OK, well, maybe what I meant when I said that I would make a mockery of everything this blog stands for was just that I'd do slightly tweaked versions of the kind of posts DM & MZ usually make.
Anyway, everybody likes a trademark SD Power Ranking (patent pending), right? Oh yeah. Sorry this one isn't about 24. Have a little patience, 24 fans! They'll be back soon, honest injun! To tide you over, I have written a brief synopsis of this week's episode, and in honor of our pals' foreign excursion, translated it into Italian and back again with the assistance of Babel Fish:
On this week 24, we have uncovered that Jack Bauer, presupposed commonly for being good a old American patriotic of hatred, we are really vampire to carry of the leather covering. Defective anchor, is outside for the spirit of the important contingent of Corey of our nation, saving neither Haim neither Feldman. Moreover the echo and the Bunnymen have played a song of doors.
There you go.
Well, on to the topic of the day...Fun House, the second and final album from the Stooges (yeah, Raw Power, but that's a pretty different band), is probably my favorite album of all time. Oh sure, I don't listen to it quiiiiiiite as much as I used to, but that's just because it's officially internalized by this point. It remains the only album I've actually worn out a copy of through constant play. So let's power rank it! Keep in mind that this is going to be tough, and really, everyone here is a winner.
1. "Fun House" - Like a tumor of wonderment, this song has proved to be the ultimate grower. I'd say it took a good two years for this one to reach peak position, only topping the list about three, four months ago. The reason it's on top? Well, I think it's probably the fullest expression of this album's aesthetic: free rock, industrial funk, music that's noisy and jazzy and bluesy but unquestionably, monolithically rock in intent and execution. The Ig is pretty much a white James Brown here, using his voice percussively and calling out instructions to the band (the "lemme in!"s are particularly hilarious/awesome, with a close second being "bloooow Steve!") while they churn out a furious, abrasive, but supremely kinetic groove. The thing about the Stooges that seems to be least appreciated is just how locked-on they were - they might sound loose and sloppy and drugged up, and at least two of those three things are certainly true, but they swing like nobody's business.
2. "T.V. Eye" - The obvious other contender for number one. One riff (THE riff - Ron Asheton deserves a monument), vaguely sinister/sexual but incomprehensible lyrics, rocking as all get-go, perfect.
3. "1970" - Also recently much improved in my standings. Maybe the Chuck Berry-ish first half isn't quite as powerful as a lot of the other numbers here (although it does tie the band nicely into rock tradition, and I've always really liked that slightly jazzy/swishy drum pattern), but when Steve Mackay's saxophone enters the fray, jesus marimba, all bets are off. Can someone find me a rock band that managed to bring in free jazz elements more successfully?
4. "Loose" - Even after years of intent listening to this one, the opening rhythm change still trips me up every time. That is awesome. You know what else is awesome about this song? Everything! For the record, I approve of the jettisoning of the "red hot weenie" lyric (as can be heard on the 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions box).
5. "Dirt" - Slow, death, drugs, blues, "leaaaaaaaaarn-in'," pretty though in parts. S'good as a needed breather between the fury of "T.V. Eye" and the fury of "Fun House."
6. "Down on the Street" - Great and all, but compared to the rest of the album it's a tad less impressive. Also Rage Against the Machine covered it, so I feel the need to deduct some overall points here. And have you heard the version with the keyboards? That's kinda interesting.
7. "Lost in the Future" - Alright, I'm cheating here, because this one isn't actually on the album, although it is on the box set (which I don't own) and its one-LP sampler Declaration of War (which I do). Why'd they cut this one? It's great! It sounds so heavy and apocalyptic! Reminds me a lot of the Jesus Lizard (so perhaps DM should be glad they ditched it).
8. Don Galluci - Alright, I'm cheating again, because this is a guy, and he doesn't even play with the band. He is, however, the producer, and he does a fantastic job. He was also the keyboard player with the Kingsmen, which just makes the most cosmic sense ever. Much as I like the first record and John Cale's production thereof, Fun House needed to sound dirty, murky, and fucked-up, just like the band. Galluci got it down. Way to go, guy. Whatever happened to you?
9. "L.A. Blues" - I like this one a lot, sure...but it actually is just noise. Cool noise, absolutely, but still just noise. I think the band would back me up here. It makes a fantastic, convulsive album closer, as they finally reach the abyss they've been shooting for the whole time, but the value's in the journey, not the destination, maaaaan. Basically, would I listen to this at any other time than the end of this album? No. So it goes last.
Anyway, gimme yr opinions. I'm totally interested in what the peanut gallery's say is here.
--ZR--
I don't have any thoughts on the album, but "like a tumor of wonderment" was a pretty mindblowing phrase choice.
Posted by: MZ | May 10, 2005 at 06:27 PM
Nice work ZR! I'd drop 1970 down below Dirt, but that's my only quibble. This is one of my very favorite albums of all time and you nailed it pretty damn solidly.
Posted by: pnk | May 11, 2005 at 11:42 AM