Bands that start with a B (and Naked Raygun)

It's weird. I have basically 5 bands on repeat on my iPod, and three of them are in a row alphabetically. There's Big Black, Big Star, and Black Flag. And The Breeders. And Naked Raygun too. And three of those bands are hardcore punk, so I'm kinda into that too right now. By the way, new logo for Christie Road is pretty cool.

I was listening "Cables" (Big Black) and I thought that it was a pretty cool song (especially the chorus) so I found this one download site (I buy later), and this is what I found.

Like any Big Black fan who would download Songs About Fucking would listen to 30 Seconds To Mars. Dumbass auto recommendations. I refreshed the page a couple times and it also "recommended" crap bands like Linkin Park, the Fray, Kings Of Leon, and even a bunch of bullshit rappers and other shit. That screenshot is the exact opposite of indie rocks's beliefs and what Big Black stood for. That was my Steve Albini imitation. Not cynical enough, I guess.

Also listening to a bunch of Big Star. It's from the early 70s, but it seriously sounds timeless, and it always makes me feel better, if I'm depressed. Radio City is my favorite album by them (most people think so) because it's like #1 Record, but with a little more hard rock edge. Throughout their career, Big Star was constantly in inner turmoil, especially with feuds between Chris Bell and Alex Chilton. That tension is what makes some of the songs sound so good. Chris didn't get any credit on Radio City (he left before they recorded it), but he obviously cowrote songs on it (not exactly sure which ones), and those songs are great. "O My Soul" starts the album, and although it's 5 and a half minutes long, it's really, really awesome. No really. It's also super fun to play on guitar, especially since there's so many different riffs and stuff. The bassline also mixes well with the song, and the drum fills are insane. It's no so much the complexity of the fills, but how rhythmic they seem with the song. It's actually possibly my favorite Big Star song, now that I think about it. And the song's always in mono, there's no stereo mix available. For some weird reason. Also really like "September Gurls" and "Back Of A Car" (possibly Chris Bell compositions). They're pretty upbeat and stuff, but they're also really emotional, you can practically hear the longing in Alex Chilton's voice, which clashes with the chiming, slightly sharply tuned guitars (which gives it a happier tone). Kinda long part about Big Star, but they're that awesome. And it's a break from all the hardcore I listen to.

Black Flag's only original member that lasted throughout all their lineup changes was Greg Ginn, the guitarist. But he's no Axl Rose. Well, kinda. But no. He's an awesome guitar player, mixing in little cool fills with his driving rhythm guitar. Not a big fan of Henry Rollins (longest singer), but he does add something to the music. But it's mostly about Greg's guitar. One of the comments I got on my On A Plain cover (go to my Soundcloud, it's there) said that my guitar kinda sounded like Black Flag. Which really made me happy :) "Nervous Breakdown," Black Flag's first single, is actually pretty solid for a debut. Keith Morris a pretty good vocalist. And it has a pretty good rhythm hook. But the riff on "My War" is one of the coolest I've ever heard (above). It really shows that Black Flag is much better as a live band then in the studio. Note the female bass player. Nice to see a girl playing really good punk rock. Which leads to...

Kim Deal. That is all.

Well, not really. There's Kelley too. The Breeders aren't really punk rock, they're very indie. Pod is actually one of my favorite albums ever now. It's very sparse, and the focus is mostly on the bass melody and Kim's soothing, sexy voice. Hey, shut up. My favorite song on the album, is surprisingly, the Beatles cover ("Happiness Is A Warm Gun"). Although the ending isn't quite as good as the Beatles one, the Breeders version is more ominous and dark. Especially the "She's well aquanted to the touch of a velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane" intro part. It's just the vocals and drums, which sounds yeah, really dark. The drum parts are simple, but they get the job done, along with the occasional noodling of the guitar. The songwriting is so good that they seems to use the least amount of instruments to get the job done. But that changes on Last Splash, which is more rock oriented. It's not as good as Pod (not NEARLY), but there are some pretty catchy songs like "New Year," "Cannonball," and "Divine Hammer" (ESPECIALLY "Divine Hammer"). But there's too much crappy filler. Breeders are still amazing though.

Okay Naked Raygun. Singer is Jeff Pezzati, and guitarist was Santiago Durango. They played together in another great band too. Not saying which band though, cause you probably don't care what that band was. It was a great band though, with great lyrics. Anyway, Naked Raygun. They have a bigger focus on melody than most hardcore, and it's kind of weird that they didn't get the same amount of fame as Black Flag or Big Black. Since they're less known, they really don't have any really signature songs (possibly "Vanilla Blue") but I really like their reunion single called "Mein Iron Maiden" (not sure why it's called that) and it's only about 1 minute 21seconds. But it's possibly the catchiest 1 minute 21 second song I've ever heard. I replayed maybe 20 times yesterday cause it was so good (or maybe because it was so short, who knows). It must rock to live in Chicago. Naked Raygun gets to be your local band.

Very long post. Felt I had to write something, and it kinda turned into a big growth. Oh well. Can't post anything next week. Hawaii. Now excuse me, I have to pack for the "relatively short" 6 hour flight.