photo & text by nacrowe

im sorry. once an ENGLISH TEACHER, always an ENGLISH TEACHER.  repentless is not a WORD, unrepentant is. alright got that out of my SYSTEM, on to the REVIEW.

the loss of SLAYER guitarist JEFF HANNEMAN to LIVER CIRRHOSIS in 2013 after decades of ALCOHOL ABUSE was an IMMEASURABLE GUT PUNCH to the METAL COMMUNITY writ large.  arguably matched only by his THRASH METAL PEER in JAMES HETFIELD of METALLICA, HANNEMAN was RESPONSIBLE for many of the most ICONIC GUITAR PARTS in METAL HISTORY and is duly revered as a KEY RIFF LORD in the LINEAGE of the GENRE amongst the universally RESPECTED likes of TONY IOMMI (BLACK SABBATH), ANGUS YOUNG (AC/DC), DIMEBAG DARRELL (PANTERA), BILL KELLIHER (MASTODON), MATT PIKE (HIGH ON FIRE) and EDDIE VAN HALEN (VAN HALEN).  especially dead-to-rights CLASSIC TRACKS like "RAINING BLOOD," "DEAD SKIN MASK," "SOUTH OF HEAVEN," "DIE BY THE SWORD," "POSTMORTEM," "WAR ENSEMBLE," and of course "ANGEL OF DEATH."  in summation, HANNEMAN is IRREPLACEABLE and his PASSING made any FUTURE SLAYER RECORDING quite the FORMIDABLE MOUNTAIN to climb, for the BAND and FANS alike.

and so REPENTLESS (NUCLEAR BLAST, 2015) was released two years later, with LONGTIME FRIEND and THRASH METAL PEER GARY HOLT of EXODUS stepping in for the DECEASED HANNEMAN. by this point HOLT had long taken over TOURING DUTIES with SLAYER since 2011 (with HANNEMAN's express blessing) after HANNEMAN contracted NECROTIZING FASCIITIS via a spider bite reportedly while in a FRIEND's HOT TUB.  REPENTLESS also marks the return of DRUMMER PAUL BOSTAPH to the FOLD, his first RECORDING with the GROUP since GOD HATES US ALL (AMERICAN, 2001).   FOUNDING DRUMMER DAVE LOMBARDO was effectively let go by GUITARIST KERRY KING and BASSIST TOM ARAYA in 2013 amidst a PROTRACTED BUSINESS DISPUTE regarding TOURING FEES shortly before a STINT in AUSTRALIA.  i mention all of this because REPENTLESS is a bit of a TRANSITIONAL RECORD even though its SLAYER's FINAL RELEASE.  much was made in the press at the time with KING taking on the majority of the WRITING DUTIES, which was to be EXPECTED.  in FAIRNESS to KING, he has had several SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS over the years, WRITING or CO-WRITING the likes of "DITTOHEAD," "EXPENDABLE YOUTH," "BLOODLINE," "HELL AWAITS," "DISCIPLE" and "MANDATORY SUICIDE," but UNDOUBTEDLY he was GEORGE HARRISON to HANNEMAN's LENNON/MCCARTNEY in terms of SONGWRITING.  and REPENTLESS predictably suffers from that lack of CONTRIBUTION, since HANNEMAN was RENOWNED for COMPOSITIONS with DYNAMIC SHIFTS that really focused and propelled the INTENSITY of SLAYER's SONIC ATTACK, like a cat playing with its victim before RUTHLESSLY pouncing UNEXPECTEDLY.  KING as EXEMPLIFIED on REPENTLESS SONGS like "VICES," "IMPLODE," "YOU AGAINST YOU," "CHASING DEATH" and the TITLE TRACK "REPENTLESS" has a more STRAIGHT-AHEAD and decidedly less MEMORABLE SONGWRITING AESTHETIC where KILLER RIFFS dont really build on each other and CRESCENDO relative to HANNEMAN's OUTPUT.  for me, "WHEN THE STILLNESS COMES" and the OPENING TRACK "DELUSIONS OF SAVIOUR" are the STANDOUT TRACKS due to their SHIFTING TEMPOS and DYNAMIC SONG STRUCTURES.  it is REMINISCENT of where KING has gone recently via his RECORDINGS post-SLAYER with his SOLO CAREER. 

again, REPENTLESS is undoubtedly a TRANSITIONAL RECORD, so it is particularly DIFFICULT to compare it to their CAREER HIGHLIGHTS in the mid-to-late 80s and early 90s.  the RECORDING benefits immensely from a PRODUCTION that is absolutely CRUSHING and SONICALLY DENSE via the SINGULAR ENGINEERING PROWESS of CELEBRATED PRODUCER TERRY DATE (DEFTONES, PANTERA, SOUNDGARDEN, WHITE ZOMBIE), but ultimately the SONGS themselves are not the most COMPELLING from their CATALOGUE and that is pretty much its LEGACY years later in my PERSONAL OPINION.  i saw this VERSION of the BAND play in support of this RELEASE in TOKYO with GOJIRA as support and it was absolutely KILLER.  "REPENTLESS" in particular worked phenomenally well in a live setting, but as a RECORD REPENTLESS suffers from an INCONSISTENCY and an UNFORTUNATE LACK of UNFORGETTABLE MATERIAL.  which is to be EXPECTED because their SONGWRITING ACE IN THE HOLE was not around for this FINAL SWAN SONG.

definitely a RECORD worth checking out but the likes of REIGN IN BLOOD (DEF JAM, 1986), SOUTH OF HEAVEN (DEF JAM, 1988), SEASONS IN THE ABYSS (DEF AMERICAN, 1990) and even GOD HATES US ALL should be the first stop for new listeners to this LEGENDARY THRASH METAL BAND.

second acts in ROCK AND ROLL are BRUTAL.

its a pretty SHORT LIST of BANDS that were able to overcome the LOSS or UNEXPECTED DEPARTURE of an ICONIC VOCALIST.  GROUPS that come immediately to mind include AC/DC, IRON MAIDEN, FAITH NO MORE, ALICE IN CHAINS, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, PINK FLOYD, CANNIBAL CORPSE, BLACK SABBATH and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN.  but for every one of those there are a WHOLE HORDE of BANDS that either DISSIPATED or became SHELLS of their FORMER SELVES like VAN HALEN, SEPULTURA, ANTHRAX or the STONE TEMPLE PILOTS.  there is just something about that ALCHEMY of FACTORS that play into a BAND's CHEMISTRY and how such is perceived by the GENERAL PUBLIC.

its no SECRET that FROM ZERO (WARNER, 2024) by LINKIN PARK comes some seven years and three months since the UNTIMELY PASSING of LEGENDARY FRONTMAN CHESTER BENNINGTON.  for some, me included, he was LINKIN PARK.  i am fully aware of CO-VOCALOST MIKE SHINODA's IMMENSE SONGWRITING and PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTIONS to the BAND and the fact that BENNINGTON was the last to join LINKIN PARK, then called XERO.  but it is a total FALLACY to intimate that the APPEAL of the GROUP was anything other than BENNINGTON's SINGULAR VOCAL TALENTS and PERSONAL CHARISMA that gave the GROUP an EDGE and differentiated it from the CONSIDERABLE NU METAL field at the turn of the millennium.  the fact that those INNER DEMONS and DEEP-ROOTED TRAUMA from childhood that both drove him and ultimately devoured him is still very much a TRAGEDY for so many FANS to this day.

i am pretty AMBIVALENT about the BAND and this ALBUM, i'll be HONEST.  regrouping with a NEW SINGER is such a DICEY MANEUVER.  i wonder aloud whether or not this NEW EFFORT from most of the REMAINING MEMBERS (SHINODA, DJ JOE HAHN, GUITARIST BRAD DELSON, BASSIST DAVE "PHOENIX" FARRELL) would have better presented under a NEW MONIKER, because FROM ZERO (a REFERENCE to their ORIGINAL BAND NAME and a STATEMENT OF FACT that this is in fact a NEW BEGINNING) feels like LINKIN PARK BY-THE-NUMBERS with them consciously chasing the SOUND of now DECADES-OLD RELEASES HYBRID THEORY (WARNER BROS, 2000) and METEORA (WARNER BROS, 2003).  which is UNFORTUNATE.  this is APPARENT on MEDIOCRE TRACKS like "THE EMPTINESS MACHINE," "HEAVY IS THE CROWN," "TWO FACED," "OVER EACH OTHER" and "IGYEIH" where it feels like more BLUSTER than SUBSTANCE.  when i think back to COMEBACK ALBUMS like AC/DC's BACK IN BLACK (ATLANTIC, 1980) or ALICE IN CHAINS' BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE (VIRGIN, 2009) which came after the DEATH of a FORMER SINGER, there seemed to be a sense of CATHARSIS from the OVERT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the LOSS that had been sustained by the BAND and by extension their FANS.  that sense of PARTICIPATION in the GRIEVING PROCESS is all but gone from FROM ZERO as it literally feels like a REBOOT LINKIN PARK 2.0 sans any mention i can parse out RELATED to BENNINGTON.  which is UNFORTUNATE because their FABASE a decade later is still grieving his PASSING.

and then there is the PROBLEMATIC ROLLOUT surrounding EMILY ARMSTRONG, the NEW LINKIN PARK VOCALIST and MEMBER of the DERIVATIVE LOS ANGELES-based ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND DEAD SARA.  i think VOCALLY she is SERVICEABLE enough, but it is what she represents in the CONTEXT of LINKIN PARK that is quite DISTURBING.  now BENNINGTON was a VOCAL ADVOCATE of MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES throughout his CAREER.  his LONG-TIME WORK with ORGANIZATIONS like MUSICARES was a PROFOUND and GENUINE EXTENSION of his IDENTITY as SOMEONE who benefited from THERAPY and PROFESSIONAL CARE.  if anything, a SIGNIFICANT PART of his ENDURING LEGACY apart from his COLOSSAL MUSICAL TALENT was his ADVOCACY to reduce the TABOO surrounding MENTAL ILLNESS and seeking out PROFESSIONAL HELP.  the amount of COURAGE that took place in stepping out PUBLICLY and presenting himself as a thoroughly FALLIBLE, VULNERABLE INDIVIDUAL needing of ASSISTANCE no doubt helped many PEOPLE he will never know.  so its CURIOUS that LINKIN PARK chose ARMSTRONG, an actively INVOLVED and LIFE-LONG SCIENTOLOGIST with CONTRARY BELIEFS regarding MENTAL ILLNESS and PSYCHIATRY writ large as an INSTITUTION is CALLOUS and OPPORTUNISTIC on the part of LINKIN PARK.  maybe they just thought their FANS wouldnt care.  i dont know.  its been widely acknowledged and reported that after the first ALBUM BENNINGTON was personally offered the OPTION by WARNER BROS of ditching LINKIN PARK and effectively initiating a SOLO CAREER, of which he rejected outright as a TESTAMENT to his LOYALTY and BOND with his BANDMATES.  the fact that it has come out more recently via BENNINGTON's MOTHER that the BAND didnt much share such LOYALTY concerning him, even throwing out the POSSIBILITY long before his DEATH of replacing him with a FEMALE SINGER just makes this recent move to ARMSTRONG feel like something of a SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY.  to date the BAND has been pretty MUM on ARMSTRONG's BELIEFS as well as her STEADFAST past support for FELLOW SCIENTOLOGIST and CONVICTED SERIAL RAPIST DANNY MASTERSON. 

its just all a HUGE CLUSTERFUCK that was absolutely FORESEEABLE and totally PREVENTABLE by the BAND.  but i have no doubt there is a SUBSTANTIAL pent-up DEMAND for LIVE PERFORMANCES by anything under the LINKIN PARK BANNER so more than likely the DROVES of FANS will accept this status quo and move forward out of PURE NOSTALGIA and long-sunk EMOTIONAL COSTS regarding the BAND. so welcome to MODERN ALTERNATIVE METAL with FROM ZERO as the most blatantly SHAMELESS example of SOULLESS CORPORATE ROCK.

they really should have just changed the ​BAND NAME.  BENNINGTON deserved better.

the FREEDOM an ALTER EGO presents to an ARTIST or SONGWRITER is one of lifting them from the ARTISTIC CONSTRAINTS of being THEMSELVES.  look no further than DAVID BOWIE, arguably one of the more EXTREME CASE STUDIES of such in POP MUSIC, and the DRAMATIC SHIFTS in PRODUCTION, GENRE, STYLE and INTENT that his MAJOR TOM, THIN WHITE DUKE, HALLOWEEN JACK, ALADDIN SANE, ZIGGY STARDUST and THE BLIND PROPHET CHARACTERS afforded him throughout his STORIED CAREER.  one wonders if the AUDIENCE would have bought into and followed these SHIFTS had not BOWIE thrown HIMSELF so COMPLETELY into these THEATRICAL ROLES.  its FUNNY, even BOWIE was a PERSONA that emancipated DAVID JONES from being HIMSELF.

its ARGUABLE that no other POP ARTIST has extracted so much VALUE from a CHARACTER than CELEBRATED DETROIT RAPPER EMINEM and his SLIM SHADY ALTER EGO.  pre-SLIM SHADY, EMINEM was a DEFTLY LYRICAL but STRUGGLING MC that was more in the CONSCIOUS RAPPER MOLD of TALIB KWELI or COMMON, diving deep into his STRUGGLES of staying FINANCIALLY and EMOTIONALLY AFLOAT while attempting to raise his YOUNG DAUGHTER.  what SLIM SHADY afforded EMINEM was the ability to shed any SEMBLANCE of PROPRIETY and fully act out his ID in a PUBLIC MANNER that was FEARLESS and UNDAUNTED to call out ANYONE and EVERYONE without any PRETENSE for for niceties like HUMAN DIGNITY or SELF-PRESERVATION.  it made him into a LYRICAL KAMIKAZE PILOT barreling into all of AMERICA's SACRED COWS in manner not dissimilar than that of his INDUSTRIAL METAL PEER in FORMER FLORIDIAN MUSIC JOURNALIST BRIAN WARNER, a.k.a. MARILYN MANSON.  in essence SLIM SHADY made the CAREER of EMINEM possible and for some the two are SYNONYMOUS given his NOTORIETY and VAUNTED STATUS within MODERN HIP HOP CULTURE.

so how do DIVORCE YOURSELF from your own ALTER EGO.  your own CREATION.

for EMINEM that has proven to be quite TRICKY throughout his CAREER.  once he gained his SOBRIETY in 2008 he made a DELIBERATE ARTISTIC DECISION to play down the SHOCK TACTICS considerably, shelve his SLIM SHADY ALTER EGO and regroup back to a still CAUSTIC but more PERSONAL LYRICAL PERSPECTIVE that thoughtfully analyzed and addressed TOPICS and SOCIETAL ISSUES he was PASSIONATE about, from FAMILY and ADDICTION to WHITE PRIVILEGE and the ever-shifting INTERNAL POLITICS of HIP HOP.  this was the RELAPSE (INTERSCOPE, 2009) and RECOVERY (INTERSCOPE, 2010) ERA of his CAREER.  its INTRIGUING because these more MATURE EFFORTS where he experimented LYRICALLY with the FORM and further developed his PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE and STYLE were some of the least FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL RELEASES of his CAREER.  not that i think he cared much about that since he was on a SINGULAR TRAJECTORY being a culturally RELEVANT MC well into middle age.  at some point he outgrew SLIM SHADY, a CREATIVE and USEFUL ANACHRONISM from his YOUTH, that didnt sit well with him decades later in a DIFFERENT CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT in which RIGHTEOUS ADVOCACY for AT-RISK DEMOGRAPHICS grew in PREVALENCE. years later in a post-#BLACKLIVESMATTER / post-#METOO WORLD in which INGRAINED SYSTEMATIC RACISM and SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST WOMEN was taken more seriously, the SLIM SHADY character felt like even more of an ALBATROSS he needed to address, especially with a NEW GENERATION of SIDE-EYED GEN-Z TIKTOK INFLUENCERS attempting to cancel EMINEM, CONFUSING SLIM SHADY for HIMSELF.  embedded in there as well is the SORRY FACT that the MAGA CROWD was perverting the INTENT of the CHARACTER to be one of AIR COVER for their own SICK, REVANCHIST FANTASIES of CHRISTIAN NATIONALISTIC WHITE MALE DOMINATION.

a view i know MARSHALL MATHERS didnt share.

all of this is to say that THE DEATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) (INTERSCOPE, 2024) is EMINEM's INVENTIVE WAY of putting to bed this SIGNIFICANT ASPECT of his CAREER while addressing and defining the LEGACY of the CHARACTER in the PROCESS.  in my ESTIMATION its a SINGULAR ACHIEVEMENT because the SLIM SHADY ALTER EGO is just as QUICK-WITTED, WARPED and TRANSGRESSIVE as ever, not being ADULTERATED or DILUTED in the least, while EMINEM is able to literally battle such and put the MUCH-MALIGNED and REVERED CHARACTER into CONTEXT.  the tracks "HOUDINI" and "GUILTY CONSCIOUS 2" are the NARRATIVE FOCAL POINT of the ALBUM in that regard, DEFTLY illustrating the DIFFERENCE between EMINEM and SLIM SHADY for POSTERITY.  this ALBUM also has MIDCAREER-like INTROSPECTIVE MOMENTS addressing the PERSONAL LIFE of MATHERS as it pertains to his RELATIONSHIP with his CLOSELY-GUARDED FAMILY on "SOMEBODY SAVE ME" and "TEMPORARY." it has been hinted at that THE DEATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) may be the FINAL EMINEM ALBUM as MATHERS is now past 50 (and a GRANDFATHER-to-be), so such a SOBER REFLECTION on his MORTALITY in RELATION to his CHILDREN (and by EXTENSION his CAREER) seems WARRANTED.  my FAVORITE TRACKS bar none are "HABITS" with an absolutely DEVASTATING CHORUS by BRONX-based SINGER WHITE GOLD and "FUEL" with the feature by the EMERGING ATLANTA WORDSMITH and DREAMVILLE SCION JID.  twelve ALBUMS into his CATALOGUE and EMINEM is still bringing STELLAR new TALENT from the bench into the SPOTLIGHT. 

cant hate on that.

again, i found THE DEATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) to be quite an ACHIEVEMENT.  by no means has EMINEM WATERED-DOWN or DULLED his notoriously NIHILISTIC ALTER EGO, but somehow was able to find a BALANCE that took HIMSELF to task for his own PAST LYRICAL TRANSGRESSIONS with MESSAGES that did REAL DAMAGE to certain EMBATTLED COMMUNITIES in earlier decades.  it was a TIGHTROPE WALK that he deftly completed and fittingly brought his CHARACTER, and maybe CAREER, to a SATISFYING CLOSE.  in terms of INTRICATE WORDPLAY, MIND-BENDING INTERNAL RHYME SCHEMES, NARRATIVE COHESION, DICTION, FLOW, DARK HUMOR and OVERALL PRODUCTION, MATHERS has never been in BETTER FORM.  even at the half century mark he is still very much a SINGULAR CULTURAL FORCE that has kept up with the J COLEs and KENDRICK LAMARs of the WORLD, just like he did with NAS, JAY-Z and ANDRE 3000 a GENERATION before. 

​THE DEATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) is definitely a RELASE for the AGES that is well worth checking out.  plus that 'R-A-P-E-R' LINE about P DIDDY on "FUEL" is one of the most BRUTAL and DEVASTATING CHARACTER ASSASSINATIONS ive witnessed in RECENT MEMORY.  DUDE hasnt lost his EDGE one iota.

like many other GROUPS from the same ERA such as FAILURE, JELLYFISH and HUM, i missed the boat when it comes to the PSYCHEDELIC ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND TRIPPING DAISY out of DALLAS.  outside of their LONE RADIO HIT "I GOT A GIRL" off of their second FULL-LENGTH, MAJOR-LABEL DEBUT I AM AN ELASTIC FIRECRACKER (ISLAND, 1995) of which i have a FAINT RECOLLECTION of being on KROQ 106.7FM out of LOS ANGELES during my youth, this BAND made basically ZERO IMPACT on me during the 1990s.  in fact, i only learned about them long after the fact through VOCALIST TIM DELAUGHTER's extraordinarily ECCENTRIC (and CULT-LIKE), SYMPHONIC-CHORAL OUTFIT THE POLYPHONIC SPREE.  that was my CONNECTION, that was my in from which i discovered TRIPPING DAISY.

which in RETROSPECT surprises me, because this ALBUM is quite STRONG from a SONGWRITING and PRODUCTION PERSPECTIVE.  TRACKS such "PIRANHA," "TRIP ALONG" and the AFOREMENTIONED "I GOT A GIRL" are MEMORABLE with MELODIC HOOKS and VOCALS that were as COMPELLING as anything else on the RADIO at the time.  it makes me wonder what the POLITICS on RADIO were at the time when seemingly everything during that mid-90s PERIOD was dominated by SEATTLE and all other CONTENDERS from across the country like STONE TEMPLE PILOTS (SAN DIEGO), THE FLAMING LIPS (OKLAHOMA CITY), 311 (OMAHA), EVERCLEAR (PORTLAND), SPONGE (DETROIT), THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS (SAN ANTONIO) and MERCURY REV (BUFFALO) among countless others from LOS ANGELES (TOOL, FAILURE, BLIND MELON), NEW YORK CITY (HELMET, NADA SURF, SPACEHOG) and CHICAGO (SMASHING PUMPKINS, URGE OVERKILL, VERUCA SALT) who where COLLECTIVELY LOST in the SHUFFLE, unable to differentiate effectively from that PHENOMENAL CULTURAL WAVE. 

when i consider TRIPPING DAISY, their sound wasnt nearly as aggressively CONFLICTED or SELF-LACERATING as an ALICE IN CHAINS, NIRVANA or SOUNDGARDEN.  rather they were almost UPBEAT in TONE and defiantly SURREALISTIC with their LYRICAL CONTENT which provided a decidedly OBTUSE and even PSYCHEDELIC PRESENTATION of their SOUND.  when i think about specific QUALITY BANDS that got lost in the shuffle during that period, they all almost certainly didnt fit the mold in terms of TONE, DEMEANOR and PRESENTATION such as FAILURE and HUM (who both incorporated PRONOUNCED SPACE ROCK ELEMENTS).  even ODD GROUPS like SPACEHOG (who had a CLASSIC GLAM ROCK SOUND) who had a brief MOMENT in the SPOTLIGHT, did so because of how much they went against the TONE and FEEL of the time, but then were consequently and inevitably OVERSHADOWED and effectively DEFINED in OPPOSITION of such.

thinking about TRIPPING DAISY and their I AM AN ELASTIC FIRECRACKER RELEASE makes me reconsider what i was being fed in the 1990s and the very REAL INFLUENCE of those RADIO STATION PLAYLISTS.  what other ALTERNATIVE ROCK and INDIE ROCK BANDS from the PERIOD am i still UNAWARE of that are worthy of CRITICAL CONSIDERATION and WIDER EXPOSURE? 

​just gotta keep digging i guess.

attempting to describe any MASSIVE ATTACK ALBUM is a bit of a fool's errand given that their SOUND shifts song-to-song and is a UNIQUE AMALGAMATION of everything carried under the TRIP HOP flag, from DUB REGGAE and SYNTH POP to R&B, HIP HOP and ELECTRONICA.  their second full-length EFFORT PROTECTION (WILD BUNCH, 1994) is every bit a CONSCIOUS EXTENSION of their DEBUT BLUE LINES (WILD BUNCH, 1991) with RETURNING MEMBERS (ADRIAN "TRICKY" THAWS and GRANT "DADDY G" MARSHALL) and GUESTS (notably TRACY THORN of EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL, HORACE ANDY and NICOLETTE) added to the party with downright INTOXICATING RESULTS.

the SONGWRITING BRAIN TRUST of ANDREW "MUSHROOM" VOWLES and ROBERT "3D" DEL NAJA, especially on EMOTIVE TRACKS like "SLY" and "EUROCHILD," where creatively on fire and present SINGULAR, CINEMATIC SOUNDSCAPES that effortlessly emote a CREATIVE ENERGY and hint at a LUSH, VIBRANT, INTERIOR WORLD of seemingly BOUNDLESS IMAGINATION.  in college, along with APHEX TWIN's more DOWN-TEMPO AMBIENT MOMENTS, i would habitually write term papers to this ALBUM and its likewise TRANSFORMATIVE SUCCESSOR MEZZANINE (VIRGIN, 1998), as if by osmosis i could possibly harness some of that CREATIVE VIBE in my own WRITTEN WORK.  i like to think it helped.

when i think about the ARC of MASSIVE ATTACK's CATALOGUE, PROTECTION is a bit of a TRANSITIONAL RECORD.  its SEAMLESS UTILIZATION of OUTSIDE COLLABORATORS, especially GUEST VOCALISTS, is a feature that will continue on SUBSEQUENT RELEASES.  while the PRODUCTION here can be quite LUSH and SURREAL at times, it still feels a bit RUDIMENTARY and less FLUID and COHESIVE when considering later RELEASES like MEZZANINE and 100TH WINDOW (VIRGIN, 2003).  to my ears, MEZZANINE is the turning point in their OVERALL CATALOGUE and PROTECTION is in essence a more sonically SOPHISTICATED VERSION of BLUE LINES.  i dont feel i am going out on a limb here as the ARTWORK of PROTECTION references directly that of its PREDECESSOR. 

my EXPERIENCE with MASSIVE ATTACK is that i discovered all of their RECORDS, along with those of PORTISHEAD and TRICKY, when i relocated to SACRAMENTO from KUWAIT in the IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH of 9/11.  it was a HEADY, CONFUSING and DIZZYING TIME and discovering TRIP HOP in general felt like an ORGANIC EXPRESSION of that LIVED EXPERIENCE, especially SONGS like "KARMACOMA" and the TITLE TRACK "PROTECTION," which both showcased sonically and lyrically a PERSPECTIVE of being at SUPREME UNEASE in your own ENVIRONMENT.  which i no doubt was during that PERIOD.  emotionally, the AFOREMENTIONED TRACKS "SLY" and "EUROCHILD" off PROTECTION really made an IMPRESSION and confronted me with NEW EXPECTATIONS for the CREATIVE POTENTIAL for EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC and HYBRID SOUNDS that brilliantly and flawlessly BLENDED GENRES.  it was an INTRODUCTION to a world of MUSIC i have yet to deviate from in the 20+ years since.

so yeah, PROTECTION is definitely worth checking out.

along with THE GERMS and THE ADOLESCENTS, one of the more long-term CONSEQUENTIAL BANDS i learned about when visiting a CHILDHOOD FRIEND in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in 2001 was FEAR.  at that point in my life i had STINTS living in NIGERIA and KUWAIT as well as BOARDING SCHOOL in MASSACHUSETTS since leaving ORANGE COUNTY at the beginning of sixth grade.  the summer before my senior year of HIGH SCHOOL i went back and visited my FRIEND who by this point was a HARDCORE PUNK ROCK OBSESSIVE who schooled me on all things CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK, from FIRST WAVE GROUPS like THE BAGS, X, THE WEIRDOS, AGENT ORANGE and THE GUN CLUB to RICH KIDS ON LSD, TRUE SOUNDS OF LIBERTY, BATTALION OF SAINTS, WASTED YOUTH and DR. KNOW.  

but LEE VING and his band FEAR was another matter entirely. 

the FRONTMAN and MAIN SONGWRITER had this CONFRONTATIONAL PERSONA whereby he went FULL-BORE ARCH CONSERVATIVE with seemingly pro-REAGAN PRONOUNCEMENTS regarding everything from MILITARY ADVENTURISM, ECONOMIC and CLASS WARFARE to FEMINISM, IMMIGRATION and the NUCLEAR FAMILY.  VING's shtick was so purposefully VULGAR and OVER-THE-TOP that he was given the title of the "DON RICKLES of PUNK ROCK."  it was bordering on PARODY in the same way that COMEDIAN STEPHEN COLBERT's FORMER CHARACTER of the same NAME likewise lambasted that a PARTICULAR MINDSET by embodying such to the point of HYPERBOLE.  or at least i believe that is the CASE because with VING i never really know what is REAL or PERFORMANCE ART.

what's COOL is that on that 2001 visit to ORANGE COUNTY i was able to see both FEAR and THE ADOLESCENTS play (at SEPARATE shows), literally days after becoming FAMILIAR with their respective LANDMARK DEBUT ALBUMS, FEAR's THE RECORD (SLASH, 1982) and THE ADOLESCENTS' ADOLESCENTS (FRONTIER, 1981).  and VING, whom i saw in VENTURA at a WARPED TOUR stop, lived up to his billing with aggressively MISOGYNISTIC and BELLIGERENT  BETWEEN-SONG BANTER before ripping into CLASSIC TRACKS like "I LOVE LIVING IN THE CITY," "LET'S START A WAR," "I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU," and "NEW YORK'S ALL RIGHT IF YOU LIKE SAXOPHONES."  its a FULL-FRONTAL SONIC EXPERIENCE that is a bit OVERWHELMING and the SONGS's LYRICS are so RIDICULOUS that they becoming indelibly registered in your MEMORY, almost as JOKES.  i know FEAR is a MUCH-BELOVED PUNK ROCK INSTITUTION, but to me THE RECORD is almost like a WEEN or THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS release in terms of its COMEDIC LYRICAL PREMISE.  it feels like SOMEONE attempting to write the most CATCHY and OFFENSIVE ALBUM from the PERSPECTIVE of the most extremely RECALCITRANT and REVANCHIST REPUBLICAN ever conceived. 

at least pre-TRUMP.  like all things the TRUMPOCALYPSE rendered even 40+ year-old ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS like this to not hit as HARD as the current DIRE POLITICAL SITUATION is beyond SATIRE or CARICATURE, just unimaginably TRAGIC. 

sigh...

but yeah, THE RECORD is a CLASSIC PUNK ROCK ALBUM worthy of checking out for the UNINITIATED.  definitely worth a listen along with RELEASES by their CONTEMPORARIES in X, THE GERMS, AGENT ORANGE, SOCIAL DISTORTION and THE GUN CLUB.  in totality you get a sense of what a DIVERSE ARRAY of ARTISTS that FIRST WAVE out of LOS ANGELES actually was.

the UNLIKELY LOS ANGELES-by-way-of-OMAHA HYBRID ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND 311 was nothing if not a DEDICATED TOURING UNIT who by the time they released their THIRD ALBUM and COMMERCIAL BREAKTHROUGH, the SELF-TITLED 311 (CAPRICORN, 1995) RECORD, had amassed a RABID FOLLOWING through near constant STATESIDE EXCURSIONS and shared the STAGE with EVERYONE from FUGAZI, KMFDM, RANCID, WEEZER, THE CRAMPS and NO DOUBT to THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, CATHERINE WHEEL, THE URGE, KORN and OINGO BOINGO.  although peppered with some UPTEMPO TRACKS, 311's first two RECORDS MUSIC (CAPRICORN, 1993) and GRASSROOTS (CAPRICORN, 1994) were more a SHOWCASE of their more ECLECTIC and SOPHISTICATED JAZZ-inflected SONGWRITING ROOTS that dated back to their high school days in music class back in NEBRASKA.

such is why 311 is a decidedly more UPTEMPO AFFAIR with more AGGRESSIVE SONGS consciously meant to translate well in a LIVE SETTING.  as such it is a little less VARIED than most of its ECLECTIC CATALOGUE, but on CLASSIC TRACKS like "RANDOM," "DON'T STAY HOME," "LOCO," "DLMD," "ALL MIXED UP," "HIVE" and "DOWN" the ENERGY is FIERCE and absolutely CONTAGIOUS.  which is why i was SMITTEN with this ALBUM after hearing it from a CLASSMATE in sixth grade shortly after moving to NIGERIA in late 1995. 

​unlike other ALTERNATIVE ROCK BANDS of that period who mixed genres, 311 maintained a GENUINE SENSE of POSITIVE FUN and a PENCHANT for RIGHTEOUS GROOVES in their RECORDS.  their COLLECTIVE AFFINITY for DUB and ROOTS REGGAE is seen throughout 311 , especially on "PURPOSE" and "SWEET," with its TASTEFUL yet undeniably FUNKY and HEAVILY SYNCOPATED BASS-LINES courtesy of BASSIST AARON 'P-NUT' WILLS, which intertwines SEAMLESSLY with DRUMMER CHAD SEXTON's SWING FEEL which is a longtime SIGNATURE of his PLAYING STYLE.  the result is a RHTHYM SECTION that glides, swings and propels the MUSIC with a FORWARD MOMENTUM unlike any of their PEERS (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, KORN, INCUBUS and FISHBONE) who were more ANGULAR, JAGGED and DRASTIC in approach.  i would even go as to say that P-NUT and SEXTON dominate 311 as the GROOVE ELEMENT is so PRONOUNCED and the more JAZZ-indebted and JERRY GARCIA-influenced GUITAR PASSAGES courtesy of GUITARISTS TIM MAHONEY and NICK HEXUM (a part of their SOUND i very much enjoy and look forward to throughout their CATALOGUE) is not as much a FEATURE here.

which is COOL.

VARIETY is not a BAD thing and this BAND is so TALENTED and COHESIVE as a CREATIVE UNIT, based on MUSICAL CHEMISTRY and MUTUAL RESPECT that stems from LONGSTANDING FRIENDSHIPS, that them focusing their SONGWRITING EFFORTS on a COLLECTION OF SONGS that are more DIRECT and less overtly ARTY is not necessarily a terrible idea. 

in retrospect is 311 my FAVORITE ALBUM of theirs? no. 

my personal preference is a tie between the SOPHISTICATED JAZZ-inflected CHORD VOICINGS of GRASSROOTS and the decidedly DUB-heavy SONIC EXCURSIONS of the LATER TRANSISTOR (CAPRICORN, 1997) RECORD, with HONORABLE MENTION to SOUNDSYSTEM (CAPRICORN, 1999), FROM CHAOS (VOLCANO, 1997) and even the very RECENT FULL BLOOM (SKP, 2024).  but its DIRECTNESS is its calling card and exerts a STRONG NOSTALGIA in me for a truly TRANSFORMATIONAL TIME in my LIFE being immersed overseas for the first time in a MAGICAL PLACE like LAGOS when i discovered the BAND along with other soon-to-be long-time FAVORITE GROUPS like FAITH NO MORE, SEPULTURA, TOOL and CYPRESS HILL.

however, if there is one 311 RECORD to recommend to a NEW LISTENER, this arguably may be it.  so i cant knock it.  definitely an ALBUM worthy of revisiting constantly, even well beyond the SINGLES.  plus i totally agree that "GUNS (ARE FOR PUSSIES)."

SOUNDGARDEN's LOUDER THAN LOVE (A&M, 1989) may have been the MAJOR LABEL RELEASE that marked the BREAKTHROUGH of the REGIONAL SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene onto a NATIONAL AUDIENCE, but it was the FOLLOW-UP BADMOTORFINGER (A&M, 1991) that really blew the door wide open.  to my ears LOUDER THAN LOVE was largely a CONTINUATION of the more ARTIER, ANGULAR and decidedly POST PUNK-influenced ASPECT of the BAND's HEAVY SOUND pursued on PREVIOUS RELEASES on the INDEPENDENT SST and SUB POP LABELS.  BADMOTORFINGER in turn is a more aggressively GUITAR RIFF-centric and TRADITIONAL SONGWRITING VEHICLE that brought the BAND to PROMINENCE with ICONIC ALTERNATIVE ROCK SINGLES like "OUTSHINED" and "RUSTY CAGE."  it would be MALPRACTICE here not to mention the ENGINEERING SKILLS of one TERRY DATE, who helped shape this SOUND which was more PROMINENT and SONICALLY MASSIVE than its PREDECESSOR (which he also co-produced with the BAND).  makes total sense that his PRODUCTION WORK with SOUNDGARDEN led the way to other CULTURALLY IMPACTFUL COLLABORATIONS with the likes of PANTERA, DEFTONES, HELMET, SMASHING PUMPKINS, WHITE ZOMBIE, LIMP BIZKIT, SLAYER and so on. 

but i digress...

as ive mentioned before, my INTRODUCTION to SOUNDGARDEN was through SUPERUNKNOWN (A&M, 1994), which along with PEARL JAM's VITALOGY (EPIC, 1994) RECORD were the first ALBUMS i ever personally had and they were both gifted to me at the same time from my PARENTS.  i wasnt made aware of BADMOTORFINGER until i moved to NIGERIA in late 1995 through a CLASSMATE and i noticed STRAIGHTAWAY the SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCES between SUPERUNKNOWN's more EXPANSIVE and even PSYCHEDELIC SONIC AESTHETIC to that of BADMOTORFINGER's more STRAIGHT-AHEAD RIFF ROCK on the AFOREMENTIONED RADIO SINGLES "OUTSHINED" and "RUSTY CAGE," as well as DEEP CUTS like "ROOM A THOUSAND YEARS WIDE" and "HOLY WATER."  that is not to say that these TRACKS were not FORBEARERS to the more EVOLVED SOUND of SUPERUNKNOWN, with SONGS like "SLAVES & BULLDOZERS," "SEARCHING WITH MY GOOD EYE CLOSED" and especially "JESUS CHRIST POSE" all incorporating RAPID-FIRE, TREMOLO-PICKING via GUITAR WIZARD KIM THAYIL and DRUMMER MATT CAMERON's CIRCULAR, MANTRA-inducing PATTERNS to some extent, creating an ANGULAR yet CRUSHING SOUND that was anything but PREDICTABLE.

i would be remiss to not mention the SINGER CHRIS CORNELL and how BADMOTORFINGER largely established his REPUTATION as a ROCK AND ROLL VOCALIST of the first order.  forget GRUNGE or ALTERNATIVE ROCK, i mean just ROCK AND ROLL writ large.  there is a REASON that CORNELL, even years after his UNTIMELY PASSING, is still regarded on a SHORT LIST alongside established ALL-TIME GREATS such as FREDDIE MERCURY, MICK JAGGER, BONO, STEVEN TYLER or even ROBERT PLANT, a VOICE he was directly compared to.  look no further than the CONTROLLED FEROCITY of "JESUS CHRIST POSE" when he just wails like a BANSHEE, providing it another yet LEVEL of FORWARD MOMENTUM to the point of LEVITATION.  just a INCREDIBLE TALENT with a SINGULAR VOICE.

BADMOTORFINGER is absolutely REQUIRED listening in my ESTIMATION, albeit its SUCCESSOR SUPERUNKNOWN is my FAVORITE RELEASE by the GROUP.  ive heard every ARGUMENT between these two SEMINAL RECORDINGS over the years.  i suppose it just comes down to a MATTER of TASTE.  at the very least it is worth checking out.

TYLER, THE CREATOR and the ODD FUTURE COLLECTIVE in general through me for a loop when i first came across their CATALOGUE in the early 2010s.  at first i thought it was all a bit of an INSIDE JOKE gone AWRY, like they were just being INFLAMMATORY for the sake of being CONTROVERSIAL and getting attention.  but then i quickly realized they were collectively far too GIFTED and CONSISTENT with their CREATIVE OUTPUT for such to be the case.

that being said, "YONKERS" off of TYLER's second album GOBLIN (XL, 2011) was the first SONG i came across by anything RELATED to the ODD FUTURE CAMP and he is pretty much CONFRONTATIONAL to the point of being DIABOLIC, rattling off MURDER and TORTURE FANTASIES that would make METHOD MAN and his WU-TANG CLAN COMPATRIOTS blush.  speaking of which, the PRODUCTION throughout GOBLIN is decidedly SPARSE and MINIMALIST a la RZA which succeeds in putting the FOCUS on the WICKED LYRICISM at hand.  its almost a LYRICAL THROWBACK to the FANTASTICAL HORRORCORE-themed likes of EMINEM, MF DOOM and GRAVEDIGGAZ in terms of STYLE and SUBSTANCE, separating him THEMATICALLY and SPIRITUALLY from his HIP HOP CONTEMPORARIES who are either more concerned with ISSUES surrounding the SOCIAL JUSTICE and the BLACK COMMUNITY (KENDRICK LAMAR, CHILDISH GAMBINO, PUSHA T), PAEANS to one's BLOATED EGO and EMPTY CONSUMERISM (KANYE WEST, TRAVIS SCOTT, DRAKE, PLAYBOI CARTI and A$AP ROCKY and ) or somewhere in between (MAC MILLER).

looking back at GOBLIN in retrospect i look at it as a PALETTE CLEANSER of sorts, since his LATER RELEASES very much expand on his INNATE CREATIVITY and NEAR LIMITLESS CAPACITY to fearlessly follow his own MUSE, bringing CULTURE along with him in a MANNER SIMILAR to that of PHARRELL WILLIAMS or (for a time) KANYE.  STANDOUT TRACKS here include "GOBLIN," "SHE," "TRON CAT," "SANDWITCHES" and the AFOREMENTIONED "YONKERS," which are all in that same TRANSGRESSIVE LYRICAL VEIN, but really what these SONGS accomplish is an EXPECTATION that this ARTIST is BOLD to the point of EXASPERATION and not afraid of saying or producing anything.  in a GENRE like HIP HOP that at times feels claustrophobically CONSERVATIVE and prone to GROUP THINK, it is quite REFRESHING to have something this unrepentantly OBNOXIOUS thrown in the MIX just for the sake of breaking the MONOTONY.  more than BASTARD (self released, 2009), this RECORD set the table for an INTRIGUING career as a MAJOR CREATIVE and VOICE in AMERICAN CULTURE writ large.

at the very least GOBLIN is definitely worth checking out.

PUNK ROCK came in WAVES and when THE DAMNED played THE STARWOOD in LOS ANGELES back in 1977, becoming the first BRITISH PUNK BAND to do so, it was the catalyst that set off an IMMEDIATE CHAIN REACTION that in essence galvanized a DORMANT MUSICAL COMMUNITY in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  seemingly overnight LOCAL GROUPS based around HOLLYWOOD were formed such as THE GERMS, THE WEIRDOS, THE BAGS, THE SCREAMERS and so on, but the more INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT was the CONVERSION of previously existing BANDS like X. 

the all-so-brief FIRST WAVE of this PUNK ROCK SCENE was an INTIMATE and musically EXPERIMENTAL and DIVERSE AFFAIR, with BANDS MUTUALLY-SUPPORTIVE of one another.  this all would change irrevocably in the 1978 when outside SUBURBAN ACTS from NEARBY ORANGE COUNTY (ADOLESCENTS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, D.I., THE VANDALS, THE MIDDLE CLASS), the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (BAD RELIGION, THE DICKIES) and the outer limits of GREATER LOS ANGELES COUNTY (BLACK FLAG, DESCENDENTS, TRUE SOUNDS OF LIBERTY, CIRCLE JERKS) would infiltrate the SCENE and bring with them a more ABRASIVE and (for the most part) SONICALLY CONSERVATIVE VERSION of PUNK ROCK known thereafter as HARDCORE.

i make this DISTINCTION because that SECOND WAVE was so PERVASIVE and INFLUENTIAL thereafter, that PEOPLE mostly forget about or disregard that COMMUNITY of EXPERIMENTAL ARTISTS that made up that INITIAL SCENE.  and its not like MUSICAL CONVERSION is an ANOMALY.  look no further than THE CLASH who in a PREVIOUS ITERATION were THE 101ERS, a NOMINAL PUB ROCK OUTFIT with ROCKABILLY ROOTS fronted by the FORMER FOLKIE JOHN "WOODY" MELLOR, a fairly DERIVATIVE SONGWRITER who would go on to devise the more APPROPRIATE JOE STRUMMER PERSONA when PUNK ROCK (i.e. THE RAMONES) first ascended on LONDON in 1976.  i believe with X, their CONVERSION was not so CAVALIER and clearly OPPORTUNISTIC as that of STRUMMER's, but was actually the result of witnessing firsthand a NEW MUSICAL FORM that was more IMMEDIATE, EXPRESSIVE and AUTHENTIC than what came before.  PUNK was not a RECITAL or a SHOWCASE for TECHNICAL MUSICIANSHIP per se, but a VEHICLE for spurring CREATIVITY and instigating a LIKE-MINDED COMMUNITY to go out and celebrate being artistically GENUINE and IN-THE-MOMENT.

X in undeniably a LOS ANGELES band in the PROUD TRADITION of THE DOORS and LOVE that came before and later ICONIC, ART-DAMAGED BANDS like JANE'S ADDICTION, THELONIOUS MONSTER, FISHBONE and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS that came about a GENERATION later.  the DEEP CONFLICT, MEDIA CULTURE, VIOLENCE and DISILLUSIONMENT that make up the lived experience of being an ANGELENO is their wellspring of MATERIAL for MAIN SONGWRITERS EXENE CERVENKA and JOHN DOE, much like that AFOREMENTIONED LINEAGE of BANDS.  it makes perfect sense and is fitting that not only is their debut LOS ANGELES (SLASH, 1980) release named after the city, but likewise that none other than RAY MANZAREK (KEYBOARDIST in THE DOORS) produced such.  thing is, so much regarding PUNK ROCK in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in the COMMON RECOLLECTION is colored by the AFOREMENTIONED HARDCORE MOVEMENT.  so you cant come into LOS ANGELES expecting something as SONICALLY ABRASIVE.  with songs like "NAUSEA," "YOUR PHONE'S OFF THE HOOK, BUT YOU'RE NOT," "JOHNNY HIT AND RUN PAULENE," and the STANDOUT TRACK "LOS ANGELES," their sound is decidedly more MID-TEMPO with BLUES and ROCKABILLY-inspired GUITAR RIFFS and CHORD PROGRESSIONS that make their SONGWRITING AESTHETIC less AGGRESSIVE and much more PALATABLE and STRAIGHTFORWARD.  to my ears LOS ANGELES sounds more like what came before than what was to come in short order.  it is what they are, a MULTI-FACETED GROUP of ARTISTS who discovered PUNK ROCK, a la STRUMMER, rather than the FOLLOWING WAVE that was INDOCTRINATED from the jump and took it to a NEW EXTREME.  case in point is the AWKWARD COVER of THE DOOR's "SOUL KITCHEN" and the various INEXPLICABLE KEYBOARD PARTS littered throughout LOS ANGELES  undoubtedly a la MANZAREK.  to my ears its an ODD FEATURE but such is what distinguishes this RECORDING and showcases their WILLINGNESS to EXPERIMENT.

LOS ANGELES is an INTRIGUING DOCUMENT of the BEGINNINGS of a PUNK ROCK SCENE that would soon be IN FLUX and transforming to SOMETHING decidedly more SONICALLY AGGRESSIVE and CONSERVATIVE.  along with THE BAGS, THE GERMS, THE SCREAMERS, THE WEIRDOS, THE DICKIES, THE GO-GO's and so on, you get a sense of what a DIVERSE and VIBRANT SCENE this TRANSITIONAL and incredibly BRIEF PERIOD produced.  personally not my cup of tea, but it is well worth checking out for the UNINITIATED as an APT COUNTER-EXAMPLE to what would shortly come.

in high school i got into DEVO and in college i discovered KRAFTWERK.  for whatever reason, those TWO BANDS that are completely SEPARATE both in terms of AESTHETICS and INTENTION are connected in my IDIOSYNCRATIC, EXPERIENTIAL TRAJECTORY as a MUSIC FAN. 

DEVO is very much utilizing FORMAL COMPOSITIONS with highly IRREGULAR ARRANGEMENTS and ELECTRONIC SONIC TEXTURES as a means of jarring its AUDIENCE into an ESCAPIST REALM / MINDSET that is meant as a PARODY of CONTEMPORARY CONSUMER CULTURE and CAPITALISM more broadly via its likewise FABRICATED WORLD of TELEVISED ADVERTISING.  they were very much a heady ARTISTIC, MULTI-MEDIA RESPONSE to an apparent DOMINATING, ALL-CONSUMING corporate takeover of most ASPECTS of AMERICAN LIFE, a PERSPECTIVE that has only grown evermore PRESCIENT in the decades that have followed.

KRAFTWERK on the other hand was part of a GENERATION of GERMAN MUSICIANS that sought to create a NEW CULTURAL "YEAR ZERO" that took no CUES or INSPIRATION from what came before, as such led to the rise of FASCISM and the THIRD REICH ultimately.  so no VEILED REFERENCES to FOLK TRADITIONS or CELEBRATED GERMAN CLASSICAL COMPOSERS like BEETHOVEN, BRAMS, SCHUMANN, STRAUSS, HANDEL, MENDELSSON or especially WAGNER, nor RELATED AUSTRIAN COMPOSERS such as MOZART, BRUCKNER, SCHOENBERG, HAYDN, SCHUBERT or MAHLER.  so the utilization of SYNTHESIZERS, SEQUENCERS and the like was a means of politically drawing a line in the sand and establishing a NEW PARADIGM moving forward.  that sort of FOCUSED INTENTION based on SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONCERNS of liberation from a tainted past is what makes KRAFTWERK and their KRAUTROCK PEERS so COMPELLING.  and an entirely DIFFERENT ANIMAL from DEVO, whose SENDUPS of AMERICAN CORPORATE CONSUMER CULTURE was a PRODUCT of a DIFFERENT ERA, having came out more than half a decade later.

what makes THE MAN-MACHINE (KLING KLANG, 1978) ALBUM such an INTERESTING listen is how despite its CONSCIOUS DESIGN as MUSIC devoid of the HUMAN ELEMENT, such is still in spite of itself quite EMOTIVE and even MELANCHOLIC in DELIVERY.  in terms of LYRICS, the RECORD outright references MODERN SCIENCE FICTION LITERARY TROPES based around TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES and openly questions the embedded UTOPIAN IDEALS associated with such.  specifically i am speaking of TRACKS like "SPACELAB," "THE ROBOTS," "THE MAN MACHINE" and "METROPOLIS" that are concerned with ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, SPACE COLONIZATION and a FUTURE WORLD of TECHNOLOGICAL WONDER that renders HUMANS OBSOLETE and ripe for EXPLOITATION.  i always find it INTRIGUING how the VISUALS associated with THE MAN-MACHINE make EXPLICIT REFERENCE to the pre-NAZI period of the UFA (and LEGENDARY FILM DIRECTORS like FRITZ LANG), the REVERED GERMAN MOTION-PICTURE PRODUCTION COMPANY.  in a SONG like "THE MODEL," you get a BITTER sense of ROMANTIC ISOLATION that it is DIFFICULT to discern if such is from a SYNTHETIC or ORGANIC PERSPECTIVE, a ROBOT or a HUMAN or perhaps more fascinatingly, something in between.  

maybe MACHINES do have an EMOTIONAL CAPACITY, since they are but an EXTENSION of US.  in the CURRENT AGE of GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, this line of INQUIRY and EXPLORATION is still beyond PRESCIENT and RELEVANT to our CONTENTIOUS LIVED EXPERIENCE coming to terms with a TECHNOLOGY (much like NUCLEAR WARFARE, CLOUD COMPUTING and SOCIAL NETWORKS beforehand) that is beyond our COLLECTIVE CAPACITY to effectively rationalize and CONTROL.

THE MAN-MACHINE along with COMPUTER WORLD (KLING KLANG, 1981) and AUTOBAHN (PHILIPS, 1974), i find myself constantly returning to the CATALOGUE of KRAFTWERK for AURAL INSPIRATION.  the EXECUTION of their VISION is UNMATCHED and wholly its own thing, which has INSPIRED EVERYONE from APHEX TWIN, BIG BLACK, DAFT PUNK and U2 to RAMMSTEIN, DEPECHE MODE, AFRIKA BAMBAATAA, NEW ORDER and DAVID BOWIE. 

required listening in my opinion.

SIDE PROJECTS from KEY MEMBERS of PROMINENT BANDS are always a FASCINATING VEHICLE to parse through as a MUSIC FAN.  one sometimes wonders what CREATIVE WEIGHT is being pulled in that seemingly MAGICAL ALCHEMY of VOICES that make-up TRANSCENDENT RECORDS.  at least i know i do.  such is why the many 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK GROUPS associated with MEMBERS of JANE'S ADDICTION (PORNO FOR PYROS, BANYAN, DECONSTRUCTION, THE PANIC CHANNEL and POLAR BEAR), NIRVANA (including SWEET 75, FOO FIGHTERS, EYES ADRIFT and 3RD SECRET), QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE (including THEM CROOKED VULTURES, MONDO GENERATOR, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL), PEARL JAM (including MAD SEASON, HOVERCRAFT, THE ROCKFORDS) and BLUR (GORILLAZ, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE QUEEN, THE WAEVE, ROCKET JUICE & THE MOON, THE JADED HEARTS CLUB) are so INTRIGUING.  they reveal another wrinkle about the ARTISTRY and CREATIVE SPARK of each PARTICIPATING MEMBER.

and THE RENTALS, which was initially a DECIDEDLY NEW WAVE / POWER POP SIDE PROJECT / SONGWRITING VEHICLE for WEEZER BASSIST MATT SHARP, showcases such TALENT in doves on his DEBUT RETURN OF THE RENTALS (REPRISE, 1995) ALBUM.  in hindsight, given his EVENTUAL DEPARTURE from WEEZER and his LEGACY as the other MAJOR SONGWRITING TALENT in that BAND, it should be NOTED that while THE RENTALS was conceived and executed he was still very much a MEMBER of the GROUP between their ICONIC SELF-TITLED WEEZER (DGC, 1996) and PINKERTON (DGC, 1996) RECORDINGS, which so happen to mark his SOLE CONTRIBUTIONS to their DISCOGRAPHY.  longtime FOUNDING WEEZER DRUMMER PAT WILSON even contributes PERCUSSION to RETURN OF THE RENTALS.  given that those first two STORIED RECORDINGS are so intensely cherished and beloved by SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS of ALTERNATIVE ROCK fans the world over, eclipsing their SUBSEQUENT decades of releases, such makes RETURN OF THE RENTALS an INTERESTING HISTORICAL DOCUMENT beyond its own MERITS as a GREAT POP RECORD.  i think WELL-INTENTIONED but definitely OVER-ZEALOUS WEEZER DEVOTEES over-analyze such for hints at what was to come.

not that i care, but i just wanted to state and establish such as an OBVIOUS FACT for the UNINITIATED.

in contrast to WEEZER's MELODIC and markedly less AGGRO NEW WAVE-inspired INTERPRETATION of ALTERNATIVE ROCK, RETURN OF THE RENTALS has a more RETRO SYNTH-dominated TRADITIONAL POP SOUND that recalls NOTEWORTHY 80s ACTS like THE CARS and BLONDIE.  this NOSTALGIC SONIC AETHETIC is most effectively heard on TRACKS like "PLEASE LET THAT BE YOU," "WAITING," "THE LOVE I'M SEARCHING FOR," "MY SUMMER GIRL" and "FRIENDS OF P." the 90s was an INTERESTING TIME when consciously POST-MODERN acts like BJORK, TRICKY and BECK juxtaposed SONIC TEXTURES, INSTRUMENTATION, PRODUCTION STYLES, TEMPOS and GENRES at will.  THE RENTALS was not a part of that EXPERIMENTAL LINEAGE in my opinion as this particular SOUND was not a PASSING INTEREST for SHARP but an AUTHENTIC EXPRESSION as SUBSEQUENT RELEASES will attest.  on RETURN OF THE RENTALS, another NOTABLE DEPARTURE from the SOUND of WEEZER is the almost EXCLUSIVE use of FEMALE BACKING VOCALS.  this is INTERESTING because a MAJOR ELEMENT of the ORIGINAL SOUND from the FIRST ITERATION of WEEZER was SHARP's UNIQUE FALSETTO BACKING VOCALS which have not been replicated to any MEANINGFUL level of SATISFACTION in the intervening years since.  that he would not carry such a TALENT over to this PROJECT is an INTRIGUING CREATIVE DECISION.

is a gem of a 90s POP RECORD that is well worth investigating, irrespective of your INTEREST LEVEL in WEEZER or ALTERNATIVE ROCK.  although if you come at it from that direction, as i have, in brings along with it a TANTALIZING what-could-have-been CAREER TRAJECTORY of AMAZING SOUNDS that never made it into a WEEZER RECORDING.  that probably should have been. 

​one can only DREAM.

FOLLOW THE LEADER (EPIC, 1998) was an ABSOLUTE GAME-CHANGER of an ALBUM.  the BAKERSFIELD-based ALTERNATIVE METAL BAND KORN up until this third album were a bit of a DERIVATIVE MR. BUNGLE act whose UNDERCOOKED SOUND on their two previous EFFORTS, KORN (EPIC, 1994) and LIFE IS PEACHY (EPIC, 1996) - both produced by ROSS ROBINSON (SEPULTURA, GLASSJAW, SLIPKNOT, AT THE DRIVE-IN) - seemed more about TRANSGRESSIVE LYRICAL CONTENT, an OVERLY-DRAMATIC PANTING SINGING STYLE and a seemingly UNPOLISHED and highly IMPROVISATIONAL SONGWRITING AESTHETIC. 

my initial introduction to KORN was during my middle school years in NIGERIA through a CLASSMATE from LEBANON and those first two ALBUMS were a VERITABLE SOUNDTRACK to living abroad for the first time in what was undoubtedly a highly VOLATILE environment under a particularly DEVASTATING military dictatorship.  in other words, KORN fit that VIBE well with their aggressively FUNK RHYTHMS and unambiguously CONFRONTATIONAL LYRICS regarding RETRIBUTION from the PERSPECTIVE of the VICTIMIZED and UNDER-APPRECIATED.  the SONIC and LYRICAL AESTHETIC of those INITIAL RECORDED EFFORTS captured lightning in a bottle in terms of VIBE and ENERGY.  but conversely they always felt a little HAPHAZARD and  OFF-THE-CUFF, which is something that was addressed on FOLLOW THE LEADER.

my sense is that FOLLOW THE LEADER was their first MATURE EFFORT as a BAND fully in COMMAND of their COLLECTIVE VOICE.  the PRODUCTION was BEEFIER and more DIRECT while maintaining an EXPERIMENTAL EDGE utilizing to GREAT EFFECT EERY and ODD MODULATING EFFECTS ping-ponging between GUITARISTS BRIAN 'HEAD' WELCH and JAMES 'MUNKY' SHAFFER's DUAL GUITAR ATTACK.  part of this is due to the ENGINEERING WORK of TOBY WRIGHT, RENOWNED for his PRODUCTION with ALICE IN CHAINS, FEAR FACTORY and SEVENDUST and among OTHERS, and the result is that the guitars are absolutely MASSIVE and CRUSHING on particularly STANDOUT TRACKS like "FREAK ON A LEASH," "IT'S ON!," "MY GIFT TO YOU," "GOT THE LIFE" and especially "DEAD BODIES EVERYWHERE."  FIELDY's BASS GUITAR, always more of a PERCUSSIVE ELEMENT than a MELODIC one on PREVIOUS RELEASES, here maintains that line but does deviate into more INTERESTING (and ironically TRADITIONAL) territory on "RECLAIM MY PLACE" and "CAMELTOSIS" where it covertly propels the MELODY along.

but where this ALBUM really SHINES is in the TRANSFORMATION of VOCALIST JONATHAN DAVIS who tempers back his distinctively IDIOSYNCRATIC and HISTRIONIC SINGING STYLE a bit and provides a more DIRECT and EFFECTIVE LINE OF COMMUNICATION to his AUDIENCE.  in middle school DAVIS was almost an AVATAR of BLIND RAGE and FRUSTRATION whose PERSONAL DEMONS were so ALL-CONSUMING that they devoured his ability to effectively verbalize those INTENSE EMOTIONS in any COGENT MANNER.  on FOLLOW THE LEADER, which is KORN's post-FAME RECORD for all intents and purposes, DAVIS directs such BILE at the HOLLOWNESS of SUCCESS and CELEBRITY CULTURE ("GOT THE LIFE") as well as the walking all-out FREAK SHOW that being part of that COMMUNITY entails ("FREAK ON A LEASH").  that is not to say that it is all DISMAL and SELF-DEFEATING as their is some HUMOR involved with shoutouts and features with their PEERS and TOUR MATES in LIMP BIZKIT and ICE CUBE and a COLLABORATIVE REIMAGINING of "EARACHE MY EYE" with none other than CHEECH MARIN HIMSELF.

FOLLOW THE LEADER came out during my freshman year of high school and it felt REFRESHING and COHESIVE relative to their PREVIOUS OUTPUT, as well as the litany of BANDS that followed suit in the years since their 1994 DEBUT.  in terms of the SO-CALLED NU METAL MOVEMENT, the only other NOTABLE RELEASE that reached this level of IMPACT and INFLUENCE was the PHENOMENAL LINKIN PARK DEBUT ALBUM HYBRID THEORY ().  in my ESTIMATION, those are the two HIGH-WATER MARKS of the GENRE.  it felt like KORN were onto something SPECIAL and the years since have provided further EVIDENCE of such given their INFLUENCE over other SEMINAL ACTS in SYSTEM OF A DOWN, MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE, SLIPKNOT, EMMURE and BRING ME THE HORIZON, all HYBRID GROUPS that juxtapose GENRE ELEMENTS to GREAT EFFECT.  as for KORN, FOLLOW THE LEADER also marks their COMMERCIAL and ARTISTIC PEAK as SUBSEQUENT RELEASES have mostly sought to recreate FRUITLESSLY the UNIQUE MAGIC of this RECORD with DIMINISHING RETURNS.

definitely an ESSENTIAL RECORD by a CONSEQUENTIAL BAND worth revisiting again and again.​

the IMAGINATIVE, INNOVATIVE and highly IDIOSYNCRATIC GUITAR PLAYING of WES BORLAND is undoubtedly a MAJOR ELEMENT in the CRUSHING yet at times ETHEREAL SOUND of JACKSONVILLE NU METAL OUTFIT LIMP BIZKIT, one which was sorely MISSED when he UNCEREMONIOUSLY DEPARTED the BAND in 2001 after the TOURING CYCLE for their IDIOTICALLY-TITLED CHOCOLATE STARFISH AND THE HOT DOG FLAVORED WATER (INTERSCOPE, 2000) RELEASE.  as much as the TALENTED and FORMIDABLE RHYTHM SECTION of DRUMMER JOHN OTTO and BASSIST SAM RIVERS was more than CAPABLE of establishing and maintaining a SOLID GROOVE, in BORLAND's ABSENCE there was a COMPLETE DEARTH of MEMORABLE RIFFS that defined the GROUP's SOUND.  such was the case on the MEANDERING, FORGETTABLE and thoroughly SUBPAR RESULTS MAY VARY (INTERSCOPE, 2003) ALBUM with BORLAND REPLACEMENT MIKE SMITH of SNOT.

for his part BORLAND went in FULL PURSUIT of NUMEROUS PROJECTS that all maintained a decidedly EXPERIMENTAL EDGE including BIG DUMB FACE, EAT THE DAY, THE DAMNING WELL and BLACK LIGHT BURNS.  along with his BROTHER SCOTT, BIG DUMB FACE is an ONGOING (up to present day) ECCENTRIC, MULTI-GENRE PROJECT in the CONCEPTUALLY ABSURDIST yet highly TECHNICAL VEIN of BANDS like WEEN and PRIMUS.  this PROJECT is basically BORLAND's ID run completely amok with no stone left unturned with deliberately CONFOUNDING yet GALVANIZING RESULTS.  EAT THE DAY was another more STRAIGHT-AHEAD PROJECT with SCOTT that was designed to replace LIMP BIZKIT as BORLAND's main CREATIVE VEHICLE but despite much TIME, EFFORT and countless FRUITLESS AUDITIONS to secure a COMPETENT VOCALIST, this ELUSIVE PROJECT just never quite panned out.  likewise, THE DAMNING WELL was a SUPERGROUP of sorts that also didnt pan out which brought together BORLAND with FILTER SINGER RICHARD PATRICK, NINE INCH NAILS GUITARIST DANNY LOHNER and the UBER-GIFTED A PERFECT CIRCLE / THE VANDALS / DEVO DRUMMER JOSH FREESE.  for all intents and purposes, BLACK LIGHT BURNS is an EFFECTIVE SOLO VEHICLE, with BORLAND serving as both frontman and MAIN SONGWRITER with FORMER DAMNING WELL PARTICIPANTS in LOHNER and FREESE, along with PRODUCER ROSS ROBINSON (SEPULTURA, KORN, GLASSJAW, THE CURE, AT THE DRIVE-IN), serving as KEY COLLABORATORS on this decidedly SONICALLY AGGRESSIVE and INDUSTRIAL-indebted BAND.  to date BLACK LIGHT BURNS for many FANS is his most musically and artistically REALIZED EXPRESSION to date.

so why join LIMP BIZKIT?

who knows, but i feel part of it was the TEPID RESPONSE from his FORMER AUDIENCE in terms of RELATIVE RECORD SALES and CONCERT ATTENDANCE.  i cannot imagine releasing ART as UNCOMPROMISING and BADASS as the debut CRUEL MELODY (I AM: WOLFPACK, 2007) ALBUM and not have such an IMMEDIATE CULTURAL IMPACT as with more MEDIOCRE EFFORTS with LIMP BIZKIT in the past.

all this is to say that when LIMP BIZKIT reunited with BORLAND for THE UNQUESTIONABLE TRUTH (PART I) EP (GEFFEN, 2005), from the jump with the SURPRISE PERFORMANCE MUSIC VIDEO of "THE TRUTH," it was obvious the RIFFS and ENERGY was back tenfold.  VOCALIST FRED DURST is still very much a LIABILITY, but the INTERNAL CHEMISRY is definitely there.  for whatever reason, be it INTERPERSONAL or ALCHEMICAL, this VERSION the band is where all the MEMBERS realized they needed to be.  for BORLAND it must have been such a HEADY EXPERIENCE to come to the REALIZATION that DURST, in spite all of his FLAWS, has SOMETHING that cannot be QUANTIFIED and is likewise a VALUABLE ASSET within the CONTEXT of LIMP BIZKIT.  in spite of his efforts to the contrary, a BEGRUDGING RESPECT for the LEGACY of the BAND was put in place that has resulted in two SUBSEQUENT RELEASES in GOLD COBRA (INTERSCOPE, 2011) and STILL SUCKS (SURETONE, 2021) that likewise mine that UNIQUE ARTISTIC JUXTAPOSITION between the VERBALLY PROFANE (and KNUCKLE-DRAGGINGLY DIMWITTED) with the sonically SACRED, ETHEREAL, ANGULAR and BRUTAL AURAL LANDSCAPES of the one SUPREME GUITAR WIZARD in BORLAND.

THE UNQUESTIONABLE TRUTH (PART I) is not the DEFINITIVE LIMP BIZKIT RELEASE but is an important TRANSITIONAL ALBUM that found the BAND reconnect and reestablish their MUSICAL CHEMISTRY.  such is apparent on "THE TRUTH" and "THE PROPAGANDA" specifically.  definitely worth checking out but not ESSENTIAL with regards to their catalogue.

HOLE's BREAKTHROUGH sophomore major RELEASE LIVE THROUGH THIS (DGC, 1994) was the very EMBODIMENT of a PRIMAL SCREAM exorcising of all things PRIM, PROPER, POLITE, NURTURING and ACCOMMODATING associated commonly with MODERN FEMININITY.  as a VEHICLE for SINGER-SONGWRITER COURTNEY LOVE, herself a YOUNG MOTHER at the time of COMPOSING and RECORDING of said ALBUM, that RECORD and its PALPABLE SENSE of CATHARSIS seemed to revolve around the PUBLIC ADOPTION of traditionally MALE GENDER EXPECTATIONS through her UNMITIGATED DISPLAY of BOLD, BRASH and UNAPOLOGETIC CONTROL and AGGRESSION in a ROCK N ROLL setting.  LOVE's COMBATIVE PERFORMANCE throughout LIVE THROUGH THIS and its INCENDIARY LYRICAL PERSPECTIVE provided EVIDENCE of a MAJOR new TALENT and POETIC VOICE that was every bit the ARTISTIC and CULTURAL EQUAL of her ALTERNATIVE ROCK and PUNK ROCK MALE PEERS, up to and including her HUSBAND KURT COBAIN of NIRVANA FAME.

regarding COBAIN, every MUSIC FAN is aware that he PASSED shortly before the RELEASE of LIVE THROUGH THIS, which FAIRLY or UNFAIRLY has PERMANENTLY COLORED its CRITICAL RECEPTION and PUBLIC PERCEPTION ever since.  an UNFORTUNATE part of that EXTENDED BACKLASH is the UNFAIR and patently INCORRECT NOTION that COBAIN secretly wrote said HOLE ALBUM, or at least played a major part in its composition.  the OPPOSITE is actually TRUE, as COBAIN's LYRICS IMPROVED and became more POETIC and THOUGHTFUL through his ASSOCIATION with LOVE than the other way around.  just look at the QUALITY DIFFERENCE between NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) and IN UTERO (DGC, 1993) as EVIDENCE.  if anything, the INTELLIGENCE and ELEVATED LYRICAL TALENT of LOVE has always been on DISPLAY, and the understandably delayed FOLLOW-UP CELEBRITY SKIN (DGC, 1998) is another case in point.

whereas LIVE THROUGH THIS was about UNADULTERATED SONIC and LYRICAL AGGRESSION concerned with exorcising one's GENDER and the UNJUST SOCIETAL PREOCCUPATIONS with such by the GREATER COMMUNITY, CELEBRITY SKIN is a decidedly more SELF-CONSCIOUS, COMPOSITIONALLY REFINED and LYRICALLY DISTANT AFFAIR that takes more of a teaspoon-of-vinegar-amidst-multiple-pounds-of-sugar SONIC APPROACH.  more CHEAP TRICK than THE GERMS, this ALBUM is consciously a CLASSIC POWER POP ALBUM in the vein of the LUSH SONIC PRODUCTION reminiscent of BANDS like ELO, THE BYRDS, THE GO-GOs and THE BEACH BOYS, a COMPLETE DEPARTURE from LIVE THROUGH THIS which seemingly channeled all things AURALLY F'ED UP, DISSONANT, UGLY and GNARLY a la BLACK FLAG, VOID, T.S.O.L. and THE SEX PISTOLS.  and that SONIC POLISH and SHEEN, courtesy of PRODUCER MICHAEL BEINHORN (SOUNDGARDEN, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, MARILYN MANSON, SOCIAL DISTORTION), was the PERFECT COVER and VEHICLE for LYRICS that were every bit as BITING and UNAPOLOGETIC regarding GENDER ROLES and PRESCRIPTIONS as perpetuated by a BIASED and ENTRENCHED MEDIA CULTURE that KNOWINGLY and ACTIVELY profited off of such in the UNITED STATES.  CONCEPTUALLY and LYRICALLY on tracks like "REASONS TO BE BEAUTIFUL, "PETALS," "USE ONCE AND DESTROY," "BOYS ON THE RADIO," "AWFUL," and the especially the title track "CELEBRITY SKIN," id attest firmly that CELEBRITY SKIN is arguably more LYRICALLY INCENDIARY than its more SONICALLY RAW PREDECESSOR. 

but PEOPLE commonly miss that NUANCE and INGENIOUS BAIT-AND-SWITCH because they are understandably entranced by how GORGEOUS and LUSH that SONGS are.  no doubt part of that DELIBERATE POLISH and SHEEN is due to KEY COLLABORATORS in SONGWRITING PARTNER BILLY CORGAN and NEW BASSIST MELISSA AUF DER MAUR, who replaced the DECEASED KRISTEN PFAFF.  CORGAN was an INSPIRED CHOICE as this PROJECT allowed for him to channel his INNER RICK NIELSEN as a CHEAP TRICK fan (and fellow ILLINOISAN) of the first order, focusing on MELODIC HOOKS exclusively that wouldnt necessarily work within the CONFINES of his MAIN GIG, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS.  LOVE and CORGAN go way back and even once dated when both were UNKNOWN MUSICIANS.  with regards to AUF DE MAUR, her haunting yet sweetly MELODIC BACKING VOCALS provided for much of the SONIC DIFFERENTIATION between this INCARNATION of the BAND with its PAST RECORDED EFFORTS.  such is heard to STRIKING EFFECT on "PETALS" in particular.  id even argue that given the conscious SACCHARINE NATURE of the PRODUCTION on CELEBRITY SKIN, it is her BACKING VOCALS that provide for that EERY SENSE that all is not as it appears SONICALLY.  that on a PURELY AURAL LEVEL, this OVER-SWEETENED CONCOCTION may have turned for the WORSE and become something UNTHINKABLY DISGUSTING and truly HARMFUL in the PROCESS. 

and that is how ive come to think of CELEBRITY SKIN in general in the years since.  given that this is the first HOLE ALBUM CONCEIVED and RECORDED after the PASSING of COBAIN, the POWER POP AESTHETIC seems APPROPRIATE given the delta between her VOLATILE LIVED EXPERIENCE and the PUBLIC's UNFOUNDED, UNREALISTIC and ultimately PARASITIC PERCEPTIONS surrounding FAME, STARDOM, SUCCESS and CELEBRITY CULTURE.  and this was obviously in a pre-SOCIAL MEDIA ERA.  CELEBRITY SKIN only becomes more PRESCIENT in that regard as the decades fly by.  to address such DISPARITY and the INHERENT HYPOCRISY of that firmly ENTRENCHED and absolutely UNREALISTIC CALIFORNIA FEVER DREAM in AMERICAN CULTURE, especially on a track like "MALIBU," feels like the APPROPRIATE EXPRESSION of where her head was at, as well as where the OVERALL ZEITGEIST was during that pre-9/11 MOMENT in AMERICA right before the turn of the millennium.  if anything, the two decades plus since then have only proven further through the CONTINUED IDOLATRY of the MEDIOCRE, SUPERFICIAL and INANE FIGURES like the ENTIRE KARDASHIAN CLAN that we have not progressed one iota as a CULTURE since the RELEASE of CELEBRITY SKIN. 

if anything we've DEVOLVED in the interim.

an ESSENTIAL ALBUM by a SPECIAL TALENT.  CELEBRITY SKIN is much recommended not only with regards to HOLE's CATALOGUE, but in the WIDER CONTEXT of the STATE and TRAJECTORY of ALTERNATIVE ROCK in the 1990s.

the AMERICAN CULTURAL ICON and VERITABLE FOLK HERO JOHHNY CASH was NOT IN A GOOD PLACE in the early 90s.  in recent years he had been DROPPED unceremoniously by a quick SUCCESSION of RECORD LABELS, all of whom were in UNSUCCESSFUL in reestablishing his POPULARITY and REVERED CULTURAL STATUS as an AMERICAN SONGWRITER of the first order, mostly due to their putting him in MUSICAL SCENARIOS that didnt play to his ARTISTIC STRENGTHS.  instead chasing TRENDS spun out of NASHVILLE and its POLISHED, WHITEWASHED AESTHETIC that was ANTITHETICAL to the AUTHENTICITY CASH embodied in his DEEP BLUES, GOSPEL and FOLK ROOTS.

enter RICK RUBIN, a NOTED RECORD PRODUCER and FORMER DEF JAM RECORDS LABEL HEAD CELEBRATED for his ECLECTIC ear and PRODUCTION WORK up until that point with SEMINAL RELEASES by the likes of RUN-DMC, THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, LL COOL J, DANZIG and the BEASTIE BOYS.  his APPROACH with CASH was one of providing him the FREEDOM to return to his early SINGER-SONGWRITER ROOTS.  just his VOICE with his GUITAR playing his SONGS.  it sounds so BASIC, but for RUBIN the work of CASH went beyond the MUSIC INDUSTRY and was almost more about documenting MUSICAL HISTORY.  he wanted those UNRECORDED SONGS to be put on wax for POSTERITY in as PURE a FORM as possible, UNMOLESTED by soon-to-be DATED PRODUCTION TRENDS and TECHNIQUES that effectively ROBBED this ARTIST of his VOICE in previous years, as had been the case for literally decades and led to his EFFECTIVE EXODUS from the CENTRAL NEXUS of AMERICAN CULTURE he had from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s.

AMERICAN RECORDINGS (AMERICAN, 1994), this SPARE RECORDED EFFORT released on RUBIN's then RECENTLY-CONSTRUCTED RECORD LABEL of the SAME NAME, was something of a CREATIVE BREAKTHROUGH in its UNRELENTING FOCUS on the GRAVELLY, AGED SINGING VOICE of CASH with its MINIMAL PRODUCTION that often consisted with just his RUDIMENTARY strummed GUITAR CHORDINGS as SUPPORT.  along with four ORIGINAL TRACKS and a few FOLK STANDARDS, CASH also covered SONGS by the likes of LEONARD COHEN, NICK LOWE, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON and LOUDON WAINRIGHT III in a TEMPLATE that would play out with the rest of the SERIES of RECORDINGS with RUBIN, as well as the fitting closing to his career as a SONGWRITER, PERFORMER, RECORDING ARTIST and AMERICAN ICON.  for me the STANDOUT TRACKS are "THE BEAST IN ME" and the MURDER BALLAD "DELIA'S GONE."  there is just something so HARROWING and TRAGIC about CASH's WORN SINGING VOICE lamenting on the DIGNITY and LIGHT of DAILY EXPERIENCE WASTED on a life of IMPULSIVE SELFISHNESS and CALLOUSNESS towards that of OTHERS.  there is an EMOTIVE WEIGHT there that CASH embodies that endears him to LISTENERS GLOBALLY irrespective of GENRE CONSIDERATIONS. 

there is a reason why AMERICAN RECORDINGS firmly replanted CASH at this LATE STAGE in his career firmly back within the CULTURAL ZEITGEIST of the 1990s.  with his THEMATIC LYRICAL PREOCCUPATIONS of ALIENATION, ISOLATION and DEEP DISSATISFACTION with HIMSELF and the world around him, the ALTERNATIVE ROCK NATION at the time adopted him in essence as a MUCH-REVERED ELDER STATESMAN not unlike LOU REED, BOB DYLAN, DAVID BOWIE, IGGY POP or TOM PETTY before him.  the COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY caught up eventually but NASHVILLE has always been on its own TRAJECTORY that has more to do with DUMBED-DOWN FANTASY NARRATIVES revolving around RURAL LIVING than the more MUDDIED and HARD-LUCK FOLK TRADITIONS from which it spawned at the turn of the 20th century.  nobody should be surprised by the FICKLENESS and DISLOYALTY of the COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY that he basically helped initiate, but his CONTINUED STATUS as a TRANSCENDENT ROCK N ROLL ARCHETYPE on par with ELVIS PRESLEY, JIMI HENDRIX, KURT COBAIN, JOHN LENNON, PRINCE or DAVID BOWIE is not even something i bet even he foresaw.  and AMERICAN RECORDINGS was INSTRUMENTAL in that RESURGENCE of his near MYTHIC PUBLIC IMAGE.

an absolutely ESSENTIAL RECORDING by a CONSEQUENTIAL ARTIST.  much RECOMMENDED.

its so ODD and RANDOM, but my MEMORIES of the DEBUT BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME (DEF JAM SOUTH, 2000) album by the FRENETIC ATLANTA-based RAPPER LUDACRIS center around a semester abroad i undertook in the summer of 2003 on the MEDITERRANEAN island of CYPRUS.  this was shortly before i obtained an IPOD, and i can distinctly recall the NEW CDs i either brought with me or obtained during that STINT being VULNERABLE (EPITAPH, 2003) by TRICKY, DEFTONES (MAVERICK, 2003) by DEFTONES, STRAYS (CAPITOL, 2003) by JANE'S ADDICTION and ST. ANGER (ELEKTRA, 2003) by METALLICA.  hearing songs from any of those RECORDS instantaneously puts me back in my hostel room on the outskirts of NICOSIA or VARIOUS COASTAL LOCALES amidst LARNACA, PAPHOS, LIMASSOL or AYIA NAPA.

all that being said to just state MATTER-OF-FACTLY that LUDACRIS' MANIC LYRICAL PERSONA, KALEIDOSCOPIC REVUE of WACKY CHARACTERS and CINEMATIC PRODUCTION fit-in perfectly with the SCENARIO of being a half-world away in a UNIQUE school environment filled with IRANIAN COUNTERPARTS, all in essence evading MANDATORY CONSCRIPTION back home.  on tracks like "GAME GOT SWITCHED," "U GOT A PROBLEM?," "CATCH UP" and "SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY" LUDACRIS presents a wildly CARTOONISH INTERPRETATION of URBAN ATLANTA filled with SCHEMERS, DREAMERS, LOWLIFES, WERE-NEVERS and ENTREPRENEURS all seemingly making the best of an IMPERFECT SITUATION.  to me that was life in CYPRUS, which at the time was opening up its CONTESTED BORDER (between the TURKISH and GREEK sides) for the first time since the mid-1970s.  all this mere months after the BUSH ADMINISTRATION invaded IRAQ.  for all of LUDACRIS' EXAGGERATED, HUMOROUS TALK of STREET LIFE and the EVER-PRESENT THREAT of VIOLENCE, such again was mirrored in what i saw as GREEK SOLDIERS stared down their TURKISH COUNTERPARTS from PARAPETS on OPPOSITE sides of the DIVIDED CAPITOL in the ANCIENT, CIRCULAR walled city of NICOSIA.  it was a CRAZY EXPERIENCE.

even LUDACRIS' LYRICAL PREOCCUPATION with WOMEN OF DISREPUTE on tracks like "HO," "PHAT RABBIT" and "WHAT'S YOUR FANTASY" was mirrored in the island nation's UNFORTUNATE, LECHEROUS CULTURE of UBIQUITOUS NIGHTCLUBS and BROTHELS that effectively scoured the LANDSCAPE, the island itself being a PARTY DESTINATION akin to IBIZA for the more SOCIALLY CONSERVATIVE NEAR EAST and EASTERN EUROPEAN countries that surround it.  not to mention DROVES of DRUNK ENGLISHMEN on holiday.  i am no PRUDE, having grown up to that point in NIGERIA and KUWAIT, both places with DIFFERENT MORES regarding SEXUALITY,  but such was on full display seemingly everywhere i went and it was OBVIOUS that the WOMEN were IMPORTED (or more likely) TRAFFICKED from EASTERN EUROPE.  it just felt ACCEPTED as a part of the CULTURE and NORMAL COURSE OF EVENTS, which was difficult to stomache at the time, no less because my IRANIAN COUNTERPARTS utilized their SERVICES multiple times a week.  oddly, listening to BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME made me sense that LUDACRIS' OVER-THE-TOP BOASTINGS regarding his SEXUAL PROWESS and the ALLURE of the OPPOSITE SEX, even those in the SKIN TRADE, was a PECULIAR MANNER of processing and internalizing the COLLECTIVE TRAUMA wreaked on SOCIETY by an EXPLOITATIVE BUSINESS as a FACT-OF-LIFE not too DISSIMILAR from the likewise ILLICIT DRUG TRADE.  if such is so PREVALENT in your NEIGHBORHOOD and DAILY LIVED EXPERIENCE to become effectively COMMONPLACE, than the only means left of confronting such INTIMATE TRAUMA is through HUMOR, which LUDACRIS does within BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME in spades. 

for me personally, LUDACRIS' first three major label RECORDINGS for DEF JAM SOUTH are his SEMINAL RELEASES that established his ECCENTRIC SOUTHERN HIP HOP PERSONA, in the proudly ABSURD and often SURREAL COMEDIC TRADITION of EVERYONE from the BIZ MARKIE, TRUGOY THE DOVE, REDMAN, SHOCK G and OL' DIRTY BASTARD to KOOL KEITH, DANNY BROWN, TYLER THE CREATOR and GHOSTFACE KILLAH.  not only is BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME more than comical to listen to, my time in CYPRUS observing those in extremely EXPLOITATIVE SITUATIONS informed my OPINION that said HUMOR had a DARK UNDERPINNING at its root that was deeply DISTURBING and made such hit that much HARDER.

definitely an UNDERRATED HIP HOP debut by a VOICE that would go on to be a MAJOR PLAYER in the INDUSTRY.  much recommended.

after the CRITICAL and COMMERCIAL SUCCESS that was PARKLIFE (FOOD, 1994), UNDOUBTEDLY one of the CULTURAL HIGH-WATER MARKS of the ENTIRE BRITPOP MOVEMENT, the subsequent FOLLOW-UP EFFORT THE GREAT ESCAPE (FOOD, 1995) was a seemingly KNOWING attempt at refashioning and even expanding on its PREDECESSOR's playbook.  this included more SELF-CONSCIOUS TRACKS with PROVINCIAL LYRICAL PREOCCUPATIONS regarding CLASS, STATUS, ALIENATION and the GENERAL CULTURAL STATE of BRITAIN in the wake of the AMERICAN-dominated ALTERNATIVE ROCK era as epitomized by the likes of NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN, ALICE IN CHAINS and PEARL JAM.  sonically this RECORD also utilizes expansively ORCHESTRATED COMPOSITIONS that provide an almost CINEMATIC QUALITY to many of these SONGS.

it feels like ever since BLUR took the ARTISTIC TACK of being EXPLICITLY influenced by the CULTURAL STATE of BRITISH SOCIETY in their LYRICS, beginning with their SECOND RELEASE MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH (FOOD, 1993), in the CELEBRATED SONGWRITING TRADITION of THE KINKS, THE WHO, THE JAM, THE SPECIALS, THE SMITHS and so on, everything has led up to this moment on THE GREAT ESCAPE when the band had the CLOUT, BUDGET, CORPORATE-BACKING and TIME to pursue this type of RECORD in EARNEST.  it also marks an end to this MODE of SONG-CRAFT, as later RECORDS sought to keep things more SONICALLY and LYRICALLY INTUITIVE, INSTINCTUAL, IMMEDIATE and IMPROVISATIONAL in COMPARISON.  i believe that part of such a TRANSITION is due to their FREQUENT use of CHARACTER SKETCHES a la "PARKLIFE" and "TRACY JACKS" on PARKLIFE which find a case of DIMINISHING RETURNS with "CHARMLESS MAN," "STEREOTYPES" and "COUNTRY HOUSE" on THE GREAT ESCAPE.  this NARRATIVE DEVICE allowed MAIN LYRICIST and CO-SONGWRITER DAMON ALBARN to administer CRITIQUES regarding BRITISH SOCIETY from a DISTANT VANTAGE POINT.  this type of SONGWRITING has a LINEAGE in ENGLISH CULTURE going back to RAY DAVIES, MORRISSEY, PETE TOWNSEND, PAUL WELLER and the like, but at this point in BLUR's CAREER such OFFERINGS felt a bit TIRED and STALE in CONTRAST to their BRITPOP PEERS in PULP, SUPERGRASS, ELASTICA and OASIS whose more DIRECT LYRICAL AESTHETIC that promoted an EXPLICIT FEELING and VIBE rather than an INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE was more ENGAGING, IMMERSIVE and FUN in COMPARISON.  such would be EXPLOITED to GREAT EFFECT on the following BLUR (FOOD, 1997) ALBUM, arguably another one of the FINEST RECORDS of the BRITPOP era.

PERSONALLY THE GREAT ESCAPE is the BLUR ALBUM i revisit and listen to LEAST, even far less than the GRAHAM COXON-less THINK TANK (PARLOPHONE, 2003) TROUBLED and DIMINISHED EFFORT of later years.  to me it sounds like a more BLOATED and less SUCCINCT and ENGAGING VERSION of PARKLIFE, as if the TEMPLATE to SUCCESS was dropped in their lap and they ESSENTIALLY attempted to RECORD a BIGGER and BETTER VERSION of their PREVIOUS RECORD to DIMINISHING RETURNS.  that is not to say that it is a TERRIBLE RECORD, as "THE UNIVERSAL" and "YUKO AND HIRO" are INTRIGUING EXPERIMENTS with ALTERNATE INSTRUMENTATION.  to me it just SUFFERS from being a MEDIOCRE, TRANSITIONAL ALBUM between two LANDMARK RELEASES in PARKLIFE and BLUR.  kinda like PINK FLOYD's ANIMALS (HARVEST, 1977), THE CLASH's GIVE 'EM ENOUGH ROPE (CBS, 1978) or THE BEATLES' MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (PARLOPHONE, 1967) RELEASES.

ANGEL DUST (REPRISE, 1992) was an absolute MASSIVE, GENRE-BENDING, TRANSFORMATIONAL MONOLITH of a RECORDING that forever shifted the EXPECTATIONS of a FAITH NO MORE ALBUM.  it is also marked the end of an era, as LONGTIME GUITARIST JIM MARTIN became ESTRANGED and was ultimately fired shortly after COMPLETION of the RECORD by fax due to his lack of MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION during REHEARSALS and CONTRIBUTIONS during SONGWRITING SESSIONS for the ALBUM.  it has also been LONG-RUMORED that his HOMOPHOBIA played into the DECISION as well, given that FOUNDING KEYBOARDIST and SONGWRITER RODDY BOTTUM was out by this point.  MARTIN was replaced by EXPERIMENTAL GUITARIST TERRY SPRUANCE, a FOUNDING MEMBER of MIKE PATTON's other BAND MR. BUNGLE, further blurring the line between both CAMPS.  speaking of BOTTUM and ANGEL DUST from before, in the INTERVENING years there was a retreat from the BAND as he was still a CLOSE FRIEND of FORMER FAITH NO MORE SINGER COURTNEY LOVE and the VIOLENT SUICIDE of her HUSBAND KURT COBAIN had a PROFOUND effect on him for several years.

all this to say that when the BAND finally got around to CONSTRUCTING and RECORDING a follow-up to ANGEL DUST in KING FOR A DAY... FOOL FOR A LIFTIME (REPRISE, 1995), both the LINEUP and the INTERNAL CONDITIONS under which they collaborated had DRAMATICALLY SHIFTED in the interim.  in essence BASSIST BILLY GOULD had lost his MAIN SONGWRITING PARTNER in BOTTUM and SPRUANCE and PATTON picked up the slack.  such as is the main cause for why KING FOR A DAY... FOOL FOR A LIFTIME has such an array of STYLES and GENRES found in its track-listing, which some FANS deem ECLECTIC and DETRACTORS dismiss as INCONSISTENT.  SPRUANCE, as evidenced in his decidedly AVANT-GARDE output in MR. BUNGLE and SPACE CHIEFS 3, is more interested in TEXTURES and SOUNDS ranging from SURF MUSIC, DEATH METAL, JAZZ, AFGHAN MUSIC, SKA, FUNK and REGGAE which coupled with PATTON's seemingly LIMITLESS VOCAL RANGE and CONVICTION makes this arguably FAITH NO MORE's most CHALLENGING RECORD to date. 

it is not hyperbole to state that KING FOR A DAY... FOOL FOR A LIFTIME is the least CELEBRATED in their CATALOGUE as it least sounds like them.  given the lack of CREATIVE INPUT from BOTTUM, and not by the BAND's CHOICE, this ASSESSMENT makes TOTAL SENSE.  but the QUALITY is there, especially on STANDOUT TRACKS like "DIGGING THE GRAVE," "THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES," "RICOCHET," "EVIDENCE," and "I STARTED AS A JOKE."  what is INTRIGUING about BOTTUM is that his retreat lasted well into the next RECORD, ALBUM OF THE YEAR (REPRISE, 1997), where the SECOND REPLACEMENT (and now PERMANENT) GUITARIST JON HUDSON found himself likewise making MAJOR SONGWRITING CONTRIBUTIONS alongside GOULD for an ESTABLISHED BAND he just joined.  its only been since the REUNION RECORDING SOL INVICTUS (IPECAC, 2015)) that BOTTUM is back to FULL STRENGTH as a CREATIVE PARTNER.  that arc just showcases the level of MUTUAL SUPPORT and BROTHERHOOD at the center of this BAND.

while i would not argue that KING FOR A DAY... FOOL FOR A LIFTIME is an absolutely ESSENTIAL FAITH NO MORE RECORDING, that DISTINCTION would go to both THE REAL THING (REPRISE, 1989) and ANGEL DUST, it is still a COMPELLING ALBUM well worth INVESTIGATION both in the scope of where it sits within the BAND's CATALOGUE and that of its TRANSCENDENT VOCALIST in PATTON.

ive long considered the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' PIVOTAL fourth album MOTHER'S MILK (EMI USA, 1989) as a TRANSITIONAL EFFORT that marked the second phase of their CAREER.  such seems OBVIOUS since it is their first recording in the wake of FOUNDING GUITARIST HILLEL SLOVAK's untimely passing from an ACCIDENTAL HEROIN OVERDOSE and the UNDERSTANDABLE subsequent departure of likewise FOUNDING DRUMMER JACK IRONS shortly thereafter.  for a moment the BAND seemed on the decline, a VICTIM to ROCK AND ROLL cliches revolving around DRUG CULTURE, that was until they found the UBER-TALENTED, YOUNG GUITARIST JOHN FRUSCIANTE and the HARD-HITTING MICHIGANDER CHAD SMITH on DRUMS to round out what is considered by most to be their DEFINITIVE lineup.

as such MOTHER'S MILK feels like a CONTINUATION of PREVIOUS EFFORTS that utilize aggressively SYNCOPATED FUNK RHYTHMS propelled by FLEA's signature PERCUSSIVE SLAP-BASS TECHNIQUE and SINGER ANTHONY KIEDIS' highly IMPROVISATIONAL SCAT-SINGING VOCAL STYLINGS.  this is EVIDENT on TRACKS like "JOHNNY, KICK A WHOLE IN THE SKY," "STONE COLD BUSH," "SUBWAY TO VENUS," "PUNK ROCK CLASSIC," "MAGIC JOHNSON" and their CELEBRATED pair of COVERS in STEVIE WONDER's "HIGHER GROUND" and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's "FIRE." the later of which was recorded with SLOVAK and IRONS. given FRUSCIANTE's MUSICAL VIRTUOSITY and LOVE of the BAND as a FORMER FAN and AFICIONADO of all things FUNK and SMITH's  MUSCULAR CHOPS on the kit, these TRACKS present a BAND with no DISCERNIBLE LETDOWN in terms of SONIC AGGRESSION.  but where the lineup shines is in RELATION to more DYNAMIC, MELODIC TRACKS like "TASTE THE PAIN," "KNOCK ME DOWN" and especially the INSTRUMENTAL "PRETTY LITTLE DITTY" (later TASTELESSLY SAMPLED by CRAZY TOWN on their SOLE NU METAL hit "BUTTERFLY") which seemingly point the way for their subsequent CONSIDERABLE EVOLUTION and GROWTH as a CREATIVE UNIT on their EPIC, GENERATION-DEFINING follow-up BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGICK (WARNER BROS, 1991). 

the IMPACT of FRUSCIANTE himself cannot be UNDERSTATED.  he brought a HENDRIX-ian MUSICAL VOCABULARY and SENSE of MELODIC DYNAMICS to the BAND that would PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCE both how FLEA interacted with his INSTRUMENT as a PLAYER (he would become more TASTEFUL, less SHOWY and artistically ADROIT with his BASS-LINES) and how KIEDIS would convey his LYRICAL CONTENT (which would become much more PERSONAL and consequently RELATABLE).  when i listen to MOTHER'S MILK i am confronted with a BAND that is between TWO MODES of SONGWRITING, both of which these NEW MEMBERS are DEFT at conveying, but EMOTIONAL POTENTIAL of these batch of SONGS is not quite there yet.  not like they would be on subsequent releases like the AFOREMENTIONED BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGICK and CALIFORNICATION (WARNER BROS, 1999), which are TRANSCENDENT ROCK AND ROLL albums that will likely CELEBRATED for POSTERITY.
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while this album has its MOMENTS and is undoubtedly a step up in terms of SOUND QUALITY via the likes of PRODUCER MICHAEL BEINHORN, who would later find further SUCCESS with subsequent DISPARATE, UNIQUE releases like SOUNDGARDEN's SUPERUNKNOWN (A&M, 1994), MARILYN MANSON's MECHANICAL ANIMALS (INTERSCOPE, 1998) and HOLE's CELEBRITY SKIN (DGC, 1998) and KORN's UNTOUCHABLES (EPIC, 2002), i would not consider such an ESSENTIAL RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS release.  it is a SONIC STEPPING STONE to what would be their DEFINITIVE ERA as a CREATIVE UNIT.  the final piece of adding PRODUCER RICK RUBIN to the MIX from here on out brought a more DRY, SPARE SOUND that put the SPOTLIGHT on the BAND's unique INTERPERSONAL CHEMISTRY and strikingly EVIDENT MUSICALITY as well as that UNDEFINABLE HUMAN ELEMENT that his INIMITABLE ear could detect.  BEINHORN is more about LUSH, PERFECT SOUNDS and IMMACULATELY RECORDED PERFORMANCES a la other NOTABLE PRODUCERS like GIL NORTON (PIXIES, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, FOO FIGHTERS, JIMMY EAT WORLD) and MARTIN HAMMETT (JOY DIVISION, MAGAZINE, THE DURUTTI COLUMN, A CERTAIN RATIO).  such was never what the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS were about at their CORE, which is BAND that loves to JAM and play off each other in the MOMENT.  GREAT listen nonetheless but something i'd advise digging into after other SEMINAL recordings like the AFOREMENTIONED BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGICK, CALIFORNICATION and the RECENT UNLIMITED LOVE (WARNER BROS, 2022).