He didn't sell hundreds of millions of records, lived in a small apartment in Hollywood by his beloved Rainbow Bar and Grill, and generally played smaller venues but the influence of the late,great Lemmy Kilmister is immeasurable. Starting in 1975 and not letting up for the next 40 years, Lemmy took his love for Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and the Beatles turn the volume up to 100 and played it at an amphetamine fueled pace that no one quite ever heard before. Motorhead was one of the very few bands who were as influential to metal bands such as Venom, Metallica, and Anthrax as they were to punk bands like Nirvana, Black Flag, and too many more to mention.
Today we lost Lemmy to a very aggressive form of cancer. Despite suffering from a number of health issues over the years, Motorhead still released a number of solid records and toured fairly frequently including at Riot Fest back in September. I was fortunate enough to be at that show and while it was obvious that Lemmy wasn't well, he strapped on his trademark Rickenbacker bass and barreled through.
So pour yourself a tall one and raise your glass to Lemmy!!
Lots of bad names, insults, characterizations, etc have been lobbed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame over the years, and the vast majority are completely justified. Their blatant disregard for anything not deemed worthy by the Rolling Stone top brass was beyond reproach. The fact that entire genres like Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, any punk band formed after 1977, were generally frowned upon was really, really insulting.
In the past few years however, things begun to change. In 2012, the process of selecting who was inducted was transferred from the stuffed shirts at Rolling Stone and other industry types the people who matter most - the fans. The benefits were instant as the one and only Rush were finally inducted. While still not perfect, it's at least taken a step in the right direction.
The class of 2016 is another positive sign of this change. Thanks to the fans, some extremely influential bands who have been on the outside looking in for many years are finally getting their getting that recognition. One can still say that the R and R HOF is still a bit of a farce, but at least they're trying.
Cheap Trick: Rockford's finest sons - Cheap Trick mastered the art of hard edge power pop in the seventies and 80's and influenced everyone from Big Black to Smashing Pumpkins to Foo Fighters. Rick Nielsen may be one of the most under appreciated songwriters of all time. Bonus points - they only wrote Surrender - one of the greatest songs ever.
Deep Purple: Save for Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, no other band had an influence on heavy metal than Deep Purple. Only a couple of million bands mimicked Ian Gillan's soaring vocal style and Richie Blackmore's blistering, over the top guitar solos. And we haven't even begun to discuss the millions of air guitarists that "Smoke on the Water" has spawned over the past four decades.
NWA: "You're about with witness the strength of street knowledge" - the opening line that changed everything. NWA brought the brutalities of life in Compton, CA to the masses with their epic, no holds barred, 1988 album Straight Outta Compton. The rhymes of Easy E, Ice Cube and MC Ren backed by Dr. Dre's beats enlightened many and enraged many others. Hip hop, and rock music in general, was never the same after Straight Outta Compton.
Chicago: Once you look past their insanely sterile, over produced, dull output that has dominated the latter part of their career, Chicago's very own was actually once a pretty amazing band. Over the course of their first 5 or 6 albums, they seamlessly mixed jazz, rock, and blues into a very, very combustable mix. For that, this is a well earned entry. As for everything else, not so much
And while on the topic, here are some suggestions for future R and R HOF entries while I have the podium:
Yes
Roxy Music
King Crimson
Iron Maiden
Motorhead
Judas Priest
Black Flag
Minor Threat
The Descendents
The Smiths
The Cure
The Replacements
Big Star
Television
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul
Brian Eno
Kraftwerk
After a very long siesta, it is officially back. With such a lengthy break, have many ideas percolating but those can wait until next year (no Cubs pun intended). Let's start with the easy stuff - since 2015 is thankfully drawing to a close, here are the records that I listed to over and over and over this year:
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly - I get that this one is totally predictable and that everyone had this as their album du 2015 but there's a reason....it's a hip hop album for the ages. Kendrick has made an album that is passionate, angry, and brutally honest. The beats - sampled and those from his smoking band, keep the vibe going throughout. Won't be shocked if we're speaking about this album in 20 years the way we do about The Chronic or Illmatic in 2015.
Deafheaven: New Bermuda - It's a tall order to top what this band did with their genre defying, shape shifting 2013 epic Sunbather, but San Francisco based Deafheaven trumped it with this release. With it's five tracks ranging between 8 and 10 minutes each and encompassing equal parts Black Metal and more atmospheric, shoe gaze, New Bermuda is brutal and lush at the same time. Looking forward to seeing them on tour with Anthrax and Lamb of God in 2016
Viet Cong: Viet Cong - Other than their soon to be former, controversial name, this Canadian quartet didn't get nearly the attention that they deserved with their first full length album. Viet Cong's debut is equal parts post punk, low-fi noise rock, with some Joy Division in the mix. Their songs extract melody and tunefulness from vast walls of noise. They also played a great set on day 3 of Pitchfork which I think you can find on You Tube.
Failure: The Heart is a Monster - Failure continued their out of left field comeback in 2015 with the crowd funded continuation to their 1996 classic "Fantastic Planet". Like it's predecessor, "The Heart is a Monster" carries on with it's mix of prog and hard rock and leveraging lead singer/songwriters Ken Andrews' melodic touch. It's that rare instance that despite a nearly 20 year gap between records you could play them in sequence and it feels seamless - see below.
CHVRCHES: Every Open Eye - For a band that is only on their second album, Scotland's CHVRCHES has mastered their brand of synth pop. While slightly more rigid than the light but powerful the Bones of What You Believe it still miles ahead of most of the pop stuff out there. Supporting data for their position in my top 10, their totally awesome video for Empty Threat. Goth day at the water park anyone?
Armored Saint: Wins Hand Down - While there's nothing glamorous or revolutionary about this album, the first release in 5 years from veteran, brutally under appreciated, rockers Armored Saint is as solid a hard rock/metal release as you can get. They blast out of the gates with the title track (featuring some really cool Thin Lizzy style harmonics) and never let up across the remaining 9 tracks. And, John Bush is still one of the best singers in rock and roll.
Run The Jewels: Meow The Jewels - A formula for enhancing what was an already great album like Run The Jewels 2. First, enlist legendary remixers like Dan The Automator, Prince Paul, and Massive Attack to offer a different perspective. Second, leave some some milk, Friskies, and catnip in the backyard to attract new vocalists.
Iron Maiden: The Book of Souls - When lead singer Bruce Dickinson was diagnosed with cancer last year, the was serious concern about the future of Maiden. Fortunately, Bruce responded to treatment and is cancer free, and 2015 saw the release of an epic Maiden album. Despite their exalted status and well into their fourth decade, Maiden doesn't take the easy route. "Book of Souls" features classic Maiden style tunes while venturing into some new territory, particularly with the soaring 18 minute finale, "Empire of the Clouds".
Rush: R40 Live- Because they're Rush and they rule over all!
Refused: Freedom - Under the category of why be boring...Swedish hardcore legends Refused decided to enlist Taylor Swift (not a typo) producer Shellback as one of the collaborators for their follow-up to the classic "The Shape of Punk To Come". Ambition not withstanding, "Freedom" definitely falls based on the standard that Refused has set. However, it's not a total dud. "Freedom" has a few excellent moments including "Elektra", co-written and produced by Shellback and the vicious "Dawkins Christ".
The Best of the Rest:
Faith No More: Sol Invictus Lamb of God: VII: Sturm and Drang Blur: The Magic Whip Wilco: Star Wars Grimes: Art Angels Sunn O))): Kannon John Coltrane: A Love Supreme - The Complete Masters Godspeed, You Black Emperor: Asunder, Sweet, and Other Distress Purity Ring: Another Eternity Teenage Bottlerocket (RIP Brandon): Tales from Wyoming Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment: Surf A Tribe Called Quest - Peoples Instinctive Travels.. (25th Anniversary Edition) D'Angelo and the Vanguard: Black Messiah Slayer: Repentless Swans: The Gate Led Zeppelin: Presence, In Through The Outdoor, and Coda reissues
