Chula Vista

Get the f*ck on it maggot!

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Chula Vista

"A lad, insane."

What to do for an encore.......


You've just written and released a masterpiece. A game changer. You are suddenly a world wide mega-superstar. Everyone is watching and waiting for your next play.

No pressure.

Hard to imagine what David Bowie had going through his mind while working on the songs that would make up Aladdin Sane. How the hell do you follow up something like Ziggy Stardust?

Plain and simple. You don't.

While boasting a few of his greatest songs (Panic in Detroit, Cracked Actor, The Jean Genie), Aladdin Sane was somewhat doomed from the get go. You can almost hear Bowie trying too hard on this album. Having so many guest artists didn't work at all. The second and last tracks are a mess because of the forced piano. Great playing but just doesn't fit IMO.

That being said, and not judging it alongside Ziggy, it's a mandatory album for anyone wanting to experience Bowie's "thing". Taken on its own merits it's a great disc.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Chula Vista

Home Town Heroes: Take One


When Dream On exploded onto the scene is was a total revelation to find out that it was from a home town band! I'd actually seen Aerosmith two years earlier playing at an amusement park but they didn't leave much of a mark at the time. Their debut LP on the other hand was an instant classic. Take The Stones and Zeppelin and put them into a blender and this is what you get.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Chula Vista

Home Town Heroes: Take Two


My first arena concert. J. Geils Band at the Boston Garden. I'm 14 and the 18 year old neighbor friend of mine (we both played guitar) convinced my mom to let me go. Boston is a long ride from my home town so of course, she's worried. We get to the Garden, it's festival seating, and it's madness. Me and my neighbor get separated. The lights go down and I'm wandering around this huge f*cking arena absolutely clueless.

"Hey, Don!"

Out of the 18,000 people jamming the place a group of my older sister's friends spotted me. I hung with them the whole night and they drove me home.

My poor neighbor spent the entire evening looking for me, and thinking my mom was going to f*cking kill him for losing her son. Ahhh, the memories.

Another Boston killer band! (screw the MTV years - this was the real sh*t)

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Zhanteimi

^I don't rate it at all, but maybe that's because I listened to this album for the first time a couple of months ago.

Josef K

Honestly that and Aladdin Sane are easily my two favorite albums you've covered in here - ITCOTCK used to be an all-time favorite, but I still really enjoy it, and Aladdin Sane might be better than Ziggy for me.

Chula Vista

Imagine what it was like listening to it back in 1970 as a 10 year old!

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Zhanteimi

I'm going to give it another listen next time I come back around to the letter I.

Chula Vista

"When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool"


Nevermind Tommy or Quadraphenia, this is the best album the Who ever recorded IMO. Not many albums contain two classic rock anthems. And even without those the rest of the album is stellar.

My first experience with this was Baba O'riley on the radio. The sequenced synthesizer intro was unlike anything else I'd ever heard before. Love how Townsend holds the guitar back for nearly two minutes before crashing in with those power chords. Great economical solo too.

Was many year later when I read that these lines were Townsend's perspective on Woodstock.

Out here in the fields
Teenage Wasteland
They're all wasted!

Townsend hated the experience of playing at it.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Chula Vista

Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, it's my wife and it's my life
Because a mainer to my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I'm better off than dead



Another one courtesy of a friend of my older sister. The initial appeal of this for me was the duel guitars of Hunter and Wagner. Reed's voice and lyrics took a while to get use to but eventually I "got it". Some pretty deep sh*t is buried within these songs. One of the definitive live albums of mid 70s for sure.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”