My favorite albums: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust

Happy Post-Election Day folks!
So......who was surprised that Obama won? Not me.
And to to be honest, I'd rather him be pres rather than the clueless and transparently oblivious Romney.
True, I'm not 100% okay with ObamaCare coming down the pike, and for those who hate the idea too, but voted for him anyways, now it's your problem too.

I know Obama hasn't accomplished everything he set out out do, but I'll give him this, he was cock-blocked bigger than hell by the Republicans who had a mad-on to vote against any decent thing he was trying to get passed, just to spite him. That's not how things should be done, whether you like the person in charge or not.

I hope(even though I highly doubt it) that a true mending of the parties for the sake of this country. Trust me, like the old saying goes, "a house divided falls", and if these idiotic and petty political parties don't start to come together for the sake of the people of  who elected them, then we're all royally fucked!

Alright, enough about that unpleasant topic called politics.

Today's post is primarily about David Bowie's hit album, 1972's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.

I'll readily admit, I've been on a strong Bowie kick lately, discovering and rediscovering a lot of his classic albums like this one. And I'm telling you, to me they still hold up today. Especially with his songs about disaffected youth, politics, heartache, paranoia, and anything else we fucked humans feel.
Now while I knew some of the songs on this album, like "Moonage Daydream", "Ziggy Stardust", "Suffragette City", and "Starman", and there was still the rest of the album's worth of songs I'd never heard before until recently. And trust when I say, they'll blow your mind as much as they did mine.
So, let's get started, as I'll explain song by song, the whole plot and story behind this classic album.

"Five Years"
The first song on the album starts to tell the you the listener, what's going on. Basically the story, as David Bowie envisioned it, goes like this: It's the far, far future, and the Planet Earth has only 5 years left before everyone and everything on it dies. All around, the usual things such as panic, depression, hate, avarice, and every other human emotion under the sun are going on, keeping most of the population numb or unaware of Earth's imminent destruction.

This is one of those songs I discovered awhile ago, but fell in love with instantly upon hearing it. Bowie just paints such a story with his words, that you're automatically envisioning all this going down. Especially towards the end, where you just hear this desperation in his voice, as he's trying to warn the people that their world's about to die. Sound familiar Superman fans?

Take a listen:

Next up is another classic I recently discovered, and am completely in love with, you know, if its possible to be in love with a song:)

"Soul Love"
Soul Love starts the process of revealing the hero of the story, Ziggy Stardust, and his mission to save Earth. Ziggy's just a normal futuristic teenager in a rock n' roll band, but no one's interested in rock n' roll by that time period. As the album progresses song by song, you start to hear why he's destined to be a cosmic messiah. In fact, the first set of lyrics talks about a messiah-like figure who gave his life for his people, foreshadowing Ziggy's eventual demise.

That was a live version of the song from a 1978 tour in Japan.

"Moonage Daydream"
This song really gets the ball rolling, as it's here that  Ziggy Stardust is transformed into the ultimate rock n' roll star and cosmic messiah, which is necessary for him to spread the message that Earth will be saved by a race of alien beings. So he and his rock n' roll band, The Spiders from Mars, go off and do just that.

I love the way the song starts off with these lyrics with Bowie singing
 "I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa coming for you 
I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you 
Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird 
And I'm busting up my brains for the words 

Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe 
Put your ray gun to my head 
Press your space face close to mine, love 
Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah!" 

Awesome shit  baby!

"Starman"

The classic Starman is next, as word of the Earth's messiah is spread near and far throughout the world. This song is sung from the perspective of one of Ziggy's recent convert's, not Ziggy himself, as some people used to think. Its this song, maybe more than others, that really drives him the parallels to the stories of Jesus and Superman, with the focus being about a savior coming from the sky. Great song people. Also, on a little bit of interesting trivia note, this song was heavily influenced and inspired by the song "Over the rainbow" from the movie the Wizard of Oz. It's true. Just listen to the chorus and chord progression, and see just how much it basically matches up note for note with this song. Cool huh?

"It ain't easy"

This song was written by singer/songwriter Ron Davies, not David Bowie. But Bowie included this song on the Ziggy album, and I'm glad he did. I really love this one too, as it has that heavy, classic rock n' roll/Blues/Gospel vibe to it. As far as where it fits in the story, that's probably up to the listener to decide, but I personally think it's just one of Ziggy's songs/messages to his growing legion of followers, telling them what they already know about the life being hard, but to keep on going anyhow.

"Lady Stardust"

Originally written about his good friend and fellow legendary Glam rocker Marc T. Bolan(or T.Rex as you might know him) this song was put on the album and used to further illustrate the rise of Ziggy Stardust as his popularity and fame grew in the story. A really, really great song as well.

"Star"

Pretty much continuing with the building up the myth and legend of Ziggy and his band here. We're pretty much hearing from Ziggy's point of view how much he enjoys being a rockstar and all the fame he's achieving. It's pretty much the standard opinion a lot of rock stars no doubt feel, as they're living out their dream, and hey, who'd blame them? Thoud really would be cool!

"Hang onto yourself"

We're getting near the end, and Ziggy's really on a roll. Maybe he subconsciously knows he's near the end of his own journey, as he sings for the kids/people "That you really need to hang on to yourself." Either that or its further inspirational, I'll save-like stuff. Either way, still a rocking song.

"Ziggy Stardust"

If you didn't already know about enough about the man, you will now through this song.

Ziggy's whole biography and hype are laid out for the mainstream world to know, and now there isn't really anybody who doesn't know the about the mythical cosmic rocker. Damn good song that pretty much simplifies what the whole album's about.

"Suffragette City"

Who doesn't know or has already heard this huge classic right? Heavily inspired by Little Richard(like the line "Wham bam, thank you ma'am") and the book A Clockwork Orange, the album's heading towards the end, and Ziggy's almost done with spreading his hopeful message.

Another musical trivia note, I found out that Bowie offered this song for the band Mott the Hoople to record if they'd stay together instead of breaking up(which they did anyway). They went with "All the young dudes" instead, and the rest is music history.

"Rock and roll suicide"

Finally we're at the end of the story, as Ziggy's saviors called The Infinites, show up as intended. They can save the Earth, but in order to fully enter our world(they can't since they're made of anti-matter) they have to use bits and pieces of Ziggy in order do that. So during the course of Ziggy's performance, they literally strip him piece by piece, killing him in the process, so that they can transform and enter our world. Thus Ziggy, like just about every other messiah figure "dies for our sins" and becomes a martyr. Damn good song though, that goes along perfectly with this whole event going down. It's the type of song that goes so perfectly with what's going on, and Ziggy/Bowie sings "You're not alone, you're wonderful!"

I have to say watching that video, especially towards the end, where Bowie puts down the guitar and just goes full out, gave me fucking goosebumps man! He had that crowd in the palm of his hand, loving every minute if it. Now that, that's a true rock star right there:)

The album would go on to sell millions and millions of records, going gold and platinum, as well as inspiring a movie about the Ziggy Stardust tour a year later.

1973 would also see a sort of sequel to Ziggy with Aladdin Sane, which was billed as "Ziggy goes to America." I'll probably highlight that kick-ass album in a future edition, but trust when I say it's just as good as Ziggy.

So as always, I highly recommend you guys out there check out this and other Bowie albums. You never know what you'll wind up liking/loving. Trust me on that;)

Also, you can go to this link, just in case you even more curious about everything I didn't mention or discuss concerning this album:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggy_stardust

Have a good one kids!

My favorite albums: Wish You Were Here

Aww Pink Floyd.

They're one of my favorite classic rock groups of all-time, easily in my top 5.
I'm trying to remember what specific track of theirs I first heard, I think it was "Another Brick in the Wall."

I remember the video to it so vividly due to the wild and crazy imagery of those kids falling into that meat grinder. And this was on Casey Kasem's Top 10 or Top something back in the 80's.

Here, watch what I'm talking about:

After that, it'd be a few more years until I rediscovered "The Floyd", but I would, buying up their later iconic albums like "The Wall", "Dark Side of the Moon", "Animals", and "Wish you were here."

And it's that last one that I'd like to highlight today.

Wish You Were Here made its debut in 1975, where it would go on to sell over 13 million copies worldwide, and be certified Gold, Silver, and Platinum 6 times.

WYWH was pretty much the follow up to Pink Floyd's biggest selling album at the time "Dark Side of the Moon", as the band sang about topics such as isolation, the darker side of the music industry, missed opportunities, and of course, former bandmate Syd Barrett.

The album only has 5 tracks on it, but with Pink Floyd, you know when listening to their albums it's all about quality, not quantity, and that their songs are usually pretty long.

The WYWH starts off with my favorite track on the album, and one of my top favorite songs ever, "Shine on you crazy diamond" Part 1-4.

I'll try and convey just how I felt, goosebumps and all when I first heard that song. I had just bought this album, put it in my cd player, and cranked up the volume way up. At first I did this because I didn't hear anything, so I keep turning the volume up higher and higher, and then I hear David Gilmore play those first chords, and I was "Oh shit!"

The song keeps building up and building up, with Richard Wright in the keyboards, until BAM! Like an atomic bomb going off in my ears and head, I hear the crescendo, and from there I was hooked.

You gotta hear this!:

I hadn't done Acid or smoked Pot yet at that time, but I imagined that's what it must have felt like as I heard that song for the very first time.

The song, and all 9 parts of it(yes 9 whole parts people!) is all about former bandmate Syd Barrett and his descent into madness after taking way too much LSD. The song's lyrics are a loving and touching testimony to the man's creative genius, and also a eulogy to the friend they used to know before he lost his shit.
The song's parts are divided up throughout the album, so you got the first four parts in the beginning, and then the last five at the end.

Altogether they make up one hell of a tribute, and one of the best recorded in rock and roll history.

Next up is the song "Welcome to the machine."

Roger Waters wrote this primarily about the darker side of the music business, and the whole money-making schemes and policies that he felt were valued more than the artistic side.

Love that image up there guys!
And in fact there's also an actual music video to go with the song in an age where there weren't that many music videos made to accompany the songs. Crazy notion I know;)

The video was created by famed British Satirist Gerald Scarfe and his students in 1977. And what a dark video it is isn't it?

Waters and the band liked Scarfe's work so much, that they commissioned him to produce most, if not all of the art for their "The Wall" album.

So all that crazy, twisted artwork you see on the album cover, and in the movie, is all Scarfe's design.

After that, is "Have a cigar?" which continues on the theme of the music industry. This song was based off a stupid question made by a record exec who famously asked "Oh by the way, which one's Pink?", as in the guy wanted to know who in the band was named Pink Floyd. Yeah, stupid, clueless execs. They never learn do they?

Here's the track:

Interestingly enough, Roger Waters or any of the band didn't actually sing the exec's part; it was actually friend and fellow musician Roy Harper. Waters was later quoted as saying he wish he had done the actual vocals, as he felt that Harper's interpretation didn't really suit the song.

Regardless, it seems history and sales seem to like the song the way it was recorded, so there's that.

Also of note, I wondered if this Roy Harper, was the same one mentioned in the Led Zeppelin song "Hats off to (Roy)Harper." on their third album. Well after looking it up, he is. So, now we both know a little more rock trivia:)

Next up is the track that shares it's name with the album, "Wish you were here."

It's no surprise that this song, along with most the songs on the album, are played heavily in rotation on most rock stations.

Like Shine on you crazy diamond, this song too, is about former bandmate Syd Barrett.

Just listen to the lyrics, and you'll feel just how much Waters and the band miss Barrett and his contributions to the group.

Here's the lyrics and the song:

So, so you think you can tellHeaven from HellBlue skies from painCan you tell a green fieldFrom a cold steel rail?A smile from a veil?Do you think you can tell?
Did they get you to tradeYour heroes for ghosts?Hot ashes for trees?Hot air for a cool breeze?Cold comfort for change?And did you exchangeA walk on part in a warFor a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were hereWe're just two lost soulsSwimming in a fish bowlYear after yearRunning over the same old groundWhat have we found?The same old fearsWish you were here

After that, the album finishes up with it's tribute to Syd with the final 5 parts of Shine on you crazy diamond.
Keyboardist Richard Wright really went all out for this one. I was watching a television special on the making of this album, and one of the main studio engineers and mixers commented that had Wright had 20 more minutes, he would have created a concerto. Really? You mean his keyboard and piano parts aren't already considered one?
Seriously, this song as a whole is one absolute favorites, and one of the best songs to come out of Pink Floyd's catalogue of hits.

In fact, David Gilmour and Richard Wright both say WYWH is their favorite Pink Floyd album, and it's really hard to disagree with them on that one.
Oh and the cover. A quick story on that one, is that artist Storm Thorgerson came up with the idea of the album cover being all black, meaning that it didn't matter what the outside packaging looked like, but that rather it was the music inside the cover that really mattered. 
Here's the wiki-link that explains all of that and the story behind the man on fire shaking hands with that other guy:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wish_You_Were_Here_(Pink_Floyd_album)
Very cool to think that they went to all that trouble to have a stuntman set on fire just so that they could capture that image to go along with the famous saying about "Being burned."

After this album, PF would go on to make 1977's Animals, another solid 'Floyd album.And then the famous The Wall album after that.
I'll highlight these and other PF albums at a later date.
Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane as much as I did:)

My favorite albums: Abby Road

S'up people?

I figured for this week's installment of My favorite albums, I'd finally feature a rock group that probably should have already been featured here, The Beatles.

Ahh, yes the Beatles.

I'll readily cop to being extremely biased when it comes to the Beatles. I've already mentioned ending a friendship over them, and other such moments revolving around the Fab Four.

But today, I'm simply reviewing an album of theirs that undoubtedly's been talked about and reviewed hundreds upon hundreds of times before.

But just not by me:)

Today I review their last true album, Abby Road. True, Let It Be's technically their last one, since it was the last one released, but Abby Road was made first.


So..........

Starting things off, let's look at the entire 17 track-long masterpiece that is Abby Road.

First up is "Come Together".  Written mostly by John Lennon, the main origin and point of this song, undoubtedly comes from the intense inner turmoil the group was undergoing at the time this album was recorded. Lennon was coming under fire from his band-mates over his insistence to have his new wife Yoko attend every meeting and session alongside him, despite the fact that none of the other Beatles ever brought their girlfriends or wives with them. Not to mention stress from running their joint venture and personal creation, Apple Records, the war in Vietnam, and the yearning to simply quit and do his own thing, all helped to inspire this song.

Now wikipedia.org states that officially the song was written for Timothy Leary during his campaign to run as Governor of California. So that seems to be the official genesis behind this song, but I don't see why the above reasons don't fit either.

It's a classic song, with crazy lyrics, that's become an instant radio staple.

We all know how crazy the lyrics are but I found this one website that seems to explain them away, for me, those seem to be the best explanations for the song I've come across.

Here's the link:
http://www.lyricinterpretations.com/Beatles/Come-Together

"Something", written by George Harrison, is another long-time radio staple. Heavily influenced by a James Taylor song, "Something in the way she moves", this song has been highly regarded as one of the best love songs ever written, and one of Harrison's best songs ever!

Putting this song on while sharing a romantic evening or weekend with your girl/guy should definitely help your chances in getting lucky, as its the type of song that helps set the mood for that sort of thing. Plus it's a really, really good song.

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is fun song that was a massive undertaking by the group production and cost wise. Described as one of the most expensive songs the Beatles ever made, this baby was all Paul's, and listening to it, you can really tell!

If didn't already know, the subject's about a young man who goes around on a killing spree, thus where you get the whole silver hammer bit; it's his gun/weapon. Despite such a dark choice of topic, it's played very light-heartedly; a dark comedy if you will.

Now this was strictly Paul's baby, or "granny music" as called by Lennon, as again, the whole production of the song was very costly, and was worked on tirelessly by Paul and the band until Paul thought it was perfect. This helped further deepen the ever-growing divide between the band-mates, as the others were becoming more and more frustrated by the all the time and money being spent on what was supposed to be a major money-making single. It wasn't, but is still a fun classic to listen to.

Next up is another McCartney song, "Oh! Darling."
Just listening to this one, you can tell how much of an influence music from the 50's was on Oh! Darling. Hell, the whole song sounds as if it came straight out of the 1950's with the "wooing" and piano parts, that seem to be a nod to pioneering legends of that era like "The Killer" Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and Little Richard.

An interesting note I came upon, was that John Lennon felt that this was the type of song he should have sung lead on, since as he said "'Oh! Darling' was a great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better—it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it."

Very interesting indeed. I wonder what John's version would've sounded like, and just how similar or dissimilar it would have been.

Who doesn't love the next song, "Octopus' Garden"?
Created as a funny, light-hearted song for the album. Word is that Ringo wrote the song while on vacation with his family and actor Peter Sellers(from those original Pink Panther movies from the 60's). 
It was also during this time that the boat's captain was explaining to Ringo about how octopuses gather shiny objects, like stones and shells, to build their gardens. And from there, a song was born.

The first time I ever heard the song was on The Muppets, as seems to be the case for me with hearing a lot of classic songs for the 1st time. Here's the Muppets' version just for the hell of it:

Damn I miss that show:(

No matter how you look at it and the lyrics, you can either write off as a silly kids' song, a metaphor for life, or whatever. But there's no denying what a classic this one's become. Oh, and it was also the second song Ringo ever wrote for the group. Not too shabby huh?

From Ringo to George, "Here comes the Sun" is another classic Harrison track, and his second on the album.

Anyone who's ever heard it can relate to the song and what the lyrics mean and represent. It's about how to look for the light at the end of the tunnel, or the silver lining in the clouds, or whatever hopeful analogy or saying you want to use. But basically it's about being able to overcome whatever shitty situation you're in and find the hope and will to move on to better things.

I know this song has personal meaning to me, and the crazy, messed-up year I've had, I don't doubt other people feel the same way. I Imagine Harrison writing and singing this both to and for himself and by extension the band, while they were all going through their own personal problems and inevitable break-up.

Again, you can never go wrong with classics like these by Harrison. I think also illustrates just how much he was held back as far as contributing songs, since he was by no means, horrible or unworthy of contributing his own songs. A point that became very clear once he started his solo career.

Up next is "Because." I didn't discover this song until I bought the Beatles' Love album, and heard that version of this song. But the original is just as good, and definitely worth listening to.

Written by Lennon, Because was inspired by Lennon's wife Yoko listening to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."
Lennon was so inspired, he wondered if he could play the chords backwards, and from there, Because was born.

The coolest part of the song, is the way it's a basic 3-part harmony, w/Paul's, John's, and George's vocals dubbed over and over until it sounds like 9 people singing. Very cool.

Next up is the major 16-minute medley that covers the rest of the album with the exception of "Her Majesty", "You never give me your money."

A lot of topics are covered during this medley, and all usually based off of personal experiences.

Take "You never give me your money." for example. Written by McCartney as to how he felt about then Beatles' manager Allen Klein. Klein was brought in over McCartney's objection by the other three Beatles to serve as their manager, replacing their former one, Brian Epstein who had died of a drug overdose in '67. Klein used to the Rolling Stones' manager, but was fired due to a general feeling that Klein was a con-man and liar who had swindled the 'Stones out of a lot of money. Hell, Mick Jagger even wrote a note to the Beatles warning them about Klein and his dishonest business practices.

So yeah, McCartney was not a big Klein fan.

This segues into three Lennon songs, "Sun King", "Mean Mr. Mustard", and "Polythene Pam." Each one is short, but brilliant, and so typical of the Beatles' style.

I like the 1st two the best, as "Sun King" is a beautiful, whimsical song, with an awesome beginning, and "Mean Mr. Mustard" is just plain silly, but entertaining to listen to.

Well that, and I'm quite fond of Mustard as a condiment, so there's that:)

They all lead in to McCartney's "She came in through the bathroom window", a truly autobiographical song based off a fan actually breaking into Paul's house through the bathroom window of course, to get an autograph. Crazy shit man!

Joe Cocker covered this, and ever since I heard his version, I'm kinda' stuck, as I really like both versions, but prefer Paul's of course;)

Here's Paul's version:

And here's Joe Cocker's:

Two different styles that both sound great in my opinion.

"Golden Slumbers" is next, which again is vintage McCartney. Inspired by 17th century dramatist Thomas Dekker's poem, "Cradle Song", Golden Slumbers is a big production-sounding song that leads into "Carry that weight."

As always, personal tragedy and inner turmoil always make for good songwriting  and Carry that weight is no exception, as it elegantly describes what Paul felt as he believed he was the sole person keeping the Beatles together and putting out albums. Of course that's how he felt, which I'm sure the other's would have probably disagreed with that assessment  nonetheless it serves as another inspirational song by the Beatles to keep going no matter tough things get. I dig it.

Who doesn't love "The End"?

With that classic last verse going, "And in the end; the love you take, is equal to the love you make."

Beautiful man, simply beautiful.

That reminds of the time Paul McCartney guest-starred on SNL in the early 90's, and was in sketch w/ Chris Farley, where Farley asks him if that last line is true or not.

      Classic!

The last track on the album, is the short ditty "Her Majesty." that was initially supposed to be included in between the "Mean Mr.Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" songs. Paul and the other Beatles didn't care for it where it was, and had it cut altogether from the album. But studio engineers kept it, spliced it, and put it where it wound up staying, at the end of the album. Interesting story for a short song that wasn't even acknowledged on early releases of the album in both the US and UK.

And that's Abby Road in a nutshell.

The last true album the Beatles ever made together, Abby Road stands as a testament to the musicianship and integrity of the band to record this album despite all the conflicts and personal issues that would eventually and ultimately break the band up.

And that my friends, is only part of the reason why I love and admire them so much.

My favorite albums: Van Halen

I just wanted to take a quick second to thank all of you guys(and gals, hey Randomnerd:) that stop by and comment on this mad little experiment that is my blog.

I want you all to know how much I truly appreciate the interest and time you all take out your busy schedules to drop me a line, disagree or agree with me, and so on.

So here's a big thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!:)

Today's post is about another of my favorite rock albums of all time.

Some of you my agree on this week's selection, some of you may not; but there's no denying how influential this week's band has been on rock music in general.

I ain't talkin' 'bout love, I'm talkin' 'bout Van Halen.

If you were there(and I wasn't because I wasn't even born yet) 1977 was a crazy time in rock, and music in general.

You had punk, the new wave of metal(both British and American) rock, and disco all fighting it out for supremacy of the charts.

And in the midst of all that, out came this band from Pasadena, California, Van Halen.

I won't get into their whole history, as that would take up way too time, but if you interested, and don't already know, here's the Wikipedia.org link to get you up to speed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_halen

Today, I'm talking about their debut album, and what a blast of fresh air that album was, and what tracks I love(just about all of them!)


At first glance, you may be asking yourself, what's so special about this album? It looks like every other rock album put out around that time period.

And that's where you'd be wrong.

First off, the cover, while not a super revolutionary concept, is one I don't think was used on a lot of covers back then.

Seriously, look at it.

All the band members are in motion, with a wicked time-distorted, blurry effect thing going on.
To me, they all kind of look like Led Zeppelin, especially lead singer David Lee Roth in his "I'm the sexy, cool, lead singer" pose.

But trust me, inside that album, they seriously kick a whole lotta' ass!

Don't believe me? Just hit play and listen to the blistering licks and heavy sounds of the intro song "Eruption".

Yeah, it's like that motherfucker!

I kid you not, that intro was an immediate game-changer for 1977, and put all the other rock bands on notice that this band wasn't to be taken lightly.

To me, it's one of the best intros/lead-ins out there, as it goes from here to a cover of a famous song by The Kinks, "You really got me."

Of course I'd be remiss, if I didn't state that the very first song on the album, "Running with the devil". This song is pretty much a rock anthem if there ever was, you know, since rock music has long been dismissed and labeled as "Devil/Satan music".

If that's the case, sign me up for a long tour of hell. At least they're will be plenty of company:)

Here's "Running with the Devil":

Damn! Now that's rock and roll right there!

Moving on, is the famous "Ain't talkin' 'bout love."

Obviously an ode to one-night stands, this songs rocks while being pretty honest and up-front about what Diamond Dave wants.

Here's some of the lyrics, just to show you how smooth, but up-front Dave is on the subject:

"I heard the news baby
All about your disease
Yeah, you may have all you want baby
But I got somethin' you need. Oh, yeah!
Ain't talkin' 'bout love
My love is rotten to the core
Ain't talkin' 'bout love
Just like I told you before. Yeah, before

You know you're semi-good lookin'
And on the streets again
Ooh yeah, you think you're really cookin' baby
You better find yourself a friend, my friend

Ain't talkin' 'bout love
My love is rotten to the core
Ain't gonna talk about love
Just like I told you before! Before! Uh, before! Uh, before! Before!"

Would believe this song was written by guitarist Eddie Van Halen? Yeah, I didn't either until I looked it up.

"I'm the one" is pretty good too, but the next series of songs are better, and much more popular.

Like, how about "Jamie's Cryin" or "Atomic Punk", a very timely song for that era. Its definitely one of my favorites.

Here, take a listen:

Damn that's heavy, isn't it? Awesome, awesome guitar riffs!

"Feel your love tonight" is another pretty good song, but I prefer the next one after that, "Little Dreamer". Again vintage Eddie Van Halen riffs on this one. Well hell, the whole band sells, it, but those opening cords, ohhhh, yeah baby!

Now as for the meaning of the song, I'm not too sure there. By reading and listening to the lyrics, you get a sense this song's about a person that society's kind of given up on, and and written off. The person still dreams and reminisces about the fun times he/she had back in their earlier days, so I guess maybe they used to be on top of the world, and aren't? IDK, but it's still a damn good song nonetheless.

Next to the last song is "Ice Cream Man", another one of my personal favorites, and yes, it's dripping with sexual innuendos. God I miss the days of clever wordplay like that. True there's nothing wrong with being direct and to the point, but it really takes some thought and imagination to come up with ways to say "I want to fuck you" but in coy and sly manner.

Here's the lyrics, and then the song:

"Dedicate one to the ladies...

Now summertime's here babe, need somethin' to keep you cool

Ah, now summertime's here babe, need somethin' to keep you cool

Better look out now though, Dave's got somethin' for you

Tell ya what it is

I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by

Oh my, my, I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by

See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy

Hold on a second baby

I got bim bam banana pops, dixie cups

All flavors and push-ups too

I'm your ice cream man baby, stop me when I'm passin' by

See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy Hold on, one more

Well I'm usually passin' by just about eleven o'clock

Uh huh, I never stop

I'm usually passin' by just around eleven o'clock

And if ya' let me cool you one time, you'll be my regular stop

All right boys!

I got bim bam banana pops, dixie cups

All flavors and push-ups too

I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by

See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy, yes

I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by

I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by

They say all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy Ah one time

(Guitar Solo)

I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by

I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by

They say all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy

One time boys!

I'm your ice cream man

I'm your ice cream man

B-B-B-B-B-B-B-Baby!

Ah my my my

All my flavors are guaranteed......to satis-uh-fy

Ow!"

Now how can't you not love that?

I did a little digging to find out it's not a Van Halen original, but was written by famous blues musician John Brim. Well sir, I'd like to thank you for providing us, and Van Halen, with a damn fine song:)

And finally, to close out the album, there's "On fire."

Not a bad song in and off itself really. It just fucking rocks!

Here's the live version to help me sell it for ya':

Interestingly enough, that's exactly what Richard Pryor said when that crack pipe he was smoking exploded and set him........ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!:)

Yeah, I went there. And yes, that's a true story. Look it up kids:)

This is also a song I could easily see the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering, since it has that Flea-like bass riff that the band's so famous for.

So that's their first album in a nut-shell.

Of course all know Van Halen would go on to sell millions....and millions of albums, and became world famous. But it all started somewhere, and it started right here, with their first album.

Now you should already know the band's back together again with Diamond Dave on lead vocals, minus long-time bassist Michael Antony, who was more or less let go or booted out, in favor of Eddie's son Wolfgang. 

Yeah I don't get that one either.

But they did release a new album called "A different kind of truth", and are currently touring the US and around the world, so at least there's that.....I think.