The 500 - #167 - Master Of Puppets - Metallica

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #167
Album Title: Master Of Puppets

Artist: Metallica

Genre: Thrash Metal

Recorded: Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark

Released: Marc, 1986

My age at release: 20
How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #97, rising 70 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Master of Puppets

In the summer of 2024, I penned a lengthy post about Metallica's Black Album (#255 on The 500) in which I sketched out a brief history of heavy metal -- from its founding in late-’60s heavy blues, through its commercially successful glam rock phase in the ‘80s and into the arrival of Metallica in 1984.

In that post, I recalled my introduction to Metallica in 1987 when I was working at Fluffy's Pizza with a devoted headbanger named James Fast. James worked in the kitchen and, at first, I was a delivery driver. We both worked late into the night, especially on weekends, often finishing our shifts at 3:00 a.m. Those long hours were ballasted by caffeine, cigarettes and music. The stereo system in my car (a 1981 Chevette) was in overdrive, and James had his portable cassette player blasting away at the back of the kitchen.

We quickly connected over a shared love of Rush, Iron Maiden, Queensryche and Judas Priest; however, my tastes skewed toward more progressive rock sounds (Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Marillion, Yes) and James liked his sound louder and heavier. Among his favourite bands were the Danish Black Metal band Mercyful Fate and Metallica.

Metallica in 1987 (l-r) Kirk Hammett (lead guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums),
Jason Newsted (bass) and James Hetfield (guitar, vocals).

James tried hard to make me a Metallica fan, sharing stories of their epic performances and regularly sharing cassette tapes of their albums. These included their most recent work, Master Of Puppets, which I could listen to  during deliveries. I didn't mind the music. The songs were high energy and aggressive and that helped keep me awake as I drove around, squinting for street names and house numbers during late night deliveries. In a time before Satellite navigation and on-screen mapping apps like Waze, I relied on a well-worn map that I kept stuffed in the glove compartment. It had been folded and unfolded so many times it was hard to read the street names obscured in the creases.

The approximate delivery area I served, with Fluffy's Pizza Springbank located
on the map with a red star.

Despite James' best efforts, Metallica didn't stick – just another band that I "didn't mind" but too indifferent to commit time or money. Eventually, though, I was won over and Metallica songs are now scattered through my workout playlists.

I have to give Metallica and James their due. Master Of Puppets is an important record and considered by fans and music critics to be a highwater mark for Thrash Metal -- hailed for its strong lyrics, technical excellence and influence on the genre. The guitar riffs are relentless and the lyrics tap perfectly into teen-age anger, conspiratorial curiosity, rebellion and angst.

A 500 Podcast guest and Metallica fan, Joe Manganiello, aptly described the record as containing "muscular poetry", touching on themes of addiction, anti-war, religious corruption and corporate exploitation. It also delivered  a powerful instrumental inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror series, The Call of Cthulhu. In view of those laudatory comments I wonder why the teen-age version of me didn't like the record more.

Cthulhu (The Old One) creature from H.P. Lovecraft's mythos.

Perhaps I'll check in again with my friend "Jimmy Quick", as I like to call him. We have remained in touch over these past 40 years. He works as a sound engineer on television productions and is still a fan of Metallica. I'll have to let him know his late night, oven-side persuasions finally worked.

The 500 - #168 - My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #168
Album Title: My Aim Is True

Artist: Elvis Costello

Genre: New Wave, Punk Rock, Pop Rock, Pub Rock, Power Pop

Recorded: Pathways Studios, London, England

Released: July, 1977

My age at release: 12
How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #430, dropping 262 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Less Than Zero

My Aim Is True, the 1977 debut release from Elvis Costello (born, Declan Patrick MacManus) is a marvelous collection of short songs inspired by multiple genres, including doo-wop, R&B, rockabilly, power pop, punk rock, blues, jazz and even honky-tonk country. At the time of its release, it would be categorized as part of the burgeoning New Wave genre -- an umbrella term for the synth-pop and alternative dance music that came out of the post-punk in the late ‘70s. However, that term doesn't do justice to the rich musical history that Costello brought his first record.

Born and raised in Twickenham, West London, England, in 1954 to a record shop worker and jazz musician --his father was acclaimed musician, singer and trumpet player Ross MacManus -- young Declan was surrounded by music. In many interviews, Costello said watching his father work gave him "an innate sense of how to be a musician but also an understanding that a career in music was a job like any other, requiring discipline and hard work".

Costello's father, Ross MacManus (1968)

Costello was writing songs on his guitar by age 14 and testing them in front of audiences at unpaid "open mic" events throughout London in the early ‘70s. On the eve of the release of My Aim Is True, he told a reporter that he had written "hundreds of songs". Given his background and work ethic, it isn't surprising that his inaugural record would be a hit critically and commercially. It made it to #14 on the U.K. charts, but went on to become (at the time) the biggest selling import album in U.S. history. In fact, when it was finally released into U.S. markets, Columbia records put up a promotional billboard on the famed Sunset Strip -- a spot typically reserved for bigger, more established acts.

Promotional billboard on Sunset Strip for My Aim Is True (1977)

This is the second of four appearances by Elvis Costello on The 500 list. In June, 2019, I wrote about his third record, Armed Forces (#475). As I mentioned in that post, I was aware of Costello's music and considered purchasing this record in 1980. However, my developing tastes took me in a different direction and, despite knowing many of his songs, I didn't buy his catalogue. However, I have taken the opportunity as an adult to delve into his work and come to appreciate this talented singer, songwriter, producer and author.

Costello's memoir - Unfaithful Music &
Disappearing Ink. (2015).

He even became a television personality. From 2008-2010 he hosted a series I loved called Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... which featured interviews with  an eclectic list of musicians, including many who appear on The 500 (Elton John, Lou Reed, The Police and Bruce Springsteen, to name a few). The interviews were punctuated with performances by Costello and his guests -- separately and together.

Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... was a 20 episode
television program that aired 2008 - 2010.

My favourite discovery on Less Than Zero was learning that Costello penned the reggae-influenced protest song after seeing  British fascist Oswald Mosley being interviewed on television. In the liner notes to the record, Costello wrote:

"Less Than Zero was a song I had written after seeing the despicable Oswald Mosley being interviewed on BBC television. The former leader of the British Union of Fascists seemed unrepentant about his poisonous actions of the 1930s. The song was more of a slandering fantasy than a reasoned argument."

The chorus served as a warning to British youth who, at the time, were being influenced by far right, white nationalist types like Mosely through the media. I can't help but draw comparisons to the resurgence of white nationalism, fascism and toxic masculinity among young men that, fueled by social media, we are witnessing today. It is something that educators have been recognizing for some time. There is a crisis brewing for young men in our culture and we need to address it soon. However, that is a discussion for a future blog. Perhaps when we return to Mr. Costello in a couple of weeks with Imperial Bedroom (1982), which appears at #166 on The 500 list.

White Nationalist protestors at the Charlottesville, Virgina
"Unite The Right" rally, August, 2017.

The 500 - #169 - Exodus - Bob Marley

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #169
Album Title: Exodus

Artist: Bob Marley and The Wailers

Genre: Reggae

Recorded: Harry J. Studios, Kingston, Jamaica; Island Studios, London, England

Released: June, 1977

My age at release: 11
How familiar was I with it before this week: Quite

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #71, moving up 98 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Three Little Birds

Students in my Grade 7 class are always amazed when they learn that high schools in my era had school-sanctioned "smoking patios". These days, at schools throughout our Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), smoking, vaping and use of marijuana products are prohibited within 20 metres of any school property. In retrospect, it seems a little strange that prior to the turning of the millennium society tolerated smoking almost everywhere. As teens, my chums and I were well aware that some teachers smoked in their offices and the staff lounge. We even suspected a few of them dabbled in more than tobacco.

A joke from the 2002 episode of The Simpson's that hit close

to home for me and many friends.

On-campus smoking of any substance was not only allowed at my high school (Saunders Secondary in London, Ontario), the building's design seemed to encourage it. Built in the early ‘70s, it mixed modern and brutalist architecture to create a menacing structure that seemed more like a prison than a learning institution.

Saunders Secondary School, east profile.

The front of the school featured a row of large brick support walls built on a concrete set of stairs above a short and seldom used service road. These "stalls", as they were dubbed, provided the perfect place for students to hide from staff.. It was a teen stoner's paradise, and marijuana products were smoked and sold daily in the secluded alleys.

The stalls - circled in red, can be seen behind the fencing and

sign (additions long after I left the school).

Despite being a "non-smoker" in 1981, I still spent a lot of time hanging around the stalls. It was where many of the older, cooler and rebellious kids staked their claim, holding court with conversations about music, school gossip and teen philosophy. One day, a senior began waxing poetic, between puffs, about how he was adopting Bob Marley's Rastafarian lifestyle. He  boldly asserted: "I can't get arrested for smoking weed because it's my religion." I was fascinated, and had many questions. In a time before the Internet, taking advantage of a senior student's experience was critical to one's social currency. To his credit, a lot of what he shared about the Rastas was accurate.

Bob Marley enjoying a marijuana joint on the cover
of his 1975 album, Catch A Fire (#126 on The 500).

Now, with the benefit of research technology, I can summarize the practice more easily and accurately. Rastafari is a religious and political movement that developed in Marley's home country of Jamaica in the 1930s. It combines Protestant Christian beliefs with a pan-African political consciousness. It borrows heavily from the Old Testament stories of the Israelites' enslavement in the book of Exodus, their forced detention in Babylon (598-586 BCE) and their exile from Palestine. Rastafarians extend their philosophy to the people of African descent who were shipped around the world during the Atlantic Slave Trade (15th-19th Century). They believe they are "exiles of Babylon" who are being tested by Jah (God) through slavery, economic injustice and oppression. Rastafarians await their deliverance and return to Zion. However, this is not the historical Zion of the Old Testament -- the two easternmost hills in Jerusalem. Rather, the Zion of Rastafarians is the name for Ethiopia. Symbolically, it represents a place of unity, peace and freedom.

The Lion of Judah, originally a symbol from the 
Jewish faith and later adopted by the Rastafarian faith.

Much of the connection to Ethiopia as the ultimate home for all Africans comes from the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I (1930 - 1974) who steered his country into the modern age following World War II, allowing the country to join the United Nations and the League of Nations.

Haile Selassie I.

Rastafarians strive to live a "balanced lifestyle" and typically ascribe to the following practises:

• They wear their hair in dreadlocks (long, rope-like strands of knotted hair that have been ‘locked-in”, or entwined, by leaving it uncombed).
• They dress in red, green, gold and black colours - symbolizing blood, herbs, royalty and Africanness.
• They are vegetarian.
• They practice "itation" (meditation), with the inclusion of "ganja" (marijuana) which they believe helps them get closer to Jah (God).
• They also participate in "bingis" - all-night drumming ceremonies -- hence the connection to Reggae Music

Bob Marley was not the first Rastafarian musician, but his ability to combine his music with blues, soul and elements of British rock propelled his albums to international acclaim. Exodus was a commercial and critical success for Marley, remaining on the U.K. charts for a staggering 56 weeks. He is, without a doubt, the most popular and best-selling reggae star of all time -- a universal icon of the genre and the Rastafarian movement.

Side One of Exodus focused on themes of social change, religion and politics -- informed largely by the intense, polarizing political violence wracking Jamaica at the time. However, Side Two addressed the universal themes of love and faith. It included the massively popular Three Little Birds, a gentle anthem encouraging positivity and resilience in the face of adversity. In times of stress, the simple lyrics are a soothing antidote and one I share with students facing moments of academic anxiety:."Don't worry about a thing/'cause every little thing, gonna be alright".

It's not surprising that the musical, spiritual, political and social revolution that Marley super-charged in 1977 made its way to the philosophical lexicon of a Grade 12 stoner in London, Ontario, by 1981. Unfortunately, despite his efforts to become a Rasta, he would have to wait until October, 2018, before marijuana was legalized in Canada. He just wouldn't be allowed to smoke it within 20 metres of his old high school -- unless he hid in the stalls.

The 500 - #170 - Live At Leeds - The Who

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #170
Album Title: Live At Leeds

Artist: The Who

Genre: Rock, Hard Rock

Recorded: University of Leeds Refectory, West Yorkshire, England

Released: May, 1970

My age at release: 4
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very well

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #327. dropping 157 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Magic Bus

Album cover for Live At Leeds by The Who.

Well documented in this blog series is the first Rush record I purchased – their 1976 live release, All The World's A Stage. I bought it when visiting my dad in my future hometown of London, Ontario, during March Break in 1980. It was a job change and dad was setting up house in advance of the family move from Kingsville on the shore of Lake Erie.

Album cover for All The World's A Stage -- Rush.

In order to listen to this double record, I coaxed an attendant at the Central Library to allow me to borrow headphones and use a music listening booth. What I heard, blew my fourteen-year-old mind. How could three musicians create such a big, full sound? I understood that studio recordings could be enhanced with layers of multiple tracks for guitars, bass, vocals and drums, but this was a live recording...by a trio! Additionally, there were moments when the three of them seemed to be soloing at the same time, effortlessly switching between complex time signatures and melodic phrases. This was not straightforward 4/4 time rock and roll – at the time I thought of it as "orchestral rock" or "symphonic metal"?

Rush performing live in 1976.

Not surprisingly, Rush players Geddy Lee (bass/vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitars) and Neil Peart (drums) have cited several bands on The 500 as influencing their sound -- chief among them is The Who. In a July, 2020, article in Rolling Stone Magazine, Lee named The Who’s John Entwistle as the greatest rock bass guitarist of all time, saying:

"He was one of the first gods to me. Gods of rock. [Laughs] Ever since I first heard (The Who's) My Generation, it was like, “Who is that?” His was a name I needed to know."

It's easy to spot the influence on Rush when you listen to The Who's 1970 record Live At Leeds. It is equally hard to imagine that The Who’s four members made such a heavy, complex sound. Throughout Live At Leeds and much of The Who’s classic catalogue, Entwistle's bass work is riveting. One of his nicknames, Thunderfingers, is apropos Those digits of his dance up and down the fretboard with purpose and confident melodic authority. He is a master of the oft-overlooked instrument.

Entwistle in 1970.

Throughout their careers with The Who and Rush respectively, Entwistle and Lee were not content to serve as simple rhythmic bricklayers. Instead, they played their instruments more actively, finding engaging melodies that supported the piece while making it far more interesting. There’s truth in the observation that Lee and Entwistle play the bass as if it is the lead instrument. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, both began as guitar players and played trumpet in school. Their understanding of melody and counter-melody certainly informed their songwriting and bass playing.

John Entwistle surrounded by his many bass guitars.

It was at my high school friend Brent Murray's home that I first heard Live From Leeds. We were likely skipping school and hanging around at his mom's apartment while she worked. I was gobsmacked. It sounded so raw and real, as if I was standing in the crowd at the Refectory (cafeteria) at Leeds University in West Yorkshire on February 14, 1970, when the concert was recorded.

A 2019 picture of the small stage in the Refectory at Leeds University.

The extended version of the song Magic Bus, which concludes the record, remains one of my favourite Who performances, so it was an easy choice for adding it to my personal, ever-growing, 500 Playlist. However, Entwistle has called Magic Bus one of his least favourite songs to play because the bass part is so simple –  for the most part, a single note (a low A) played repeatedly. Conversely, Who guitarist Peter Townsend has termed it a favourite because of the rhythm. The song Such is the fate for even the greatest rock bassist. It was a staple of their live performances for decades. Alas, sometimes, even the greatest rock bassist of all time has to accept the role as a rhythmic bricklayer for the benefit of the band.

The 500 - #171- The Notorious Byrd Brothers - The Byrds

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #171
Album Title: The Notorious Byrd Brothers

Artist: The Byrds

Genre: Experimental, Psychedelic Rock, Pop, Folk Rock

Recorded: Columbia Studios, Hollywood

Released: January, 1968

My age at release: 2
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Goin' Back

Album cover for The Notorious Byrd Brothers.

Peter Liljedahl, a math professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, is well regarded by my teaching colleagues. Many of us have read his books on the Thinking Classroom. In a nutshell, the Thinking Classroom is one where students are randomly sorted into groups that work on a problem while standing, often scribing their ideas, computations and answers on chart paper or on erasable whiteboards -- dubbed a Vertical Non Permanent Surface (VNPS).

One of Liljedahl's Thinking Classroom books.

Last week, my Grade 7 students solved a ratio problem in the lobby of our school, using the Thinking Classroom approach. They were randomly assigned to one of seven groups of four, and chart paper was displayed so they could write down their progress for their fellow classmates and passersby to see.

Four Grade 7 students show off their calculations.

According to Liljedahl's research, frequent visible randomization is essential for success using the Thinking Classroom approach. He says:

“Whether we grouped students strategically or we let students form their own groups, we found that 80% of students entered these groups with the mindset that, within this group, their job is not to think. However, when we frequently formed visibly random groups, within six weeks, 100% of students entered their groups with the mindset that they were not only going to think, but that they were going to contribute."

As one might imagine, students are not always thrilled with their assigned group -- particularly if their close friends are placed in another team. However, to their credit they willingly participate and, to assuage their groans of frustration, I remind them that we rarely get a chance to pick our coworkers in life. I didn't get to pick the administrators, custodial staff or the grade partners with whom I work daily...and they didn't get to pick me. Throughout my nearly 50 years of employment I've been fortunate. Only on a few occasions have I had to work with a difficult colleague. It can be a challenging, frustrating and exhausting experience trying to forge interpersonal relationships in the workplace when personalities, goals, attitudes, work ethics or interests are not aligned.

Not all co-workers have good interpersonal relationships.

Such was the case for the members of The Byrds during the recording of their fifth studio record, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, in 1967. The sessions were fraught with tension and, by the time the album was released, the quartet was reduced to a duo. The studio sessions began with founding members David Crosby (guitars, vocals) and Roger McGuinn (guitar, vocals, banjo, synthesizers). They were joined by Chris Hillman (bass, guitar, vocals) and Michael Clarke (drums), both of whom had been with them since the Byrds’ debut release, Mr. Tambourine Man, in 1965(#233 on The 500). When the Notorious album was released, co-founder Crosby and Clarke were gone.

The Byrds in 1967, (l-r) Crosby, Hillman, Clarke, McGuinn

Crosby was particularly difficult to work with, arguing with his fellow musicians over song selection. He wanted to include a controversial song he had written called Triad, which detailed the events of a ménage à trois. The other three wanted to record Goin' Back. a composition penned by the legendary songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It had been a Top 10 hit for Dusty Springfield the previous year.

Cover for Goin' Back from Dusty Springfield.

Additionally, Crosby had frustrated the band members earlier in the year at the Monterey Pop Festival. He would spontaneously go on lengthy rants between songs, hectoring the audience on controversial subjects, while the rest of the band waited for him to finish. Not only did Crosby offer theories on the John F. Kennedy assassination, he also extolled the benefits of giving psychedelic drugs to "all the statesmen and politicians of the world".

Crosby, ranting to the audience, at the 1966 Monterey Pop Festival.

Despite the tension and acrimony, The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was well received by critics. Many considered it the pinnacle of the Byrds' late-’60s musical experimentation, featuring a blend of genres that included psychedelia, folk rock, country, electronic, baroque pop and jazz. The record-buying audience was less enthusiastic and it was only moderately successful commercially. It peaked at #47 on the Billboard Top LP charts in 1967.

The remaining duo of McGuinn and Hillman soldiered on, recruiting the talented Gram Parsons and Kevin Kelley to release Sweethearts Of The Rodeo in 1968. It appears at #120 on The 500 and I'll be diving into it in about a year to determine whether that foursome endangered a more harmonious working relationship than the previous ensemble. Then again, perhaps a little friction and acrimony is good for creativity. We’ll see. I doubt the Liljedahl visible randomization strategy would have helped. Who knows? Perhaps Crosby could have enjoyed detailing his threesome on chart paper beside his political theories?