The Holy Trinity: Why I Keep Buying These Same Three Records

 

Most six-year-olds in 1971 were vibrating to "The Wheels on the Bus" or whatever upbeat nonsense was playing on the radio, but not me. No, I was already deep in the trenches of acoustic melancholy. I was sitting there in my kindergarten class, probably staring at a pile of blocks, while the haunting melodies of Joni Mitchell’s Blue, the earthy warmth of Carole King’s Tapestry, and the gentle drawl of James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James played on a loop in my head. 

I’ve owned these albums on vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CD, and every digital format known to man; at this point, the only thing missing is a reel-to-reel copy, and frankly, my wallet is grateful for that one omission. 

And now, the albums.

Chicago: Where the Music Took Hold - TWICE

I am willing to bet good money that the first music I ever heard was my mother singing to me in Chicago, the city where I was born and where I lived for the first three months of my life before we moved to Boston. 

The year I was eleven, life went pretty cattywumpus. I'd been living with my mother for the previous year, and that pretty much imploded due to my special needs as an undiagnosed bipolar person. I returned to my father's home, and since he was in the middle of relocating across town and setting up housekeeping, he asked his mom, my Gramma Mary, if I could come to Chicago and stay with her for a month or two. Gramma said yes...

No Time For Nazi Shit

[Verse 1]

You crawl out of the gutter with your bargain‑bin hate,

Waving plastic flags like it’s 1938.

You scream about “purity,” we scream “get a clue,”

’Cause the future isn’t waiting for a coward like you.

[Pre-Chorus]

You want a world that’s small and petty,

We want a world that’s free

And every time you open your mouth,

It’s fucking blasphemy.

[Chorus]

No room for your shit in the streets we claim,

No throne for your fear, no crown for your shame.

You can march in circles, but you can’t rewrite the past

We’re the generation built to outlast.

[Verse 2]

You hide behind symbols you barely understand,

Pretending you’re a soldier in some holy homeland.

But we’ve read the history, we know how it ends

Your empire of delusion collapses again.

[Bridge]

We’re louder than your slogans,

We’re brighter than your lies.

You can’t drown out a chorus

That refuses to die.

[Chorus]

No room for your shit in the streets that we claim,

No throne for your fear, no crown for your shame.

You can march in circles, but you won’t rewrite the past

We’re the generation built to outlast.

[Outro]

So keep your brittle hatred,

We’ll keep our rebel fire

’Cause every time we shout you down,

The world climbs one rung higher.

Punk Lyrics: The Ballad Of Andrew Mountbatten/Crown Don’t Mean You’re Clean

[Verse 1]

Silk on his shoulders, stench in his wake,

Smirking like power erases the stakes.

Thought he was bulletproof, wrapped in a crest

But secrets rot fast when they’re pressed to the chest.

[Pre‑Chorus]

All that gold can’t hide the grime,

All that lineage can’t rewind time.

[Chorus]

Crown don’t mean you’re clean, you pompous fraud,

Your kingdom cracks when the truth hits hard.

You ran from the spotlight, crawled from the scene

Turns out royalty bleeds like anyone seen.

[Verse 2]

Heirloom lies polished bright for the press,

But whispers get louder when you dodge the mess.

Tried to outrun the storm with a velvet excuse

But storms love a coward who’s got something to lose.

[Pre‑Chorus]

All that gold can’t hide the grime,

All that lineage can’t rewind time.

[Chorus]

Crown don’t mean you’re clean, you pompous fraud,

Your kingdom cracks when the truth hits hard.

You ran from the spotlight, crawled from the scene

Turns out royalty bleeds like anyone seen.

[Bridge]

No throne high enough to dodge the fall,

No palace thick enough to mute the call.

When the world starts chanting, “Face what you’ve done,”

Even blue blood curdles in the sun.

[Outro]

So bow to the reckoning, stripped of your shield

The crown was a costume, the truth is revealed.

History remembers the ones who come clean

And buries the cowards who hide behind queens.

Punk Lyrics: The Pussy Grabber's Ballad/FUCK your empire

(Verse 1) Woke up this morning, checked the news 

The same old clown is peddlin' his blues 

The wrinkled suit, the golden lies 

A grinning ghoul with beady eyes

(Chorus) The Orange Man! He's a plastic king! 

He's got no soul, he's got no brain! 

The Orange Man! A walking disease! 

He'll poison the well and burn all the trees!

(Verse 2) He'll build his walls and sell his hate 

A perfect puppet for the one percent's state 

He'll tweet his venom for all to see 

A carnival barker for hypocrisy

(Chorus) The Orange Man! He's a plastic king! 

He's got no soul, he's got no brain! 

The Orange Man! A walking disease! 

He'll poison the well and burn all the trees!

(Bridge) He's not a leader, just a corporate shill 

A reality show with a bitter pill 

A spray-tanned emperor with no new clothes 

Just a stinking weed, where a flower grows

(Chorus) The Orange Man! He's a plastic king! 

He's got no soul, he's got no brain! 

The Orange Man! A walking disease! 

He'll poison the well and burn all the trees!

(Outro) He's a joke! A charade! A big mistake! 

The future's on fire for goodness sake! 

The Orange Man! The Orange Man! The Orange Man! 

[Verse 1] Golden throne built on bankrupt dreams 

Plastic crown, fake-ass regime 

He sells snake oil with a game show grin 

While the rich get fat and we choke on spin 

[Chorus] This is my riot, my roar, my spit 

No peace signs, just a raised middle digit 

Your empire’s a joke, your truth’s a scam 

We’re the noise that breaks your flimsy glam 

[Bridge] You want worship? I bring war 

You want ratings? I bring gore 

You want silence? I bring screams 

We’re your nightmares, not your dreams

Punk Lyrics: Trash Day Baby

Decided to try writing a song for the Ramones, even though they're all dead. I'm pretty happy with this. I think Dee Dee would have grooved on it.

(Verse 1)

I met her in the alley with a busted boom box

Leather boots, chewing gum, flipping off the cops

She said, “Life’s a scam and I’m the refund queen”

Then she stole my fries and vanished from the scene

(Verse 2)

She’s got a switchblade tongue and a candy cane curse

Screaming at the preacher from the back of the hearse

She don’t do prayers, she don’t do rules

But she’ll crash your party and eat all your jewels

(Verse 3)

She’s got a tattoo that says “NOPE” on her neck

Spits out love like a cigarette wreck

She’s my punk rock mess, my chaos bouquet

We kiss, we fight, we ghost, we slay

(Chorus)

Hey! Trash day baby, rollin’ in the grime

Hey! Trash day baby, screamin’ out of time

Hey! Trash day baby, dirty little crime

She’s mine, she’s mine, she’s mine - 'til Tuesday night

Punk Lyrics: Nuremberg For Today

[Verse 1]

You signed the orders, you built the hell,

You watched the bodies drop and said “Oh well.”

You called it legal, we call it war

And we’ve got receipts, you corrupt little whore.

[Chorus]

The trials are coming, better learn to plead,

For every stolen breath and every dirty deed.

You wore the badge, you played the part

Now the reckoning’s here, and it’s tearing you apart.

[Verse 2]

You caged the kids, you fed the lies,

You let the sick die while you monetized.

You laughed in court, you rigged the game

But history’s a bitch and she remembers your name.

[Bridge]

No more silence, no more spin,

We’re carving your legacy into rusted tin.

Every file, every tape, every bloodstained page

Will scream your crimes from a burning stage.

[Chorus]

The trials are coming, better learn to plead,

For every stolen breath and every dirty deed.

You wore the badge, you played the part

Now the reckoning’s here, and it’s tearing you apart.

[Outro]

This ain’t revenge, it’s righteous fire

A courtroom choir and a funeral pyre.

We’ll drag your name through every verse

And bury your legacy in the motherfucking dirt.

Punk Lyrics: You’ll Answer One Day

[Verse 1]

Kick in the door, ICE in the van,

Five-year-old sobs, they don’t give a damn.

Mom on the ground, zip ties tight,

“Just doing our job” you’re a fucking parasite.

[Chorus]

You’ll answer one day, you bootlicking freaks,

For blood on the pavement and trauma that reeks.

For cages and silence and bureaucrat spin

Justice is coming, and it’s gonna dig in.

[Verse 2]

You call it law, we call it fucking rot,

You signed the orders, now you’re caught.

You watched them die, you filed your form,

You’re the motherfucking stormtrooper in uniform.

[Bridge]

Hide behind flags, behind your fake pride,

But the ghosts of the stolen will never let you hide.

Every scream, every name, every soul you erased

Will crash through your gates like a riot - with mace.

[Chorus]

You’ll answer one day, you bootlicking freaks,

For blood on the pavement and trauma that reeks.

For cages and silence and bureaucrat spin

Justice is coming, and it’s gonna dig in.

[Outro]

So sleep with your memos and chain-link dreams,

But we’re coming with fury and gasoline.

We’ve got voices, and rage, and a score to settle

And we’ll carve your crimes into twisted metal.