One of the cool things that will eventually pan out for this here site - is that we'd love for people to write guest posts about records that changed their lives. Because that's really what the site is all about - sharing with people the glory of the music we hear buried deep in our heads/hearts. The records that changed our perception of what music is/was/could be. The records that inspired us to unleash whatever we hold inside of us. The records that kill us, even after not hearing them for ten years.
The following is the first in a hopefully long line of guest posts. This one comes courtesy of Adam "The King" King, a dear friend of mine from Phoenix. Enjoy...
Songs About Fucking changed my musical life. Highlights of my (embarrassing) musical awareness leading up to my discovery of the 1988 Big Black masterpiece include: Weird Al Yankovic, MC Hammer, Blink 182, NOFX and the Locust. It was at this Locust-peak that I first came across Songs About Fucking.
There is one record store in the metro Phoenix area that specializes in "abrasive" music. I asked an employee at this store (Eastside Records, in Tempe) to recommend something along the Locust --> Swing Kids path, following that direction. He suggested Steve Albini's output in Rapeman and Big Black.
I bought Songs About Fucking, listened, and Aldous Huxley knocked on my third eye and my doors of perception opened up to a brave new world; one where the walls between (unorganized) noise and music (organized noise) became windows separating the two...
Contrived metaphor and allusion aside, Songs About Fucking is, simply, a brilliant record. From the way everything is distorted on every song (except maybe the kick and toms, maybe) to the way they introduce vocal effects into punk-scene music in '88 to the way the album opens with the (arguably) most "complex" track to the noise-brilliant guitar antics of Albini, there is no arguing that this album changes things for (some) people.
- the king
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