David Lynch, Angelo Badalamenti & Julee Cruise -- Industrial Symphony No.1

  So ... I was on a David Lynch kick lately, and I happen to stumble across Industrial Symphony No.1 a video performance art piece, which includes many known hits from Twin Peaks the television series.  The set looks like something out of the Bauhaus meets Francis Bacon with the symbolic feel of Jodorowsky's El Topo.  Thematically it's about the tragic rational irrationality of heartbreak in which the visual symbolism shows all the components; love, loss, loneliness, boredom, hope ... etc ... but it goes deeper than that still, it also depicts the evils of internal malaise and what that could conjure into one's self; lust, need, confusion, anger, struggle ... etc.  Musically you have a mix of Music Concrète with the lush 50's Doo Wop infused backdrop of Julee Cruise, whom I feel would have been great in a Shoegazer band.  This video isn't for everyone, kinda a fan only thing ... but it's a wonderful example of human nature and the harm we can do to ourselves!

Five By Five -- Fire/ Hang Up 45'

  Garage Punk outfit Five By Five ... there aren't too many surprises here, a career 60's cover band.  For example their A-side is a cover of Hendrix's Fire, which is passable but not something to write home about.  Now the B-side is a full on Psych'd out 60's Punk number a la Music Machine.  You should have seen my face of astonishment the first time I heard it ... I literally had to pick my jaw up from off the floor, like I had just seen the most bodacious babe ... I found this bad boy at the local pawn shop, thinking it's on Paula records, it might have some merit, but had no idea I was on the verge of finding a total gem!

Jane's Addiction -- Nothing's Shocking

  These guys were my teenage band.  I was totally obsessed with every word, every note and every picture, there was to see, hear and read about this band!!  I remember I even had to rip the album covers off so my mother wouldn't discover the nudity, she went as far as tossing my favorite Jane's Addiction t-shirt in the garbage, you know the one with the chick in the fire, like on the back cover of the first Leonard Cohen album.  I always found that Jane's Addiction, especially Nothing's Shocking, was like the anti-Guns and Roses, sounds like they may have had allot of the same influences, but took it in different ways.  At the time, and from then on, "nothing was shocking, anymore!"

Brenda Holloway -- Every Little Bit Hurts/ Just Look At What You've Done 45'

  Ok, let's start with the B-side, because it's just a run of the mill Motown number, not that it's bad, it's just regular.  The A-side is where the real meat and potatoes are at.  This song is the way I can be to a tee, being a sensatron, we all have our moments -- c'mon admit it!  Every word in the tune pierces right into the jugular of our heart strings, and every note Brenda sings throbs into our tear ducts, 'cause Every Little Bit Hurts ...

Blind Melon -- S/T

  Total f*ckin' bullsh*t hippie wanna-be jock Rock band, album and entire career.  Sorry but I have a complete distaste for this mindless tripe.  And somehow I never liked dudes with nose rings and a beards ... just seems wrong ... pick one ... nerdo!  If "there's no rain," then I wish it would!

Fun Fact: Hoon sang background on Use Your Illusion I & II; even worse!

Canned Heat -- Going Up The Counrty/ One Kind Favor 45'

  Yeah man!  What a perfect pre-fishing trip tune to write about.  Every time I hear this song I can't help but think of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers during their epic psychedelic cross-country road trip.  The number is simple, with a perfect riff and easy to listen too.  The B-side on the other hand is a kinda unoriginal hard Rock 60's Blues out, a total juxtaposition to the A-side ... pack your bags and get your ass up the country!! 

L7 -- S/T

  Man!  I totally had a crush on all these girls ... wait ... had ... more like have, since I was a teenager.  This is their first album, which I proudly own on cassette.  It sounds like the same old L7 but a little sludgier and more Hardcore, but virtually the same as the rest ...