Sitting Here in Limbo: Show

You can hear the pitter-patter of Lost’s return at this point in time, so we thought we’d revisit a feature that passed away as the cockfaces of Writer’s Guild began their strike. We’re going to continue to run this feature whenever we find a willing/eager participant, so if you’re interested, drop us a line at blog@brahsome.com. We love this feature because a) people sweat it out and b) you end up finding out things about a person that you either didn’t want to know or are shocked to realize.

Anywho, this week’s “contestant” is “Show”. He runs the Loud Mouth of Show and has written with Brinson at the Talented Mr. Roto.com (no link because the site has been sold out to swallowed up by the corporate giant that is ESPN.) Show hearts the 80’s, the Hoosiers and frequently comments on Brahsome, often times defending the state of Indiana from Brinson’s unnecessary and unabashed attacks. Join him after the jump for his list of albums he would take on a desert island, and feel free to crush him in the comments for number six.

Stamos pointed out in his Friday Fixx last week that this particular column had kind of fallen by the wayside. Well, Show is here attempting to revive it with some low-quality selections by the standards of many music fans I’m sure. I’m no music connoisseur; I really only listen to 80s hair bands and 90s alternative with a few (very few) outliers. Most of the time I read columns breaking down music I’m lost because I simply don’t care. I’ve got my old mainstream-only stuff and I’m happy with it. I also don’t get into the whole “they sold out” bullshit. I don’t care if someone wanted to make more money. I’m quite gruntled for those who made that decision, actually, if I like the songs.

I’m adding a few rules of my own (obviously only for myself…I wouldn’t be that big a douche to come in and attempt to start setting rules as a visitor). First of all, to control myself I’m going to have to limit one selection per band. I’ll call it the Pearl Jam rule because I would probably take like seven PJ albums with me and it would be a worthless blahg. As Brinson said in his original post (the one where he explains the rules), this isn’t a list of my top ten albums ever. I’m shooting for favorites, while bringing a little variety, and emphasizing “front to back” albums. Front to back means that you can just sit and listen to the thing without skipping through shitty songs. It’s hard to find any CD where you don’t want to skip at least one song, so I concentrated on finding quality CDs with only 1-2 skippable songs, if any. I should note that I originally intended to include Kelly Clarkson on the list (yes, seriously…I’m a huge fan) if only to see the absolute thrashing of my manhood that would ensue. The problem is it would have been forced, though selection #8 leaves that possibility anyway…

1. Pearl Jam – Ten – I could have filled this list with my boys’ albums, but with my self-imposed one-album-per-group rule this had to be the one. After all, it is the best of all time. This has the front-to-back qualification. The only ones I’d think about skipping are Why Go (#4) and Oceans (#7, but anything following Jeremy would suck). Black is my all-time favorite song, Release is one of the most underrated ever, and Garden is one of the best fire-up songs ever. Everyone knows Alive, Jeremy, and Even Flow; but they are still great.

2. Soundgarden – Superunknown – I still love that spoon solo during Spoonman. So simple, yet cool. Black Hole Sun gets all the pub for this album, but The Day I Tried To Live is my favorite.

3. Def Leppard – Hysteria – If I was stranded for a long, LONG time Pour Some Sugar on Me might actually become listenable again! So much else to love here, including the vastly underrated title track.

4. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet – I won’t be skipping a single song on this loaded 80s album. Yeah, it’s got the super-duper hits (Wanted: Dead or Alive, Livin’ on a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name), but it’s the other ones like Raise Your Hands – which makes an appearance in Spaceballs: The Movie – that make it complete (also check out Wild in the Streets and Let it Rock).

5. Poison – Look What the Cat Dragged In – I couldn’t be on a desert island without Poison, it’s just that simple. I had to make a decision and this one – despite not having Every Rose – is the best from front to back.

6. Dave Matthews Band – Before These Crowded Streets – Crash gets much more run, but I prefer this one. Crush is probably top-5 all-time for me, and Stay (Wasting Time) is stellar as well. I actually would probably skip Don’t Drink the Water. Songs that get killed on the radio (see Pour Some Sugar on Me) annoy me for years.

7. Dr. Dre – The Chronic – The only rap CD I’ve owned and ever plan on owning. Dre Day is my favorite rap song (do you call them rap songs or just raps? I’m whiter than Wonderbread) ever by far. We all know G Thang and Let Me Ride…my favorite gem here is Ghetto Boy. Love that song, er, rap. Whatever.

8. No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom – Hopefully I could work out a deal to take pics of Gwen along with this one, but they really aren’t necessary. This is killer. Absolutely front to back, not a bad song on this thing (although I’m Just a Girl kind of annoys me at this point). Obviously Don’t Speak is the best song, but for non-hits I love the title track.

9. Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion – I just cheated. Sue me. This was actually two albums, and you know that. I also realize I’m not a qualified music fan if I like this better than Appetite for Destruction. Guess what? Sometimes I like movie sequels better than originals as well! It’s all about what you enjoy the most, and for me this was GN’R at their absolute best. Axl, Izzy, and Slash were churning out an incredible combo of keyboard, guitar, and lyrics into phenomenal songs, sometimes over 7 minutes (four of the 30 tracks). What’s great during the long songs is the fact that there is very little repetition and they never get boring. Coma (10:06) checks in as the longest, and also as Show’s favorite. I also dig Locomotive and Breakdown, if you are looking for obscure. By the way, this is one of the instances I had in mind when I ranted about people accusing groups of “selling out” in my intro. I guarantee someone would have posted a comment (if I didn’t foreshadow by posting this) saying that this album sucks because GN’R “sold out.” Damn those people who want to make money! They should be standing on the side of the street homeless before they get “commercial.” It’s all about maintaining that artistic integrity, at whatever the price. Right?

10. Temple of the Dog – Temple of the Dog – Dabbling in obscurity, Temple of the Dog is my selection for most underrated album of all-time. Why? Because I’ll bet half the people reading this just asked “what the fuck is that?” while the other half said something like “oh yeah, I remember that. It was the shit!” The easiest way to define this group is that it’s half Pearl Jam half Soundgarden. It sounds more like the latter because Chris Cornell is the singer (though you do hear Eddie Vedder on Hunger Strike). You may recognize Say Hello to Heaven, Pushin’ Forward Back, or All Night Thing (it’s the song playing as Wayne, Garth, and Cassandra first visit Russell’s apartment…”ribbed for her pleasure, ewwwww”), but Call Me a Dog is the best track on the CD. Go wherever you music people go to listen to music online and search for it.

Also considered: All Metallica albums (after GNR and PJ my favorite group, but I couldn’t really choose one to take…it was weird); Stone Temple Pilots, Core; Alice in Chains, Dirt; Aerosmith, Get a Grip; Motley Crue, Dr. Feelgood and Theatre of Pain; Several U2; Several Van Halen; Christina Aguilera, Stripped; Kelly Clarkson, Breakaway; Creed, My Own Prison; and Adam Sandler’s 2nd CD…no one ever specified that it had to be music, right? That CD is hilarious, especially the Goat (#4 I think, my CD is permanently misplaced).