Honorable Mentions and Leaving Bratislava (Interlude)

Honorable Mentions

The thing is, 9 months in Bratislava was really marked with just a handful of albums.  The only store we could find dealt in CDs, and although my little sound system had a CD player, it was rarely used for anything other than Limp Bizkit's Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$.

However.  Being the even-then obsessed collector that I was, I had acquired a handful of CD's in our first foray into the store.  These albums were: Cypress Hill's debut (1991), Black Sunday (1992), Unreleased & Revamped (1996.) I never quite got into these albums until much later, but they did kickstart my discography completionism, only applicable to certain artists.  The missing piece was the critically-acclaimed 1995 album, III (Temples of Boom) that I searched for relentlessly, only to locate it in Vienna well into 2003 or 2004.

Out of all these, Black Sunday has the wonderful cover art, as well as being chock-full of dark, gritty, graveyard-shuffle Cypress Hill songs like A to the K, Cock the Hammer, Lick a Shot and of course, the song that made their name, Insane in the Brain.  On the other hand, III (Temples of Boom) is the twilight before the dark night of IV (1998) and features a song that was the subject of much controversy, as I later learned.

The song is No Rest for the Wicked.  Now, the thing was, B-Real had apparently played the demo of Throw Your Set In the Air to Ice Cube while they were both in the studio.  Things started when Ice Cube allegedly stole the hook of this song and used it in a song of his, Friday.  When B-Real heard it, he decided to go ahead and write No Rest for the Wicked, which is a reference to Ice Cube's 1992 track, Wicked.  The diss elicited a response from Ice Cube, in the form of King of the Hill.  The details branch out from there, but suffice to say, this was one of the most prominent and explosive hip-hop beefs of the time.  One is even tempted to re-create the opening feud of Romeo & Juliet. "Do you quarell, sir?"

Another album that came during this time was System of a Down's third effort, Steal This Album! (2002.) The main reason why this album gets an honorable mention alone, despite the fact that it was pretty good at time is because System of a Down, right around this time, was taken over by Serj Tankian's politics.  Perhaps it was just me struggling with my own lack of nationalist sentiment, or any sort of patriotism whatsoever, but on the whole, I've never liked too much politics in my music.  I even majored in political science, gave six years to it, but I still do not like it when music-with-politics turns politics-with-music.  But, nevertheless, the album gets a mention, as it was very big with me in those days.

Matchbox 20's Yourself or Someone Like You (1996) was given to me by a dear, dear friend whom had expressed some concern as to my rapidly deteriorating condition.  She had already linked my growing obsession with music to my psychological well-being or lack thereof, and she gave this one to me to, in her words, help me see that there's other stuff out there.  I did listen to it once, out of respect for her, but honestly, I forgot every moment instantly even while I was listening, and although I tried in later years, there's just nothing for me there.  This has happened before and I am certain it will happen again.

Of course, there is my almost natural aversion to recommendations.  Although I have been known in some circles as the guy who always breaks a silence with, a "Oh, by the way, I discovered this great band the other day..." I have a hard time taking recommendations.  This may be due to my main problem with authority, authority itself, and it projects itself unto friendly suggestions.  If I indulge in something you recommended me, then know that if I happen to take a look, that's because you have managed to earn my respect.  Otherwise, in one ear, out the other.

Leaving Bratislava

In the end, the situation at home deteriorated to the point that either my father would have to be by himself in Bratislava for a while, or there'd be a divorce.  We opted for the former.  I remember feeling relieved that I wouldn't have to be in a house where my family either avoided one another or constantly balanced out a clear and present tension.

Upon returning Ankara, we found that we didn't really have a home anymore.  We moved in with my grandmother's while my mother was out every day, looking for a 3-bedroom rental.  My sister and I were on our own all day, and though I had friends, she had few, so we spent most of the time trying to do whatever.  We watched a lot of TV, talked bullshit, went to get something to drink and so on.

Those few weeks would change me in many ways, move me forward, making way for the actual prelude of who I am now.

CrazyTown - Darkhorse (2002)

After a hellish four months in Bratislava, a small repreive came in the form of a week-and-a-half long winter holiday, an opportunity we took to return to Turkey.  While there, a few things happened.  I dragged my honorary cousin through the mud to get a few new albums and in return, he took me to a party at another friend's house.  That night, introduced to alcohol, partying with my peers, and thinking constantly that this isn't it, there is more to this, is full of things I fondly remember and want to forget.

After two full days of activities, drenched in sweat and probably stinking, what excited me more was that I had gotten the new CrazyTown amidst the insanity: our final location was a bowling alley, near which was a multimedia store that luckily had the new CrazyTown that I actually managed to give a go on my way home - a subway ride of roughly thirty minutes, and then a fifteen-to-twenty minute uphill walk.  Dirty, hungry, miserable, tired, head full of notions like the fact that I was told one of the girls there had taken a liking to me*, all I cared about was: listening to the album, getting home, eating, taking a shower, listening to it again, and sleeping for two weeks.  In that order.

Thing is, this wasn't my daddy's CrazyTown.  They had gone in quite a different direction than the amazing The Gift of Game (1999) It was still CrazyTown, with Shifty Shellshock and Epic Mazur exchanging verses, singing choruses, spitting rhymes... but the mood was different.  Even though the cover image carried that angel-devil* I knew, the vibe was entirely different.

For one thing, Darkhorse is undoubtedly the superior album among the two.  It's production is cleaner, glossier - the rhymes thrown are harder-hitting.  The rock/metal aspect has been pushed up a few notches and taken center stage, so the music is largely in harmony with the vocals rather than play a hip-hop beat-like second fiddle.  This harder approach makes for some wonderful moments: Battle Cry ("I used to stay quiet but look at me now!") being a clear-cut example.

This bleeds into the second difference: Darkhorse is a darker album by all counts.  Right from the get-go, CrazyTown takes to my favourite kind of opener* with Decorated, dealing with drug addiction and the insanity induced by it, invoking a sort of head-in-hands misery.  The trend continues in other songs as well - the first single, Drowning is a testament to how well a simple, down-to-earth song about being and feeling lost can be.  This sentiment echoes in Change, the wonderful summer-depression song that hit home during several difficult times in my life*.  The sugar-coated but desperate Candy Coated ("-pain is the ball and chain, pulling me closer to death") also adds to this misery.

As for the aggression, it's clearer in two distinctive songs: Battle Cry which at times features pretty sweet drumming and is a riot; and the smile-inducing Take It to the Bridge which actually uses a phrase my mother used on me a couple of times: "Would you jump off the bridge if I told you to?" (only her version was "Would you jump off the bridge if they did?") The somewhat scream-like vocals in the chorus of Take It to the Bridge and the still impressive fist-in-the-air duet delivery of the final line, "We'll take it to the bridge to jump the fuck off!" gets the blood boiling.

The album has softer moments that I couldn't believe worked as well as they did.  The poppish half-ballad, Hurt You So Bad and the soft-spoken but bitter and vindictive Sorry are two of those.

But there is no song on this album like the absolutely beautiful, melancholic, personal apocalyptic misery song that closes the main album, Beautiful.  The thing about this song is that it felt, as it feels every time, like it's twisting a splinter in my chest.  There is an interesting balance here, as Shifty takes it to the personal level, drags it down and makes it smaller, but Epic Mazur, with the chorus, expands it: "'cause nothing could be more beautiful than watching the whole world crumbling down on me / so beautiful, so beautiful, to witness the end" and when coupled with Shifty's self-questioning, "How far will I go; and will I grow? Will I learn to know?"

There are two sore thumbs, however, that break the routine, but while one does it while managing to keep up with the album's overall flow, the other breaks it, and just before the best song on there.  The former is Waste of My Time, which gives one side of a messy, summer-day break-up with a lot of bullshit involved, and is a breath of fresh air in and of itself.  Its aloof vibe balances out the relentlessly dark flow.

However, the latter, Skulls & Stars is not as successful.  Thing is, the album has two bonus/hidden tracks, titled You're the One* and the reggae-influenced, mindlessly fun trek through Shifty and Epic's nostalgia that is Them Days. That's where the point is - both Skulls & Stars and Them Days deal with the same topic, of going from an underground act to a success, but Skulls & Stars does it with a watered-down, more poetic sort of way that falls short.  Them Days cuts loose, doesn't give a fuck about whatever, and as a result, is a far superior song.

On the whole, however, Darkhorse was a few steps up for CrazyTown, and it remains one of my favourites.  I have had friends bewildered at the fact that I still listen to it sometimes, and welcome the memories it brings.  Because CrazyTown was never poised to be the "next big thing in rock", nor did they have such a claim.  CrazyTown is and always was there to make good, memorable songs.  Yes, their claim to fame was a song that heavily sampled a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song, sure.  But Darkhorse proved that it wasn't all just fun and games.

Thing is, Darkhorse is, for me, also the first instance of finding a band or an album, loving it in every way, and then never seeing a follow-up, or hearing from the band again.  It's 2015 now, thirteen years after the release of Darkhorse, and while things are slowly happening, the third album still isn't out.

Yes, I have been following.  Yes, I'm dedicated to the point of obsession when following certain bands.

*Footnote: 1- Self-loathing takes time to mature, but suffice to say that my somewhat unusually high EQ had been an enemy all my life.  Given the way I had been treated throughout my teen years, I remember finding this notion laughable - in fact, I did laugh at my cousin when he told me.  Funny thing is, completely unrelated, this girl, the one date we had and countless texts exchanged would set the precedent for a quirk in my relationships: picking unlikely candidates for "our song." In her case, it was System of a Down, Prison Song.
2- The cover of The Gift of Game also had her, which Shifty had said in an interview was the girl outlined in Lollipop Porn - carrying devil horns, but with a halo over her head, angel and devil in one.
3- The kind that doesn't fuck around with intros and ambient passages and whatever.  It's go time, let's fucking go!
4- "Sometimes I wonder if I'll change / can I change, will I change, or am I always gonna be the same? / I blame the world for making me such a freak / but the world wants to blame it on me" and the impressive "I'm like a piece of shard glass / laying in the frame of a window that was broken by the bricks of pain" which a dear, dear friend found to be interesting enough to hit me with it years later.
5- It's basically Shifty Shellshock talking about a girl he met that he was taken with.  He tried to stretch this song out in his failed solo venture, Happy Love Sick (2004), but it didn't work in Darkhorse, and so having more of it wasn't such a good idea.

Cypress Hill - Skull & Bones (2000)

There used to be a small shop in the corner of a bazaar in Tunalı.  It sold various decorative things, like salt and pepper shakers shaped like chicken, as well as things like full dining sets.  And apropos, there were many things I adored in my parents, but one thing about my mother was always intriguing - she is the type who can get friendly with any shop owner, to the degree that they'll recognize her coming, give her impromptu discounts, et cetera.  I never quite got the hang of that.  Sometimes, the apple falls far from the tree, after all.

As a child and as a teenager, some of my weekends weren't spent with the practially non-existent friends, but in these shops.  I often caught flack from my girlfriends later in life, as I tended to shop better than they did, even (or especially) when we were out to buy them clothes - that's because I learned from the best.  We would go around, she would have her conversations, I'd buy something if I was after it - and having pined for Skull & Bones, I had bought it, merely a month before going to Bratislava.

The first thing I noticed was that the album was separated into two sections: Skull and Bones.  The Skull part had 11 tracks, while the Bones had a mere 6.  Further, the album had two versions of what, even from the tracklist, appeared to be the same song.  These were the legendary twin singles, a high point in Cypress Hill's career: (Rap)/(Rock) Superstar.  

The sound in Skull & Bones surprised me with its clarity.  The grittiness, the static-y, almost lo-fi beats and the overall delicious dusty, dirty sound was gone - everything was crystal clear, coming through easily.  There was little noise and it was polished to perfection.  That was the first surprise*.

The second surprise was actually spoilered by the album name: Skull & Bones.  A moment's thought after I had found out why they were separate yielded that: Skull is full of rap songs and nothing else.  In some way, rap comes from your cerebral, it's a mental thing, you have to think about what you're saying, work your rhymes.  Plus, the art of freestyling (making up lyrics on the spot) also is done "off the top of the dome." Therefore, Skull was rap.  Bones, however, was Cypress Hill's balls-out assault and full-on venture into rap metal, or, metal rap.  Every song on that part was backed by an otherwise hip-hopified metal track, full of the distorted guitars and fat bass, the goodness I was used to, and the reason why Trouble opened Stoned Raiders.  It was called Bones as a reference to both the fretboard, and the fact that you think rap*, but you feel metal in your bones.

The Skull section was chock-full of goodies.  From the delicious (Rap) Superstar detailing the dark side of the music industry, to the brainless fun of Can I Get a Hit? and Certified Bomb, to the tired but indignant Stank Ass Hoe*, it's one hell of a ride.  Of course, the rightful posturing in Another Victory, the representin' tracks Highlife and We Live This Shit also easily got stuck in my head.  Perhaps, however, the bitterness in What U Want from Me hit the hardest, or rather, it would in the upcoming years; but back then, it felt like premonition.

Throughout this side of the album, Cypress Hill had a fine layer of veneer that not only came from getting where they were, but also, their shifting focus.  Their heavily gangsta raps and tales from the streets were gone, and in their place was reflection in the vein of From the Window of My Room.  Some of it had to deal with the byproducts of fame (Stank Ass Hoe being a prime example), some of them just the Cypress Hill brand of depressive, but overall, Skull was in harmony with my state of being at the time.  I did feel renewed, changed and bettering with every obstacle, be it myself or others, and I did feel the need for something mindless to make me laugh... I did posture that I, NoVA, was who I said I was, even though I actually wasn't, because writing raps was another jailbreak method.

But then there was the other side of the coin, Bones.

I wasn't expecting what came when Valley of Chrome kicked off with heavy guitars and then just steamrolled into a energetic, teeth-smashing metal rap track.  I thought at first that it might be a one-off like Lightning Strikes had been, or something like Stoned Raiders*.  I was in for a very pleasant surprise when the trend continued.  Unfortunately, I've never considered Valley of Chrome as a song that hit its mark.

There is, after all is said and done, one very crucial difference between the genres being blended, the same difference that had put nu-metal in the crosshairs of every puritan and critic out there - fundamental structure.  Rap, by nature, is rhythmic, as it's all about the beat, the flow.  Metal is largely melodic, depending on riffs and memorable passages rather than words.  As such, Bones has its miss moments: Sen Dog-centric A Man being the clearest one in memory.  However, the other songs, such as the insanely catchy Get Out of My Head, the legendary Can't Get the Best of Me, and finally the epic closer, (Rock) Superstar more than makes up for the weakness in the

That said, Dust is one of the best songs I've ever heard.  Simple yet effective riff, the nearly double-time rhymes strung up in a glorious chain, magnificent flow and damn good interplay between B-Real and Sen Dog on the third verse... it is undoubtedly a very high point in the album.

To his day, Skull & Bones remains one of my favourite albums.  One of my happiest memories is when my sister heard Certified Bomb playing, and wanted to hear more.  It didn't take, of course, but we did end up dancing in the middle of the living room to the song, singing along to whatever lyrics we knew.  A point of light in a world of darkness.

*Footnotes: 1- Well, actually, Stoned Raiders was a very clear album in terms of production and overall sound, so it had been IV that had hit me on the head with its gritty sound.  I just wasn't expecting things to improve as much as they had on Skull & Bones.
2- The expression, "I'm feelin' it" is often used not to indicate that one is indeed "feeling" something, but as an approval, which is a mental faculty.
3- In which B-Real carries a singular rhyme throughout the entire damn track.  Impressive, to say the least.
4- Stoned Raiders features three songs with the same rock/metal flavor: Trouble, Amplified and Catastrophe.  To a lesser degree, however, It Ain't Easy might also count.