Happy 420!

Today is 420 Day (aka Stoner New Year)

On 4/20 and especially at 4:20 PM, millions of people around the world smoke a much maligned, but fairly innocuous sticky green herb that relaxes people, reduces depression and boosts appetite.

I've smoked pot for nearly 30 years and compared to all other recreational substances (including alcohol), marijuana is the most benign. Today, there are synthetic and far more dangerous drugs easily available, such as bath salts and K2 that make marijuana, for all the reefer madness rhetoric about it that some STILL believe, appear as innocent as milk and cookies.

There's a growing awareness in even the most rigidly conservative states that marijuana isn't as bad as previously thought. (Even Mississippi decriminalized marijuana.) And with the onslaught of crystal meth and these new synthetic drugs and with a nation deep in debt and unable to sustain an abysmally failing war on drugs, something's got to give.  

People in Washington State and Colorado have a LOT to be grateful for today. I couldn't have asked for a better night than November 6, 2012. Not only my birthday, but Washington State and Colorado did the once politically unthinkable; they legalized the recreational use of marijuana.

They had to eventually. I knew it would happen in my lifetime. But I was about 10 years off. Who could have known it would have been voted for in near landslides in two states?  

But first.....

You toke the green hit buddy......

Marijuana wasn't always illegal. In fact, there were NO laws against marijuana whatsoever until the early 20th century. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew and used marijuana. Marijuana was used for treating everything from asthma to pain relief (It doesn't actually relieve pain, but it does take the edge off it.)

Doctor recommended......

Here's the ultimate playlist for your 420 holiday:

"The Great Smoke Off" Shel Silverstein (The One To Play at 4:20 PM)
"Legalize It" Peter Tosh
"Sweet Leaf" Black Sabbath
"Pass The Marijuana" Sublime
"You're A Viper"  Stuff Smith and his Onyx Club Boys
"Smoke Two Joints" The Toyes/Sublime
"Gimmie A Reefer" Bessie Smith
"Hits From The Bong" Cypress Hill
"Don't Step On The Grass, Sam" Steppenwolf

“You Don't Know How It Feels” Tom Petty
"Natural Mystic" Bo Marley
"High" Feeder
"Don't Bogart Me" Fraternity Of Man/Little Feat
"Hash Pipe" Weezer
"Wildwood Weed" Jim Stafford
"Because I Got High" Afroman
"Stoned Soul Picnic" The Fifth Dimension

“Comfortably Numb” Pink Floyd
"Too Rolling Stoned" Robin Trower
"Marijuana In Your Brain" Lords Of Acid
"Four And Twenty Hours" Nana Mouskouri
"Pass The Dutchie" Musical Youth
"Texas Tea Party" Benny Goodman
"M.V. (Marijuana)" Nirvana
"Rainy Day Women 12 & 35" Bob Dylan
"Who Got The Hooch" Everything
"Champagne and Reefer" BB King
"Along Comes Mary" The Association
"Mary Jane" Rick James
"And It Stoned Me" Van Morrison
"Save The Roach For Me" Buck Washington
"My Name Is Bud" NOFX
"Muggles" Louis Armstrong
"Smokin'" Boston
"Billy Bardo" Johnny Paycheck
"The Ganja Man" Lee "Scratch" Perry
"Homegrown" Neil Young
"I Got Stoned And I Missed It" Dr. Hook
"Seeds and Stems (Again)" Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
"Reefer Man" Cab Calloway
"One Toke Over The Line" Brewer & Shipley
"That Cat Is High" Manhattan Transfer
"Burn One Down" Ben Harper
"The Devil Went To Jamaica" Travis Meyer
"420" Kottonmouth Kings
"Panama Red" New Riders of The Purple Sage
"Cheeba Cheeba" Tone Loc
"Hash Cake '77" Hawkwind
"Roll Another Number" Neil Young
"White Punks On Dope" The Tubes
"Let's Go Get Stoned" Ray Charles
"Insane In The Brain" Cypress Hill
"The Thoughts Of Mary Jane" Nick Drake
"Marijuanaville" Tenacious D
"Puff The Magic Dragon" Peter, Paul & Mary
"And She Was" Talking Heads
"Copperhead Road" Steve Earle
"Tomorrow Never Knows" Beatles
"There She Goes" Sixpence None The Richer/The La's
"Are You Experienced" Jimi Hendrix
"Last Dance With Mary Jane" Tom Petty
"Bong Hits For Breakfast" Staind
"Heaven Is A Halfpipe" OPM
"Marijuana" Phish
"Marrakesh Express" Crosby Stills & Nash
"Smokin' In The Boys Room" Brownsville Station/Motley Crue
"What If God Smoked Cannabis" Bob Rivers

“Kaya” Bob Marley

“The Joker” Steve Miller Band

“Sinsemilla” Black Uhuru

“Let's Go Smoke Some Pot” Dash Rip Rock

“Captain Jack” Billy Joel

“Got To Get You Into My Life” The Beatles

“Little Green Bag” George Baker Selection

"Marijuana Australiana” The Layabouts

“Lady Jane” Rolling Stones

NWPUNKROCK: 30 Plus Years Of Punk In The Northwest (2007)

If you've always wondered where all that crazy grunge stuff in Seattle got it's start, look no further. This 2 hour documentary takes you back from the '70s all the way up to 2007 and looks at every aspect of the whole punk scene of the last 30 years from every location in the Puget Sound from Vancouver, BC to Olympia. A MUST watch for every fan of indie/DIY/punk/hardcore!

Download/Watch here

http://archive.org/details/NWPUNKROCK-30-plus-years-of-punk-in-the-Northwest 

A Rock N' Roll Food Fight

Some bands/artists with food or food related names:

Smashing Pumpkins
The Lovin' Spoonful
Cranberries
The Honey Cone
Meatloaf
Lemonheads
Blind Melon
Bread
Cibo Matto
The Cookies
The Platters
Artichoke
Hootie & The Blowfish
Olive
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Cake
Dead Milkmen
Belly
The Raspberries
The Applejacks
The Honeycombs
Humble Pie
April Wine
Black Grape
Amy Winehouse
Taco
Pigmeat Markham
Fine Young Cannibals
Ambrosia
Matthew Sweet
Salt & Pepa
Pearl Jam
The Fat Boys
Soup Dragons
Gin Blossoms
My Cat Puddinhead
Spice Girls
Sugaland
100 Proof Aged In Soul
Cream
Vanilla Ice
Dave & Sugar
Sugarloaf
Neutral Milk Hotel
Ice-T
The Moldy Peaches
Green Jello (Jelly)
Brandy
Fiona Apple
Phish
Fattburger
Grapes Of Wrath
Chet Baker
T-Bone Walker
1910 Fruitgum Co.
Hot Tuna
School Of Fish
Wings
Sausage
Anita Baker
Uncle Kracker
Hall & Oates
Dishwalla
Buckcherry
Bowling For Soup
Korn
Vanilla Fudge
The Black Eyed Peas
Jon Butcher Axis
Breakfast Club
Country Joe & The Fish
Captain Beefheart
G. Love & Special Sauce
Wild Cherry
The Spoons
Richard Cheese
Feeder
Mudhoney
Meat Puppets
Fishbone
The Flaming Lips
Pop Will Eat Itself
A Taste Of Honey
Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Reel Big Fish
The Lemon Pipers
Fatback
Fischerspooner
Veruca Salt
Peaches
Moby Grape
Jello Biafra
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Peaches & Herb
The Electric Prunes
Sugar Ray
The Jam
Custard
Sugar Hill Gang
Mushroomhead
Everclear
Marc Almond
Mighty Lemon Drops
Neneh Cherry
Strawberry Switchblade
Sweet
The Brand New Heavies
Toni Basil
Tangerine Dream
Big Pig
Sugar
Heavy D
Strawberry Alarm Clock
Spacehog
Ultimate Spinach
Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Prefab Sprout
Vitamin C
Vitamin Z
Joy Of Cooking
Juice Newton
Limp Bizkit
Hot Chocolate
The Sugarcubes
DJ Quik
Apples In Stereo
Rachel Sweet
Bananarama
Eagle Eye Cherry
Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Chuck Berry
String Cheese Incident
Leadbelly
Hot Butter

Exposed: A Cheap Peek At Today's Provocative New Rock (CBS, 1981)

Back in 1981, CBS Records released a 2 LP compilation of what was then some pretty cutting edge music called "Exposed: A Cheap Peek At Today's Provocative New Rock". It featured a few hits from Loverboy, Judas Priest and Adam & The Ants, but mostly selected album cuts from newer artists back then to the CBS house labels (Columbia, Epic and Portrait) as well as labels which CBS distributed (Nemporor, Stiff and Cleveland International.)

It sold on the counter of your favourite record store for a super cheap list price ($2.98, at a time when many rock acts were making double concept albums with more filler than you can shake a meatloaf recipe at for $15.98.)

It was what they called a "loss-leader", meaning if you liked what you heard on this sampler, you COULD be inclined to buy the full length albums from the artists you liked. But this 2 LP set was a nice way to come home from a fun day at the record shop with a little something extra in the bag to round out an evening of stereo fun.

Another act prominently featured on the set was Ellen Foley. Her name may not instantly ring any particular bells. But if you've ever wondered who that chick was who sang with Meatloaf on his hit "Paradise By The Dashboard Light"....

"STOP RIGHT THERE!".....That was Ellen Foley. But that's NOT Ellen Foley you see in the video. That's Karla DeVito lip-synching Ellen Foley's vocals......

You may also know Ellen Foley as Billie Young from the '80s TV sitcom Night Court. But in the early '80s, she took a stab at a solo music career, recording two albums. One of them, The Spirit Of St. Louis was recorded with The Clash as her backing band. She was going out with Mick Jones at the time, a relationship that didn't work out - he wrote "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" about her.

There are other lost power pop/new wave gems here (The Sorrows, Garland Jefferys), some early country/rock crossovers (Rosanne Cash, Steve Forbert) and others completely lost to time and memory.

It was also popular enough to spawn a sequel album later that year....

Homemade Records

You know? There's a part of me that's REALLY kicking myself for not buying a similar Presto K-10 in Eastern Washington for $40 14 years ago. If I only known you could use disposable plastic plates as blanks...... 

It's straight, warm, tubey sounding lo-fi mono sound and disposable plate "vinyl" makes it perfect for recording punk or DYI/Outsider music 

East German Punk Rock

"Hasch Mich Madchen" Keks (1983)


This was a band from the former German Democratic Republic called Keks (Cookie). Totally unknown outside the GDR, it's been suggested they started out as more of a mainstream pop group before going punk in the early '80s. Didn't last long, they were banned by the East German government by 1985.

Here's what probably sent the East German officials over the edge. A track from 1983 called "Hasch mich Madchen" ("Catch Me Girl"), a strange tune that sounds like a bad rehearsal (they stop and start several times.) Besides, the title (which is repeated throughout the song), it's hard to figure out what they're talking about

From the guitars, you can also pretty much hear how Rammstein and every other German industrial metal band got started on this track:

They later became Knorkator, which was Germany's answer to Ministry. They broke up in 2008 after one of the members decided to start a new life in Thailand......

One other act was Nina Hagen. She came to America in the '70s and quickly established herself as one of the STRANGEST acts in the New Wave era of the early '80s.

She existed just outside of the mainstream in New Wave (but never too far away.) She's probably best known for her song "New York New York", which was featured in the bizarre 2003 Macaulay Culkin film Party Monster.

She appeared on Adamski's 1991 hit and video "Get Your Body". But this would be her last US hit. She's still performing today.

Happy #@&!$% Valentine's Day: Songs For The Dumped

Valentine's Day.....Is there ANY day more REVOLTING?

Of course not. At least the fact you just got dumped isn't rubbed into your face by every Madison Avenue commercial jingle on Halloween.

For every happy couple you see today, there are couples who were missed by Cupid's arrow.

These songs are for them.......

20. "F--k It (I Don't Want You Back)" Eamon
19. "Kiss This" Joanna Dean
18. "Gives You Hell" The All American Rejects
17. "You Oughta Know" Alanis Morrisette
16. "Love Stinks" J. Geils Band
15. "Before He Cheats" Carrie Underwood
14. "I Hate Everything About You" Ugly Kid Joe
13. "Coney Island Whitefish" Joan Jett
12. "Ain't No Pleasing You" Chas & Dave
11. "My Give A Damn's Busted" Jo Dee Messina
10. "I Hate Everything About You" Three Days Grace
9. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Joy Division
8. "You're Breaking My Heart" Harry Nilsson
7. "Song For The Dumped" Ben Folds Five
6. "She's Got The Ring (I Got The Finger)" George Strait
5. "Nag" Joan Jett
4. "They'll Need A Crane" They Might Be Giants
3. "Leave You Behind" Sleater-Kinney
2. "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" Green Day
1. "The Salt In My Tears" Martin Briley

Halloween Hits: "The Beauty Of Poisin" Specimen (1983)

Specimen were an early UK goth rock band. I remember this song from it's airplay on influential early Seattle alternative rock station KJET. But in order to get a copy, I had to special order it. It was only available then as a UK import. (Boy have we come a LONG way!)

Bob Marley & The Wailers: Early Music

Here's a nifty little compilation of some of Bob Marley & The Wailer's earliest recordings (with Peter Tosh.) Released in 1977 as Bob Marley was making his mark on American FM rock stations and people everywhere were discovering this strange new music called "reggae". Whereas back then, punk was loud, fast and snotty, reggae was the mellow, laid back stuff your stoner next door neighbour played loudly on his stereo every Sunday morning.

While on the surface, this might look like your typical major label budget compilation (Calla was the hard funk/Caribbean music imprint of CBS Records) to cash in on a big trend by reissuing a current superstar's early material, this album is surprisingly well mastered with some instantly catchy tunes ("Wings Of A Dove", "I'm Still Waiting") and excellent liner notes on the back cover.

On this one, you hear more of a '60s soul influence (these sessions were recorded in the late '60s, before Marley's more rock-influenced Island albums in the '70s that made him a superstar) and Bob Marley could have easily scored a few '60s US hits if CBS were actively looking in Jamaica for exciting new music. Which they weren't (NOBODY outside of Island and a few specialty labels were doing that.) These recordings are reissued material Bob Marley & The Wailers recorded for New World Disc Records. It's a necessary companion to Bob Marley's greatest hits album Legend.
And the perfect soundtrack for a Sunday morning.....

Generic Products of The '80s

 Generic products (not to be confused with store or house brand named products, although they are identical in quality) were a fad of the early 1980s. With stark packaging, listing little more than the product name, ingredients, nutritional information, manufacturer and UPC bar code.

The idea behind them was by eliminating the cost for logos, descriptive copy, and photos/illustrations on the packaging, the savings could be passed on to consumers. Even though much of these were stock images anyway and in reality bore little extra cost in the actual manufacturing process.

It's been said generic products were factory seconds and had little to no taste or nutritional value. That was pretty much false as generic products were often manufactured at the same processing plants as name brand items (even on the same lines!) and in any blindfolded test it was hard to tell the difference between say, a generic can of corn and a name brand one. And some even thought the generic packaged products tasted better.

First appearing in 1981, they reached their peak in 1983 and 1984. However, as I mentioned, the savings from printing on the labels was very small overall and many retail chains began repackaging their generic products under house/store brand names. They completely disappeared by 1988    

They were often in uniform aisles in the store, where every item was generic.

They looked like this.....

....but felt like this.

The rock group Public Image Ltd. famously spoofed the generic craze on their 1985 album, simply titled Album (for vinyl releases) Cassette (for cassette releases of Album) and Compact Disc (for CD releases of Album)

See also The Return of Generic Products

The Day My Kid Went Punk

You had to love ABC TV in the '80s. What could be scarier than a kid with moussed hair? And those Sigue Sigue Sputnik records! What are the Nelsons ever going to do? 

What will they do?......