One Year.

Yup, it was May 22 of last year that I made my first post.

Since then, aside from a week that I took off in the summer, I've posted every day. Not bad. I'm glad I've stuck with it. And I'm only a quarter of the way through (alphabet-wise, though I bet it's much less than that).

Sadly (for my brother, mostly, because I think he's the only one who reads this), I'm going to use this opportunity to take a little break. This blog takes up a good portion of every evening for me, and lately, I feel like I've been neglecting other stuff that I need to be doing.

Not only do I have my own band to promote, but I'm getting married in two months, and shit's getting a little major with that. So, I'm not giving up on this blog, but I'll probably be posting a bit less frequently from now on.

I gots to handle mine. You understand.

Eminem - Relapse (2xLP, 2009)

I am still struggling to figure out what I think about this record. I initially loved it, then hated it, and now I'm somewhere in the middle. And this has all happened in the last week.

I think when I first listened to it, I was simply excited at the prospect of a new Eminem record. It has a been a while (not counting some spotty guest appearances and the underrated Re-Up compilation) since we've seen Slim Shady, and I know I wasn't the only one who was incredibly curious about what he was going to attempt to pull off in 2009. I heard "Crack a Bottle" when it leaked; tried to like it and didn't. I watched the video for "We Made You" when it came out; hated it hard and began to fear the worst. Watched the video for "3 a.m." after it premiered, then wondered if there wasn't going to be any middle ground between the sloppy pop numbers and the decapitation fantasies.

There isn't. And honestly, that's what I'm starting to appreciate about this record. Mr. I-Don't-Give-A-Fuck really seemed like he did give a fuck on Encore, pandering to fuckwads with unforgivably mouth-breathing tracks like "Ass Like That" and "Big Weenie," and it was depressing. Of course, part of this is my fault: I've always given Eminem more credit than he deserves, and been quick to look the other way when he phones in guest spots and dumbs down tracks looking for quick hits on his records. On Relapse, any signs of cutting corners for the benefit of the mainstream have already been exposed. The first two aforementioned tracks are it (with the exception of "Beautiful," but I don't see that being a single), and they stick out like sore thumbs in this collection of dark moroseness.

So, let's talk about what doesn't work on this record.

I thought "Just Lose It" was about as bad as Em's single-to-kick-off-the-album was going to get, but "We Made You" has taken things to a new low. Never has he sounded more out of touch, bored, and guilty of fucking up the formula that he created. This track is the antithesis of everything that made "The Real Slim Shady" and "Without Me" so effective. It's just embarrassing.

Dr. Dre's beats on this album are, with a few exceptions, conspicuously generic. They're minimalist, which I like, but after a while you begin to miss the layered grandeur of his usual process. Eminem can usually fill out any track on his own, but some of these feel a little hollow.

Eminem starts with a horrorcore-ish track (3 a.m.), and then beats the concept into the ground. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to hear that he's up, around, and killing again, but his hatchet fantasies become stale real quick. The rhymes are still there, but the subject matter is no longer shocking. It hasn't been for a while.

And the accent. Oh, the accent. I don't know what got him started on the kick (it was Encore-era, but apparently it wasn't drug-induced, because he's still at it). It's vaguely foreign, slightly irksome, and on almost every track on this album.

So, what does work on this record?

Sobriety has certainly sharpened the dude. His rhymes are filler-free, and even though some of them are gross-out-centric, you can't argue with the rhyme schemes. And overall, this doesn't sound like anything he's ever done before. People keep wanting this to be the return of The Slim Shady LP, but it's nothing like that. It's darker, a bit less varied, and should stand alone for what it is.

The lack of guest spots (no D12!) is a good move. Dre makes a couple of appearances, and 50 Cent is on "Crack a Bottle," but that's it. And the track that Dre and Em duet on ("Old Time's Sake") is a good one. But I'm a sucker for hearing Dre recite rhymes that Eminem clearly wrote.

It really does seem that, to the extent that this is possible, that Eminem is back to doing what he wants and not worrying about it. Yeah, there are the singles, but otherwise he seems fairly freed up here. And shit, I am just happy the dude's rapping again. It's weird: this is more or less the same shit he started out rapping about ("Scary Movies," etc.), but he does sound more grown up somehow. And that ain't bad.

"Underground," the final track on the record, is the best song he's done since "Soldier" from The Eminem Show. How he takes the awkward beat and fully destroys it is beyond me, but he does. And he uses his real voice. It's fantastic.

Overall, I'm still forming my opinion about this one, and I think only time will tell. I'm not listening to it as much as I hoped I would want to, and that's not a great sign. We'll see where it goes from here.

"3 a.m."

Inspectah Deck - Uncontrolled Substance (2xLP, 1999)

Deck was always the unsung lyrical hero of the Wu, the wordsmith who had the rough luck to be in the same group with a gaggle of dope MCs. With a voice that wasn't as distinct as Method Man, Ghostface, or Raekwon, it seemed he sometimes got lost in the shuffle for casual listeners. But attentive Wu-Tang fans knew that The Rebel INS was more than capable of holding his own, and we were all a little disappointed that his solo album wasn't included the "first wave" of the Wu solo records.

Of course, this also served to give us time to build up the prospects of his solo debut in our heads. By the time it came out, we had convinced ourselves that it was going to blow the rap game wide open. It didn't, and at the time I remember feeling a bit underwhelmed by the album (we had definitely expected too much), but it, like many turn-of-the-century Wu releases, has aged really well. I don't know if it's the benefit of looking back on it almost a decade later, but this record shines with a lot of the vibe that is often found in Classic Wu material. The beats aren't always as punchy (and a lot of them suffer a bit from being too repetitive), but Deck makes 'em work. I wanted him to barrel through and bowl everyone over with verses like his untouchable lines on "Hellz Wind Staff" from Wu-Tang Forever, but he keeps a lot of this record laid back.

But joints like "R.E.C. Room" and "The Grand Prix" move well. And Deck keeps his guest spots in check, calling on Masta Killa, U-God, Streetlife, and some of the other more peripheral Wu dudes. This makes "9th Chamber" one of the strongest songs on the set, featuring verses from some Wu-affiliates that aren't often seen all in one spot.

While the album does slow a bit in spots, Deck knows how to keep it movin', and his lyrics are, for the most part, top-notch here. A few things don't quite gel: the intro is long and pointless, and that cover has always rubbed me the wrong way. Dumb concept, terrible graphics, and a lame reveal on the back that shows that the cops are chasing him because he's got a copy of Wu-Tang Forever stashed in his pocket.

I don't have the other Inspectah Deck solo albums, but I'm working on it. And is he calling himself "Da Bill Collectah" now? Because that is idiocy.

"Word on the Street"

Billy Idol - Vital Idol (LP, 1985)

So, on the same shopping trip during which I found the aforementioned original version of Billy's self-titled full-length debut, I also found, at a completely different record store mind you, this. It's the German version of the original 1985 release of Vital Idol. On the front (in that little red fist there) it says "DIE GEBALLTE LADUNG! Alle songs in extended MAXI-VERSIONS." And boy, are they.

Vital Idol is 90% of the reason I love Billy Idol. It is an album I got hooked on in the fifth grade, and I've never not owned a copy of it since then. If extended mixes of Billy Idol songs sound terrible to you, I understand your hesitation. But here's the thing: these aren't your traditional remixes. "White Wedding" is simply extended to contain both parts 1 and 2. "Dancing With Myself" is given an "Uptown Mix," but I think they may have just added an additional guitar track. If that. Same with the "Downtown Mix" of "Mony Mony." I can't really tell the difference from the original.

And while those songs are fine in their barely altered versions, it's the more random remixes here that really benefit. "Flesh for Fantasy" is chopped up a little bit, and it actually improves on the original. Same with "Catch My Fall," "Love Calling," and "Hot in the City." All better than their album versions.

This LP, sadly, does not contain the "Mothers of Mercy" mix of "To Be a Lover," which is included on the more common 1987 version. And it's a damn shame, because that song is as good as any of the other ones on here. But still, I'd rather have this weird version with the red German fist.

Seriously, if you think you don't like Billy Idol, buy this. You can find it for a few bucks anywhere. "Catch My Fall (Remix Fix)" will change your life. Well, maybe not. But it's an incredible track.

It's OK to love Billy Idol. I do. Though I apparently need to buy some of his other LPs...

"White Wedding Parts 1&2 (Shotgun Mix)"

Billy Idol - Billy Idol (LP, 1982)

So, while I've been doing this little project (writing about all my albums), I've grown accustomed to peeking ahead to see what I've got coming up, so I can either prepare myself by listening to certain albums, or purchase cheap records that I suddenly realize I don't own and want to include. Ice Cube took a while, but I knew Billy Idol was coming up. As of a few days ago, I only owned Don't Stop, the 12" single for "To Be A Lover," and a jacked up copy of Vital Idol on CD. When I went record shopping last weekend, I decided to keep my eye out for any Billy Idol stuff, just for kicks.

Little did I know I would come across not only an original promo version of his debut LP, but an AUTOGRAPHED one at that. That's right, I found a signed copy. For ten bucks, even! I still can't figure out who Billy made the autograph out to. It says To: LSD, or maybe it's LEO, or maybe it's ZED, I can't really tell. But then it says "from Billy Idol." Awesome. Now, as you can see, on this "original" version, the cover is different from the reissued (and much more common) pressing, AND, instead of including "Dancing With Myself" as the final track (as the reissued version does), it features the bizarre 48-second "Congo Man," which seems to be nothing more than Billy playing congos and chanting. Also awesome.

And you know, the record is pretty solid throughout. Aside from the big hits like "White Wedding (part 1)," and "Hot in the City," it also contains the more minor hit (but better song), "Love Calling." Billy was still sort of shaking off his new wave-ness on this album, and it makes for some dated sounding (duh) but cool tracks. "Shooting Stars" is sweet, and "It's So Cruel" is the patented Billy Idol relaxed track that seems like it's going to be nice until you realize it's all about fucking.

Bottom line: I'm damn excited to add this rare find to my collection.

"Hot in the City"

Billy Idol - Don't Stop (LP, 1981)

Yeah, I like Billy Idol. Deal with it.

I have a slight recollection of purchasing this EP from a thrift store in Eugene, probably in or around 1995. I could be making that up. I do know that I've had this record for a really long time, and I've never even considered getting rid of it. This is a rare pre-debut-LP EP, and it contains only four songs. Only one of them ("Dancing With Myself") would end up on Idol's debut, but even that one is presented here in a "long version."

"Mony Mony" starts things off, and it's interesting to note that Idol released this as a single in 1981, though he must have re-released it in 1987 to coincide with the release of Vital Idol, which we will get to. "Mony Mony" was the first single I ever bought with my own money, but when I got the 7" it was the live version, and I was slightly disappointed. Obviously I did not know at the time that he already released it once, so putting it out in a live (or "video," as it were) context actually made sense. Anyway, it's the studio version here, and I've actually grown to favor the live version, as I find the studio recording a bit stiff.

"Baby Talk" fills out side one, and it's a bouncy, almost retro-ish number containing the lyric from which this EP takes its name. It has a weird a cappella ending that seems out of place and awkward, but Billy could often make that work. The track is a good transition between his Generation X semi-punk and his new radio-ready rock.

"Untouchables" is very new wave, and not your typical Billy Idol, but I bet it sounded pretty badass in '81. It actually sounds quite nice now. Nothing too notable, but a song that would make a great closing-credits-in-an-80's-movie cut. "Dancing With Myself" rounds out these four songs, and like I said, it's the "long version." It's still not very long (not even five minutes), and I think they just add some filler to the middle and end. A classic song that I've probably heard too many times, but it's still fun.

Don't worry: my Billy Idol collection is quite limited.

"Dancing With Myself"

Icky Joey - Pooh (LP, 1991)

I'm fairly certain I was introduced to Icky Joey through the Teriyaki Asthma Vol I-V compilation that C/Z records put out in the early 90's. I consider it a terrible tragedy that the band didn't receive more widespread recognition, but maybe they were big in Seattle and I just never knew about it. I think they were more of a side project than anything, but these songs aren't throwaways. I've owned this album in one form or another (used to have the CD, re-purchased it on vinyl last year) for years, and I can still listen to it from front to back.

I can see why Icky Joey wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but once you settle into their sound, it's hard not to love it. There's a bitter current that runs through some of the songs on this record, a sarcasm (check out "You Are the World") that is both hilarious and mean. I love it. But, the majority of the tracks thrive on goofiness and in-jokes, blurting ridiculous lyrics over the crunchy guitars.

I'd like to single out some of the best songs on this album, but when I listen to this record, I usually listen to the whole thing. Both sides are equally strong, with the second getting a little bit more wacky than the first. Tracks like "Smokin' the Devil's Bud" and "Medusa Anus Eye" are completely ridiculous and incredibly fantastic. And "Fat" and "Dog Lady" work that funny/mean angle really well. You get the feeling that this band was fueled by a lot of beer. Or maybe just a great deal of immaturity. Either way, it works.

If you ever see this album in bargain bins (and you will), do yourself a favor and pick it up. It's more than worth a few bucks.

"I'm Liberace Now"