THE ALBUM

Izzy Stradlin recently discussed the songs on 117 (Geffen Records). Produced by Stradlin, Eddie Ashworth (Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, Sublime), and Bill Price (the Sex Pistols, the Clash), the disc was recorded in England, Trinidad and California and released March 10, 1998

"Ain't It a Bitch": That's one of the last songs I wrote for the album. It's a frustration song, dealing with some of the hassles involved in putting a record together. It's a very Stonsy thing. The open-G tuning - if you do that, you'll get that Stonesy sound.

"Gotta Say": We recorded that in London. It's about people who bullshit you, and seeing right through them. Someone I knew was doing that, being a real pain in the ass. That was kind of a moody time. But, you know, it passes. Eddie [Ashworth] plays mandolin on there.

"Memphis": This was written by Chuck Berry. He was a true innovator, and he's got such an incredible history. I love his stuff. It's never too heavy. You never put on a Chuck Berry record and go, "God, this is depressing." It's all fun.

"Old Hat": That's a piss-take, kind of riffing on some stupid, clich'd stuff. The cocaine line is a reference to the old rock star bullshit, and how you just get over it. While we were tracking the song, the North Hollywood bank robbery was happening. And I was thinking how even stuff like that, you see it so much on TV that it becomes old news. You just kind of bet on the car chases. You become cold.

"Bleedin'": That's about someone I knew who was still bellyachin' about this chick who'd split a long time before. It's kind of a "get over it" song. I haven't even told the guy it's about that it's about him. Maybe if I tell him, he'll finally get on with his life.

"Parasite": Angry - that says it all.

"Good Enough": This was recorded in Trinidad. I felt like everything in my life was fine, but I was getting a lot of flak, a lot of judgement calls on my life from other people. And I thought, "Wait a minute, man. This shit's GOOD ENOUGH for me! I'm happy with it. Fuck you!"

"117": That's a full-on roead-trip song. My dad, brothers, uncle and I all rode Harleys from Lafayette [Ind.] to New Orleans, then down to Texas. Then just my brother Joe and I rode to L.A. We were out for eight or nine days total, ridin' eight to ten hours a day, cruising along with nothing to think about. Riding all day is like therapy. By the time we got to Yuma [California], though, it

was 117.

"Here Before You": I have no idea what this song's about. I just woke up one morning with the chorus in my head. I think I'd heard that song "I Saw You First," by John Cougar Mellencamp, and it stuck with me. That line seemed to describe a real innocent, childlike mentality. But then the song turned into a car-oriented song. I was gonna call it "The Parking Lot Song." You know how people get in parking lots - "I saw that space first!"

"Up Jumped the Devil": That's a Ronnie Dawson song. He's got a great record called Ronnie Dawson: Monkey Beat that I got turned onto in Indiana. There are about ten real rockabilly tunes on there - simple, basic stuff - that really stick. On this version, the guitar's tuned down to a low D, which gives it a thick, swampy sound.

"Grunt": This is my favorite song on the record. I worked on it for quite a while. I started it in Indiana, and we tracked it in Santa Monica. I wanted something like "Frankenstein," by Edgar Winter.

"Freight Train": I have a thing about trains because I grew up by the railroad tracks. I've always loved 'em, the sound of the whistle, the way you can feel it go by the house. In fact, I still live by the railroad tracks.

"Methanol": We had a speedway motorcycle that ran on methanol. It's really high-octane stuff - highly explosive. Those bikes will go from zero to 60 in three seconds, just wicked fast. I had jugs of methanol in my garage, which is how I got the idea for the song. It started out with the fast riff, and then Rick came up with the drop-down riff we sing over. Then it turned into a song about cars.

"Surf Roach": I wrote this with my brother Joe. He lives in Lafayette and he's a real good musician. We've always jammed, but it's the little-brother syndrome, where you smack him in the head and say, "You can't play!" We hang together all the time when I'm back home. He was helping us out as a guitar tech when we were recording in Santa Monica. We were jamming on acoustics, and hi came up with this really cool, fast part that ended up in the song. It really made it work. Before that, this was a little three-chord thing I was gonna toss. I've always liked surf guitar, and over the past couple of years I've really gotten into the Ventures, all that stuff. Then I saw "Pulp Fiction" and it got me really fired up - I headed straight for the guitar.