Bleach >> Touch me and see I'm real

Bleach - "Hit On Me"
(Musidisc, 1992)

This song is an emotional rollercoaster, with singer Salli Carson pleading to someone why he should heed her advances and run off with her on a train to anywhere.  Her wordplay often has dual meanings, and in this case the "On" in the song title could be optional, since some of Bleach's other songs deal with rough courtship / bedroom activities, and the lyric "Every mile is etched on my body" could bear this out.  From a male listener's standpoint, it's hard to think of anything more enticing than the scenario she lays out in this song, and her mental instability just adds to the danger / fun aspects, because she might have a large knife or something.  (The train imagery, as well as the song itself, reminds me of Sonic Youth's "Shadow Of A Doubt," whose lyrics and video were inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's movie Strangers On A Train.)  Like the Chug song I posted recently, "Hit On Me" goes from soft to loud with frightful ease.  The soft side almost sounds like a jazz band playing in a dimly lit bar in a ghost town, and Salli sings in her "pretty" voice; the loud side is a Slayer or Helmet style onslaught, and is sung in her "angry" voice.  (It's hard to believe that it's the same person doing both voices, but it is.)  As you can imagine, there will be much more Bleach coming in this blog, though I can't post anything from their astounding (& only) album Killing Time, since it came out on a major label and recently had its life revived by being added to the iTunes store.

This is a vinyl rip I downloaded a few years ago; the sound quality is terrific despite some pops and cracks, and I doubt the dynamics of this song would be captured as well on CD format.  This song is from the Hard EP, which was released on CD and 12".  If you download the song (remember, just press the "share" button on the player), I included lots of photos from the artwork, including full lyrics, in the mp3 itself.

This band is not to be confused with the U.S. Christian pop-punk band of the same name; the U.K. Bleach came first and are one of my top 10 bands ever, whereas I've never even heard the U.S. Bleach.  (For a laugh, look at the reviews of Killing Time album on iTunes to see what confused fans of the U.S. band have to say.)

Planets with similar climates: Sonic Youth - "Shadow Of A Doubt" (1986) & "Pacific Coast Highway" (1987), Morella's Forest - "Hang Out" (1995), Band Of Susans - "Mood Swing" (1993), Lush - "Light From A Dead Star" (1994), Hüsker Dü - "Diane" (1983), Curve - "Crystal" (1993).


Currently not eating or drinking: Taster's Choice Hazelnut instant coffee.  I got this years ago and hated it, then bought some more recently to give it another chance, and now hate it even more, seeing as the taste is still similar to gasoline or mosquito spray, with an equally bad aftertaste.