Thirty years ago today. I'm floored.
I really wanted to pick up the new vinyl release to commemorate the anniversary, however, I cannot stand that the original track order was, at some point long ago now, changed. "Down in a Hole" originally occupied the second-to-last track on the album, preceding the equally powerful "Would?" I still have my original Compact Disc from 1993 - the one that came in the long cardboard box, as CDs used to. I think I even still have the front of that box somewhere. It hung on my closet door for many, many years.
Later versions of Dirt shifted "Down in a Hole" to track number four, placing it between "Rain When I Die" and "Sickman." I suppose if I could ever find evidence that the rearranging came at the band's behest, I might be okay with it, but there's nothing online about it, so I just continue to revere the version I know.
(even if the band did do the rearranging, it would probably ultimately prove to be a case similar to the Donnie Darko director's cut; yes, I know Richard Kelley wrote that opening scene to INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" - after reading him talk about it, you can pretty much spot right away how the flow of the images fits that song better. However, for me, it's "Killing Moon" that will always belong there and resonate best.
Back to Dirt's anniversary for a moment, Mr. Brown MADE MY DAY yesterday when he sent me a text that on the official AIC site, this has come back into print:
I'll never forget the first time I saw this. High School, Mr. Brown wore it to school. I LOVED this shirt from the moment I saw, it and, a few years later, he gave me his shirt. I have always loved the long-sleeve black band shirt make and model, and this... this was my favorite. I wore that fucker up until about ten years ago when it had become so degraded, I had to relegate it to "sleep only." When I moved from my two-story, two-bedroom townhome I rented in San Pedro to an 1100-square-foot apartment in Redondo Beach, I purged A LOT of stuff. This shirt was practically in pieces, large holes throughout the body, so sadly, I cast it into the aether.
And now, once again thanks to Mr. Brown, I'll have a brand-spanking new one. Not gonna lie - pretty freakin' excited!
