Out Of The Vaults #12 - The Descendents - Hallraker Live!

Each week or so my wife will dive into our CD cabinets (The Vaults) and randomly pull out one of the thousands of CDs. The chosen album will then be given to me and I will talk about the Cd for awhile no matter how good, bad, obscure or embarrassing the chosen disc is. Where did I buy it, when did I buy it, what was my first reaction to hearing it, do I still listen to it today etc.


Out Of The Vaults #12 - The Descendents - Hallraker !

The Descendents are my ALL-time favorite band. Hallraker was the first album I ever bought by them.


It's like in Nick Hornby's book  High Fidelity when the narrator asks, "Which came first-the music or the misery? Did I listen to music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to the music?" Are the songs on Hallraker some of my favorite Descendents songs because it was the first album I bought by them? Or is Hallraker one of my favorite albums because so many of my favorite Descendents songs are on it?

I am unsually not a fan of live albums. They just don't hold up on repeated listening. Most of the ones I have bought in the past either end up being given away or sold back to used record stores. Hallraker and its recorded on the same tour counterpart Liveage are two exceptions.


Hallraker was released because fans felt Liveage left off so many of The Descendents best songs but most people still prefer Liveage. I on the other hand favor Hallraker for a few reasons. The first being there are so many songs on the album which The Descendents rarely played live. Songs like the quick lead off burst of "Global Probing" of he faster super old songs in "Kabuki Girl" and "Hey Hey". All three originally on their1982 debut album Milo Goes To College.


There are also three of the best songs off the at the time new album ALL. The angry "Jealous Of The World", the very metal "Iceman" and the power hooks in "Cameage" were all left off of Liveage. Plus how could they have forgotten one of the songs which kept me going through many rough times, "Pep Talk"?

Hallraker also contains some of The Descendents' best "Girl" songs. The classics "Good Good Things", "Cheer" and "Christmas Vacation", all with subject matter totally relating to stuff I was going through when I bought the record at 16 years old. "Christmas Vacation" in particular has a few moments really hitting home.


The pseudo thrash of "Hurtin' Crue", the youthfulness of the always played back to back "Rockstar" and "NoFb" and the 17 second classic "I Want To Be A Bear" round out one of my ALL-time favorite live albums.


There is one more major reason why I favor Hallraker over Liveage- The "All-O-Gistics". Out of all the songs on every Descendents album including the two "Reunion" albums, "All-O-Gistics" is the only song I cannot listen too and it is on Liveage. Maybe it's the "Quan, quams" but the songs just bugs me. Totally breaks up the flow of the record.

Obviously I am not saying to forget about Liveage. If you did you would miss out on great live versions of “Bikeage”, “Silly Girl”, “Weinersnitzel”, “I Don’t Want To Grow Up”, “Suburban Home" and 13 other awesome Descendents songs. 

Out Of The Vaults #10 - Husker Du - ZEN ARCADE

Each week or so my wife will dive into our CD cabinets (The Vaults) and randomly pull out one of the thousands of CDs. The chosen album will then be given to me and I will talk about the Cd for awhile no matter how good, bad, obscure or embarrassing the chosen disc is. Where did I buy it, when did I buy it, what was my first reaction to hearing it, do I still listen to it today etc.

Out of The Vaults #10 - Husker Du - Zen Arcade

Zen Arcade is the second album out of my "Holy Trinity" of  incredible double albums. The other two are Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation and the Minutemen’s Double Nickels On the Dime. Daydream Nation was actually the very first “Out of the Vaults” pick at the very beginning of this blog. 

Even through Zen Arcade and Double Nickels came out in 1984 and Daydream Nation in 1988, I bought them all within a few weeks of each other circa1988 or 89. All three are perfect albums, each on a whole different level them  everything else that was being released at the time. In my opinion all three of them are also the best material each band ever released.

Although guitarist Bob Mould and drummer Grant Hart wrote the songs on Zen Arcade, bassist Greg Norton has the honor of being the first member you hear on it. His bass on “Something I Learned Today” gets the ball rolling before the rest of the band kicks in. With song #2 “Broken Homes, Broken Heart” the albums narrative begins. I am not going to get too much into the story because I want you to be able to listen to it yourselves. The acoustic but no less intense “Never Talking To You Again” follows.

“Chartered Trips” picks up where “Broken Homes, Broken Heart left off”. Bob Mould's patented buzzing guitar wailing along as you can hear the urgency and desperation in his voice. “Dreams Reocurring”  is a minute and a half instrumental. Composed of backwards tape loops, piercing and swirling guitars, bass and various other instruments, the song is very reminiscent of The Byrd’s “Eight Miles High”, a song Husker Du would be covering as a single in the near future.

Song #6 “ Indecision Time” continues the intensity with guitar noises attempting to escape from all directions only to be pummeled back down into the ground.

“Hare Krishna” comes on next, bringing more buzzing guitars. Bob’s mumbling lyrics intertwined with drummer Grant Hart’s chants of “Hare Krishna” make the song perfectly convey the feeling of being confused and smothered by religion.

Following are the trio of “Beyond The Threshold”, “Pride” and “Never Forget You”. The middle one is NEVER to be listened to while working out at the gym. If you do, instant heart attack. This song is that intense. You have been warned.

At track 11 we find one of my all time favorite songs. “Biggest Lie” has an awesome heavy build up at the beginning  followed by more of Bob’s trademark guitar sound.  The song also has the best Bob Mould guitar solo ever. His solo on Husker Du’s “Could You Be The One” a couple of years later, a close second.

Track 12 “What’s Going On” has Bob and Grant shouting at each other while guitars wail . I can just picture them in the studio, each one gritting their teeth as they attempt to become louder than the other. The exchange is so intense that neither one seems to notice two minutes into the song a piano has snuck in and grabbed the solo. I always picture bassist Greg sitting there watching Bob and Grant battle it out, seeing this is his chance to shine, runs out of studio, grabs the piano and bring it back without the other guys noticing.

Pretty soon the shouting does dies done but with 30 seconds left, both Bob and Grant attempt to one up each other by starting the shouting again.  Bob emerges the victor, celebrating with a few quick guitar riffs at the very end. Feeling bad about it, he let's Grant take the lead vocals on the next song, "Masochism World".

After the slower "Standing By The Sea" and the very Who-esque "Somewhere", both with Grant on lead vocals, we find the first of two forty second piano interludes "One Step at a Time". Along with the one a few songs down, these interludes are a very good way to separate sections the story. They also allow you to take a breath and prepare for the tragic "Pink Turns To Blue" which follows. Bob takes over the lead for the two songs, separated by the second forty second interlude of "Monday Will Never Be The Same", which follow. In "Newest Industry" and especially "Whatever", Bob's voices becomes so intense and urgent to the point beyond the threshold (couldn't resist) where it sounds as if it is almost about to break.

The droning psychedelic looping sounds of the next song, the three minute "The Tooth Fairy and The Princess" is the sound of the narratives main character waking up leaving them and the listener wondering if it was all just a dream.

Closing out the the monumental album is "Turn on The News", a song which the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Hopefully pretty soon Husker Du, one of the most important bands in alternative music, will finally receive it's own rightful place in the Hall

The album officially ends with a fourteen minute extended "Dreams Reoccurring" called "Reoccurring Dreams". I always thought of it as the music playing while the credits for the rest of the album and story were rolling.

According to the front page of iTunes "Husker Du Classic Just Added" with Zen Arcade among them. Go over there and purchase it or listen to it on Spotify. Just please don't listen to it at the gym. You have been warned.

Dinosaur Jr's BUG album "In It's Entirety"

Last year Dinosaur Jr did a tour where they were exclusively playing their 3rd album Bug "In it's entirety". Although Bug is up there with some of my favorite albums, "In It's Entirety" shows are not my favorite so I skipped the New York City show.

When the show came to Washington DC's 9:30 club they had a few of their biggest fans film the show. In a few months the footage they shot will be released as a DVD and Blu Ray. The Official Dinosaur Jr Facebook page is now holding a contest to win a copy of the soon to be releases Dinosaur Jr:Live At the 9:30 Club "In The Hands Of The Fans" Blu Ray. One of the things you can do to win a copy is to write your opinions on the album in your blog and what it means to you. Then post a link to your blog on the wall of the Official Dinosaur Jr Facebook page and a few random fans will receive their very own copies. Even though I really do not want a copy of the Blu Ray , just like when The Cure came through with their first 3 albums "In Their Entirety" , it was an excuse to write out what this Dinosaur Jr album has meant to me these past  20+ years.

The album released prior to Bug, Dinosaur Jr's second album You're Living All Over Me is definitely in my Top 5 favorite albums. Out of the 3000+ CDs in my collection You're Living All Over Me is the one I have listened to more than any of the others. A lot of times it is even listened to twice in a row. Every time I give it a listen the album leaves me just as amazed as when I bought the album in 1988. The album is pure out of control and far above what any other band has every done. Every song is chock full of guitar fuzz, layered riffs, thunderous drumming, loads of hooks over nine perfectly ordered songs. Since I have the original SST Records disc I get the added bonus of Dinosaur Jr's great cover of Peter Frampton's classic "Show Me The Way". To think I bought the album just because they were on SST and would probably sound like Black Flag.

The album kicks off "Freak Scene", the song that would be considered the "Hit". Although there are still the blaring J Mascis guitars a little bit of the Your Living All Over Me fuzz has been stripped off. The song also shows a bit of structure. One of the great things about the previous album was the songs had no structure. They were all over the place and still worked. Just when you think "Freak Scene" is bordering on being a  pop song a great Mascis guitar solo comes in and continues to wail away for the last minute of the song.

Track 3 "They Always Come" begins heavy and bouncy, maybe even a little choppy; but at about 30 seconds a smooth chorus comes in and the song really takes off. It almost sounds as if it is two different songs. When hearing the track I always wonder if maybe the band was split on what direction they wanted the song to take. With neither J or bassist Lou Barlow willing to budge, they just decided to do both, drummer Murph just happy to be banging along. The switch happens again before the second chorus explodes into crashing waves of guitars lasting a minute before being laid to a rest with Lou's bass guitar.

For Track 4 "Yeah We Know" the volume on the fuzz pedal is turned up. One of the things I have always loved is the way you can really hear Murph's drums through all the fuzz. While in Dinosaur Jr, drummer Murph was known for hitting the drums harder than most. This song is definitely great proof of that, especially the thud after each of J's verses.

On Track 5, "Let it Ride", finally a song on this album takes off like all those great songs on You're Living All Over Me. All these members playing their instruments with complete abandon. Lou's pounding bass in songs like this is something that would be greatly missed on all future Dinosaur Jr albums.

Many times people have written that J Macis and Dinosaur Jr sound like Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Honestly I just never heard it. Even on the  indie Neil Young Tribute album, Dinosaur Jr (who does "Lotta Love") really has no resemblance to  Neil. Bug's track 6 "Pond Song" may be the only exception. On the song J's vocals definitely sound a little Neil Youngish. Although the song is probably one of the most melodic Dinosaur Jr songs up to this point, even Crazy Horse didn't turn the volume up this loud as this band.

On Track 7 "Budge" The band once again takes off in the vein of the smooth parts of "They Always Come". Murph can once again be heard pummeling his kit
.
Track 8 "The Post" gets  a little dirgey. Although J's guitar is always there and shines through the chorus, , Lou's bass is what carries the song through the each verse.

Track 9 "Don't" is where the sludge is really poured on. The song is J going all out, wailing on his guitar for five and a half minutes with fuzz pedals and whammy bars all over the place. Murph continues to beat the life out of his drum set while Lou screams over and over again "Why don't you like me". With Lou not talking to J for the whole recording and tour of Bug and being kick out of the band shortly after, I wonder who he could have been talking about in this song.

Overall Bug is a great album. Out of a rating of 10 I would probably give it a 9. My only complaint being the songs don't flow into each other too well, almost as if it was a album of singles. Dinosaur Jr would to this day remain one of my favorite bands but none of their albums would compare to Bug, You're Living All Over Me or their great first album Dinosaur. The line-up of bassist Lou Barlow, drummer Murph and our generations first guitar god J Mascis was just perfect. It was awesome when in 2005 the original line up reunited as still are together today.


With Dinosaur Jr's move to Sire for their next album Green Mind, Bug also marks the last of the great albums on SST records. Black Flag had called it quits a few years earlier, The Descendents had turned into ALL and were now releasing record on Cruz Records, Sonic Youth and Firehose were moving on to DGC and Columbia Records and Husker Du had long moved on to Warner Bros and then broke up. Even the Screaming Trees had jumped ship to Epic Records after a short stop on Sub Pop. SST Records was left with Gone, Hotel-X, Bazooka and many more forgettable bands.

Usually I only put one video but this time there are two. The first is of one of the normal tracks in Bug and the second is the last track where bassist Lou loses it a little on  "Don't"