Over at Ministry’s FB, they’ve had Al name his top 3 favorite Ministry songs for their flashback Friday thingy. In case you missed it, here are his picks:
- Supermanic Soul, DSOTS
- I Prefer, LORAH
- Gangreen, RGB
- Supermanic Soul, DSOTS - amazing
- I Prefer, LORAH - not keen on it
- Gangreen, RGB - one of the weaker songs on RGB
Al has some strange taste in music, i must say.
Sounds like crap.
If that were true wouldn’t those three songs be the throwbacks on the setlist instead of thieves, so what, and just one fix?
Sounds like crap.
If that were true wouldn’t those three songs be the throwbacks on the setlist instead of thieves, so what, and just one fix?
Maybe he just thinks the tracks he plays are really popular or something. I suppose they were quite a while ago, but they’ve been played so many times now that the thrill is gone.
If he played Supermanic Soul everyone would lose their minds. Gangrene is kind of lame. I don’t even recall what the other one is. I put zero stock into anything Al says or writes. He’s just as apt to write “Supermanic Soul” is the worst song I ever made next week.
I thought they were bizzare selections. I really like the first two songs. I’ve never in my life heard the song gangrene. I purchased maybe 3 songs of RGB from iTunes. Strangely, Gangrene isn’t even available, but all other tracks are there.
Originally I was going to say that Al picked these songs maybe because he was in some abnormally terrific frame of mind when they were recorded - I have ended up liking certain musical items that are universally disliked by others, simply because I heard them at a time in my life where the stars aligned and everything seemed to be going well.
But that theory is kinda shot by the fact that Al ‘doesn’t remember’ what happened during the DSOTS recording sessions, so…alternate theories welcome…
He’s just as apt to write “Supermanic Soul” is the worst song I ever made next week.
This.
I like all of those songs. PLAY THEM ONCE IN A WHILE!
I like all of those songs. PLAY THEM ONCE IN A WHILE!
Agreed.
Rule #1: Al is full of shit.
Rule #2: Al is full of shit.
HAHAHA!!! Those rules can definitely be applied to any Al or Ministry-related topic, Mooney.
HAHAHA!!! Those rules can definitely be applied to any Al or Ministry-related topic, Mooney.
Exactly.
“I Prefer” is an interesting track…it wasn’t on the original vinyl, so I didn’t hear it until a bit later than the rest of LORAH, when I finally picked up the CD. I do like the track a lot, but it occurred to me recently that it could very easily be a Pailhead song. It even kinda sounds like Ian MacKaye singing on it.
–SKot
He tends to recycle the backbeat to I Prefer every now and then, so I’m not surprised about that one.
I seem to recall it being said that Al doesn’t even remember making DSOTS cause of how strung out he was so this is an odd choice regardless of your thoughts on the quality of the track.
I Prefer is so good it’s a CD only track, meeeh.
Gangreen? Ok Al you have to be bullshitting me here. I could maybe see the first two tracks off of RGB cause they are pretty great and were some of the fastest Ministry stuff at the time if not THE.
I seem to recall it being said that Al doesn’t even remember making DSOTS cause of how strung out he was so this is an odd choice regardless of your thoughts on the quality of the track.
I Prefer is so good it’s a CD only track, meeeh.
Gangreen? Ok Al you have to be bullshitting me here. I could maybe see the first two tracks off of RGB cause they are pretty great and were some of the fastest Ministry stuff at the time if not THE.
welcome back dangrel, you haven’t posted in a while. I’m always mesmerized by your poo sandwich avatar. that fellow is odd looking.
“Supermanic Soul”, for the same reason that Dangrel noted, is the weirdest one on the list.
As for “Gangrene” I could see that as having sentimental reasons for his love of it. Al, while being obviously critical of politicians, war, etc., has a soft spot and admiration for soldiers and military. I remember when they had just laid down the Sgt. Major’s vocal parts and the Rigor guys who were all at the ranch at the time were all telling me how awesome it was having this guy out there, just shouting random trash in the microphone. And Al’s had Sgt. Major back for other stuff too.
I suspect it’s like a song that y’all really love because it makes you think of an awesome party or a time you got laid or something. It’s not exactly the Mona Lisa of musicality.
He used Sgt. Major on the last record to do Burroughs’ Thanksgiving Prayer (I guess sampling the actual Burroughs recording was too expensive).
He used Sgt. Major on the last record to do Burroughs’ Thanksgiving Prayer (I guess sampling the actual Burroughs recording was too expensive).
How Burroughs even tolerated Al’s presence, I’m not sure…in the best biography on WSB, there’s a pretty revealing section where a string of rock superstars comes to visit him in his ‘bunker’ in NYC, and he’s pointedly dismissive of some of them. His slamming of Lou Reed and particularly “Waiting for the Man” is snicker-worthy.
Al was probably way less sycophantic toward Burroughs than someone like Reed would be. Burroughs seems like the kind of guy that didn’t enjoy pathetically fawning admiration and Al seems like the kind of guy that doesn’t like treating people like royalty, even if he really admires them.
I can see how they’d get along.