Holy Wars... The Punishment Due - Megadeth

Artist: Megadeth
Song: Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
Year: 1990
Album: Rust In Peace

One of the fan favorites from a very underrated album.

Lyrics:
Brother will kill brother
Spilling blood across the land
Killing for religion
Something I don't understand

Fools like me, who cross the sea
And come to foreign lands
Ask the sheep, for their beliefs
Do you kill on God's command?

A country that's divided
Surely will not stand
My past erased, no more disgrace
No foolish naive stand

The end is near, it's crystal clear
Part of the master plan
Don't look now to Israel
It might be your homeland

Holy wars

Upon my podium, as the
Know it all scholar
Down in my seat of judgement
Gavel's bang, uphold the law
Up on my soapbox, a leader
Out to change the world
Down in my pulpit as the holier
Than-thou-could-be-messenger of God

Wage the war on organized crime
Sneak attacks, repel down the rocks
Behind the lines
Some people risk to employ me
Some people live to destroy me
Either way they die. they die

They killed my wife and my baby,
With hopes to enslave me
First mistake... last mistake
Paid by the alliance, to slay all the giants
Next mistake... no more mistakes!

Fill the cracks in, with judicial granite
Because I don't say it, don't mean I ain't thinkin' it
Next thing you know, they'll take my thoughts away
I know what I said, now I must scream of the overdose
And the lack of mercy killings
mercy killings
mercy killings
killings!!
killings!!
killings!!
next thing you know
they'll take my thoughts away!

Three Days - Jane's Addiction

Artist: Jane's Addiction
Song: Three Days
Year: 1990
Album: Ritual de lo Habitual

This is a three part song that meditates on death and rebirth.

Lyrics:
Three days was the morning.
My focus three days old.
My head, it landed
To the sounds of cricket bows...

I am proud man anyway...
Covered now by three days...

Three ways was the morning.
Three lovers, in three ways.
We knew when she landed,
Three days she'd stay.

I am a proud man anyway...
Covered now by three days...

We saw shadows of the morning light
the shadows of the evening sun
till the shadows and the light were one.

Shadows of the morning light
the shadows of the evening sun
till the shadows and the light were one...

True hunting is over.
No herds to follow.
Without game, men prey on each other.
The family weakens by the bite we swallow...

True leaders gone,
Of land and people.
We choose no kin but adopted strangers.
The family weakens by the length we travel...

All of us with wings...
All of us with wings...
All of us with wings!
All of us with wings!
All of us with wings!
All of us with wings!

Erotic Jesus lays with his Marys.
Loves his Marys.
Bits of puzzle,
Fitting each other.

All now with wings!

Oh my Marys!
Never wonder...
Night is shelter
For nudity's shiver...

All now with wings...

Friends In Low Places - Garth Brooks

Artist: Garth Brooks
Song: Friends In Low Places
Year: 1990
Album: No Fences

I make no apologies for liking this song. It's fun and easy to sing with a group. I hear it at almost every karaoke function that I attend. I hear it at every wedding, which is why it will not be heard at mine. I don't hear Garth Brooks apologizing either.

I started hearing this in the early nineties. I was farthest away from country music at that point in my life, which is why it doesn't enter too much into my daily listening habits. I was into rock, blues, comedy and the occasional classic country back then. I hated the direction that country music was turning. It was beginning to sound like pop music with a twang. Something that hasn't changed.

I like it when the country artist of today can record a song in the vein of yesterday's classics. Something that tells a story and doesn't sound like it was produced in a studio. Garth Brooks songs are usually in the style of the masters, especially his early songs. "Friends In Low Places" is from his second album.

Of course, Garth Brooks ushered in all that is wrong with country music today. The grit is gone, replaced by spray on mud for the suburban soccer mom's SUV. The gloss is there, like overpolished silver. It just isn't the same music. Garth Brooks is one of the last performers to embrace the old style. He is also one of the first to embrace the newer style. It's a contradiction that boggles my mind sometimes.

Lyrics:
Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots
And ruined your black tie affair.
Last one to know, last one to show
I was the last one you thought you'd see there
And I saw the surprise, and the fear in his eyes
When I took his glass of champagne
And I toasted you, said "Honey we may be through,
But you'll never hear me complain...

'Cause I've got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases
My blues away, and I'll be OK.
And I'm not big on social graces
Think I'll slip on down to the oasis
So I've got friends in low places!

Well, I guess I was wrong,
I just don't belong
But then, I've been there before
Everything's alright, I'll just say goodnight
and I'll show myself to the door
Hey, I didn't mean to cause a big scene
Just give me an hour and then,
Well I'll be as high as that ivory tower
that you're living in

'Cause I've got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases
My blues away, and I'll be OK.
And I'm not big on social graces
Think I'll slip on down to the oasis
So I've got friends in low places!

Dead Skin Mask - Slayer

Artist: Slayer
Song: Dead Skin Mask
Year: 1990
Album: Seasons In The Abyss

Before you dismiss Slayer, take the time to actually listen to their music. You will find that each song has been meticulously created to be a unique experience. There are no repeated licks. There are no repeated lyrics. There are the horrors of real life laid out in song.

The horrors of war. The reality of serial killers. The underside of human existence is present in these songs. It's a reality that we cannot face, but one that we must face. The tales told in Slayer songs are ones of reality. They are gritty stories that recall horrible things and make each one sound delicate and somehow bursting with a strange beauty.

"Dead Skin Mask" tells us the story of Ed Gein. Ed was a serial killer in Wisconsin and spawned the fictional inspirations of Norman Bates, Jame (Buffalo Bill) Gumb (from Silence Of The Lambs) and Leatherface. While Ed Gein would make his mark on popular culture, Slayer would strip away the mythos and present a more morbid tale.

The music for "Dead Skin Mask" is mood appropriate. It mimics the feeling of childhood innocence and creates a sinister tone around that. The build up to the end is just right. The end of the songs features a release. Almost as if you are following Ed Gein until his luck runs out.

Lyrics:
How I've waited for you to come
I've been here all alone
Now that you've arrived
Please stay a while
And I promise I won't keep you long
I'll keep you forever

Graze the skin with my finger tips
The brush of dead cold flesh pacifies [sings "appease"] the
means
Provoking images delicate features so smooth
A pleasant fragrance in the light of the moon

Dance with the dead in my dreams
Listen to their hallowed screams
The dead have taken my soul
Temptation's lost all control

Simple smiles elude psychotic eyes
Lose all mind control rationale declines
Empty eyes enslave the creations
Of placid faces and lifeless pageants

In the depths of a mind insane
Fantasy and reality are the same

Graze the skin with my finger tips
The brush of dead warm flesh pacifies the means
Incised members ornaments on my being
Adulating the skin before me

Simple smiles elude psychotic eyes
Lose all mind control rationale declines
Empty eyes enslave the creations
Of placid faces and lifeless pageants

Dance with the dead in my dreams (Hello? Hello Mr Gein?)
Listen to their hollowed screams (Mr Gein?)
The dead have taken my soul (Lemme out of here Mr Gein)
Temptation's lost all control (Mr Gein? I don't wanna play anymore Mr Gein)
(Dance with the dead in my dreams (Mr Gein, it's not any fun anymore,)
Listen to their hollowed screams (I don't want to play anymore Mr Gein)
The dead have taken my soul (Mr Gein? Lemme out of here Mr Gein
Temptation's lost all control) (Lemme out, LEMMMMEEE OOUUUUUUTTT!!)

She Talks To Angels - The Black Crowes

Artist: The Black Crowes
Song: She Talks To Angels
Year: 1990
Album: Shake Your Moneymaker

"She Talks To Angels" is a surprising ballad hit for a very blues influenced band. Even though it really shouldn't, the song fits in perfectly with the vibe of the album and the mood of the band. Chris Robinson shows off his vocal chops in this sad, yet touching song.

When I first heard this song, I lumped it in with ballads from Slaughter and Mr. Big. It seemed everybody was coming out with ballads around that time. They all started to sound the same. "She Talks To Angels" separated itself from the rest of the pack, when I heard the acoustic version of the song. Stripped down, the song still had the raw power of the vocals and the sense of urgency and frailty in the lyrics.

Further cementing my love of this song, was the fact that the Black Crowes were the first band I ever saw perform live. They opened up for Aerosmith on their Pump tour in 1990. It was a rude awakening, having Chris Robinson's filthy mouth swear constantly during the set, with my mom and uncle sitting next to me. My uncle enjoyed it. My mom enjoyed it, except for the swearing. I just enjoyed it.

Since its release, "She Talks To Angels" has enjoyed a healthy secondary career. You can hear the song in everything from karaoke to video games. It's a song that I haven't grown tired of, mostly because it's that good.

Lyrics:
She never mentions the word addiction
In certain company.
Yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family.

She paints her eyes as black as night now.
She pulls those shades down tight.
Yeah, she gives me a smile when the pain comes.
The pain gonna make everything alright.

Says she talks to angels.
They call her out by her name.
Oh yeah, she talks to angels.
Says they call her out by her name.

She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket.
She wears a cross around her neck.
The hair is from a little boy,
And the cross from someone she has not met, well, not yet

Says she talks to angels.
They call her out by her name.
Oh yeah, she talks to angels.
Says they call her out by her name.

She don't know no lover,
None that I ever seen.
Yeah, to her that ain't nothing
But to me it means, means everything.

She paints her eyes as black as night now.
Pulls those shades down tight.
There's a smile when the pain comes.
Pain's gonna make everything alright.

Says she talks to angels.
They call her out by her name.
Oh yeah, she talks to angels.
Says they call her out by her name.

Traveling Riverside Blues - Led Zeppelin

Artist: Led Zeppelin
Song: Traveling Riverside Blues
Year: 1990
Album: Led Zeppelin Box Set

The Led Zeppelin box set was the absolute best gift I can remember receiving on Christmas day 1990. I was beginning an obsession with Led Zeppelin. I had purchased cassettes of Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy during my last week of eighth grade, earlier in the year.

I'm not exactly sure how I caught the Led Zeppelin bug, but when I was hooked, I was hooked for life. I'm sure it had to do with a mixture of WCKG (a local classic rock station at the time), the bow playing of Jimmy Page, Christian television propaganda and the music.

I guess I should offer an explanation about the Christian television propaganda. I'm not a churchgoer. That's fine for people who are, but it's just not for me. There used to be a television show on the Christian stations about the evils of rock n' roll music. They would feature videos of mostly hard rock bands. The show would show this seemingly harmless clip and post the lyrics. Then they would show the same clip backwards and interpret what lyrics supposedly said.

I found the show absolutely hilarious. Led Zeppelin's song was "Stairway To Heaven" on the show. I always found it funny that the show used the live version of "Stairway To Heaven" to illustrate its point instead of the studio version.

Anyway, when I heard that Led Zeppelin was coming out with a box set, I immediately started saving money and also put the set on my wishlist. I didn't get it for my birthday, but Christmas turned out to be the jackpot.

I was waiting to hear the two new tracks. "Traveling Riverside Blues" was one and a mash-up of two of John Bonham's drum solo songs was the other. Unbeknownst to me at the time, "Traveling Riverside Blues" was a song by Robert Johnson. The King of the Delta Blues and the musician who supposedly sold his soul to the devil originally played this.

I played this over and over again. I think I wore out my cassette copy. Years later, I would purchase a used copy of the CD version of this set. This song has been a mainstay in my musical rotation ever since its release.

Lyrics:
Hey, that's right
Asked sweet mama, "Let me a-be your kid"
She said-a, "You might get hurt if'n a-you don't a-keep it hid"
Well, uh-huh, I know my baby if I see her in the dark
I said, I know my rider if I see her in the dark

Now, I'm goin' to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
Still barrelhouse 'cause it's on the riverside, yeah
I know my baby, lord, I said-a, beware, there's something wrong
I know my mama, lord, a brown-skin but she ain't no plum, ah-ha

See my baby, tell her, tell her, "Hurry home"
Had no lovin' since my baby geen bone (sic), yeah
See my baby, tell her, "Hurry on home"
I ain't had, no, my right mind since my rider's been gone

Hey, promises-a she's my rider
I wanna tell you, she's my rider
Blow your mind, she's my rider
She ain't but sixteen, but she's my rider

I'm goin' to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
Anybody argue with me, man, I'll keep them satisfied
Well, I see my baby, tell her, tell her the shape I'm in
Ain't had no lovin', lord, since you-know-when
Aww, yeah, my, my, my, my
Ah, why don't you come in my kitchen

My kindhearted baby, ya studies evil all the time
She's a kindhearted woman-a, studies evil all the time

Squeeze my lemon 'till the juice runs down my leg-a
Squeeze it so hard, I'll fall right outta bed
Will you squeeze my lemon 'till the juice runs down my leg
I wonder if you know what I'm talkin' about
Ah, well, the way that you squeeze it, girl-a
I swear, I'm gonna fall right outta bed

Aw, she's a good rider, hey-yeah
She's my kindhearted baby
I wanna take my rider by my side, yeah
I said, her front teeth are lined with gold
She got a mortgage on my body, got a lien on my soul
She's my brown-skinned sugar-plum
She makes me