Buddy Holly -- Lives

  Buddy Holly had such a huge impact on Rock 'n' Roll that after his plane crashed some considered it the day that music died.  Holly to me was the bridge changing the 50's sound to the 60's sound, imagine the Beatles or the Beach Boys without Buddy's influence ... grim isn't it?  Would there be such a thing as Orchestrated Baroque Pop music without Holly ... probably not.  Buddy's short but perfect career reflected his era beautifully ... I wonder what his music would have been like in the 60's if he would have survived the plane crash???

Btw, I know it's not called Lives, but that sounds way cooler than 20 Golden Greats!!!

Violent Femmes

  Busker Punk debut masterpiece by the Violent Femmes!  I love everything about this record, it's fun, it's nerdy, yet at the same time it's full of piss and vinegar ... like me!

Black Mountain -- Druganaut

  I remember the first time I heard this band, my friends and I were on our way to a drunken barn dance, I'm serious, we saw fireworks once we hit the lane way ... anyway my buddy popped in Black Mountain for the ride, my god that was a wild night, I never danced in a circle none stop for so long and I heard this band for the first time ... point is these guys re-cooled Sludgy stoner rock, mixing the best elements of the 70's heyday with the 90's latter day, like a Led Zeppelin meets Dinosaur Jr.  This little EP only features two numbers, Druganaut and Buffalo Swan, but clocks in at over fifteen minutes, and you know what, it's my Aunt who bought me this record for Christmas one year, what a killer gift!  Thanks Ro, it's still awesome!

Soft Cell -- Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

  Honestly large doses of Marc Almond's voice or Synthpop music in general can drive me totally batty ... but in smaller increments I like both things, a hell-of-a-lot.  This is one doped out (what's that in his jacket?) weird as hell, wham-bam thank-ya-mam album ... or would it be man for these guys, I was never too sure of their sexual inclination ... personally I think they were just sexual, whether its this, that or anything else, it's evident in the lyrics of Frustration, Seedy Films and especially Sex Dwarf, I suppose they could have been faking it, catering to the burgeoning underground dance scene ... and you know what, I still like Tainted Love, eventhough it's a totally overplayed radio hit, it's still good.

Dinosaur Jr. -- Dinosaur

  Recorded way before they added the Jr. part, until a hippy super group of the same name got cheesed and made em' change it.  This record is allover the place as far as genre goes, it's hard to follow what they're trying to do, other than experimenting, which at the time no one was really trying to do Stoner Punk other than the Meat Puppets, so it's easy to understand why it sounds so random.  Dinosaur might not be their best album, but it's cool to hear where they started.

The Pixies -- Doolittle

  Monolithic classic sophomore release by Indie Rock royalties The Pixies.  Their sound mixes light minimalism with total banal insanity, their soft/ loud formula, they make me think of Pere Ubu meets Sonic Youth.  But there are radio friendly hit tracks on the record as well, reminiscent of when REM was cool.  Lyrically Black Francis, better known as Frank Black, has a surreal biblical cynicism, which can hardly be outdone ...

Arthur Conley -- More Sweet Soul

  Otis Redding protege Arthur Conley, whom is primarily know for mega hit Sweet Soul Music, which is not featured on More Sweet Soul, obviously he's trying to garner attention from his only chart topper.  The album is very good, but is it up there with my prize Soul collection, not really, it has it's moments like rocksteadied Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and bass sensation Aunt Dora's Love Soul Shack, otherwise I file it under passably OK ...

Up The Academy

  Mad magazine's soundtrack to their cult flop film Up The Academy.  The album does feature some pretty cool Punk/ New Wave hits, primarily Roadrunner by The Modern Lovers and X Offender by Blondie, but the rest of the soundtrack is a bit of a write off.

The Scientists -- Blood Red River

  Swamp Sludge luminary weirdos The Scientists.  Blood Red River is the band's first incantation of singles.  If you ever wanted to hear something that sounds like the Cramps mixed with Mudhoney, this is the album for you!  Word is once these guys hit the road, they'd get to their destination, all four member would split up for the day, and then it's left up to the club to track em' all down to play the gig.  Killer hit track Swampland should be heard by every Punk lovin' nerdo out there ... just sayin'!

Pavement -- Slanted and Enchanted

  Abstract, nerdy, noisy, catchy debut release by monolithic Indie Rock band Pavement.  These guys totally leveled the playing field.  This album solidified the meaning and sound as to what American Indie Rock actually is/ was.  There had been some records that came close but they were always too loud or too arty, Slanted and Enchanted was able to mix all the previous Indie elements into one solid sound ... that still lives on today like an archetype.

Footnote: This opinion is a toss-up between Sebadoh III ... but that might be too arty?

George Harrison -- All Things Must Pass

  I really really tried to like this one, not only because it's an ex-Beatle, but this brand of 70's style Americana is usually my bag.  All I found, on these six sides, was over the top pretentious post-hippy garbage.  Sorry George!

The Standells -- Dirty Water

  1960's Garage Punk Classic The Standells's Dirty Water.  If you're a 60's freak, you know this one, and if you wanna be a 60's freak, you've got to get this one ASAP!  These guys are mostly known for their Stones style Dirty Water, but their greatness doesn't end there, this album is filled bitchin' Psychedelic Garage Punk masterpieces ...  with a couple of cheesy covers!

Hey is that Bud Cort in the corner????

Motorhead -- No Sleep 'til Hammersmith

  After diving into a dulge of recreational slumming mixed in with some pretty radical downhill skateboarding ... all I could think of for the perfect soundtrack to both activities was Motorhead's live album, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith.  This record was released right in the epicenter of the height of Mortorhead's career, when they were fresh, full of piss, Jack Daniels and vinegar.  The best way I can describe their sound is the speed and intensity of Hardcore Punk mixed with power and volume of Heavy Metal ... so if there's one Mortorhead album to get, it'd be this one!

James Brown -- Cold Sweat

  James Brown's Cold Sweat is a mish-mash of kick ass Funk and run of the mill R & B covers.  This album marked a new start of Brown's legacy, some say he's the Godfather of Soul, forget that man ... he's the High Priest of FUNK!

Serge Gainsbourg -- Histoire De Melody Nelson

  For the record, no pun intended or maybe ... I had to listen to this album on a memory stick through sh*tty laptop speakers, and yes I am getting this one on vinyl ASAP, so soon that I just ordered it off E-bay ... sorry dear reader, but my life is in total shambles, I'm stuck in transition and am currently living in a room above a funeral home, but we'll save that story for another day!

  Melody Nelson is a Baroque Pop, minimalist, conceptual masterpiece ... I'd say it's the Parisian Sgt. Pepper.  Gainsbourg's version of Pop music on this record reeks of futura Indie Rock ... cool distorted guitar, monologue vocals, somewhat Indian styled strings ... the whole album was/ is beautiful.  Today's Indie Pop wouldn't exist without Gainsbourg's crucial contribution!

Eddie Cochran -- The Best Of ...

  In my opinion Cochran is probably one of the most essential Rockabilly players.  This album is filled with wall to wall classics.  I find it strange when these characters only exist within their own eras, it seems they might have been doomed from the start, like being possessed by some great spirit whom insists they must die while they're on top, or maybe it's the spirit's departure from their bodies that encourages a means to an end?  Cochran, along with all the other characters (you know...), always seem to perfectly embody their eras, but always meet their end before the era changes.  Cochran is a great example of this phenomenon, his career starts in 56' the year of the pompadour, he writes some of the best Rockabilly numbers, then BOOM, a car crash in England takes Cochran, but leaves Gene Vincent alive, Vincent was just as good, but on a smaller scale; interesting footnote, I read that a young Marc Bolan (T. Rex) carried Cochran's guitar to the death cab, little did he know, in all his fandenonium, that Cochran was going to die that very ride, but he was going to die in a car crash as well ... hmmm??  The spirit of Rock 'n' Roll showing us he's out there???  Who knows ...

G.B.H. -- No Need To Panic

  Kinda crossover Thrash/ Punk, but not really, album by GBH No Need To Panic.  What makes it crossover-ish is that the distortion sound is heavier than usual, but they seem to be playing virtually the same old way, it's not like when D.R.I. crossed over, that was Thrash music, without a doubt!  This album is loud, tight and kicks some serious ass, surprising since their sound is like a one trick pony ... although I wonder if I would have preferred to have City Baby's Revenge???  F*ck it, I bought this when I was 15 and it still plays well!

Fugazi

  Fugazi's debut EP is a brilliant mash of loud Post-Hardcored sonic Shoegaze explosion tossed in with intricate Funk rhythms and bass driven power ... Jesus .. I think I know what I mean!  Point is ... it's loud ... it's catchy ... and it's got beat!

Rock with Bill Haley And The Comets

  This debut album by Bill Haley works more like a singles collection.  I was never that crazy about the Bill Haley sound, some of it is really really good, but there's element corniness, like a Skiffle group, rather than a Rock 'n' Roll combo!

The Psychedelic Furs

  The Psychedelic Furs, a name synonymous with John Hughes movies, and a band I can't say I'm too crazy about.  Although I found this debut album to be much less annoying than their later releases.  This record's got a kinda 60's jangle Punky New Wave thing going for it, featuring a of couple numbers produced by Joy Division's sound man extraordinaire Martin Hannett, which files this album under OK, pretty good!

Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger

  My personal favorite guitar player, Bo Diddley.  Bo re-invented cool with his crazy jungle beat.  Although Gunslinger isn't his best release and doesn't have any mega well known Diddley numbers, but nonetheless it's great Rock 'n' Roll music from one of the true masters!!!!

Jesus and Mary Chain -- Psychocandy

  This album is one of the greatest records of all-time, it changed the direction of Pop music, everything was headed in a squeaky clean New Wave wasteland ... then BOOM! ... Psychocandy, the Noise Pop masterpiece explosion!  These guys took everything that was cool about Rock 'n' Roll music, jumbled it all together and made something totally unique and brilliant ... a one of a kind game changer sound ... so much good music wouldn't have happened if there wasn't the Jesus And Mary Chain and Psychocandy to influence a whole new era!