Influential Album Challenge Day 9 – Soundgarden Badmotorfinger

I consider Badmotorfinger and the album I will name for day 10 to be a tie for #1 on my list. I’m not going to even try and pick which one means more to me.

I know I selected Chris Cornell’s retrospective CD for Day 8 yesterday, but for me Badmotorfinger is, and has been one of my favorite CDs for nearly 30 years now and for that reason alone it deserves it own damn spot on my list. In fact I think it is the quintessential Soundgarden album. Yesterday was about Chris Cornell and his legacy, today, is Soundgarden. There were three other guys in the band, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepard, each masters of their craft. Take anyone one of them away and you’d not have the Soundgarden we think of.

So much attention has been given to Chris Cornell about his contribution to music, his voice, his lyrics, that it often overshadowed the rest of the band. You know I love me some Chris Cornell, but it is true. For instance, did you know that Room a Thousand Years Wide was written by Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil? And that my favorite song off the CD, Slaves and Bulldozers was a collaboration between bassist and human bean stalk, Ben Shepard and Cornell? (Makes sense, since the bass in this song is f-n’ badass).

I am not a musician and really have a very small grasp of anything technical about music. Apparently, Badmotorfinger is full of unusual time signatures and tunings. I’ve always liked to listen to things that are off the beaten path so to speak. I like the unusual, the odd thing put in place where it shouldn’t be. I like the weird. Music isn’t any different. (For instance, take Johnny Flynn’s type of folk music that features trumpet). It could be one reason I was drawn to Soundgarden in the first place.

The lyrics on this album differ a bit from their previous releases. They are full of imagery. Nothing is quite spelled out and it seems to let the listener discover for themselves just what it might all be about. No typical lyrics from that era of hair metal; no songs about motorcycles, girls and getting trashed. Thinking music you can rock out too.

Lyrics I love:

I’m burning diesel burning dinosaur bones

Its raining ice picks on your steel shore

I’m looking California but feeling Minnesota

The grass is always greener where the dogs are shedding (shitting)

Virgin eyes and dirty looks

I share a cigarette with negativity, Sitting here like wet ashes, With X’s in my eyes and drawing flies. Bathed in perspiration drowned my enemies. Used my inspiration for a guillotine

Badmotorfinger fully deserves to be #1 on my list, simply for the superb musicality from the entire band, the lyrics full of colorful imagery and sheer greatness that was Soundgarden.

Influential Album Challenge Day 8 – Chris Cornell I Am The Highway

Alright, so this is a compilation CD and maybe it’s cheating. But you know what? It’s my list, so there!. At this point, it’s no mystery that the music of Chris Cornell in whatever project he was working on has had a major influence throughout my life. Understandingly, it would just bee to hard for me to pick one or two of his projects and call it good. I figure with this selection of I Am The Highway I can cover everything from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and all the great solo works he did.

I became aware of Soundgarden way back in high school. Thanks to the necessary evil MTV and Headbanger’s Ball, this girl from rural Minnesota got to see the videos for Hands All Over and Loud Love. One of the things that impressed me was the voice. How Chris’ voice and Kim’s guitar melded into one other in the opening of Loud Love still impresses me these 30 years later. I purchased Louder Than Love on cassette. When I went away to college and seemed to spend an eternity in the painting studio, this cassette along with Ultramega OK, Flower, Screaming Life/Fopp (which I purchased at a record store/head shop) became my playlist to paint too. (Sidenote: Danzig and German Death Metal that I couldn’t understand a word also were heavily mixed in with Soundgarden). Badmotorfinger was out by this time, but for some reason unknown it didn’t make the cut. Many of my early paintings were created to this odd ball soundtrack I created.

Soundgarden kept me company through the rest of my college career. Badmotorfinger was the soundtrack to my last years at Winona and was the era where I did see Soundgarden live. Superunknown came out during my second stint at college and during one of the best times of my life. My favorite tracks off that CD would have to be My Wave, Fell on Black Days and Just like Suicide. It’s one of those rare CDs that I can listen to from start to end without having the urge to skip songs. I think Chris Cornell was at his best lyrically (for Soundgarden, at least) on this album, though Badmotorfinger is damn close. Down the Upside was also a great album, one I listened to on many roadtrips. I don’t know King Animal very well as I had a young child at the time and time was lacking.

Temple of the Dog was released not too long after Badmotorfinger and that was one cassette I wore out. It was a very different from what I was used to hearing from Soundgarden, but no less impressive. Famously the album was written by Chris Cornell for his friend and roommate, Andy Wood, who had tragically passed away from an overdose. He and members of Pearl Jam recored the album. The lyrics are really personal and in all honesty, as a 21 year old who had never felt loss that deeply, I really didn’t connect with the lyrics until later when I lost some who where close to me. Sadly, I Am The Highway only has 3 songs from Temple of the Dog. There isn’t a song I dislike from this album.

I Am The Highway also has the great Audioslave songs. For me Audioslave was what I listened to when I roadtripped to various shows. It seems fitting to me for some reason.

I think the highlight to I Am The Highway is Chris’ solo career. He could write and play how he wanted without trying to make a Soundgarden or Audioslave sounding song. Chris’ solo career was varied. He dabbled in Pop music (with Timberland), did some sublime covers (Billy Jean, anyone?), soundtrack work for movies like James Bond along with four solid solo albums. Included in this compilation are many songs recorded live as well as 11 previously unreleased songs, the highlight for me being When Bad Does Good. This was released posthumously, and the accompanying video is haunting and so sad. It features Chris’ own son, playing his father as a child. In the video he is delivering newspapers to sights around Seattle that Chris had frequented in his life there. Meanwhile, Chris’ most memorable lyrics are superimposed across the landscape. Heartbreaking.

Other musicians and idols that I have looked up to have passed away, yet not one has affected me quite as much as his passing has. I didn’t know him and yet I miss him.

Influential Album Challenge Day 6 – Phil Marshall Dondonisi

I like it. I like it a lot.

Sometime during the (Dubya) Bush Administration my friends and I saw Phil Marshall at John’s Bar in La Crosse. We all were highly impressed with his set. There was no question of my buying the CD (Dondonisi) he had for sale at the show.

Phil is one of the artists from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, (he hails from the UK) that I followed in the late 90s into the 2000s (I know, I know..you’re wondering how did I, a person from Minnesota get into acts from Oklahoma. Don’t worry that will be explained in the coming days). Over the years I’ve seen Phil numerous times and its always been a good time as well as a good show.

One of the things I like most about Phil’s music is his lyrics (Notice a theme here guys? I like words). In the song December Girl, Phil tells the story about a the time a friend of his was having a hard time. She wanted to go travel, see the world and had a lot of anxiety about it. Phil had a lucky half dollar he had found/received. He felt it had a lot of good juju in it as it had served him well. He gave it to his friend and with it she traveled the world and had a great experience. She returned it to him a year later. I’ve always felt a certain connection to this song as I too, have, in my case a lucky penny, given to me by a close friend. All these years later it serves me well still.

Dondonisi is full of gems like December Girl and it certainly didn’t end on this album. His follow-up album Providence? is just as good with songs like Energy and 24 Hours. If you have the time or inclination I would urge you to check out Phil Marshall’s music on his website.

Influential Album Challenge Day 5 – Blue October History for Sale

Until this very moment I wasn’t sure if I was going to pick Blue October’s Foiled or History for Sale. Both albums are superb and I suppose, since History for Sale came first, I’ll go with it. I simply can’t decide which one had a bigger impact on me. (And yes, I’m feeling a torn for not choosing Foiled…seriously, Hate Me is a masterpiece of a song).

Blue came to my notice when I my friend gave me a cd with a bunch of songs of their songs. All my friends were talking about them and I wanted to know what the deal was. It was love at first listen.

I think Blue is probably one of the most under-appreciated bands out there. I have a hard time wrapping my head around why they are played ALL THE TIME on the radio. Maybe due to the brutal honesty about mental health, suicide and addiction Justin Fustenfeld writes about? I don’t know, but whatever the reason, its shameful. Justin lyrics are often dark, but are some of the most poetic words spoken. Yet, his lyrics aren’t lofty, but like a personal conversation he’s having with the listener. The music is generally on the heavier side of rock, catchy and often cheerful, creating an interesting dynamic with the often darker lyrics.

But not every song is dark on History for Sale. Calling You was written by Justin for his girlfriend. It a straightforward and beautiful song about finding love.

If you ever get a chance to see Blue live. Go. I saw them once at Milwaukee’s Summerfest. Justin had broken his leg and performed the entire 2 hours alternating between crutches and sitting on a stool, but nothing of the energy was missing. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Influential Album Challenge Day 4 – Night Ranger Midnight Madness

This was the album that started it all for me.

Before Night Ranger’s Midnight Madness you could say I was a casual consumer of music. I listened to the radio, mostly Pop/Top 40. I bought 45s of songs I liked and a few albums from popular artists like Micheal Jackson, Quiet Riot and Cyndi Lauper. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I really was unaware of all that was out there.

I do remember hearing Sister Christian on the radio often though I can’t say I was a fan of the song and honestly I can not say I am now. Because of that Night Ranger was not on my radar. If my friend from Junior High had not invited me over to her house they might never have registered. As usual Shelia put on some records to listen to while we played board games. Midnight Madness was one that she put on. The first track (You Can Still) Rock in America was a solid rock tune but it was the second track Rumors in the Air that caught my ear and would not let go. I had Shelia play that song over and over again until she was good and sick of it. The rest of the album was pretty solid with great storytelling in the lyrics from Jack Blades and Kelly Keagy and two lead guitarists with vastly different styles that surprisingly gel from Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson.

At that point on I became one of the biggest Night Ranger fans on the planet and proceeded to develop a massive schoolgirl crush on the lead singer/bassist Jack Blades.From Night Ranger I started exploring hard rock/heavy metal groups; Ratt, Dokken, any music that was not given airplay on my Mom’s car radio. My family gotten Mtv not too long after my experience at Shiela’s and that really opened up another avenue for me to explore music (Headbanger’s Ball, and 120 Minutes).

As young as I was when I discovered Night Ranger (13/14) I did not get a chance to see them live during their prime but i did get to see and meet them during some reunion tours. Generally I’m pretty chill when I meet musicians that I admire because they are just people too. I will admit that I totally lost my shit each time I met Jack Blades…at least internally. I trust that I didn’t act like a complete moron. I’ll chalk it up to the gigantic schoolgirl crush thing.

I may not listen to Night Ranger as much as I did as when I was a youngster but they always will reserve a top spot in my favorite bands because without them I might not have discovered my deep love of music.

Influential Album Challenge Day 3 – Led Zeppelin III

Honestly, I could have chosen any one of Led Zeppelin’s albums. They are that good. I selected III because it contains some some great straightforward hard rock tunes (Immigrant Song) that Zeppelin is well known for as well as more acoustic folk-type songs (Bron-Y-Aur Stomp and Tangerine). I think this albums shows how versatile they could be.

I was an infant/young child during most of the time Led Zeppelin was making music. In fact, this album was released a few months before I was born. As a result I was not aware of the band until I developed an interest in hard rock/heavy metal music as a teenager. From my many hours reading Metal Edge and Hit Parader I gathered that pretty much every band was influenced by Led Zeppelin to some extent.

By the time I bought my first Led Zeppelin album, which I’m pretty sure was IV (you know, the one with Stairway to Heaven on it), I had heard many of their songs in the art room.In short order I had all of their albums on cassette tape and listening to them just as frequently as I did any other favorite band of mine. I loved their references to Tolkien and I didn’t think there was a soul alive that could deny that Jimmy Page was a true guitar god. John Bonham and John Paul Jones pounded out a solid, heavy beat.

For me at least, I feel that Led Zeppelin just might have been the greatest rock band to have ever graced this planet. Their music has been around for half a century and it’s yet to sound tired or dated.

Influential Albums Challenge Day 2 – Liz Phair Exile in Guyville

For today’s challenge I’m choosing Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville. The album had a major impact on my life. While I’m not selecting albums in any particular order this particular LIz Phair album in all likelihood would be in my top 3.

Exile in Guyville was released in 1993 though I didn’t pick it up until a year later. Many consider it a landmark album because of the brutally honest way she sings about the real things that were on many girls minds: boys, sex, dependance and independence, being taken for granted or advantage of, friendship, breakups, and not being taken seriously. Definitely not the perfect-forever-love, puppies and butterfly crap that pop music pushed down our throats. Pardon the phrase, but Liz Phair was real. Her songs might have been raunchy and shocking (for the time), but man, was it was the freakin’ uncensored truth! The music was lo-fi, gritty and raw.

When I picked up the cd I was 24, in college again, working on another undergraduate degree. I was navigating a lot of new relationships, both romantic and purely plutonic, and I was also trying to find my way to independence. Exile in Guyville was my truth, my holy book back then.