Dear Friends,
It shouldn’t be July tomorrow. It’s too soon. Things are going to happen. I can feel it. I’ve been making plans. July is where the balance of the year tips.
Yesterday started out poorly.
I had a terrible dream that had to do with my marriage, and it shook me. I was watching a clip from the comedian, Pete Holmes, and he talked about how dreams are just movies that you make up in your mind that star you. I happen to agree with this idea.
Dreams have fucked with me for as long as I can remember. I have mentioned this in previous blogs, so some of you will understand how this has impacted me to an extent. This one is something that has been reoccurring, too, for a while now and it’s getting harder and harder to ignore. I need to deal with it.
The dreams, of course, is what I need to deal with. The marriage is solid…but I’m struggling with something, and I can’t quite put my finger on it just yet. I hope the answer is to not have more dreams. That would suck.
The day got better, though, and we ended up in Farmington, which is about an hour away. It rained pretty steadily for much of the afternoon. We got some fireworks for the big day this coming week and found some other stuff we couldn’t live without, as well.
One of the cooler things to happen was we sort of stumbled on a Pride festival and it was really great. The people of Maine can tend to be really stuffy, but the crowd at the fair was refreshing, peaceful, and I’m glad there was no one being dicks about it.
Farmington is a college town, so maybe that is why it is a bit cooler and more accepting than other areas. I like visiting there a lot and have had fun there over the years. I’m sure I’ll make it there at least once more while I’m here.
*****
For those of us growing up and learning about music that was different than the stuff on the radio, having Placebo Records in our backyard was a godsend. This label was so influential on my youth and musical taste that I’m still realizing it to this day in new ways. Other than putting out some of my favorite music in EP and LP format, Placebo also put out three excellent compilations.
The first one that I wrote about was actually the last one that came out. More Coffee for the Politicians can be read about here at the ErgMis in my post from May 19. Today we will learn about Amuck, the 1982 compilation that was the first entry. Let’s begin…
Now, as you may have already surmised from reading previous entries, I didn’t listen to this in 1982. I was unaware there was such a record as Amuck. I’d like to think I would have liked it a lot, even then, because I was discovering all kinds of cool music thanks to Urgh! A Music War, early MTV, and friends who were bringing records to the neighborhood. Alas, though, it was years later before I first heard it.
I can’t recall the first time I heard Amuck, but it was probably in 1985. Someone, Bill or Jerry, had it and we listened to it a few times. I remember thinking that I liked the second compilation better, which is called This is Phoenix, Not the Circle Jerks. I will dive into that one later, but now that I’m older and have a better perspective on things, I don’t know if I could really pick a musical favorite. I have sentimental favorites, though.
For example, my sentimental favorite from Amuck is probably “Bottles Neck” by Victory Acres. They were probably the first of these bands that I saw live. I could be wrong on this, but it seems right. I feel like they played one of the first shows I saw back in 1985.
Back in the day, I also liked the Soylent Greene track a lot. It was punk rock and even though I liked “Bouncer” by JFA, the Soylent Greene track stood out a bit more to me. Both of them kind of represent the kid I was in those days the best, but only sometimes, if that makes sense. I wanted to be so much more than a ‘typical’ punk.
The Meat Puppets track on here, “Unpleasant,” is fun, too. It’s noisy and aggressive and shows a side of them that hasn’t probably been seen since the early 80s. Those guys could have done a great hardcore record if they had wanted to do so, but I’m also glad they didn’t because it would have made them something they aren’t. Well, maybe Derrek would have liked to make a hardcore record. I’ll have to ask him someday.
Amuck is such a great snapshot of what was happening in Phoenix in the early 80s. You’ve got some cool stuff like Precious Secrets, which had Johnny Precious on guitar and vocals. I’ve heard so many stories about that guy that it burns me up that he died. Drugs are fucking terrible.
International Language’s track, “Long Journey to Nowhere” and Knebnagauje’s “Annex” are both terrifically strange and inspiring. Back in the day I wouldn’t have felt this way, but today I would love to make this kind of music with some likeminded individuals. Back in the 80s, I would have told you that you were crazy if you suggested I could do something like this.
I think Amuck is something that all youngsters looking to make some strange, different noise, should have to listen to before they have their first jam session. It lets you know that there are many flavors in the pantry, you know. Just reach in and pick one.
“Pepperoni Ice Cream” by Killer Pussy is fun and ridiculous. I fucking love it. There is an air of ridiculousness to several of the tracks. I’ve discussed this with a lot of people over the years, but the influence of Wallace & Ladmo, which was a kid’s TV show that was on in Phoenix for about 35 years, is all over Amuck.
The thing about that early scene of creative folks in town is that they were warped by the heat, the lack of any pervading culture, and a silly TV show where anything and everything was fair game. How lucky were we to be exposed to something like Wallce & Ladmo in a place where retirees came to play golf and people with bad lungs and arthritis thought they might thrive again.
There is a lot of noise Amuck, too. It’s not random, though, but purposeful noise. I never realized until about ten years ago that a lot of these folks were taking what Devo was doing and adding influences like Stockhausen and Can into the mix. Brilliant stuff from Tone Set, Destruction, and Dali’s Daughter happening here.
I would be remiss to ignore the Paris 1942 and Sun City Girls tracks. Both are a ton of fun to listen to for me. I’ve heard the stories of both of these songs from the people who made them, and it makes it so much more enjoyable. Someday there will be a documentary so you can hear these stories, too. It’s going to be great.
Enjoy your Sunday and listen to Amuck. Here is a link to it.
*****
See you tomorrow. See you in July.
Who is in that car, AI? Who?