Top five Rick Rubin–rejected Kanye lyrics from “I Am a God” 1. “I just talked to Jesus. He said, ‘Reese’s Pieces.’ ” 2. “I am Werner Herzog.” 3. “Hurry up with my damn lozenges.” 4. “The only rapper compared to a turnip.” 5. “Wooooooohooo!” Colin Newman of Wire on Beak>’s “0898” / “Welcome to the Machine” 10-inch Wire was asked to play a London street festival on Record Store Day outside renowned indie store Sister Ray. I don’t know about anywhere else, but this year RSD felt bigger and more important than ever; it’s as if people suddenly get the point of it. I bought this 10-inch at Sister Ray on the basis of the B-side. It’s a cover of the Pink Floyd song “Welcome to the Machine.” My interest in Pink Floyd tends to peter out after Meddle, so I kind of like the idea of Geoff Barrow’s “other” band doing a cover of a Floyd song I don’t like and making it into something special. I’ve grown quite partial to Beak> recently, even if, as a friend said, “they do come across as a Neu! tribute band at times.” There are considerably worse things to be! ST—082
Five albums the Bleached sisters got each other into while growing up Jennifer Clavin: we both discovered punk around the same time. we didn’t go to the same school, so that probably helped make it easier to feel like friends rather than just sisters. the first album jessie got me into was t.rex’s electric warrior (reprise, 1971). that record blew my mind because most of what i listened to was punk and girl bands. when i heard it, i didn’t even understand what genre it was. marc bolan’s voice was so cool, and his style of guitar was so different. i remember jess playing “life’s a gas” and thinking it was the best song ever. the second album she got me into was nico’s chelsea girl (verve, 1967), which took me by surprise. i thought it was so beautiful, from the lyrics to her vocals to her look. Jessie Clavin: the slits’ in the beginning (jungle, 1997) was probably one of jen’s first records. we were both getting into punk, and i was always curious about what she was listening to; this record would be playing from her room a bunch. i got into the replacements’ tim (sire, 1985) after hearing jen describe it to someone, and i remember sneaking into her room one time while she was gone and taking her cd of smashing pumpkins’ mellon collie and the infinite sadness. i was really young, and the idea of listening to my older sister’s music made me feel so much older.
Top five tell-all memoirs (not related to Sonic Youth) that should be published in time for Christmas 1. Jason Pierce 2. Alan Vega 3. Chan Marshall 4. Michael Gira 5. Zomby