(One of) Chuck Berry's Perfect Song(s) - Too Much Monkey Business

I'm not sure what I could possibly say about Chuck Berry that hasn't been said better. There's always dispute about the origins of rock n roll, but only if you get into splitting hairs about very specific elements of it or just don't know what the fuck your're talking about. But if you listen closely, all the most important pieces were laid out by Berry. Musically, lyrically and culturally, you can draw a line from Chuck Berry to just about any rock artist since the 50s. As a matter fact, I'll take a step further and say you can draw that line straight to hip hop as well. He was creating his own legend from the very beginning - "Johnny B. Goode" was all about him. He used hip lingo and even made up words. Several of his songs used a talking blues structure that can arguably be considered rapping. But I won't go into anymore and instead make this about what I think is his best song and covers just about everything I think he brought to the world - "Too Much Monkey Business."

As soon as this kicks off, you get that quintessential early rock sound with the guitar, upright bass, drums and piano, all bouncing hard. Then he goes right into what I believe may be the earliest example of recorded rhyme spitting, complete with the "ahh" at the end of each line. If you're not feeling his frustration, you're not listening. Just amazing. Lyrically he's basically had it with all the bullshit, which is not only rebellious, but it's the slacker call to inaction of the grunge era and beyond. And if that wasn't enough, that first guitar solo does something that is almost imperceptible and that I somehow didn't notice until I was listening to the song one day last year. There's a sudden increase in tempo that makes this thing bubble with nervous angst in a way that the 50s wasn't ready to explore fully, but would eventually be the bread and butter of rock. Then it all comes together with the line "I don't want your botheration, get away, leave me be." Perfect.

It's amazing how even though this man was revered and actually did get a lot of credit and respect, he somehow didn't get enough recognition. And I don't even mean in the sense of how so many black artists didn't get recognized for their contributions in favor of the white artists that followed. I mean as a musician and an artist in general. It's easy to overlook what Berry did as simplistic and maybe get lost in some nostalgic fantasy about "music back then" or whatever. But the reality is that his music is timeless. It's still alive in just about everything you hear, but beyond that, listen closely to his technique, his delivery, his lyrical poetry. The man was a master, full stop. And "Too Much Monkey Business" is only one of his perfect songs. 

Best Albums of 2015: Number Five

While there is certainly a good helping of rock among my top 10, this album at number 5 is really the only one where the whole rock n roll superheroes vibe comes across. You know what I mean? That whole slimy and glamorous, gritty and grand, rebellious and authoritative, atmosphere that you get from some of the great, larger than life, classic bands. The Dead Weather's Dodge and Burn is what I imagine people that really loved Led Zeppelin or The Rolling Stones in the 70s felt that band was doing. If the music business was what it was back then, this is a band that would absolutely dominate the culture right now.

The term supergroup, when members of several big bands come together to form a supposedly bigger band, comes with a lot of baggage, hype and hubris. But while this band technically fits the definition, it also delivers on the original promise of the term. This really is the Rock n Roll Justice League of today, the gold standard. Because ultimately, even though Alison Mosshart and Jack White are the most recognizable here (the Batman and Superman, if you will) there would be no Justice League without The Flash and Green Lantern (Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence). It's the whole that is ultimately greater than the parts and here, unlike ego heavy supergroups, that comes across crystal clear. Which is a giant feat considering White's legendary (and maybe even justified) ego.

On Dodge and Burn, their third album, they are at their most comfortable but that doesn't come with any loss of tension or energy. The first album felt a little more cautious and while the second album completely let loose on the world, this time they really demonstrate that this is no mere "side project." I always get the sense that Mosshart is a hairs width away from crying and/or beating your ass with your own limbs in some orgasm of hate and lust and I don't know what. In short, her voice is the ultimate distillation of rock n roll and in the hands of mad scientist White producing, this band is like a beaker of rock n roll moonshine that will burn your fucking soul. The groove in tracks like "Let Me Through" push you to abandon all else in order to jam.

At the moment, I would say my favorite track on the album is probably "Cop and Go." This thing is pure white fire and sexy horror. Fertita's overblown guitar twang over White's bashing, a psycho piano from hell and Lawrence's funky bass is awesome here, but the bit that pushes it over the edge to me is that "will you give a little back to me" tag line from Mosshart. In any other year, this would have likely been higher on my list. But the truth is, from here on, it's really almost interchangeable. For now, just listen to this thing and if a team of black leather clad badasses burst through your walls with flaming guitars, well, you might be hallucinating from this album, so just turn it up louder and enjoy.

Best Albums of 2015: Number Seven

I won't beat around the bush here, because my number 7 album is not about bush beating. It's Thunderbitch, which I wrote a little bit about not too long ago, and is about as straightforward as it gets. This is the type of album you can play and wind up losing complete track what happened during the 32 minutes that Brittany Howard and company trashed your head like some hotel room afterparty.

And yet. . .

There are moments of angst and vulnerability that peak through from behind the debauchery. From the opening track, "Leather Jacket" I get the sense of a kid dreaming of being this rebel street tough and hanging all her hopes on the idea of putting on this jacket. But there's also some flashes of the price of that choice, which get hinted at several times through out the album, no matter how "totally fucking awesome" she looks in the leather jacket that's disintegrating off her bones.

It's in that context that the druggy, Stonesesque "Very Best Friend" goes beyond just being about this girl tracking down her very best friend with all the pills she wants to take. Because once you think you've figured out she's just talking about her pusher, there's a bit about how "Momma called me and told me not to hang out with that boy no more, he ain't no good to talk to. But momma he was there for me, where were you? And now it's kinda all your fault." And then there's an apparent overdose or something as she laments the future she could have had. Somehow, all this comes across without putting any kind of damper on the party at all. It's this complete sense of self abandonment that we tend to romanticize in Rock n Roll that gives it the sense of danger and, really, its basic appeal. It's that line between sex and death that the leather jacket bikers walk and it's in full display on this album. How could it not be in my top 10?

Broncho at The Culture Room: My Mind at CBGB's

Broncho!

I've always loved the whole late 70s New York, CBGB vibe. And for me, that whole thing sort of extends to bands and sounds that aren't even part of that era or scene specifically, but it's what I think of when I hear even somewhat scuzzy rock n roll that is also kinda poppy. So I sometimes lump in stuff that's more new wave or whatever into the same grouping. And then again, the thing about the CBGB bands of that era is that there really was no "sound" to it. They were all very different. Talking Heads sound nothing like Blondie who sound nothing like Television or the Ramones. And Lou Reed and Iggy Pop weren't even part of that. Yet, last night, I saw Broncho play at The Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale and those are some of the things and bands I thought about.

It's cool to be bummed.

But before Broncho came out, local band Heavy Drag from Miami opened up and I was pleasantly surprised. They bill themselves as a bummer band and I can see what they mean by that with the heavy droning sound and all. Their sound seemed to me to be fusing Black Sabbath and The Velvet Underground, a combination that seems obvious and which I'm sure many bands have claimed, but Heavy Drag also amps up the psychedelic vibe which may be why  it works really well for them. I would have bought their album last night if it had been available on vinyl (because I'm a hipster) instead of cassette (because I'm not a superhipster). None the less, check them out on Spotify and elsewhere. Well worth it.

Speaking of being a hipster, we went to the show to see Broncho, who were opening for The Growlers. Nothing against The Growlers, but I guess they're just not my thing so we didn't plan on staying and didn't. This is not the first time we've gone just for the opener. And it probably won't be the last. And since we wound up discovering Heavy Drag, it was a bonus. 

Whoa-oh oh-oh, whoa-oh oh-oh.

I'd been listening to them since their second album, Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman, came out last year. but still wasn't sure what to expect, but the bottom line is Broncho was great. I always forget just how small The Culture Room is and how great the sound generally is which was already a plus. Last night, I would say if there was any weakness in Broncho's show it was that they maybe went too loud, sacrificing clarity for the undeniable power and energy that the extra volume gave them. But, honestly, I can't complain because I didn't need to understand a single word Ryan Lindsey was singing beyond the "Whoa-oh oh-oh, whoa-oh oh- oh" in "What," or the stuttering "doo doo doo, etc" of "Class Historian." And while on the album their sound comes across with a heavier dose of glam, new wave and groove, live it was much more raw and, well, "CBGB," which in this case ranges from Ramones and Blondie to Iggy and Transformer era Lou Reed. So much punk going on in their riffs that I hadn't noticed until last night. And yet, still with the heavy textured effects and walls of reverb. It's a pretty fucking great combination that they balance without getting completely muddy. It's rock n roll, baby!

It was clear we were the oldest people at the show, which on the one hand is a sign that we're cool motherfuckers and the other is a sign that, no fuck it, we're just cool motherfuckers. We can only hope the kids at the show noticed and that it somehow inspires them. It's rock n roll, baby!!

Rock n Roll!!

2015 Week 42: Hoodlums at the End of the World

They don't seem that dangerous.

I find more darkness and danger in less obvious musical places than you'd expect. At some point, if we make a big generalization, we can say rock splits into two different paths of darkness with one path going theatrical - metal, goth - and the other going more gritty - punk, bluesy Stones type shit. (Just go with it for a second, I know it's a huge oversimplification.) Historically, I think we tend to associate things getting really dark in the more theatrical genres with bands like Black Sabbath, Slayer, Sisters of Mercy, etc. Sure, we associate punk with nihilism, but especially with the more pop balanced punk going back to The Ramones, it's rooted in the feel good, early rock n roll vibe. But the thing is, that early rock n roll vibe does have a certain darkness to it that I think gets glossed over a bit in hindsight. It was always rebellious, but the nihilism in punk was always there in a way that it's hard to express. The only thing I can think of to illustrate the point is (wait for it) Eddie and The Cruisers. Yeah, the movie. Bare with me.

Eddie (Michael Pare) in the movie was basically Jim Morrison, and while Jim was way more theatrical and The Doors were working far from the early rock sound that The Cruisers were playing, I think it still rings true. Rock n Roll was born after World War II. Sure, we won, but when the death toll of the Holocaust and the implications of Hiroshima and Nagasaki sunk in, was there ever a more ripe breeding ground for nihilism? Much has been written about this by the beat poets and beyond. But my suggestion is that Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and all the other founding fathers of rock were also addressing these realities whether they knew it or not and it comes through in the music. But at the risk of getting into a long academic thing about this, let's just use this as a setting for what this is really about: Thunderbitch.

Crazy fucking shit going on at this show, I bet.

Thunderbitch is the side project of Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard along with members of Fly Golden Eagle and Clear Plastic Masks. It is, quite simply, unadulterated rock n roll. It's fast, nasty, greasy, a little obnoxious at times and while it's tons of fun, there's ultimately a certain danger and darkness in the heavy reverb and distortion that makes it come across as somewhat apocalyptic. It's grand without trying to be theatrical. It's that second path I talked about taken to it's furthest extreme while remaining rooted in the heart of the music. The album opens with a song about leather jacket and ends with one about a motorcycle and even though those are very simple things, what they symbolize is not giving a fuck. About anything. It's like this band is playing at a dive bar to celebrate the day the sun explodes, but without calling attention to the cosmic shit, because fuck that, just light another joint and let it rip.

So I liked the album so much that it inspired a Spotify playlist where I just built around it with some songs I thought of as I was listening to it that might better explain what I'm talking about. In addition to the full Thunderbitch album, there's some punk, some rockabilly and some bluesy Stones type shit (yes, that's a genre!). Remember to play this in the order it's presented for best results but if you say "fuck you" and shuffle it, you might be getting the point even better than I intended. It's teenage delinquent music for hoodlums at the end of the world.