Thursday 7 June 2007

Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking

Nothing's Shocking set out to prove that no subject was beyond the gleam in lyricist/vocalist Perry Farrell's (pronounced "peripheral") eye. Serial killer Ted Bundy ("Ted, Just Admit It"), punk ideology as Eastern philosophy ("Pigs In Zen"), mystic romances ("Summertime Rolls") and high-falutin', early-morning thoughts ("Standing In The Shower...Thinking") were all dissected through a psychologically-stimulating viewpoint, with a stream-of-consciousness delivery. Farrell's tales also served the band as a guide to attack the canvas, and the musicians burned heroically behind him, providing the songs with an expansive set of musical colors. Guitarist Dave Navarro continuously exploded on the drop of a dime, while bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins proved to be among the most formidable rhythm sections in all of rock. Above all, Nothing's Shocking helped revive the idea that heavy rock need not be formulaic, or lack any semblance of meaningful content. Rather than focus on the old-hat aspects of the rock rebellion myth (sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll), Jane's Addiction looked in the hard-to-find places for their muse, demonstrating that metal rebels didn't have to be idiots.

1 comment:

YOU ARE A GHOST said...

One of the truly first crossover records of all time, taking from punk, metal, psichedelia and funk, amazing! i think its underrated because of the comercial impact of Ritual de los Habitual