He Prefers Rock and Roll

He Prefers Rock and Roll

1. Pavement, "Gold Soundz"
2. Stiff Little Fingers, "Suspect Device"
3. Blur, "There's No Other Way"
4. Sly & the Family Stone, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
5. ZZ Top, "Just Got Paid"
6. The Impressions, "It's All Right"
7. Thom Yorke, "Black Swan"
8. Spoon, "The Way We Get By"
9. The Jacksons, "Blame it on the Boogie"
10. The Coasters, "Along Came Jones"
11. The Jam, "That's Entertainment"
12. The Pharcyde, "Passing Me By"
13. Danny Brown, "Dip"
14. Anthrax, "Got the Time"
15. Queens of the Stone Age, "Song for the Dead"
16. Death Grips, "I've Seen Footage"
17. Television, "See No Evil"
18. David Bowie, "I'm Afraid of Americans" (Nine Inch Nails remix)
19. The Blow, "True Affection"
20. Prince, "Batdance"

Happy birthday, Kate.

Song of the Day: AC/DC, "Hell's Bells"

Here's a better hurricane song than anything that the Scorpions ever came up with.



It's hard to imagine in 2012, but picture one of the biggest bands in the world also being one of the best. Imagine that band losing their lead singer right at the peak of their success--i.e., Radiohead following up OK Computer without Thom Yorke. That's the position that AC/DC were in months after Highway to Hell's release, when Bon Scott succumbed to "misadventure" (the coroner's words.)

The band found a flat-capped Englishman named Brian Johnson and put him in the unenviable position of replacing the guy who sang "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap." He rose to challenge on the first song on his first album with AC/DC, introducing himself thusly: "I'm rolling thunder, pouring rain/I'm coming on like a hurricane."



Every AC/DC song is famous for sounding just like every other AC/DC song. But this one doesn't. Angus and Malcolm Young almost never play at this subdued a pace, but even at their slowest they have that signature AC/DC explosiveness. I also wonder if bell in the intro (presumably belonging to the Inferno) inspired Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

Brian Johnson left one of the best first impressions in rock history by kicking off Back in Black with "Hells Bells." He also set a bar that Ronnie James Dio, Sammy Hagar, Blaze Bayley, Ripper Owens and Paul Rodgers never lived up to. Or nearly anybody else.

Crooked Man at Freddy's

John LaMacchia is one of music's most underrated genre-benders. In Candiria, he didn't just blend jazz, hip-hop and ambience with metal, he actually infiltrated authentic jazz, hip-hop and trip-hop measures into his music. More recently, he teamed up with fellow sonic mavericks in Isis, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Made Out of Babies for a bludgeoning EP as Spylacopa (say, when can we hear more of that?) and produced Julie Christmas' haunting solo album, The Bad Wife, all for LaMacchia's Rising Pulse label. He could already retire on his track record, but his new three-piece Crooked Man indicates that there's more up his sleeve.

Performing in a secluded room at Freddy's in Brooklyn, LaMacchia's band was filled out by bassist Michael Shaw and singer/guitarist Sabrina Ellie. The sparse, drumless lineup recalled the better MTV Unplugged episodes, where the bands ditched the hits in favor of the songs that were best left underproduced. Stripping much of the aggression from the doom metal nightmares of their recent EP, Crooked Man waltzed songs like "The Parting Gift" into murder ballad territory. Much of LaMacchia's acclaim goes to his production and arrangement gifts, so a forum for his songwriting talents was particularly welcome.

On vocals, LaMacchia doesn't have much range, but he's a convincing frontman with a theatrical flair. He embodied Morrissey and Thom Yorke's emotiveness on Smiths and Radiohead covers, and best of all, interpreted the Misfits' "Come Back" as a Nick Cave ballad. If Crooked Man release a covers record, there'll be at least one buyer.

Encoring with a lovely read of "No Surprises," Crooked Man left the impression that the best of LaMacchia may be yet to come. Call it the process of self-development.