Guys, I’ll keep this brief. When I was in high school, I had no stomach for any music that involved funk, disco, or any kind of repetitive groove. And I was adamant about how bad it was. James Brown sucked. P-Funk was awful. All forms of “disco” were retarded. In short, I was a fucking idiot.

How about you? What were you most wrong about as you grew into the generous, open-minded, brilliant music aficionado you think you are today?

I look forward to your responses.

HVB

p.s.: I also remember going through a phase in junior high when I sincerely believed Ted Nugent was a better guitar player than Jimi Hendrix.

A few weeks ago, I downloaded a copy of the Minutemen‘s Double Nickels onto my iPhone, and it’s been in heavy rotation. Listening to it with the kind of focus you can achieve during the commute to and from work has made me realize more than ever that Double Nickels is one of those true rarities: a flawless album.

A week or so ago — after I’d fully assessed the greatness of Double Nickels — I received a copy of the Minutemen rocku, We Jam Econo, from Netflix. In it, Mike Watt reveals that the band was recording a single LP during the Double Nickels sessions, when they heard that Husker Du‘s next album — Zen Arcade — was going to be a double. This caused the band to start writing in a frenzy, and after a week or so had passed, they now had double the number of songs they had before, and were well on their way to recording their own double LP. This, by the way, meant that they now had 22 new songs to record, bringing the album total to 44.

My point in this thread is not to sing the praises of the Minutemen or the Double Nickels album. We’ve all been down that road before. My point here is: holy SHIT. How hot do you have to be — how completely at the peak of your musical game — how effortless must the writing process be — to thrash out an entire records’ worth of new material from nothing in a freaking WEEK?! And have it all be perfect, where not one note ought to be changed in any way? That’s what I call firing on all cylinders!

I admit I’m veering into back-story-land here, but how many other examples of this kind of lightning-strike brilliance can we think of? I’m not talking about “five-star albums” or “great albums that were recorded quickly;” I’m talking about albums that were produced in a similar blaze of effortless brilliance, by bands that were so freaking tweaked that they produced perfection at a pace that makes the rest of us just gawk in slack-jawed amazement. The Beatles’ Rubber Soul/Revolver run in the middle of the Beatlemania frenzy is the only other one that comes to mind.

Curious to get your thoughts —

HVB

Guys, what’s wrong with me? You all know I won’t give the sweat off the bad part of my ass for most “jam”-fueled music. I am the original pop-Nazi when it comes to issues related to structure and its role in rock and roll — and I usually have a particular distaste for all things purporting to take good old-fashioned rock and roll and make it more “progressive.”

So why, oh why do I absolutely adore the entire 26 minutes of Miles Davis‘ “Right Off” — the opening track to his Tribute to Jack Johnson LP? I listen to it at least once or twice a week, and enjoy it more every time. Is something wrong with me? Am I experiencing the musical equivalent of learning to like anchovies and blue cheese — or is there something more sinister at work here?

I’m relaxing (as best I can) on the RTH analyst’s couch, people. I’m ready to answer any questions you may have to help me diagnose the source of my aberrant behavior. I’m ready to begin the healing. I want to learn. Help me.

Yours, etc.,

HVB