Rock and Roll Always Forgets

Acknowledgements xv

Foreword / Chuck Klosterman xi

Introduction 1

1. Predicting the Future

Over and Out 9

Rhymed Funk Hits Area 10

Skin Yard, Skin Yard 12

Drug Crazed Teens: Flaming Lips 14

Music That Passes the Acid Test 15

New Kids in the '90s: A Decade in the Life 18

Radiohead, The Bends 19

Walking into Spiderwebs: The Ultimate Band List 20

Talking World War III Blues 23

2. Alternative to What

Bombast in the Blood: Bad Religion 29

Conscience of Some Conservatives: The Ramones 32

Punk's First Family Grow Old Together: The Ramones 35

Howls from the Heartland: The Untamed Midwest 42

An Indie Rises Above: SST Records 48

Slime is Money (Bastard) 52

Big Black Give You a Headache 56

Nirvana, "all Apologies" 62

Wrong is Right: Marilyn Manson 64

Live: Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, 18 February 1997 68

City of Dreams: Rock in Mexico 69

Chumbawamba at the Piss Factory 76

Mr. and Mrs. Used To Be: The White Stripes Find a Little Place to Fight 'em Off 79

3. Umlauts from Heck

Five Great Beats-Per-Minute 89

Seduce, Seduce 92

Agnostic Front, Beyond Possession, Dr. Know, Helstar, Raw Power 94

Top 40 That Radio Won't Touch: Metallica 98

Welcome Home (Sanitarium): Metallica Seek Psychiatric Help 104

Mentors, Up The Dose 106

Robert Plant, Technobilly 108

Def Leppard's Magic and Loss 116

AC/DC's Aged Currencies 124

White Wizzard Escape Each Other 137

4. To the Beat Y'all

Mantronix: Strange Loops 143

Spoonie Gee: Unreformed 144

Just-Ice: Rap With Teeth 147

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1989: N.W.A. 149

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1992: Arrested Development 149

Sir Mix-A-Lot: Chief Boot Knocka 149

From Taco Bell to Pachalbel: Coolio 150

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1997: Erykah Badu and B-Rock & The Bizz 152

Timbaland, Magoo, and Ma$e, As the World Turns 153

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 2001: Jay-Z 157

Licks: Bone Crusher, Turk, Crunk & Disorderly 158

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 2003 160

5. Race-Mixing

Emmett Miller: The Minstrel Man from Georgia 167

Mississippi Sheiks vs. Utah Saints 168

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1984 170

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1985 170

Boogie Down Productions: Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip-Hop 172

Yothu Yindi: Tribal Voice 175

Living Colour: Biscuits EP 175

3rd Bass: Cactus Love 176

Teena Marie in Wonderland 178

Shake Your Love: Gillette 180

The Iceman Cometh Back: Vanilla Ice 183

Motor Suburb Madhouse: Kid Rock and Eminem 184

The Daddy Shady Show: Eminem's Family Values 196

Spaghetti Eastern: The Lordz of Brooklyn 206

6. Country Discomfort

Yippie Tie One On: Rural Roots and Muddy Boots 217

John Cougar Mellencamp: Life Goes On 222

K.T. Oslin: Greatest Hits: Songs from an Aging Sex Bomb 224

The Temptations of Mindy McCready 226

CMT 228

Banda, Si, Por Qué No 229

Big & Rich Boogaloo Down Broadway 233

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 2004: Montgomery Gentry and Chely Wright 235

Please Stop Belittling Toby Keith 236

Brad Paisley is Ready to Make Nice 240

7. Pop Muzik

Cutting It as a Bay City Roller in 1989 247

People Pleasers: The Village People 249

Arrivedérci, Bay-BEE: Nocera and Fun Fun 251

Debbie Gibson: Angel Baby 253

It Was In The Cards 255

Pet Shop Boys' Mad Behavior 256

Gimme Back My Bullets: Will to Power Shoot for Disco Valhalla 263

Michael Jackson Loves the Sound of Breaking Glass 267

If It Ain't Baroque, Don't Fix It: Michael Jackson and Faithless 273

They Know What They Really Really Want and They Know How to Get It: Spice Girls and Gina G 277

Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1998 281

8. Singles Again and Again

Sucking in the '70s: Have A Nice Day, Volumes 1-10 287

Zager and Evans: "In The Year 2525" 289

Radio '86: Dead Air 292

Radio On reviews 298

Ten Cents a Watusi 304

Singles Again: Tangled Up in Blue 309

Singles Again: Paranoia Jumps Deep 313

Singles Jukebox reviews 316

The Year of Too Much Consensus 322

The End? 325

Index 329