The 4000 albums that matter (Part One)

01. SLAYER -- SOUTH OF HEAVEN. This was my first taste of Slayer and it's been pretty much love since. Especially the title track, as it taught me that sometimes the slow parts are heaviest of all. Regardless of which, I like it when Chris Graham spun this at the club where I used to work at on the weekends, which I guess he can’t anymore, because it “kills” the indie-rock/hipster vibe. Bullshit.

02. SEPULTURA -- BENEATH THE REMAINS. Closely after finding out about "American" and "British" metal, I would discover brutal music a couple hours south of where I lived. This album opened the doors of discovery into Brazilian music, and not the type my dad listened to [though those will creep up here at some point]. Sarcofago's INRI is a close second, but I heard this album first. Wow.

03. N.W.A. -- STRAIGHT OUT OF COMPTON. I still have this on double wax, the way our good lord Eazy E intended for it to be. Hands down a classic, regardless of whether it fuckstarted the whole gangsta rap thing or not. This is the album that did it for me and it's the one I continue to revisit in these dark days of "ring-tone" hip-hop. The fake AK sound on the title track during Cube's delivery is one of my musical guilty pleasures!

04. RAMONES -- ROAD TO RUIN. You have no idea how much radio play this album got in Venezuela and the rest of Latin America. To say that some of my first English were Ramones lines wouldn't be a lie for me and many kids who grew up in the late 70s, early 80s South America. Their simplicity still astonishes me and I wear my leather jacket with pride. From beginning to end. And loud as HELL!

05. MINOR THREAT -- OUT OF STEP. I clearly have never subscribed to the straight edge culture/lifestyle, whatever, but the impact that this album had on American [and international] hardcore is undeniable. A full exercise on compression and existentialist lashing out. Youth! And like Emil I believe mentioned in his list, not dated at all. Minor Threat is as fresh today as it was then. Maybe not some of the messages, but the energy, my god the energy!!!

06. ARTURO SANDOVAL -- I REMEMBER CLIFFORD. Sandoval's tribute album to Clifford Brown is one of the most earnest exercises on genuine musical affection that I had and have heard since. Toning down the Latin and going a more traditional route I know lost some of his hardcore fans on this recording but it did introduce him to many more listeners who had previously dismissed him as a Latin-oriented musician. Boy were they fooled. Sandoval is one of the most versatile instrumentalists in the jazz field and this is the album to point the infidels to.

07. PIXIES -- BOSSANOVA. I think I picked this album up cuz it said Bossa Nova on the cover. Boy was I fooled. And to be told later by friends that the Pixies had been around for years was an even bigger kicker to the balls cuz I really enjoyed the album a lot, even if it wasn't in Portuguese. Now I'm a fan of the entire catalogue, but it was on whim and confusion that I became involved with the Pixies.

08. DESORDEN PUBLICO -- DESORDEN PUBLICO. Desorden Publico, from Caracas, Venezuela were the band that opened my eyes and love to supporting a local scene since they were from near my neighborhood in Caracas. Their mix of two-tone ska, pop punk and Latin American politics via a bizarre take on New Wave is still the Cadillac to follow for musicians in the region.

09. SANTANA -- SANTANA (III) / CARAVANSERAI. While Abraxas is the album that everybody claims, it was my double purchase of Santana (III) and Caravanserai [1971 and 1972] that really got me. The transition, or rather, appropriation of jazz into the rock fold begins in (III) and is fully realized in Caravanserai. A delicious treat when played back to back. And sexy, both these albums have something sexy about them. Wow.

10. SCREECHING WEASEL -- MY BRAIN HURTS. Sure, I heard Boogadaboogadaboogada first, but My Brain Hurts is where it made sense. The pop punk, tongue-in-cheek, this is what the Ramones begat thing is best summed up in "Cindy's on Methadone." Also, Ben's columns for Maximum Rock N' Roll at the time were equaled only by Boris the Sprinkler's Rev. Nørb in punkrockliness and humor and sex. With George Tabb [Roach Motel, Furious George] developing the chops that would keep him in print longer. A fun, rock and roll listen.

11. SLEEP -- JERUSALEM. The one album in the world that makes me want to smoke massive amounts of pot. Wow. Fifty-two minute long concept song about doom and weed and sitting on the couch with down-tuned bombs and a drummer who knows energy. Wow, again. When this came out, it was great talk about how it had gotten canned and it was an "official" bootleg or some such shit, whatever. This actually came out later as Dopesmoker and has like eleven minutes more and is the definitive track, but this one on The Music Cartel label is the one I go back to. One of the best drives to Tallahassee with my old man included this in the player while my dad regaled me with fascinating college/med school stories of the kind of shit his "friends" got into.

12. THE CRUMBS -- GET ALL TANGLED UP WITH THE CRUMBS. This 10" gem was put out by the sorely missed Far Out Records and boy what a fucking piece of work it is! Also available on CD with some bonus tracks, this piece of wax ensured the death of not one, but two cheap turntables! I'd like to see this album do the same to my Rega. Anyways. From the opening instrumental with the Farfisa organ to the closing tag from The Exorcist (a longer loop on the disc), this album was the soundtrack for a summer and what endeared me to the local scene in South Florida. Four on the floor punk that was 77 AND 57! That said, I had the pleasure of witnessing them live at Yesterday & Today Records (2nd Bird and Red locale) with the dude from the One Eyed Kings lending the Farfisa. Wow and wow!

13. SENTIMIENTO MUERTO -- EL AMOR YA NO EXISTE. If you grew up in Caracas in the 80s, you'll remember the notorious graffiti of the crossed-out heart. The first Latin American band to have a video on rotation on MTv ("Payaso") and the first to incorporate the whole Joy Division / New Order post-punk thing into the local punk and New Wave. Even before Argentina's Los Violadores or early Soda Stereo. When Carlos "Cayayo" Troconis passed in his early 30's, the South American musical community mourned. The man was a true visionary.

14. ELIS REGINA -- A ARTE DE ELIS REGINA. The A Arte De compilations are to this day the very best of Brazil's Bossa Nova elite. Usually set as double LPs, these packed in the hits and B-sides. You'll see a few more here as my dad gave me a bunch of his but this album in particular bears a specialness to me since Elis Regina was one of my first musical hard-ons. Poise, elegance, delivery, timing, highs and lows and a sugary raspy voice that could cry and laugh on a dime's break. Her version of "Aguas do março" gives me the willies in a good way. How she could ever play second fiddle to Bebel Gilberto or Maria Bethânia in contemporary views is beyond me. Seriously. Give her a try, the lady does not disappoint.

15. BLACK FLAG -- WASTED... AGAIN. Here's the moment you all knew was coming. Everybody knows that it took me 30 years to get my first tattoo and that [compliments of Joe Shed] it was the Black Flag bars. Why? Because the cliché is the same as Henry Rollins': sometimes I need to hear these tracks to face the day. Should I go on? No. From the hardcore to the sludge, gimmie Black Flag any day of the week. Shit! Obey!

16. KUKL -- THE EYE. Ahh... Björk's first band. Call it anarcho-punk, gothic rock, post-gothic-anarcho-blues... whatever. This album in particular is haunting. Ethereal and almost like a latter day Talking Heads / David Byrne world music affair. A better hint of Björk's future than The Sugarcubes. I know Sweat records had a copy like two years ago. Go get it. Don't be a dick.

17. HÜSKER DÜ -- NEW DAY RISING. Yup. A punk album with a cover of dogs playing on the beach. The A side to this album is perhaps, in my opinion, the perfect punk rock A side. "New Day Rising," "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill," "I Apologize," "Folk Lore," "If I Told You," "Celebrated Summer," and "Perfect Example." Wow. "Folk Lore" is my favorite Hüsker song as is "Ice Cold Ice;" but more on that later. This is where you can make out without a shadow of a doubt that Bob Mould and Grant Hart were not playing on time with each other and that poor Greg Norton had the real tough job of making sense out of his two divas. Blistering.

18. THE BEATLES -- HELP! Ahh... The Beatles will always manage a spot in any of these things cuz The Beatles were fucking phenomenal. This album has two of my favorite three Beatles songs: "The Night Before" and "Another Girl." Sweet!

19. PINK LINCOLNS -- SUCK AND BLOAT. From the Iggy Pop cover art to the Florida punk rock goodness and all in pink! Chris Barrows is one of the snottiest and best and funniest front men in punkdom. Awesome! The one time I actually saw them live was when my friends insisted on going to the Bob Marley Fest downtown and the spirits must've heard my bitching cuz when we got there they wouldn't let us in and I decided "fuck this shit, hippies!" and we then drove to Cheers and saw the Pink Lincolns tear it up! Fucking awesome!!!

20. ATTAQUE 77 -- ANGELES CAIDOS. Argentina's answer to the Ramones. Simple. Leather-clad. 4/4. Awesome. And in Español. So freaking good!!! Nick Kreimer actually got me into them and oh boy! I got Todo Esta Al Reves shortly after but this is where it all began. Can't wait for another US tour so I can catch them again!

21. LED ZEPPELIN -- LED ZEPPELIN III. Led Zeppelin was a good band. But my favorite album is Led Zeppelin III for the inclusion of my two favorite Led Zep songs: "Gallow's Pole" and "Immigrant Song." Houses of the Holy comes close, but this is the one I revisit more often.

22. HAWKWIND -- WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME. Okay, so Lemmy is in this album and their version of “Motörhead” (available as a bonus on the CD) is fucking incredible. But the song that got me was "The Wizard Blew His Horn/Opa-Locka." Beautiful, poetic, kinda scary and spacy. They have a huge catalogue but this album is the one I recommend as the start point. For some, I recommend it as an endpoint too. Versatile.

23. GODSTOMPER -- GODSTOMPER 7". This disc was my first venture into making records. Beautiful chunky power violence and a good looking disc to boot! Julio introduced me to many, many bands and introducing me into the process of the vinyl I love so much will never be forgotten. This is a special record for me.

24. FELA KUTI -- EXPENSIVE SHIT. This album taught me the true meaning of punk rock. Two songs. Both political as fuck. And some of the most beautiful, steady-tone African jazz you'll hear. Dangerous. Fela was constantly under attack. His bio makes for a good read and I recommend you do. What a hardcore motherfucker! Though my favorite song of his is "Sorrow, Tears and Blood," "Water No Get Enemy" is a close second. Delicious.

25. BAD RELIGION -- NO CONTROL / SUFFER. BR gets two albums tied now cuz I bought them at the same time and my god was I blown away by the politics, the oohs and ahhs and the raging sound that would eventually be aped by everybody in the great state of California. Ultimately, Generator and Against the Grain would gain on them, but for the moment of time in my life, these were it. I even entertained writing the lyrics on the wall with my leather and Chucks thrown by the door. Awesome.