spilla da balia

Man, when I discovered this great New Jersey zine it changed my life! Such a great rag and a friend once described it as "Tiger Beat meets Flipside" and that's kinda tossed off but kinda accurate too 

It was published by a guy named Jeff, and as you can probably tell from the cover, the guy was definitely a character, and yeah, F and B was just sooooo entertaining, 

Jeff definitely liked the heavier stuff as you can tell and the interviewa with Dinosaur (pre-Jr) and Redd Kross are most excellent excellent! The layout is great and there's plenty of hilarious comics to peruse as well. 

There's also the handwritten records review section (Why do you think they call it dope?) and the page full of Nipsey's (which i ran in many issues of Dagger) and plenty more. I only have this issue and the two after it (7 & 8) before Jeff packed it in (purchased at See Hear, I'm thinkin'). I've never even seen copies of issues 1-5, but I would love to. 

Not much more to say, one of the all-time greats!

Does there really need to be anything more written about this record? Critics the world over have sung its praises, and today so will I. 

Basically to say I was an idiot. In 1984 when Let It Be was released I was 20 year old and way to immersed in the fine sounds of bands like Minor Threat (who had already broken up), Adolescents (same), Descendents (same) and 7 Seconds (and, to be clear, all still favorites of mine) to really appreciate what was happening in Minneapolis ('cept I loved Husker Du). 

I put it on back then, and the first song, "I Will Dare," and it just didn't resonate with me at the time. Eventually, a few years later, it did (thank god). 

Anyway, I love a lot of the Replacements' records, and we all have our favorites, and Let It Be is still my favorite. What do you call it? Punk? Post-punk? College rock? Jangle pop? It's all of those and more.

"We're Comin' Out," "Unsatisfied," "Sixteen Blue," "Answering Machine," "Androgynous," and yes, "I Will Dare," etc. etc. 

So yeah, Paul, Tommy, Bob (RIP), and Chris really made a very special record here that I'm glad I finally came around to loving it.   

David Gahr Laura Nyro in Her Apartment, New York City 1969