitter political miscreant. Way to go U.S. penal system.

Gimme yo' panties

 
Currently watching: Paul

Currently listening to: Unruh Misery Strengthened Faith

Fucking Hostile

I remember the first time I heard Pantera. Some fucking Jersey party my good pal Dan dragged me to; he'd been spouting about this new band he was totally into during the drive down... fucking blah blah. Anyways, many hours and Meister Bräus later somehow he got in control of the stereo and "Fucking Hostile" hit the quadraphonic Panasonic shelf speakers. He almost flattened me being "that guy"... totally moshing by himself to a song nobody else knew. After hearing it for the fourth time in 6 minutes I knew I was getting welcomed back to a genre that I had discarded many years ago. I'm talking about metal, dude. Call it proto-metalcore or whatever, Pantera fucking redefined themselves after years of awful cheesy hair band bullshit and then redefined heavy music itself without going down the death metal route. And c'mon, the end to "Hollow" is probably the heaviest thing ever recorded - now or then. Here's a pretty fucking solid show from '94 when the guys were at their peak. Enjoy.

Part I                                                        Part II

 
Currently watching: Mutant

Currently listening to: This Gift Is A Curse I, Gvilt Bearer

I'd like a basket of chips...

Recorded by Dean and Gene Ween on a Tascam four-track cassette recorder between January and October 1990. All songs recorded at the Pod, where we lived for a year and 10 months (with our cat Mandee). The Pod was scenically located on Van Sant Road in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania. Our apartment was a haven for flies because it sits in the middle of a horse farm. In the time this album was completed, we filled up 3,600 hours of tape, and inhaled 5 cans of Scotchgard. This album was then produced and mixed by Andrew Weiss (our pal) at the Zion House of Flesh, Hopewell, New Jersey. Straight to DAT Mang. Mean Ween played the bass on "Alone" and that's him on the cover doin' up some nitrous oxide powered bongs. We got evicted on October 1, 1991. But Dave Ayers says he's gonna help us out. Cover and art designs by Logorhy.

If you have never heard this album before you need to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself why you continue living your pathetic life. Essential.

For hither not, I am the stallion
Come fear, come love, I am the stallion
You know that I am the stallion, mang
I am, I am the stallion, mang
You know that I am the stallion, mang
I live, I walk, I am the stallion, mang
Hair-throng, goo-tongue, stallion, mang
A, 2, S-T-A-L-L-I-O-N
I am the stallion, mang
One, I can drink
Two, I get groomed
Three, I go for a walk
I am the stallion, mang
You know I am the stallion, mang
Deaner! Deaner! Dude! Where can you be?
Come hither, who are you? The stallion? What's goin' on?
Who are you, Deaner? I am, I am the stallion
You are the stallion
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-A-L-L-I-O-N
I am the stallion, mang!
I can be what I like to see in you and me, I'm the stallion
I can play, I get to take the water, 'cause I am the stallion
O-P-L-G-H-M-F-S-T-A-L-L-I-O-N
Stallion, mang
Stallion, mang
Stallion, mang
I am the stallion
I am the stallion
I am the stallion
Goodbye
The stallion
The stallion
Goodbye Stallion! Stallion! Stallion! Stallion! Stallion!

 

Currently watching: King Frat

Currently listening to: Mötley Crüe Theatre Of Pain

Zack de la Theodore

Better then the last three Rage albums and anything Mars Volta has ever done. "If You Fear Dying" and "Wild International" are easily the best tracks, fucking killer Rhodes riffs with some better than average lyrics by Zack. The others fall a bit short but who cares, two out of five songs is a fucking miracle these days... Enjoy.

Last Letter

 
Currently watching: The Alien Dead

Currently listening to: The Doors The Soft Parade

Transitions...

I don't know what was going on with Glenn Danzig throughout the mid-80's. I absolutely love the Misfits, respect Danzig (Lucifuge is really a great fucking album) but the Samhain stuff has always left me feeling either bored, confused or duped. I mean I like a couple tracks on Initium but that's about it; November-Coming-Fire is probably one of the worst albums I've ever heard (and I've given it a LOT of tries) and Final Descent is sub par at best. "Gothic horror punk" is the description I tend to run into regarding Samhain's discography; if that means muddy, slow, and somewhat rambling then we got a perfect metch. That being said, the somewhat recently released DVD Live 1984 showcases a solid early Samhain set at the Stardust Ballroom in Hollywood, CA. Glenn is obviously psyched at the reception of his new band and his enthusiasm comes across, the band rips through the Initium tracks (in my opinion their best work) as well as a couple Misfits tunes. The crowd is pretty manic and keep the band going through the 50-minute set, here's a pretty good audio rip direct from the source. Enjoy.

Flipside

 
Currently watching: Galaxy Of Terror

Currently listening to: Blutch Materia

Scanner Scumfuckin'

Going through a big trunk of shit in the attic trying to find some "treasure" that may or may not end up on eBay, I came across a pile of GG Allin flyers, info packets, letters, etc. compiled decades ago that I felt warranted a trip to the ol' Epson. First off is Bloody F. Mess's seminal Hated In The Nation #2 zine, sent to me by GG himself in response to a sadly pathetic fan letter - what an awesome surprise nonetheless. Say what you want about the guy but man, GG didn't fuck around when it came to answering mail - stickers, flyers, whatever - right back at ya before the week was out. Next up is some type of court document covering the infamous Ann Arbor "Leslie Incident" - it lists as 10 pages but I only had 9. Interesting, it includes the police report as well as both GG and Leslie's version of the episode. Finally, it wraps up with some shrink's clinical impressions of the Public Animal, needless to say it is not particularly complimentary. Finally, I pulled together bunches of other random shit amassed by myself and other fans and ended up with a 60-page scrapbook of interviews, trial reports, flyers and obituaries. Most is from the latter part of his career with the Murder Junkies but there are some choice nuggets from the old Scumfuc days. Especially worthy of note are the two interviews from Sound Choice and Nuthing Sacred zine - intelligent discussions which don't just focus on "how many dogs have you fucked?" All three files are in PDF format for your viewing displeasure. Enjoy.

Uncool Unclean Unacceptable

Currently watching: Brotherhood

Currently listening to: Insane Poetry Grim Reality

Aw, c'mon it ain't THAT bad...

Yep, enough years have passed where I can finally admit to how much I used to love nü metal. Korn's Life Is Peachy hooked my white ass like a fat tuna for years. While that album still holds its ground today, my CD collection is replete with fly-by-night wonders of that strange late-90's era where simply downtuning a 7-string guitar and alternating whimpers with screams made you a marketable band. 40 Below Summer, Taproot, Project 86, the list goes on and on. Still, there were the defining albums of the genre: the aforementioned Korn Life Is Peachy (and of course, their debut as well), Deftones' Adrenaline and Slipknot Slipknot easily come to mind, and for a while it seemed like everything great was touched in some way by producer extraordinaire Ross Robinson. So when it broke that Ross was producing Vanilla Ice's supererogatory comeback album it seemed like the caravan had begun its topple over the cliff. While I kept up with the "work-in-progress" snippets on MTV News, it took me a while to hear the results when the album was finally released in 1988. To be honest, my insecure ass didn't want to wander into Tower Records and have anyone see me thumb through the Vanilla Ice section! Turns out I never had to shame myself as a good friend of mine stopped by soon after, fresh off a trip to L.A. to see his half-brother Sonny. Yep, Sonny Mayo, guitarist for defunct nü metal outfit Snot and... yep... lead guitarist on Ice's new Hard To Swallow album! So there ya go, talk about shit falling into your lap. After a quick interrogation for any info about the recording session (answers being the expected "Ice was incredibly cool with everyone until someone with a camera showed up and all of a sudden he put on this annoying image which took over everything..." blah blah) my friend broke out the promo CD he brought me. So, what's the verdict??? Well, it's incredibly derivative of much of the other nü metal already floating out there and there's a weird tremelo effect on the guitar that gets somewhat tiresome after awhile but... it's actually pretty good. "Too Cold, " his heavy version of "Ice Ice Baby" is easily the most accessible (and will blow up a party if you ever break it out - trust me). On "Prozac," Ice builds a solid song around his rhymes dropped on "Boom" from the Bloodhound Gang's One Fierce Beer Coaster years earlier (BHG's Jimmy Pop Ali returns the guest vocal favor on this one). The standout track is the closer "Freestyle" featuring Insane Poetry rappers Cyco and Sub Zero. Fucking awesome hip hop with a cool heavy back beat - we joked whether or not those rappers actually admitted to their boys back home that they sang on this record! Of course some of the stuff falls a little flat, the weed references are sadly old hat and some of the "pain" Ice emotes seems really forced. Oh well, I still dig it. Too bad Ice hadn't made the album a few years earlier - he would have seemed like a real trendsetter instead of another has-been on the bandwagon. If you like what you hear you could do much worse then checking out his follow-up Skabz EP from 2001 (released as part of the forgettable double-album Bi-Polar) - featuring members of Slipknot and 'Genocide faves M.O.D.!!!!

S.N.A.F.U.

 
Currently watching: La Horde

Currently listening to: Ministry The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste