A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn.
The Other One This 2015 Netflix documentary details the long, strange trip that’s been the life of Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, following this humble and far-out dude on his seemingly endless journey as the anchor of one of America’s most prolific bands. Even some hard-core Dead detractors I know have gushed over how excellent and inspirational The Other One is. And if you’re anything like me, after watching it just once, all you’ll want to do is trek to San Francisco to hang out with Weir in person and hear his endless LSD-soaked tales of what it was like spending 30 years as Jerry Garcia’s right-hand man.
L.O.T.I.O.N., Digital Control and Man’s Obsolescence As I began digging deeper into the scum world of experimental noise, I stumbled upon a band whose hardcore-punk structure and influence coalesced around an industrial platform. Vocalist Alexander Heir crams cruddy, overdriven guitars and trash-can drum sounds through a digital food processor. It’s like walking by a crusty with a malnourished sympathy dog and realizing it’s actually Trent Reznor. This record’s mechanized dystopian police-state propaganda fetish makes it sound like the future forecast by The Terminator. It confirms my belief that New York City will always be the worst place on earth.
High Rise, Psychedelic Speed Freaks If you like a certain sound from a band in the U.S., odds are there’s a band in Japan doing it better. The title says it all: High Rise are what would happen if you crossbred the Stooges and Timothy Leary and strapped six jet packs onto the child. This 1984 live record is unrelenting and pummeling—it makes you want to give up music ’cause you’ll never play anything with half the attitude and chops.
