Inflammable Material - First Records That Impressed Me Much # 10

Fine Malt Lyrics by House Of Pain was released in 1992 and it was a milestone in Rap-music. In this time there were several bands on the scene doing the same things like for an example Body Count of in a different way Gang Starr or A Tribe Called Quest. New was that now three white guys appeared doing the stuff black people thought it was their very own thing. House Of Pain stepped into the arena shouting their rhymes to them. Of course, it was only an attitude but from then on white rappers were part of the scene. I got aware of this record by their hit-single Jump Around with their sample of a song by Junior Walker. It is still a great song but there were more tracks on the album than this single which are meanwhile also classic songs. Maybe the main thing that impressed me was that they combined heavy guitar riffs, Irish attitude (not only to show a gangster style) with samples by soul and blues artists. Not that I listen too often to it but when I put this record on my turntable I can listen to it from start to the end. And the fascination didn't get lost during the years.

House Of Pain - Jump Around
House Of Pain - Put Your Head Out
House Of Pain - Top O' The Morning To Ya
House Of Pain - Shamrocks and Shenenigans
House Of Pain - Danny Boy, Danny Boy
House Of Pain - Come And Get Some Of This

Inflammable Material - First Records That Impressed Me Much # 8

No record in 1983 has pulled me more in the spell than the first one of The Violent Femmes. When indie music changed their style once again (New Order, Aztec Camera and The The appeared) a three man band released their first album. Those three nerds from Milwaukee used a little more than guitar, stand-up bass and a snare drum. One of the reasons I still love this record after 30 years is their music and songs in itself. Simply constructed songs with sticky melodies, sung by a young man with a voice that reminds me to a siren, backed with a frenzied bass playing and primal, intuitive drumming.

The world of Violent Femmes is a world of sex. streets and smoking and wandering around in the haze of the night trying to find your way back home. And maybe they told me more of life than any other band in these times. And they made you feel that they understand you and you can agree to their songs (another band are the Undertones - but this is another story). It was the lyrics from 'Add it up' that was burned in my mind when I first listened to them.

Why can't I get just one fuck

Why can't I get just one fuck

I guess it's something to do with luck

...

Broken down kitchen at the top of the stairs

Can I mix in with your affairs?

Share a smoke, make a joke

Grasp and reach for a leg of hope

There are lot's of stories in the internet telling them as a very good live band. And I've to agree. I saw them on their promotion tour for this record playing in a small club in Tübingen. There was no stage and the audience stood face to face to the band. It is one of those unforgettable evenings when you understand what magic could be in music.

Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun
Violent Femmes - Kiss Off
Violent Femmes - Please Do Not Go
Violent Femmes - Add It Up
Violent Femmes - Prove My Love
Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone

Inflammable Material - First Records That Impressed Me Much # 7

In 1980 Stiff Records released the first album by The Feelies 'Crazy Rhythms'. And it was a totally different sound to the other artists on this label. I first saw the record in my local record store and asked myself what is this? Four teenager playing another collage-rock? Because Stiff Records in normal manner doesn't publish any shitty music I asked the trader to give me a listen to this. From the first song on this album 'The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness' I was caught by this band. The songs starts in near-silence, with just a click of wood percussion  until a guitar appears and the drums begin to play. From then on the band delivered eight more classics including a superb version of the Beatles' 'Everybody's got something to hide' much more faster than the original. The Feelies created their very own style. While everybody was focused on the two guitarists Mercer and Million I think the mastermind was Anton Fier. He plays the drums like I heard seldom before. He's able to play straight-up beats but aiming at a rumbling, strange punch that updates the Krautrock trance into giddier realms. It's still a timeless album that stood the test of time. And as Brian said a few days ago: watch out for their appearance in Jonathan Demme's 'Something Wild'.

The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
The Feelies - Everybody's Got Something To Hide
The Feelies - Loveless Love
The Feelies - The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness

Dirk rightly misses the best song on this album - here it is:

The Feelies - Fa Ci La