3.5 hours before a local epic morning event based on egghunts, but with an extra k (that's right), I am terrified to realize I haven't written much on this blog lately. I could say I've been working a lot, but that would be lying to everyone, myself included.
In order to fix this, here's a healthy slab of Rock & Fucking Roll.
Motörhead
Better Motorhead Than Dead - Live At Hammersmith
2007, Steamhammer Records
When thinking of badass people in Rock & Roll, few names stand a real chance. Lemmy is undeniably one. After being a roadie for Hendrix and a guitar stint in little known band Sam Gopal, he's hired by fellow Londonian spacers Hawkwind to replace their bass player. Finding the Rickenbacker bass model that would accompany him for the rest of his carreer in an abandonned van, Lemmy (a nickname supposedly acquired because of his tendency to ask "Len'me a quid' 'til Monday") Kilmister (his real last name - I said badass) took the job. And bloody 'hell did he do it well. 1973's Space Ritual, mentioned before on this blog, is pretty much the musical equivalent to Isaac Asimov's Foundation: epic, extended, fucking awesome. Some people advertised it as "88 minutes of brain damage": sounds like 88 minutes of pure bliss to me, even after 4 years of regular listening. And it's mostly driven by Lemmy's dirty, extremely recognizable trebly-overdriven bass sound that he still uses today.
Today, you ask? But 1973 was 37 long years ago...
No. He's still going.
After being kicked out from Hawkwind for prefering speed to acid, Lemmy took two songs he written for them (Motorhead and Lost Johnny) and decided he'd form his own band. One he wouldn't be kicked out of (it seems to have been a trend in his early days).
Teaming up with members from the Deviants and the Pink Fairies (which you should also check out), he decided his band was going to be called Bastards. Of course, one might imagine the lack of motivation from record companies to sign a band called Bastards. Agreeing to change the name to Motörhead (american slang for speed-inclined characters), Lemmy stabilized the lineup to Philthy Animal Taylor, Fast Eddie Clark and himself. From 1979 to 1982, this trio would come up with one of the main reasons why the eighties maybe weren't that bad (musically). This reason comes in five parts. Five record parts...
- Bomber, 1979
- Overkill, 1979
- On Parole, 1979
- Ace Of Spades, 1980
- Iron Fist, 1981
(which you should all listen to)
Of course, since 1981, Motörhead has issued album at a rate of one every two years minimum. They've had some mild moments, like most mid/late 80's rock bands, where reverb just seemed to take over the entire drum kit and make the band sound like it was playing in an aluminum bathroom, and they've had some more modern successes. After issuing Inferno in 2004, Motörhead went on their regular worldwide tour, passing through Hammersmith in Lemmy's native England. There, someone had the brilliant idea to record their set (and even a little bit of Zappa's Dirty Love signifying people had to leave at the very end), which included a healthy selection of old songs, new songs, and stuff from the middle, all revamped to their current sound (i.e. massive/without reverb on drums i.e. better).
I've read somewhere that Motörhead only really plays one song, with different lyrics/tempo/variations. I guess that's where taste comes in, because myself and a cohort of fans (random mildly related fact: Lars Ulrich is the head of US Motörheadbangers, their official fan club) will agree to say it doesn't matter. Consistency is as impressive as originality, and it doesn't get much more consistent than Motörhead. They'll occasionally blow your mind with something completely different (like Inferno's "Whorehouse Blues", a two acoustic guitars/harmonica/voice piece), however as stated earlier Lemmy is badass: this involves some amount of ridicule/awesomeness, as in chosing to do the same song for 35 years +, and not planning on stopping anytime soon. For Lemmy, it also involves still drinking JD/coke at any point spent awake, chain smoking, and being unable to receive blood because his organism got used to having blood with a massive amount of impurities in it that it wouldn't function without them. Oh, and getting a ridiculous amount of girls.
Better Motörhead Than Dead?
Yes.
You Know I'm Born To Lose
And Gambling's For Fools
But That's The Way I Like It Baby
I Ain't Gonna Live Forever!
(Ace Of Spades, 1980)
JNCT
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