top of page
phnart

Entry date: 10-18-2024 – Happy Birthday to Me – Letters to My Friends

Dear Friends,

 

I had to stop and read my post from last year. I was in a good place, and I mentioned that the Cocaine Baby, who I haven’t seen in a while, had a good day on 10/17/23. That was a gift. I think I am in a good place now, too, as much as that is possible right now.

 

Where I am, physically, at this moment that you read this is anyone’s guess. Odds are good that I am somewhere in New Mexico or Colorado, depending on when you drop in today. Last night, we left Phoenix to get some distance towards Denver out of the way. The goal is to be just outside Denver where our motel is by 2pm or so. This way we can check in and get a nice nap before the show.

 

***** 

 

Speaking of naps, I have completed my 55th trip around the sun. It feels kind of weird to write it and even weirder to realize that in order for me to be halfway through my life, I now have to live to be 110. Apparently, that is scientifically possible now, but I have no interest in living that long unless I can be somewhat active, still have my faculties, and the people I love are still here, too.

 

I am feeling very fortunate today to be who I am and have the people around me that I have. It has been a wild 55 years in so many ways, but I have been loved greatly and loved a lot, as well, over that time. There have been bruises and missteps and utter heartache and pain, too, but I still feel very, very lucky.

 

If you are reading this right now, please accept my humble thanks for being a part of my life. You are appreciated. This day is appreciated, too.

 

I’m excited to see how this day turns out. The bands we are playing with tonight should be pretty good and we, The Freeze, are definitely ready to put on a good show for the nice people of Denver tonight, too. If only Rhondi could be there with me. That would make it perfect.

 

The candles are going to be blown out by the sound of the ruckus we make.

 

***** 

 

I picked this record as my birthday record because it is one of my all-time favorites. It was really fun to think about what to say about it, too.

 

***** 

 

Album by PIL is a true top ten record for me. It was called the “generic” record for a long time, and some people probably remember it this way, but for me, it’s just one of my favorite records ever. This is why I am choosing to write about it for my 55th birthday record.

 

I suppose I should have chosen Double Nickels on the Dime by Minutemen, but as much as I like that record, it’s not a birthday record. I may still write about that one, though. There is time. Today is all for Mr. John Lydon and his cast of heavy hitting gunslingers that helped make Album happen.

 

PIL came to Mesa on this tour in the summer of ’86. I went to that show, and it melted my tiny brain. They were so great, and their set was heavily infused with the songs from Album. They might have played the whole record but looking at some of the available set lists from around that time show that they weren’t playing “Ease.”

 

It was a game changing concert for me, though, and it cemented PIL as my favorite band for a long time. I still have an incredibly soft spot for all the PIL music. They will always be one of the bands that make me who I am as a music fan, a musician, and a person.

 

That’s a heavy thing to think about, but I love this record. From top to bottom, there are no dull moments or times where I wish the song would go faster or wasn’t there at all. It’s only seven songs, but they are seven powerhouses.

 

“FFF” is a perfect example of Lydon taking the piss out of people who are fair-weather friends, as in “farewell my fair-weather friends.” Apparently, Mr. Lydon has no time for people who only want to be around when it benefits them. We all know those types of people.

 

Over the years, the lyrics have taken on a whole new meaning to me. I’m not in Lydon’s league, but I do have people hanging around sometimes who think there is something I can do for them as opposed to just wanting to be a friend. It sucks. I don’t have Steve Vai coming up with great guitar leads for a song about it, though.

 

Well done, Mr. Bill Laswell, who produced the record and played bass on many of the tracks.

 

This record features a bunch of heavyweight players. Vai, Laswell, Ginger Baker contributes drums to half or more of the songs. Bernie Worrell is on organ for a few songs and Ryuichi Sakamoto also adds some synth to the mix, too.

 

I remember hearing about how Steve Vai played on the record. My metalhead friends could not believe one of their guitar gods was on a PIL record. I loved it. To be true, the guitar work on this record is amazing. I’ve always enjoyed, though, how guys like John McGeoch (RIP) and Lu Edmonds interpreted the songs, as well.

 

“Rise” comes after “FFF” and it is one of the greatest songs I know. I mean, “I could be wrong/I could be right.” That’s such a great opening line. The whole song, though, lyrically and musically, is just perfection. How could you not like “Rise” as a song? If you don’t, we might not be able to be friends.

 

Just kidding.

 

“Anger is an energy.”

 

Tony Williams actually plays drums on this one and not Ginger Baker. Williams was part of Miles Davis’ quartet at one point, so he was no slouch at all. I read once that Miles Davis himself was at some of the recordings, too. I wonder if anyone floated it out to him to add a little trumpet.

 

I can only imagine.

 

“Fishing” is a deliberately angular song that slowly winds me up when I listen to it. There are different ways of building tension in a song and this one certainly builds tension in a great way.

“I’ve learned caution/this comes from wisdom/these altitudes/these dizzying heights/these bottomless pits/these sweets delights.”

 

I love that line. I also love “talking to you is a waste of time/you burned the bridges you’ve been crossing/go crawl back in to your dustbin.”

.

Worrell’s contribution here is really fantastic, too. Very understated but the tones in the background are terrific. The bell sounds could have been Sakamoto, too, I suppose.

 

“Round” is another one that I love. It’s a very dramatic song with huge riffs. The image of nuclear holocaust was very apparent on this song. “Mushrooms all on the horizon.” The ultimate death from technology was just looming out there, according to Lydon, even though life was killing us all anyway.

 

“How many of you have seen a factory?” he asks at one point in “Round.” It’s a great question. Too many of the ‘FFF’ types that Lydon referred to in the song had probably never seen one.

 

“Bags” is probably the song that feels most like it could have come off one of the previous PIL records until Vai starts cranking. The guitar is very different than Keith Levene’s signature style, but lyrically and pace harkens back the older records. I like it.

 

I was always very partial to “Home” in the early days of loving this record. I think it is Tony Williams’ drumming, maybe, or just the riff itself that I just love. The drums are so solid on this song. It’s just a steady beat that you can really sink into and let the rest of the song just evolve.

 

“Better days will never be…now, what does this mean? /It means we get the best scene.”

 

The way Lydon takes the piss out of politics in this one just rules. I encourage you to listen and listen well. Vai’s guitar lead on “Home” is also goddamned good.

 

This brings us back to “Ease.”

 

When I saw PIL, they opened with “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin. The two songs, “Ease” and “Kashmir” are kind of spiritual cousins, so it makes sense that they didn’t do “Ease” live. It’s a long, robust closer to an amazing record full of feeling and very cinematic in scope. It could easily be the background music to along panoramic type scene showing vast countryside.

 

No matter which I way I look at it, I love this record and always will. It’s a top-10 record for me.

 

***** 

 

See you tomorrow.



Weird. AI. Weird.


11 views0 comments

Commentaires


Post: Blog2 Post
bottom of page