Fringe Bar Karaoke regular Javed Khan on Motörhead's 'Bad Magic'
DARTZ official funnel master, and one of my best friends Javed Khan, dives into Motörhead's twenty-second and final studio album'Bad Magic'
The premise of ‘No Skips’ is simple: I think the advent of music streaming/algorithms has inadvertently made our music tastes very insular. Personally, I’ve found it a lot harder to find new music to fall in love with that’s not just something an algorithm thinks I’d be keen on based on data it’s collected on me.
So to broaden my, and hopefully your, musical horizons, each week I reach out to musicians I love to get their recommendation on an album they believe deserves the title of 'No Skips'— one you can listen to front to back without wanting to skip a single track.
This week, we are joined by one of my best buddies in the whole world, Javed Khan. Although Javed has absolutely no music talent whatsoever outside of impressing Gen Z kids with his renditions of Limp Bizkit and Shaggy at karaoke at Fringe Bar in Wellington, he does love music with all his heart, and that’s why I’ve invited him to share what he considers a no-skips, no-brainer: Motörhead's 'Bad Magic'.
Alright motherfuckers, before we even get started, let’s get one thing crystal *fucking* clear here. To every cuck, chump, and pretentious music critic who has ever regurgitated the absolute brain rot statement that “Every Motörhead song sounds the same”.
Thank you.
Thank you for your shallow fucking observation.
Motörhead’s 40-year, 22 album career spans genres - Experimenting with everything from Prog Metal to 50s Rock n’ Roll. Influencing Speed and Thrash metal, while staying true to their own unique Punk/Metal crossover.
To argue they sound the same is a gross oversight of the classic lineup: Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor who pioneered the double kick drum, a defining feature of Thrash metal, and “Fast” Eddie Clark who played Chuck Berry on Amphetamines-styled riffs well before they were cool.
“Every Motörhead song sounds the same” is also a horrendous oversimplification of their most long-standing and final lineup: The deceptively influential drummer Mikkey Dee, whose versatility and nuance set the tone for latter day Motörhead, and the understated brilliance of Phil Campbell who churned out vicious and anthemic riffs befitting the name Motörhead.
While I was in my “Heavy Metal phase” (2008 - present), Motörhead had been releasing albums on a semi-regular basis, so when Bad Magic was announced in 2015, I’ll admit my anticipation was high, but my expectations were low. 2015, if we cast our mind back, was a rough year for Motörhead, with the 69 (nice) year-old Lemmy battling with a lung infection, having to cancel shows due to ill health, and regularly relying on a walking stick (not so nice).
With all of that going on, surely Lemmy and the boys couldn’t possibly string together one more classic.
Motherfucker, was I wrong.
This album is their swan song. Both a dark introspection from a man who spent his life taunting his own mortality and was finally being faced by it, and a big middle finger to the grim reaper himself. And I fucking LOVE it.
Balls to the Wall riffs. Thundering beats. Head nodding grooves. Crushing Hooks. Bad Magic is 42 minutes of all of Motörhead’s greatest qualities.
Victory or Die
I will run through a brick wall for this song, and motherfucker, you will too. Lemmy, who died four months after this album was released, opens this album with the line “Victory or Die” with all the piss, shit, venom, and conviction of a man who had spent his life fighting for the former and was ready for the latter.
An in-your-face riff, the iconic thudding Rickenbacker bass, drums that punch you right in the chest. Lyrics that are a big “fuck you” to the establishment. This, my friends, is the statement of intent for this album.
This is fucking Motörhead.
Till the End
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the desert blues balladry of Till the End is an essential track, not just from the album, but from the entire Motörhead discography. It provides a certain level of introspection, arguably missing from Motörhead’s latter day output. Mikkey Dee shows incredible and tasteful restraint in his drumming, allowing Phil Cambell the space to add flair through his solos. The song has a slow and subtle build as Lemmy reflects on who he is, the people he’s leaving behind, and how he wants to be remembered.
Think of “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, but instead of a classy farewell, he’s taking one last opportunity to remind everyone he is, was, and always will be that bitch.
I have a vivid memory of sitting at home on the floor watching Triple H making his return to WWE Raw after injury in 2002. Decked out in denim and leather, with arguably the greatest pro wrestling theme song Motörhead’s “The Game” playing in the background. I didn’t know the band at the time, but I knew that this was the coolest a person has ever been in history.
From little puffy-haired Javed sitting on the floor of his parent’s bedroom watching wrestling, to older (still kinda) puffy-haired Javed sitting on the couch watching wrestling. From walking to Valhalla for a gig on a random school night, to making spreadsheets the next morning . From catching flights to catching feelings. Motörhead has always made life just a little more badass.
So in short, long live Phil Campbell, long live Mikkey Dee, God bless Lemmy Kilmister, and Motörhead till i’m fucking dead.
Thanks again to Javed for taking the time from making spreadsheets to share his love of Motörhead's 'Bad Magic'. You can catch Javed live at Fringe late in the evening at Fringe on Saturdays, Fridays, Thursdays and sometimes Wednesdays if the sun was out.
My new book ‘Slices of Heaven: Uniquely Kiwi Comics about Aotearoa’ is available for pre-order now! It’s a print collection of warm and witty comics about the DNA of Aotearoa, celebrating our quirks, institutions, identity, and shared experiences.
