Today, we continue our Sonic Reducer series! In the feature, Punknews writers compress a band, genre, theme, or time period into a playlist that would fit on a single CD. Along with the playlist, you'll get either an overview of the topic, such as a band introduction, or a story about how the music in the playlist moved or changed the writer.
For this installment, Tom Trauma takes a look at back at the catalog of the legendary Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and Hawkwind! In order to pay respect to the legendary rocker, Tom plays a few hits, but he also pulls out some obscurities and even plays a Motorhead cover or two. Check it out below.
Sonic Reducer: Lemmy Kilmister
Tom Trauma
When Lemmy Kilmister died on December 28th, four days after his 70th birthday, we lost one of rock and roll’s greatest characters. I’m sure Lemmy wouldn’t want us to shed too many tears for him, as few can claim to have lived half the life that he did. 70 years actually seems like quite a long time when you consider the sheer amount of speed, booze, cigarettes and questionable women the man ingested. He lived the ultimate rock and roll life. In the mid-60’s he played in the British Invasion style Rockin’ Vickers. He was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. He played bass in the pioneering space rock band Hawkwind (who at one point was only slightly less well known than Pink Floyd). For 40 years he led one of the most influential groups on the planet. Motörhead had just finished a European tour just 17 days before his death. Talk about dying with your boots on. He was a rare figure beloved in both punk and metal circles, but always referred to his own music as simply rock and roll.
I was fortunate enough to see Motörhead live quite a few times between the early 1990’s and the early 2010’s. Every show was memorable, but one in particular stands out. It was in the mid-90’s, and Motörhead’s popularity had fallen off considerably. They were actually playing in a small club attached to a bowling alley. Truthfully, they always put on a great performance whether playing for 300 or 300,000. Lemmy uttered something at that show that I’ll never forget. During a brief pause he said, “Now’s the time in the show when you put your girlfriends on your shoulders so they can show me their titsâ€. Then he added, totally deadpan to the 95% male audience, “You do like girls don’t you?â€. That was Lemmy. The funniest guy in the room. The coolest guy in the room. The toughest guy in the room, and certainly the manliest guy in the room.
In a lot of ways, the legend of Lemmy was bigger than Motörhead ever was. While the man and band had many admirers, they probably deserved to be more commercially successful. Fortunately, Lemmy’s true legacy is all the wonderful music he left behind. It will endure long after the tales of debauchery on the Sunset Strip fade away. Compressing Lemmy’s music into a single hour is not realistic. It would take many hours to do him any justice. I do not attempt to make any kind of definitive list. I’m sure I missed many of your favorites. I just picked a few songs for you to enjoy and to help you celebrate the man.
Motorhead - “No Voices in the Sky†– This was just the first song that I thought of when I heard that Lemmy had died.
Motorhead- “Killed By Death†– It just seems appropriate.
Hawkwind - “Motörhead†– The song that gave the band its name was originally written and sung by Lemmy when he was still in Hawkwind. Luckily, the Motörhead version cranked up the intensity considerably.
Motörhead - “Overkill†– The title track from the amazing 1979 album.
Motörhead - “Bomber†– The title track from the other awesome 1979 album.
Motörhead “Iron Fist†– The title track from the brilliant 1982 album.
Motörhead - “Orgasmatron†– The title track from the excellent 1986 album.
Motörhead “Rock’N’Roll†– The title track from the wonderful 1987 album.
Motörhead - “God Save the Queen†- Legend has it that Lemmy helped teach Sid Vicious how to play bass. That kind of sheds a different light on this cover of the Sex Pistols’ classic
Ramones - “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.†- Lemmy wrote this song as a tribute to the Ramones. They liked it so much that they started playing it themselves. Lead vocals by CJ.
Motörhead - “Enter Sandman†- Metallica was heavily influenced by Motörhead (especially on Kill ‘Em All ). Here Motörhead turns the tables by playing one of Metallica’s biggest hits.
Motörhead - “Hellraiser†- Used in one of the films in the cheesy Hellraiser horror series. Later covered by Ozzy. (Ozzy also had one of his biggest hits with “Mama, I’m Coming Homeâ€, another Lemmy penned tune.)
Motörhead - “Ace of Spades†– If this had played first, you’d already have quit listening. This is the one Motörhead song that everyone knows. The title track from classic 1980 album.
Motörhead - “(We are) The Road Crew†– Maybe the greatest song ever about touring. Also from Ace of Spades.
Motörhead - “Sympathy for the Devil†– Rumored to be the last song the band ever recorded. Lemmy is one of the few people who could pull off the Rolling Stones’ dark masterpiece.