Quick health update first. I’m recovering well from last week’s surgery, and the pain is getting much better. I’m still laid up, though, which means no audio version again this week. I have a post-op follow-up next week, and I’m hoping to get the okay to move around the building a little more freely so I can get back to recording these.
In the meantime, the written version carries on. Today we wrap up the list with the final five of my 15 Albums in 15 Minutes: Until December, Skinny Puppy, Ministry, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and Tom Jones. If you’ve been following along, you know the drill. No ranking, just the stories behind why each one stuck. Let’s get to it.
Until December – Until December
Birthday party in the 80s. The local punk band Duh-Z’s is playing in the living room of a friend’s apartment, and I’m handed a gift: Until December by Until December. This was another “this doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard before” moment. Up to that point I’d been into rock, new wave, punk, and synths, and this record blended them all in one place, along with disco and an arpeggiated bass. I really haven’t heard another band morph genres into a sound of their own better than they did. It was their only album, but it’s one of my favorites.
Years later, I was playing in a band and we opened for another band called Consolidated. We were doing sound check, playing “No Gift Refused” by Until December, when out comes Adam Sherburne, lead singer of Consolidated… and of Until December. He was jamming right along. At the time, we didn’t know he was from Until December. We were just fans who liked the song. It spawned a private recording, some funny stuff, and a tape trade with them. I’d love to know where those cassettes wound up… Favorite tracks, aside from No Gift Refused, are: Forgive & Still Forget, Free Again, and Heaven.
VIVIsectVI – Skinny Puppy
Now take all those musical rules and throw them completely out the window. Continuing on my electronic journey, I discovered Skinny Puppy. They put on an intense stage show, even today. But back to the music. It is music, really, you just have to uncover it sometimes. I prefer their later CDs like Last Rights and The Greater Wrong of the Right, but this was the first of theirs I really enjoyed. “Testure” and “Dogsh*t” (aka “Censor”) are electronic masterpieces in my book. This was back before DJs “made” music, and it took some serious skills to pull off.
What Skinny Puppy showed me is that it’s okay to play the sounds you hear in your head and tweak them into something new. It’s more like building a soundscape, or a soundtrack to the story you’re telling, where the sounds create a mood or a feeling rather than a catchy musical pattern. Look at what I’m doing now. I’m releasing music that doesn’t sound anything like Skinny Puppy but runs on the same ethic. A current example is “Beware the Great Pumpkin,” from my EP that just came out.
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste – Ministry
Again, this one is a merging of musical styles I liked. Al Jourgensen merged hardcore punk with keyboards, and it worked. This album is more a favorite for sentimental reasons, though. That scene was a great time in my life and it opened a lot of doors. It was a cool time for them, too. Jourgensen pulled in members of every hot industrial band around, mixed it all up, and spit it back at you live on stage. Yum, it was actually quite a good thing to taste after all.
For a few years, Ministry was a perfect combination of punk, hard rock, and technology. The key thing I learned from them, on the tour for this album, is that they solved the problem of synth bands just standing around on stage. He presented an energy-driven show that hit hard, and it satisfied exactly what I was craving at the time: high-energy rock. It shaped how I presented some shows of my own in the years that followed.
Unfortunately, I also consider this album the death of industrial music. After that, the metal heads took over and killed the party. But, Thieves, Burning Inside and live opener Breathe sure where fun in getting us there.
Sexplosion! – My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
What can I tell you that won’t get me in too much trouble? Let’s just say that when this album came out, my life changed. TKK are kindred souls. My band at the time connected with them on some road shows in support of this album and others, and we just clicked. Same sense of humor, same sense of general “stuff.” It’s not every day you can quote John Waters back and forth, word for word, with a group of people for days.
Musically, this album is another one of those merges I keep talking about liking. They mashed together industrial with disco, lounge, sleaze, and punk, shook it up in a cocktail shaker, and poured out an excellent album. The whole thing is great, so it’s hard to pick standouts, but “Sex on Wheelz” comes first. I was still DJing when that song came out, and it was pure fun on the dance floor. “A Martini Built for Two” is a favorite because I think Groovie was meant to be a lounge singer, and Buzz nails the music on every track, matching the sound and groove to the theme. “The International Sin Set” is near perfection at capturing that 50s and 60s lounge culture vibe and coolness. Oh, and Dream Baby. I sing it all the time but always forget at it when recommending songs from this album. It’ll make ya boogie and has an infectious chorus.
If you’ve never heard it, buy it. If you don’t like it, you can send it to me.
Reload – Tom Jones
Why this album, right? Why not? And that’s the point. This album taught me to loosen up and have fun. If you read up on it, you’ll find that Tom was looking for his next “something” to revive his career. His son suggested covering some modern songs. Tom fought it at first, then embraced it and gained a whole new generation of fans. Every time I listen to this album, I smile, dance, and laugh. I hope I always keep my career open to something new. Ever wondered how I actually got into recording Christmas music? This album had a lot to do with that decision.
My favorite song on the album is “Sexbomb.” How can anyone not love that song? Beyond that, you have to turn off your knowledge of the original versions and let the “Tom” version take you. At first listen, you’re like, “WHAT is that?” Then you play it again. “What IS that?” And it grows. Eventually, you like the cover more than the original. That’s my relationship with “Burning Down the House.” Same with his duet with Robbie Williams on “Are You Gonna Go My Way.” Then there’s the super fun version of “Lust for Life” with Chrissie Hynde. I like Iggy’s better, for different reasons, but this version is more fun, for sure.
So that’s all fifteen. As you can probably tell from reading these, music means a lot to me. I form relationships with songs, and I hope you do too. It’s a gift to put on a song 20 or 30 years later and instantly float back to a different place and time.
I’d love to hear what’s on your list, whether it’s your first five, all fifteen, or the Shaun Cassidy records you’re still hiding. Tell me in the comments.
As for next week, who the heck knows! This week I had a new Halloween EP come out, One Halloween (you’ve bought your copy, right? lol), and I did quite a bit of work on a non-music, non-story publishing project covering four books. Now that I’m closing out the One Halloween project, I can get back to our story and return to San Antonio, not to mention the book I’ve been working on all year. We’ll find something decent to talk about next week. I’m just not sure what yet.
Until then, more road.
Jeff
Listen to the “What Was That Song?” playlist, featuring music mentioned on Jeff Elder Isn’t Real:
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