12. Blue CheerVincebus Eruptum
Well there it is! The birth of punk rock. Well, my kind of punk rock. Punk rock can be looked at like an attitude that people are trying to sell, like "I’m going to be punk rock". But real punk rock is by people who don’t know that they’re making it. They’re just bad! They’re obnoxious but they don’t know it! And people go: "Aaargh! Get those punks out of here!". That’s what Blue Cheer was. Just after The Jimi Hendrix Experience hit, these guys get together in San Francisco. Three kids with long hair down to their knees. They get the biggest amps they possibly can and proceed to slaughter a studio! Back then I think they were the loudest band in the world, that was their thing. Really, really, awfully, horribly good. They were just brilliant. From the cover all the way inside, it’s a rough listen, the whole thing. Loud as fucking balls, atonal guitar leads… I think they think they’re playing the blues [laughs] but it’s not! Wow. What a trip. The cover alone is worth the price of admission, it’s one of the best covers ever. It’s like this reflector blue with this sparkle. All I can say is that the first time I heard that I thought that this is the band that I would take home to kill my parents with. Like if I had to, if I had to kill anyone, I would take this album out. Hair in their face, giant amps, and this is before Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. People call it proto-metal instead of punk rock, but I call it both. I call it proto-punk-metal duuuude! I can’t believe I’m using these terms because I’m not a term guy, but yeah, proto-punk-metal.
