na: the aggro edition

Yup.

With cucumber firmly lodged in too-tight jeans, I must enthusiastically note the appearance of some fantastically overblown, majestically ludicrous cock-rock (apologies for the crudeness this early in the AM, but there really is no other word) that has made an appearance on eMusic this morning. Ladies and gentleman, I give you the deeply unfashionable , deeply unsexy, deeply silly Deep Purple.

Yes, that’s right. It’s the most appropriately named band of its era – the purplest band in a genre devoted to purpleness. The two vintage concert recordings, Live in Montreaux 1969 and Live in Paris 1975, capture the band at the height of their powers, during which they helped cement and solidify nearly every heavy-metal trope that would later be skewered relentlessly in This Is Spinal Tap! Guitarist with hilariously misguided “classical aspirations?” Check — Ritchie Blackmore is one of the O.G.s of subjecting enormous stoned masses to fumbling reworkings of Bach’s “Art of the Fugue.” (He could also shred, I should mention.) Preening lead singer yowling completely unveiled single-entendres? Check. Eye-roll-inducingly long keyboard solos? Yeah, you can find about 1,000 of those here.

I hasten to add that I kid because I love. These dudes, though they were utter boneheads, also upped the speed and aggression quotient of arena rock considerably – while stripping away the sensuality of other cock-rock groups like Led Zeppelin. As such, Deep Purple has always been the favorite band of guys like my cousin Joel, who wore Zubaz pants until he was almost 30. The track names on the Live In Paris seem to be screwed up; a quick check confirms that the tracklisting doesn’t account for the first track, which should just be “intro.” You probably know these already, anyway.

If you need a more, um, cerebral kind of noise, then check out Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life. In his glowing review, Michaelangelo Matos compares this record to Zen Arcade, for how it applies outsized ambitions to the hardcore template without sacrificing immediacy. A cursory listen for me makes it sound pretty great, with tricky drum patterns that never feel wanky and that all-important sense of hurtling forward motion. Check it out!