Some pals were compiling top 10 lists of pop/rock albums from the 80s, so I figured why not post my list here. I promise no cultural or ideological significance, only the albums that continue to make me the most warm and fuzzy. Slayer's Reign in Blood just beat out Joy Division's Closer, but then I remembered Tom Waits, who knocked Slayer off. Otherwise, this list was already cemented in my subconscious. Ordered by the year of release:

"One man's attempt to dissect the method to 3 days of madness in the desert"
  - By Scott Butterworth

On the 3rd weekend of April my Coachella will give to me.....
.....12 DJ's DJing.....11 Angelenos....10 Duos Duet-ing....9 Debut Albums....8 Don't I Know You From Somewhere?.....7 Artists Reuniting....

....and 6 San Franciscans:  

Faith No More
Sly & The Family Stone
Kaskade
Girls
Les Claypool
Street Sweeper Social Club


Both coasts of the United States are indented with bodies of water larger than a cove, and smaller than a gulf. Still, when someone refers to "The Bay," it only means one thing....San Francisco -- more specifically the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area is the birth place of these six artists, who represent diverse communities and "scenes" far and wide throughout the Bay Area. But more importantly, they have all been a very influential part of San Francisco's internationally respected music scene, past and present, and have been ingrained in our popular culture along the way. If you're not in love with San Francisco...first off, what's wrong with you!?!....and second, after watching these videos, you'll fall in love in no time.

"One man's attempt to dissect the method to 3 days of madness in the desert"
  - By Scott Butterworth

On the 3rd weekend of April my Coachella will give to me.....
.....12 DJ's DJing.....11 Angelenos....10 Duos Duet-ing....9 Debut Albums....8 Don't I Know You From Somewhere?.....

....and 7 Artists Reuniting:  

The Specials
Public Image Limited
Faith No More
Pavement
Orbital
Sly & the Family Stone
Sunny Day Real Estate

Since its inception in 1999, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has made bold attempts to reunite some of the most sought after bands in modern music history. And many of those attempts have successfully come to fruition, making Coachella the preeminent and trusted outlet for artists to bring back the magic that we the music fans hold near and dear to our hearts and our lives. With Jane's Addiction in 2001, Iggy and The Stooges in 2003, Pixies in 2004, Daft Punk in 2006 and Rage Against the Machine and The Jesus & Mary Chain in 2007, Coachella made headlines around the world, making huge headliner reunions one of the festival's defining and signature attractions. This year Coachella is giving seven artists the figurative "slap on the ass" and telling them, "Get back out there and go get 'em, Champ!"

Today, April 12th 2010, is Joe Pop-O-Pie's 51st birthday. And to celebrate the occasion, the key figure behind the legendary SF punk outfit The Pop-O-Pies, who formed in 1981 and disbanded sixteen years ago, decided to reform the group and perform on a bill at the Warfield in San Francisco tonight (they play tomorrow & Wednesday also), along with another recently reformed SF group -- Faith No More. Coincidentally, Joe was an original member of Faith No More!

Besides being a unique way to celebrate his birthday, another reason Joe chose this time to reform the group was that he recently found himself with a lot of free time on his hands and needed to fill that void. "This is what recessions are good for. If you get laid off and you've got nothing to do, you gotta do something," laughed the long time San Francisco resident, speaking by phone a few days ago from his new home in Reno, Nevada.

After living in the deep and gritty heart of San Francisco for three decades, including having spent the past eighteen years in the Tenderloin, the New Jersey born and raised Joe Pop-O-Pie has embraced his recent move to Nevada. "One of the things that is so fantastic about Reno, NV is that cockroaches can't live up here. Yeah, the Tenderloin is just rife with cockroaches. It was such an amazing thing. Cockroaches can survive a nuclear war but they won't follow you up the mountains to Nevada," he said. Shortly after finishing college in NJ Joe packed up and moved west to the city by the Bay, where, in September of 1981, he formed The Pop-O-Pies. Labeled 'punk,' the Pop-O-Pies, which essentially consisted of Joe and an ever rotating list of musicians, were really a concept band. For the first two years of their existence at their live performances the band played only one song for their entire set, the Grateful Dead's "Truckin.'"

The above is the only remastered vinyl that I've been willing to pay 40 bucks for. What can I say? I'm still a fan, and it makes me pleased as punch to see these guys playing together again. But it's without these two:

I didn't much care about the band after guitarist Martin was given the boot, and still don't. So, here are my favorite songs from the Big Jim-era albums that Faith No More played live at the recent Download Festival in Donington Park, UK:

Introduce Yourself's "Chinese Arithmetic" (coupled with a version of "Poker Face" from someone named Lady Gaga -- she's popular, evidently):

The Real Thing's "From Out of Nowhere":

Angel Dust's "Midlife Crisis":

And while mining the web for info about the reunion, I found this 2005 interview with Metal Hammer (it's still around!), where Roddy Bottom, Billy Gould and Mike Patton dish on their erstwhile guitarist:

Bottum: “Jim Martin had always been very conventional in what he wanted to do with the band, very much a fan of guitar music only and metal specifically. During the recording of Angel Dust it became apparent to both him and us that we were heading in very different directions.”