Rocktober First Tracks Song #10: "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways

Back in the '70s, rock producer Kim Fowley noticed there was a dearth of all-female rock groups.  He decided to assemble a group of young women who could rock, and so The Runaways were born.  Through auditions and happenstance, and after a few lineup shifts, the "classic" lineup of Cherie Currie on lead vocals, Joan Jett on rhythm guitar, Sandy West on drums, Lita Ford on lead guitar, and Jackie Fox on bass came together.  Not a single one of them was yet 18 when they released their self-titled debut album in March 1976, and it didn't exactly set the world on fire, only reaching #194 on the Billboard album chart.

The song "Cherry Bomb" was the band's first single, and it was quickly written by Jett and Fowley for Currie's audition for the band when the band couldn't play the song that Currie had chosen for the audition.  The song is a short but powerful hard rock song with a driving beat and street smart lyrics, punctuated by Currie's husky vocals during the verses that unleashes in the choruses. 

Though the song didn't crack the Billboard Hot 100, it was highly influential and regarded, landing at #52 on VH1 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list.  And for many of us younger Gen Xers, we may have heard it for the first time while watching Dazed and Confused.  The Runaways only put out a couple more albums before officially breaking up in early 1979.  Of course, Jett went on to a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career as a solo artist and leader of The Blackhearts.  Ford went on to a successful solo career.  West formed her own band and became a drum teacher before succumbing to lung cancer in 2006 at the age of 47.  Currie and her twin sister Marie formed a band and had a minor hit before becoming a drug counselor, dabbling in acting, marrying (and divorcing) Airplane star Robert Hays, and eventually becoming a chainsaw wood carving artist.  Fox earned a BA with honors from UCLA and her JD from Harvard (where Barack Obama was one of her classmates), becoming an entertainment lawyer.

The Runaways' influence can't be understated, as they paved the way for pretty much every all-female rock band that followed them, from The Bangles (whose bassist Michael Steele, then known as Micki Steele, was The Runaways' original bassist) to The Go-Go's to Vixen to L7 to The Donnas to many more.

Rocktober First Tracks Song #9: "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses

With our second Hair Band Friday of this Rocktober, the choice was pretty simple.  It would be a sin if a Rocktober dedicated to first tracks off of debut albums didn't include the first track off of the best-selling debut album of all-time.

I'm not going to delve into what a phenomenal album Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses is, but if you were to argue that this is the best album released in my lifetime, I don't know that I would dispute that.  Top to bottom, it's one of the best rock and roll records ever made.

"Welcome to the Jungle" has become ubiquitous over the years, but try to remember a time when it wasn't, when you were hearing it for the first time with a fresh, innocent pair of ears and blown away.  Written about the harsh realities of small-town kids (like Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin) coming to the big city (LA), it's like a dinner bell that summons you to the table for the 12 tracks that make up Appetite -- only the meal is cocaine, heroin, Night Train, and sex.  Gritty and brash, the song opens up with Slash's echoey, crunchy guitar riff, then Axl howls in the background as the song kicks into the main riff and you're taken to the streets of Hollywood in the mid '80s.  Needless to say, it's a classic, and it's pretty amazing how tight the song and whole album were for a band making their first record.

Hair Band Friday - 10/11/24

1.  "I'm On To You" by Hurricane

2.  "Dancing with Desire" by King Kobra

3.  "Sleepless Night" by Dokken

4.  "You Keep Breaking My Heart" by Rough Cutt

5.  "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" by Whitesnake

6.  "I'll Keep On Believin' (Do You Know)" by Y&T

7.  "You Give Me All I Need" by Scorpions

8.  "The Bottom Line" by David Lee Roth

9.  "Panama" (live) by Van Halen

10.  "Home Sweet Home" (instrumental) by Mötley Crüe

Rocktober First Tracks Song #8: "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" by Kaiser Chiefs

Today's selection in this year's Rocktober look at first tracks from debut albums is from Leeds-based rockers Kaiser Chiefs.  They released their debut album Employment in 2005, and it was a huge success in their native UK, reaching #2 on the UK album chart and #4 on the UK year-end album chart for 2005, selling over 2 million copies in the UK, and helping the band win Brit Awards in 2006 for Best British Group, British Live Act, and British Rock Act.

The album is a fantastic indie rock/post-punk collection of songs that is very clearly influenced by '70s punk and new wave.  It wasn't a hit by any means in the U.S., so I'm not sure how I heard about it (maybe a Rolling Stone review), but I got the album shortly after it came out, and I loved it.  They played at Lollapalooza in 2005 -- less than a month before I created this here blog -- and I remember lead singer Ricky Wilson climbing a trellis on the side of the stage at some point during their set and thinking that was not a great idea.  He made it up and down unscathed, which is good because that meant the band would continue to make music (they put out their eighth studio album, the aptly titled Kaiser Chief's Easy Eighth Album, in March of this year).

Employment spawned three Top 10 hits on the UK pop charts and another single that barely missed:  "Oh My God" (#6), "I Predict a Riot" (#9), "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" (#10), and "Modern Way" (#11).  While it was the third single released from the album, "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" is the first track off the album.  It's a danceable art-punk anti-love song about dealing with the aftermath of a breakup when one side wants to hold onto the relationship, while the other side just wants to move on.

Rocktober First Tracks Song #7: "Magic Man" by Heart

Our next foray into first tracks off of debut albums takes us back to 1975 for Heart's debut album, Dreamboat Annie.  The album rose to #7 on the Billboard album chart, and it eventually went platinum in the U.S.  It featured three Billboard Hot 100 hits:  "Magic Man" (#9), "Crazy on You" (#35), and the title track (#42).

"Magic Man" was not only Heart's first Top 40 and Top 10 hit, but was also the first track off of Dreamboat Annie.  And what a first track it is.  Starting with that wailing guitar intro from Nancy Wilson, it has an air of mystery from the start.  The lyrics, belted out by Ann Wilson, speak of a man who has cast a spell of love on the female narrator.  Her own mother has reservations and cries for her to "come on home, girl."  But what she doesn't understand is that he's saying the same thing to her -- and he's a magic man.  The song has some fantastic guitar work, as well as some delicious drum fills.

Of course, it's one of Heart's most well-known songs and one of their signatures.  And as a big fan of the movie Swingers, I can't help but think of the scene in the movie where Mike (Jon Favreau) and Trent (Vince Vaughan) are in Vegas and go back to the casino waitresses' trailer.  This song plays while Trent tells a great story about a TV audition gone wrong, which seals the deal with Christy, the waitress he was trying to bed -- played by Deena Martin, who also played Shavonne in Dazed and Confused.  Well, we all have stories.

Rocktober First Tracks Song #6: "It's Time to Party" by Andrew W.K.

We haven't done any first tracks from debut albums from this millennium yet, so let's change that, okay?  In November 2001, a 22-year-old son of a University of Michigan law professor released an album with a cover photo showing blood streaming from his nose because he his himself with a cinderblock and complemented that with animal blood.

Andrew W.K.'s I Get Wet was (and still is) 12 energetic songs that mix punk, metal, pop, and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound.  The first time I ever heard of Andrew W.K., I kid you not, was from my Wills and Trusts professor in law school, and I checked out the album and thought it was great.

What make this album great, though, is that behind that wall of sound and bombast are well-crafted pop hooks. This isn't just some hard-on blowing off steam by yelling into the mic; this is someone who is calculatingly harnessing pop sensibilities while blowing you away sonically.  If you combined mid-'70s Springsteen and Meat Loaf with Black Flag, The Ramones, The Replacements, and Motörhead, this might very well be the result.  

And, of course, the album features various songs about partying, including the first track, which sets the mood for the album.  "It's Time to Party" is a minute and a half of energy that tells you exactly what time it is.  It's beauty lies in its simplicity.  The video, which I believe was made about ten years after the album came out, is also about partying.  And who wouldn't feel like partying with Andrew W.K.'s inviting big ol' grin?

Rocktober First Tracks Song #5: "Strutter" by KISS

As we begin our second week of Rocktober, we're gonna take a journey back 50 years to a time when four guys from New York decided to put on kabuki makeup and take over the rock and roll world.

KISS's eponymous debut album was released in February 1974, and if you were to walk into a record store and see that front cover, you would have been intrigued, terrified, or both.  The album didn't exactly make a splash on the charts, only reaching #87 on the Billboard album chart, but as you know, KISS built its following through its legendary live shows.  The album eventually went gold in the U.S. a few years later.

The first track off of the album is one of my favorite KISS songs, "Strutter."  Written by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, and sung by Paul, it's a damn fine rock and roll song that lets you know what KISS is all about in a little over three minutes.  There's a catchy riff, a chorus you can shout in an arena, lyrics about a good-looking woman, a nice guitar solo from Ace Frehley, and a few little cheeky Paul yelps.  They rocked, but they were accessible, despite outwardly appearing like demon clowns.  And I think that sentence right there sums up the allure and prolonged success of KISS.

Rocktober First Tracks Song #4: "Big Guns" by Skid Row

Our first hair band entry of this year's debut album first track Rocktober is from New Jersey rockers Skid Row.  Their self-titled debut album was released in January 1989, while the Hair Band Era was still very much in effect, still a couple years from grunge's takeover.

The album has a special place in my heart.  "Youth Gone Wild" and "18 and Life" had been released as singles by the time the summer of '89 rolled around.  I was 11 and had already dove into the hair band genre, so aside from saving up for Nintendo games, I used my allowance and lawn mowing money to buy music.  A year or so later, I would discover the joys of the Columbia House music club (12 tapes for a penny!), but I purchased the Skid Row tape at Beautiful Day Records, a narrow little record store in downtown LaGrange.  My friend Jeremy was with me, as I was staying at his house that night.  He managed to forge a note to the local video store, All Star Video, that said he could rent whatever movies he wanted, even R-rated ones.  So we decided to rent The Shining, based solely on the box -- Jack Nicholson's crazed face peering though the bathroom door he just busted open with an axe -- not having any idea what the movie was about.

We went back to his house and started watching the movie.  About 30-45 minutes in -- when Wendy and Danny are playing in the hedge maze and Jack can hear them talking from inside the Overlook -- I had seen enough.  I went upstairs to Jeremy's room, listened to my new Skid Row tape, and played Wizards and Warriors on the Nintendo.  Eventually, The Shining would become my favorite horror movie, but I guess I wasn't ready for it yet.

What I was ready for was some ball-busting, gritty hard rock.  Skid Row (the album) remains one of my favorite debut albums of any genre.  Top to bottom, it's a great record.  Other than the two Top 10 ballads -- "18 and Life" and "I Remember You" (both of which are great songs, mind you) -- the album is pure energy.  And I remember opening up the liner notes and seeing photos of the guys in the band.  I was taken aback by the chain that went from bassist Rachel Bolan's earring to his nose ring.  What if you get that caught on something?!

The first track is "Big Guns," which is a great start to the album, from the gnarly opening riff to the streetwise lyrics to the sing-along chorus.  I didn't know what "Like Valentino with a hand grenade" meant (and I still don't really), but I thought (and still think) it's a cool lyric that paints a picture of whatever the hell the narrator was hoping to accomplish with this "ballerina on a subway train."

Hair Band Friday - 10/4/24

1.  "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC

2.  "Headed for a Heartbreak" by Winger

3.  "Mr. Big" by Mr. Big

4.  "So This is Love?" by Van Halen

5.  "Heading Out to the Highway" by Judas Priest

6.  "Kitten's Got Claws" by Whitesnake

7.  "One for the Money" by Black 'N Blue

8.  "A.V.H." by Ozzy Osbourne

9.  "Scarborough Fair" by Queensrÿche

10.  "Ez Come Ez Go" by Tesla

Rocktober First Tracks Song #3: "Rock 'n' Roll Star" by Oasis

As you may have heard, the Gallagher brothers have made nice with each other (for now), and Oasis has reunited for a tour in 2025.  At first, only UK and Ireland dates were announced, but earlier this week, the band announced some limited North American dates in August and September next year.  Thankfully, Chicago is one of those dates.  I've never seen Oasis live before, and I was lucky enough to "win" the presale lottery and then luckier enough to be relatively low in the presale virtual waiting room this afternoon.  All of this is to say that I'll be seeing Oasis at Soldier Field next August on the floor, so I'm pretty excited, even if it's just under eleven months away.

In 1994, Oasis released their debut album Definitely Maybe, which went straight to #1 on the UK album chart and became the UK's fastest-selling debut album of all-time (a record the Arctic Monkeys since broke).  Definitely Maybe was one of the defining albums of the '90s, kickstarting the Britpop movement, which rejected the gloom of grunge and found more positive and optimistic themes, like cigarettes and alcohol.  Four songs from the album reached the Top 40 on the UK pop chart, including two Top 10 songs:  "Cigarettes & Alcohol" (#7), "Live Forever" (#10), "Shakermaker" (#11), and "Supersonic" (#31).  It has since maintained its status as one of the most beloved British albums ever, even beating out Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as the greatest album of all-time in a 2006 NME readers poll.

The first track off of the album is the prescient "Rock 'n' Roll Star."  It's almost as if Noel Gallagher could sense the trajectory of the band and wanted to put it out there front and center, so it was the first thing you heard when you popped that CD in.  The song is upbeat and uptempo, representative of the hooky rock that would define the Britpop genre.  I also love the chorus.  It's simple, but universal:  "Tonight, I'm a rock 'n' roll star."  Whether or not we are actual rock and roll stars, we should all feel that way every now and then.  If you haven't, I recommend getting a couple friends together, dressing up as KISS on Halloween, and going out to bars.  Sure, you might accidentally drink your wife's contact lenses, but dammit, that night, you'll be a rock and roll star.