30. Warren Zevon: Learning To Flinch

I saw Warren Zevon at a Portland club sometime in the 1990s. I can't remember exactly when. It was a very memorable moment for me, but I just don't know when it happened (that seems odd). Learning To Flinch (1993) had already been released. I know this because Zevon related this story to us that night. He said, "A reporter asked me if the live show would be similar to the disc Learning To Flinch. I said, 'Yeah my live show might be somewhat similar to my live disc.'" Zevon was a funny man. He used his dark sense of humor throughout his decades of entertaining us. Learning To Flinch takes his listeners beyond the cynical humor and deeper into the singer/songwriter/musician himself.

Armed with a guitar, a harmonica, and a piano, Zevon took to the road in 1992 playing small clubs all over the world. The album features recordings from venues in Germany, England, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, and throughout America. Many of his greatest songs are included (there are 17 tracks in all), and every one is stripped down and acoustic. It's wonderful to hear his husky voice when it's not fighting for center-stage with the sounds of a full band. This tour came as a result of Warren's back being against the wall. His albums had not done well and he'd been dropped by both Asylum Records and Virgin Records in the last few years. Being a singer/songwriter in the early 90s was not very fashionable either (unless you wore flannel). Thankfully, Giant Records picked up the somewhat struggling artist and the reduced circumstances that followed led to this "unplugged" solo masterpiece.

Opening the album with "Splendid Isolation", perhaps as a way of telling us he's alright on his own, we hear the terms "Georgia O'Keeffe", "Michael Jackson", and "Goofy" within the first minute. I don't really have much to follow that...I just think it's funny. Learning To Flinch contains outstanding versions of "Lawyers, Guns, And Money", the psychopathic story of "Excitable Boy", "Mr. Bad Example" (waaay better than the original studio version), "Boom Boom Mancini", "Werewolves Of London", over twenty minutes worth of cult faves "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", and the closing anti-anthem "Play It All Night Long". There are certainly some great songs missing (no "Desperados Under The Eaves", "Ain't That Pretty At All", "Mohammed's Radio", "Johnny Strikes Up The Band", or "Accidentally Like A Martyr"), and three new songs are included that don't seem to measure up to his best...making me miss the exclusions that much more. However, overall, the collection should satisfy any Zevon fan. The intimacy of these versions is what makes this album great. It's not necessarily the selections. The songs chosen to represent this tour are played differently and heard differently.

I've included a video from a BBC TV show of "Lawyers, Guns And Money" from the Learning To Flinch time period. Also included is the final public appearance for Zevon... October 30, 2002 on Letterman. He performs Dave's favorite, "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner". Today marks the eighth anniversary of Warren Zevon's death. His dark humor continued to amaze right up to the end. To Letterman he quipped, "I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for twenty years." And when asked if he knew more about life and death, Warren Zevon responded, "Enjoy every sandwich."

29. Alejandro Escovedo: Bourbonitis Blues

I do not claim to always know of what I speak. Those of you who choose to have conversations with me daily can attest to that. However, when it comes to writing, I usually research like nobody's bidness! I've had lots of fun reviewing the first 28 albums on Marc, Turn That Down! I enjoy sharing the music I like with you and sharing what I know from my own experience. It's important, as a writer, to write about what you know, and up to now, the albums I've reviewed have been some of my best friends. It's been easy to write about them. I do enjoy researching each particular album and sharing what I learn after looking for that extra tidbit of interesting info...a piece that might nudge a reader to try something new.  And now, I am going out on a limb at #29 with Alejandro Escovedo's 1999 album Bourbonitis Blues, because it breaks the mold...shuns the format....ixnay with the atternpay. Of Bourbonitis Blues and Alejandro Escovedo I knew next to nothing last week. It was the unwelcome visit to the east coast by Hurricane Irene that is responsible for today's post...but we'll put a pin in that...I'll explain in a bit.

Alejandro Escovedo was there when punk began...first-wave punk rocker...band called The Nuns (big enough and punk enough to open The Sex Pistols' last show). The Escovedos are a big Mexican-American family...mostly all musicians (including his niece, drummer Sheila E...see...there's one of those tidbits of info). I mention his family because when the 80s came around he changed his style to more of a roots rock/alternative country sound (in the bands Rank and File and True Believers with his brother Javier). However, it wasn't until the 1990's and the release of his first solo albums that he really found himself, musically speaking.

Bourbonitis Blues was Escovedo's sixth solo album containing nine songs (five of which are cover songs); which leads me to Hurricane Irene and how I came to write about this album. I wanted to be funny and liven the spirits of friends and family on the east coast by posting a song's video on facebook about "Irene" (as if that's all it would've taken..."We're anticipating one of the scariest moments of our lives, but look Honey...Marc posted a video of a song with the word 'Irene' in the title. Everything's going to be just fine now!"). So, while searching my iTunes library to see if I had any "Irene" songs, I came across "Irene Wilde" by Escovedo (I've had this album for a long time, but really never gave it any play). As I listened to see if it was the song that would make everyone smile...make them forget about the impending onslaught bearing down upon them I realized...it was. I know that sounds silly, but, at that moment, it was one of the most magnificent songs I had ever heard. I don't know why I never "heard" it before. Anyway, I didn't post it on facebook. I decided to devote some time to it and now, here it is.

"Irene Wilde" is a beautiful song written in 1976 by Ian Hunter (of Mott The Hoople). It's the story of Hunter's rise to stardom as a result of his being rejected at 16 by his lifelong desire, and Escovedo's acoustic guitar and string arrangement does it some wonderful justice. It's a song with a familiar feel. I don't think I'd ever heard it before, but it sure sounded like the comfort of an old blanket. Other cover songs include a wispy-soft "Pale Blue Eyes" (Velvet Underground), the pretty "Amsterdam" by John Cale, and a super version...lazy and strange...of The Gun Club's "Sex Beat" (a song from my recent list). One standout from his original tracks is the lead song "I Was Drunk", a slow-rolling tale spun from an experience common to many. Other essential songs include "Everybody Loves Me"(the chorus of which I can imagine being sung loudly by a bar full of drunks), and "Sacramento & Polk" which harkens back to days of punk...powerful guitars that start loud and stay there until the soft surprise of a violin finish.

Bourbonitis Blues is all I know of Alejandro Escovedo, but it won't be for long. Most reviews of this album steer the reader toward other Escovedo releases..."better" ones. I can't wait to check on that. Here is a video for "I Was Drunk" with Escovedo (a fine guitarist in his own right) playing alongside the incredible David Pulkingham in 2007 (Pulkingham's expertise kicks in around the 2:35 mark). A live and loose version of "Irene Wilde" follows. The images are somewhat blurry and annoying, and the song seems more haphazard than planned, but its beauty shines through just the same.

26. Screaming Trees: Sweet Oblivion

No doubt the early 1990s will forever be known as "The Grunge Years" thanks to the commercial success of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. Those releases sparked an international interest in a musical style that had gone unnoticed (outside of the Pacific NW) prior to 1991. The following year, the movie Singles and its accompanying top ten soundtrack exposed the world to even more artists of the genre. Seattle bands Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, as well as Smashing Pumpkins (who were Chicago-based, but were desperately searching for a Seattle apartment...just kidding) all cashed in on the newfound success. Perhaps the best band of the lot never achieved the level of success of their aforementioned contemporaries. Seattle's Screaming Trees produced one of the greatest albums of the time, but were unable to gain momentum and build upon it.

In 1992, Screaming Trees released their sixth (that's right, sixth) studio album, Sweet Oblivion. While newbies such as Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins were just starting to wear Pull-Ups, bands like Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, The U-Men, and The Melvins had been around for years. Screaming Trees had worked with smaller labels (Sub Pop and SST) for their first four releases from 1986-1989. Their fifth release in 1991, Uncle Anesthesia, marked their major label debut. That album received some radio airtime, however Sweet Oblivion was the album that was to put them over the top. It did make them stars, to some extent, but bad timing and infighting hurt them and they lacked the staying power of their peers.

Sweet Oblivion opens with the dark "Shadow Of The Season". (Sidenote: My wife told me to post a light, summer-appropriate album, but I wanted an album from the 1990s, and the 90s just didn't go there for me. Seems like all my favorite music from the 90s was dark and depressing. Was I unhappy throughout the 90s? If anyone can remember, please let me know.) The 1970's psychedelic, classic rock influence hits you immediately with force. Once Mark Lanegan's gravelly, whiskey-riddled voice kicks in, you realize this band's been through the ringer and has stories to tell..."The hour's ended can't you see/There is no way now to be free/In the shadow of the season/Without a reason to carry on..." Following the excellent lead of "Shadow..." is the cut from the Singles soundtrack, "Nearly Lost You". It's definitely at the top of the heap here. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this track over the years. It received more radio/MTV time than any other Trees song, and should have been the springboard to bigger and better things for the band. I haven't been able to confirm it, but I believe the album was released just months before the Singles soundtrack, which meant there wasn't the anticipation for a new Screaming Trees release for potential fans...bad timing hurt sales.

Other standout tracks include the softer hit "Dollar Bill" with its sweet acoustic verses building to hard rock choruses, "Butterfly", and "Julie Paradise" (also using the crescendo tactic, building to a rousing conclusion). Truthfully, the album is strong all the way through. Each track stands tall from the thick and fuzzy "More Or Less" to the bouncy "For Celebrations Past". The draw for Screaming Trees is Mark Lanegan. His voice is a gravel road at it's best...tightly packed and smooth. If you have a difficult time reaching high notes...he invites you to sing with him. It's a voice...deep and guttural, yet as silky as any you've heard.

I mentioned infighting, and it prevented the Trees from releasing a follow-up album until 1996's Dust. Whatever momentum they'd built with Sweet Oblivion went out the window when all that time passed. The tension between band members was present in October of 1993 when I saw them perform at LaLuna in Portland. A great show was cut a bit short when Lanegan stormed off the stage, for some reason, in mid song, while the rest of the band extended the now instrumental version of the song (can't remember which) waiting to see if he'd return...never did...still loved the show though, and the opening band Flop was terrific.

Sweet Oblivion is the best of an overall body of work superior to that of many other more commercially successful "grunge" bands of the time. Here's the video for "Nearly Lost You" capitalizing on the exposure from Singles, and a live version of "Dollar Bill" from the BBC Late Show in 1993.

P.S. Should also mention that an unreleased album recorded in 1998/1999 will finally see the light of day. Titled Last Words: The Final Recordings it should be available digitally on August 2nd...with CD and vinyl release in the next few months. Unfortunately, they have squelched any talk of a reunion.

23. Beat Happening: Crashing Through (Box Set)

The secret to the success of Beat Happening comes from the notion, "I could do that...that could be me." You may not think Beat Happening is the best band reviewed on Marc, Turn That Down! On your first listen to their early material, the music is crude and childish...it might even be somewhat irritating. There is no bass, and the guitars can't seem to string three chords together. Once in a while, the drums will keep the beat as you would expect, but that moment will be fleeting. And the vocals?...If you're not put off by the utter lack of musicality of Beat Happening, then Calvin Johnson's baritone-from-the-deepest-depths-of-the-earth voice will surely do the trick. So, how, based on the information I've just presented, could they have even lasted long enough for an album...nevermind released a definitive retrospective box set, Crashing Through, that has become the best music-money I've ever spent? This little band from Olympia, Washington has become legendary, and it's simply because it sounds like any of us could do it.

Beat Happening thumbed their noses at the record industry early on. Calvin Johnson started his own label called K Records in order to issue music by lesser-known bands that no major company would have otherwise released. That attitude eventually carried over to the music of Beat Happening. They didn't play for critical success or to expand the boundaries of music. They played because it was fun.

Beat Happening (1985)

The box set begins in 1985 with their self-titled debut. On Beat Happening we hear the band (Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford) in its infancy. They rarely had instruments and usually borrowed from bands they were playing with that night. This album is raw, and without the knowledge of what they had accomplished in their career might be a complete turn-off for most. Its child-like innocence is most evident in the lyrics of "Fourteen"..."You see, to me, the best part of sex is walking home, holding hands, after swimming in the lake/To Me, the best part of love is when you say you'll be my friend."

I first heard "Fourteen" when searching for Screaming Trees music (Calvin Johnson is linked with many NW artists). I thought...sure, it wasn't very good, but wondered what the rest of their catalog sounded like. I actually enjoyed Calvin's voice the first time I heard it. I knew it was not meant for the Grammy stage, and took it in stride. Calvin and Heather each contribute vocally, and I tend to gravitate toward CJ's songs. As such, "Our Secret", "I Love You", "Fourteen", and "Bad Seeds" are the strongest tracks from this early release...while Heather's "Foggy Eyes" may be the musical shining moment from this album. Beat Happening, though not their finest album, is seminal twee pop.

Jamboree (1988)

The second album from the set is 1988's Jamboree, which is said to be one of Kurt Cobain's favorites. Despite the upbeat title, Jamboree is decidedly darker than the debut...evident right off the bat on "Bewitched". The songs are stronger, the musicianship tighter, and this album is decidedly more Calvin Johnson than the first group effort. The highlight of Jamboree is the indie rock's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (everyone's covered it) and that's "Indian Summer". Recently done by Death Cab's Benjamin Gibbard for the soundtrack of the Kurt Cobain movie About A Son, "Indian Summer" is probably Beat Happening's best known song. Other highlights are "Hangman", Cat Walk", and "Midnight A Go-Go". Props also go to "The This Many Boyfriends Club" because I'm not sure what to think of that one...making me love it all the more.

Black Candy (1989)

If Jamboree is dark, 1989's Black Candy is a moonless midnight. Seemingly designed for a B-grade teen horror movie, songs like "Pajama Party In A Haunted Hive", "Gravedigger Blues", "Bonfire", and the title track dot the landscape of this third effort. However, it's not without its shiny moments. Like "Indian Summer", "Cast A Shadow" is another well known Beat Happening song (most famously covered by Yo La Tengo). It is a pure pop treat glittering amongst the ominous themes of its album mates. All in all, Black Candy is not the best of the collection. This batch of songs seem less, somehow, than those of Jamboree, but if you're listening to Beat Happening you're past the point of differentiating between good and bad music. You're listening for the fun of it, and Black Candy certainly provides the fun. 

Dreamy (1991)

The good times continue on the fourth album, Dreamy (1991). Dreamy is more of a return to form than a continuation of Black Candy. It is still aggressively dark like its predecessor, but the songs are stronger (similar to Jamboree) and there is more of a balance between maturity and naivete. "Me Untamed" shows right away how far their instrument playing has come and any aspiring musician would want to take a crack at the rollicking "Hot Chocolate Boy". Heather's songs ("Left Behind", "Collide" and "Fortune Cookie Prize") are memorable and lovable. The darkness rears its head as well. In the lament "I've Lost You" Calvin begs for acceptance with the line "Who's gonna love me the way that I am?", only to find acceptance and more in the sexy and underrated "Nancy Sin".  The album closes with two strong tracks...the epic "Revolution Come And Gone" and the often-covered "Red Head Walking" (most recently by R.E.M., as an Accelerate B-side in 2008). Considered by many to be their best work, Dreamy is filled with gems.

You Turn Me On (1992)

Unlike many bands, Beat Happening arguably got better with each release. With that in mind, 1992's You Turn Me On is their tremendous swan song. The band bucked many trends found on previous recordings. The biggest change is that they all but abandoned the three-minute song. A third of these tracks are over six minutes long, and it's obvious there's some heavier production at work here.

At this time, you might listen to their debut once again to appreciate the level of maturity they've hit on You Turn Me On. You'd have no idea they could've reached this point. "Tiger Trap" begins this album with jangly guitars and a calm, charming tone. It's followed by Heather's "Noise" sung with a certain delicate quality we haven't heard before. The beautifully entrancing "Godsend" (also sung by Heather) is, perhaps, my favorite Beat Happening song. The repetitive nature of this ten minute song notwithstanding, I could hear it for ten more minutes and it wouldn't get old. Of course, they let a little dark in as well. "Pinebox Derby" and "You Turn Me On" each deal with death in that fun Calvin Johnson way. "Hey Day" is also a strong song. I believe this song is a glimpse of where the band was headed had they been interested in continuing on. The fact that they quit making records just after Nirvana's Nevermind and the explosion of Pacific Northwest bands when they could've easily hitched themselves onto that wagon reminds you they did it their way...they were not looking for fame or financial success.

Music To Climb The Apple Tree By (2003)

The last album in the box set is a collection of singles and rarities titled Music To Climb The Apple Tree By (there's also a disc of a short 3-song set which includes videos of live performances). This fifteen song compilation includes two later releases, "Angel Gone" and "Zombie Limbo Time" as well as songs from an EP they recorded with Screaming Trees, and original versions of several previously released songs. Overall, like so many other compilation collections, it does lack the cohesion that brings the narrative together. You would be ill-advised to make this your only Beat Happening possession. Use it only as a springboard to get to know a band important enough to be acknowledged and appreciated.

Love 'em or hate 'em (some houses are divided) Beat Happening played music for the fun of it. The child-like innocence of the lyrics and lack of technical prowess with musical instruments should be endearing if you believe that's why music should be played...for fun. The secret to their success may be the notion that any of us could do it, but I guarantee none of us could do it like Beat Happening.

If you've read through this entire post, I salute you. You've invested a lot of your time. I'll leave you with but one video..."Indian Summer".

18. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Orange

If you've been keeping track of Marc, Turn That Down!, you might have noticed a lack of 90s music being reviewed. They were mostly dark days, the 90s. So many favorite bands seemed to forego their successful pasts and pull new sounds from a grab bag like contestants on a reality TV show (R.E.M., U2, and The Cure). Others were strong only a short time ago and the negative forcefield of the 90s hit and tore them apart (Pixies, Stone Roses, and Echo & the Bunnymen). For some, Father Time was shaking his glass, and it was last call (Big Audio Dynamite, PIL, Violent Femmes, and Fishbone). The decade was not without it's share of classics, and there will be plenty of posts highlighting those, but, overall, 1990-1999 were not the strongest ten years of music.

New on the scene in the early 90s were bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Smashing Pumpkins as the grunge genre reared its ugly flannel-wrapped head. The music was mind-blowing, but certainly couldn't be labeled as fun. Enter The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and their 1994 album Orange (stocked with rhythm and blues, rockabilly, punk, noise...you name it)! Jon Spencer is a demonic-Elvis of a frontman, but singing is not quite high on his priority list. This is 45 minutes of "music first"...followed by attitude, virility, and...somewhere down the line come songwriting and singing. And the lyrics, to be sure, aren't much more than shouting out the names of the cities where The Blues Explosion is "number one". He also channels early east coast hip hop by glorifying the band with shout-outs constantly throughout the course of Orange...You can hear the words "Blues Explosion" over 25 times. The rest of the lyrics focus on Spencer's sex drive or are virtually incomprehensible. However, this is a product of JSBX enjoying themselves...imbibing and having fun...and that's the target audience. It's not dinner music.

Orange grabs you right away and immediately lets you know what's in store. "Bellbottoms" opens the album with the trio (Spencer, guitarist Judah Bauer, and drummer Russell Simins) pounding out the intro over Spencer's growling mumble, while Bauer and Simins cheer him on as if curbside at the start of a fight. Then kicks in the 70s disco strings and the party is on! However, JSBX is at its best on Orange when the band tones it down a bit and maintains control (for example, "Dang" is powerful but painful). After "Bellbottoms", the list of great tracks include "Sweat", "Orange", Blues x Man", "Full Grown" (At this point, Jon would like you to know that young girls..."16, 17, 18...just don't know what's happening" and that he needs a full grown woman.), and "Flavor". "Flavor" features a phone-call cameo by a young Beck, and this provides us with one of the great moments from Orange. With smooth, mellow verses from the up and comer finished, Beck asks Spencer if he'd like him to do one more take. He is taken aback as Spencer ignores him in favor of shouting, "You got the flavor!" until Beck sings it with him.

This is JSBX's best album. Every album that came after it made an attempt to match Orange, but none could. Sheer power, fun, adrenaline...Orange was a blast!

I was disappointed with the videos I was able to provide for you. The first is a version of "Flavor" from an album of remixes...nowhere near as good as the original Orange version. The second is a promotional video for "Bellbottoms" that begins about two minutes in...skipping the entire introduction, which includes the mood-setting 70s style strings arrangement by Kurt Hoffman.

Summer's almost here. There's lots of great music coming your way soon. Don't let radio dictate your choices. Go out and get what you want!

17. Jeff Buckley: Grace

I have a local record store owner, Tim Cretsinger, to thank for introducing me to Jeff Buckley in 1994. Tim owned Groovacious Platters in Keizer, Oregon (he and his wife have since moved the store to Cedar City, Utah). He pushed and pushed, day after day, until I finally left his store with Jeff Buckley's Grace. He knew I'd like it...but, the truth is, I didn't...not at first.

Why Grace and I didn't connect right away, I don't know, but I know when it did. I remember my one and only Jeff Buckley show at a long-since-gone club called LaLuna, in November, 1994. I was excited, but not to see him...I was excited to catch his opening act. I had come to know the music of Brenda Kahn, and couldn't wait to finally see her perform and meet her (I was 25 and she was cute).

Skip to Buckley approaching the stage: After Brenda Kahn's performance, it was Jeff Buckley's turn. Out walked this little man in a floor length fur coat...sunglasses (I think)...and a fuzzy white hat with a full brim (I swear it could've looked something like this). The venue was considered medium-sized, but this show was in the balcony section only...very intimate. He had to walk through the crowd to reach the stage. What a spectacle it was to see the thick crowd part to let this wee pimp look-alike stroll in nonchalantly with his backing band respectfully two steps behind. I remember thinking the ego was bigger than the man himself.

Once on stage, Buckley was personable, engaging, and genuinely happy to be there performing for us. The show was incredible. I chose to go by myself (try it if you haven't). He began to perform and it was as if I heard the Grace songs again, for the first time. Buckley's voice and the entrancing guitars of Michael Tighe and Buckley himself, and the bass of Mick Grondahl coalesced into a enormous wave of sound and emotion...and I gave in to it. What I originally thought was slow-moving, background music grabbed my attention that night with claws that dug deep. Unbeknownst at the time, I was hooked only to be heartbroken two and a half years later. On this day, May 29, 1997, Jeff Buckley went for a fully-clothed swim in the Wolf River in Tennessee...and slipped away forever.

When he died, Jeff Buckley left behind his only full-length album, Grace...an incredible legacy. Songs like "Last Goodbye", "Lover, You Should've Come Over", "Grace",  and "Mojo Pin" are potent enough to bring tears. His version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was tabbed, in 2003, as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone. The album, itself, frequently appears on "Greatest" lists compiled by magazines such as Rolling Stone, NME, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, and many others...and it'll be on your list as well if you invest the time to really hear it. Go visit your local record store (Thanks Tim!).

Here's Jeff Buckley performing the title track to Grace on the BBC Late Show in 1995 and his interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (neither of which are the album versions). Finally, my favorite, "Last Goodbye" the only official video from the album. Thank you, and rest in peace, Jeff.

10. Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream

When your drummer is severely addicted to heroin, your guitarist and bassist are in the midst of a bitter feud (having just broke off their relationship), and your frontman is a suicidally depressed tyrant...how can anything other than a magnificently powerful album be the result?

Citing the success of their first album, Gish, in 1991, and the release of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten later that year, critics labeled the Smashing Pumpkins as "can't miss"..."the next Nirvana". This incredible pressure to succeed intensified their already problematic situations. Yet, somehow, they managed to not kill themselves (or each other) throughout the writing and recording process, and created their brilliant second album, Siamese Dream in 1993. 

Siamese Dream spawned four great singles. Three of them, "Cherub Rock", "Today", and "Rocket", were thick with fuzz, and hit hard...continuing the style of Gish.  The effect-laden sounds of layer upon layer of guitar fused with Billy Corgan's vocals produced a highly creative noise designed to repeatedly smack you in the ears. They were not, however, limited to screams and fuzzy guitars. Similar to Nirvana's "Polly" and Pearl Jam's "Black", the Smashing Pumpkins had "Disarm", the album's fourth single...a softer, personal song. The four singles stand out as obvious radio-play choices, but every song on Siamese Dream is strong. Other great tracks include "Quiet", "Mayonaise" and the near nine minute "Silverf**k".

I saw the Smashing Pumpkins at a club in Portland in 1993. It was a fast paced show...high energy all the way through. However, only two distinct memories from the concert come to mind. I remember Billy Corgan thanking Shudder To Think and The Frogs for opening the show and then threatening to end the night right then and there if the crowd continued to boo The Frogs. I think he said, "Do not boo The Frogs. DO NOT boo The Frogs. We will walk off this stage right now if you boo The Frogs." The Frogs were awful (Though, mysteriously, they have a decent cult following). I also remember Corgan on stage, by himself, under a spotlight, closing the show with the beautiful "Sweet Sweet" from Siamese Dream. Here, however, is the video to "Cherub Rock", the song Rolling Stone readers picked as the 25th greatest guitar track of all time. Thanks for reading!