25 Albums.

Back in 2009, there was a Facebook thing going around where you list your top 25 albums. This is my post from February 2009. This would be a little different if I did it today, but it would have been different in January or march 2009. I stand by what I said.

This isn't a list of the BEST 25 , just the 25 that come to mind first. You'll see an improvement as the gin works its way through me.

1. Beck - One Foot in the Grave.  This one made me want to record, any way that I could. I still have not replaced the copy I gave away years ago, but don't regret it either.

2. Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary. There is no describing how I feel about this one. I am just amazed and inspired every time I hear it.

3. Black Flag - Damaged. I could have listed ANY Black Flag release, or ALL of them, but this is the first I ever owned. Greg Ginn and his band have inspired my listening, my playing, and my work ethic.

4. John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillun. Amazing live album by an amazing performer. This one has John Lee Hooker alone, just the man and his guitar.

5. Jim Croce - Live: Final Tour. The album that got me into Jim Croce, and if you ever seen me drunk enough, you've prolly seen me half passed out, half singing Jim Croce. Thanks Dad.

6. Circle Jerks - Gig. I still remember how it sounded the first time I heard it. To this day, this is the live album all other live albums are judged by.

7. Jimi Hendrix - The Jimi Hendrix Concerts. Not the best collection of live recordings of his, but the one that got me really into Jimi. Again, thanks Dad.

8. Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill. A car staple. Rhymin and Stealin, No Sleep, Slow and Low, etc... Many road trips would not have been the same. And the guitar riffs... I mean FUCK...

9. June Of 44 - Engine Takes to the Water. There is no comparison, this album is a stand alone classic. Thanks Aaron O.

10. Rollinghead - Daddyhorse. One of my first favorite bands. I saw them everytime they did an all ages. From Music Express in-stores to Music on the Mall. Still one of my all time favorite bands.

11. The Pogues - Red Roses for Me. This album is a perfect frame for my own alcoholism. Everything Shane touches is pure gold.

12. Painkiller - Buried Secrets. The CD that got me into John Zorn. Amazing, brutal, scary, and raw. Thanks Becky!

13. Motorhead - Any. NO list of music is complete without Lemmy. Best metal bands, best hard rock albums, best classical composers, best boy band. NO list is complete without Lemmy.

14. Hayden - Everything I Long for. This is an instant classic. If you don't know you won't know.

15. Desmond Dekker - Rockin Steady: Best of. This is the one that got me into Desmond Dekker, and ska/rocksteady/reggae in general. Fantastic collection. I still have the copy Moira left me at 303. Sorry, Moira.

16. Nirvana - Bleach (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition). Raw and overlooked. Even if you don't like their later work, you need this one. I traded my first copy for some shrooms. Issac and I used to record School (rather badly) after bribing little Derek to leave us alone.

17. Body Count - Born Dead. Ice mother fucking T and heavy motherfucking metal! Come on people!

18. New Kids On The Block - New Kids on the Block. The one before Hangin Tough. An-gel, girl you make my dreams come true, an-gel, spend my whole life loving you, an-gel, baby you are the one for me, an-gel... that's right, from memory. I went there. You want more... A, is cause I'm always gonna love you, N, never gonna leave you, G, is for your good good loving, E, is for your ever lasting love, L is cause I love you, really really love you. From memory while listing to other music. Bitches.

19. ACDC - Back in Black. I should have Bon Scott material listed here, but Back In Black kind of has the best of both worlds, the band they were with Bon, and the band they would become without him.

20. Mano Negra - Puta's Fever. Get this. Get this now. I first saw Mano Negra on a recording of the Japanese TV show All Nite Fuji, which ended up the name of my band with Benny. This album is perfect beginning to end. Mano Negra may in fact be the best band worldwide, ever.

21. Minor Threat - Complete Discography. I first heard Minor Threat on a mixtape that Jeremy made for PJ that PJ gave to me. The same tape (there may have been two) got me into Black Flag, NOFX, Misfits, Dead Kennedys and CRASS (among others). Thanks Jeremy... Anyways, Minor Threat got me into the whole DC harDCore thing, which was a tremendous influence on both my songwriting, musical work ethic, and lifestyle. Its funny that this drunken mess used to abstain from intoxicants.

22. D.R.I. - 4 of a Kind. My first D.R.I., one of the best. This represents one of my ideal guitar sounds. My ten year old son is now a D.R.I. fan. Fuckin' A!

23. Willie Nelson - Countryman. Willie does reggae. It really doesn't get better than this. Just don't buy your copy at walmart, the edit out the pot leaf on the cover. Toots sings on a few tracks. That's right, Toots Hibbert AND Willie Nelson. Sounds like something out of a dream.

24. CRASS - Best Before. It just feels wrong without CRASS. I picked Derek up after work and rushed up to Music Express before they closed for the night so Derek (who still has my copy of Penis Envy) could buy a copy, before a night at Big Boy, before the dark times, before the Emperor...

25. Flee The Scene. This may be the most important album here, cause it is the one I put out. I was inspired by Dischord and SST to start my own label. Which I did with this CD. I got to work with such legends as The Freeze, Dropdead, and Berwer. Even though we ended after one more release, I still did it, and that's what counts. My compilation has been sold around the world and has been called a punk orgasm. Anyone who doesn't have one can drop me an address and I'll mail you one, or a dozen.

I should have put some others, Urban Riot - A Mile In Our Shoes (the other release I put out), Misfits, Green Day - Kerplunk, Exploited - Punk's Not Dead, Bob Marley - ANY/ALL, The Clash, I Hate Myself - 10 songs, David Allan Coe - Penitentiary Blues, Skrewdriver - All Skrewed Up, Dead Kennedys - In God We Trust Inc., The Animals, Manowar - Battle Hymns ...

One Black Flag.

It seems like every article that has been written about Black Flag, or the other band, FLAG, states that there are "two versions of Black Flag" right now. While it is true that there are two bands going around with former members of Black Flag, playing Black Flag music, only one is Black Flag.
Black Flag, as the name would suggest, is Black Flag. They have the only consistent member, Greg Ginn. He is also the main driving force behind the band's sound. The fact that they have a new drummer and a new bass player should only be expected as Black Flag had six of each in their original run.
FLAG is some sort of revival/tribute band. It is true that four of the five of them were in Black Flag at one time, but they weren't all in the band together. They don't represent a particular line-up. They are not recording new music, and worst of all, they are not progressing the sound in any way. Progression is the trademark sound of Black Flag.
Don't get me wrong, if this seeing an odd grouping of ex-Black Flag members play early Black Flag songs without Greg Ginn is your thing, then go for it. The fact remains, however, that there is only one Black Flag.

1. Almost half of Black Flag's set is post-Damaged, while FLAG only plays a few post-Damaged songs.
2. Black Flag has progressed the sound. Even the old songs are played in a new way. FLAG sounds like they are trying to imitate the way they played in '79.
3. Black Flag is writing and recording new music. Real bands do this, revival and tribute bands typically just play old music, which is what FLAG is doing.
4. Greg Ginn is the one essential ingredient in Black Flag's original run. Sure, Keith formed the band. He also left in 1979, missing out on almost seven years of the band. Black Flag is more than Nervous Breakdown and Jealous Again. Black Flag is The Process of Weeding Out, Family Man, and In My Head.
5. Black Flag till plays instrumental songs. FLAG does not. Black Flag plays jam style songs, FLAG does not.

Black Flag was a hardcore punk band in 1979. They became so much more than that. They were experimental, improvisational, instrumental, and innovative. FLAG might do a good job of capturing 1979, but they stop there. FLAG does nothing to continue the legacy of Black Flag. Even if you don't like Rollins era Black Flag, or you don't like post-My War Black Flag, or you don't like instrumental jam band Black Flag, or you don't like 2013 Black Flag, it doesn't change the fact that there is one Black Flag.

RastaPhones.com

I really like the "rasta" color scheme. The green, yellow, and red. I have rasta colored socks, rasta stripes on my shoes, rasta colors on my backpack. I don't honestly care if it's trendy, or lame, or overused, or whatever. I like the green, yellow, and red.
when I started my first Zazzle store, Nice Try Lao Che,  I didn't really have a theme in mind. I just wanted to have fun making different products. It didn't take me long to start making things with rasta colors. As it turned out, rasta colored items are some of my biggest sellers. In the neighborhood of fifty percent of my sales involve rasta themed items. Pins, stickers, cell phone cases. Even pacifiers are selling decently.
Getting to the point, I've now started a new store, and website, called RastaPhones.com. While my first store, Nice Try Lao Che, is a mess of all kinds of different products, this new store, as the name implies, is all rasta themed cell phone cases, covers, and skins. I am hoping this new store will make it easier for people looking for simple green, yellow and red cell phone covers to find what they seek.


A selection of rasta products at Nice Try Lao Che:




Some of the products at RastaPhones.com

Ian MacKaye Spoken Word.

 Punk rock frontmen Jello Biafra and Henry Rollins are well known for their spoken word careers, but Ian MacKaye gets out there with some spoken word on occasion as well. Although he hasn't made albums like his contemporaries, I really like his style. Thanks to Youtube, we can hear many of his spoken word gigs.

Coming To Terms With Marijuana.

I have come to terms with being a pot head. Not the kind of pot head who gets high all day every day, although I have some dear friends like that and they are always fun to hang out with. You know the kind, the smoke a joint in the alley behind the club between bands while everyone else is a few feet away smoking cigarettes kind. That's not me, except when I hang out with them. I don't tend to do much of anything high. I'm more the smoke a joint at the end of the day and then eat too much while watching Logan's Run kind of pot head. I actually don't smoke too often, either. When I have a bag, I'll smoke daily, but I don't often buy weed. I'll go months or even years without weed sometimes. I love smoking it, smelling it, talking about it, and looking at it, but it's not a habit I actually get around to that much.
Maybe I'm a lazy pot head. Maybe I'm not a pot head at all. I know I really enjoy the occasional high.

Toke 'em if you got 'em!

Its Been Longer (In My Eyes)

It's been a while since I wrote anything here of substance. I wrote my first post here in 2007. I have continued writing posts here only on occasion. In six years I've only written just over 20 posts, many of which were quickies. In 2008 I wrote a post entitled Its Been While (Who Am I). It's now 2013 and I think it's time for an updated post.

I'm still in my mid-thirties, but am now closing in on the mid-to-late-thirties thing. I'm balder, to the point where I just keep my hair cropped short. No more colors or mohawks for me. I'm still overweight, a fat vegan. I do intend to loose weight though, if for no other reason than to fit a few shirts I like. I no longer like not having facial hair. I look funny without it. For the last year or so I've been wearing my beard with a little shaved strip on either side of my goatee area. I don't know what to call this beard style. Fuck it.

I'm still vegan and can not imagine being any other way. I know people that were ethical vegans years ago and seem to have given up the lifestyle. I cannot imagine doing that, but then again, I don't crave any animal products in the least. Being that I don't feel as though I am missing out on anything, veganism only effects my life where it interacts with normal society.  I understand the desire to fit in, to be normal, but I couldn't do it.

I no longer drink alcohol. It's been a few years now, and I don't miss it. I don't miss hangovers, and I don't miss getting shitfaced and ordering stupid shit on Ebay. I have a shit ton of drunken adventure stories, I don't need anymore. I really don't want to top the one where I passed out in a parking lot and got taken to the ER by the police. I still love beer though. Ocasionally I get on a kick of drinking N/A beer. Clausthaler and Buckler being my favorites, although cheap old Miller Sharp's will do in a pinch. I'm drinking a Sharp's right now in fact.

Politically, I am still into animal rights issues, as well as human rights issues, but I am getting more and more into pacifism and anarchism. I am absolutely anti-war. I can no longer vote for pro-war politicians, which excludes most of both major parties for me. Anarchism, for me, is more of an ideal, a philosophical goal. It has to do with real freedom, and really isn't the chaos that most people think about when they hear the word anarchy. I very much support marriage rights, and I don't really understand those that don't. I am becoming increasingly anti-corporate. The list of companies I won't support grows almost daily. You truly do vote with your dollar.

I still work in a factory. I've been doing factory work for fifteen years now, but I think I am done for good. I've never once been truly happy with factory life. Don't get me wrong, it's alright for some people. The routine, the stability, the easy work then retire blueprint. For me, I am really starting to see the toll factory life has had on my body, on my personal relationships, and on my happiness. My current employer, a multinational corporation, is following the typical maximize profit style that is becoming all too common in the workplace today. The idea is to save as much money at the bottom so as to pool that money at the top. Jobs are eliminated and combined, fewer employees are worked more hours, little things are taken away here and there. When you take into account benefits, it can be more cost effective to work one employee 80 hours a week than it is to work two employees 40 hours a week. This over working results in chronic pain injuries, high stress, accidents on the job, and a seemingly high divorce rate. Personally, I can't take it anymore. I see the problems other people have with their arms and shoulders and necks and knees, and I see the beginnings of these lifelong problems in myself. If I sacrifice my arms for this company, I give up playing guitar. If I sacrifice my knees, I give up skateboarding. If I sacrifice my marriage and my relationship with my kids, then what was the fucking point of all this work in the first place.

I guess I am at a crossroads right now. I am theoretically happy, although work has been keeping me from making that happiness a reality. I like the direction my life could take if I do manage to remove myself from factory life, from the traditional workforce in general. I am now doing many of things I want to spend my time doing, but I am just barely doing any of them. I want to perform, write and record music. I want to travel. I want to write books and articles and blog posts. I want to skateboard and go to arcades with my kids.

I apparently also like to ramble on and on.

There will be a next time...

Waiting at Sea: Empty Booth

Empty Booth by Waiting at Sea.
Words and music by Frank Lynch.
Waiting at Sea is Frank Lynch and Kristen VanLoon.