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The dapper Punk Business Manager (left) and his Personal Assistant
Being a Punk Business Manager is a lot of work as you could imagine! In between all of the business strategy meetings, power lunches and cocktail receptions I somehow find time to listen to the good ol' punk rock and post some music here. As you can see from my picture above, I try to keep up with the latest fashions so shopping for the latest threads also takes up A LOT of time-- gotta look good on the job, especially when you're about to lay off/downsize people every Friday. But having my trusty Personal Assistant really helps- he drives me to work every day in my plush Jaguar so I can listen to some p-rock and post to the blog. Enjoy!
The music posted on this site is for educational purposes only. If you were in one of the old bands fanboy'd here and want your music removed, let me know and I will do so.
Syndicate
Recipients
I do not have a vinyl copy of this 7" and cannot find a .jpg of it online, so the best I can do is this flyer for this early 1982 Austin show at which the Recipients played. Look at what only $5 would have gotten you on this night- not only the Big Boys but also the Dicks, Really Red, Butthole Surfers and the Recipients. Damn, damn, damn, that must have been quite a show.
Um, the Recipients were from Houston (home of the almighty Really Red among others), they released this one single in 1981 on their own label aaaand that’s about all I know. I have no idea who the band members were, aside from the fact that they had a guest vocalist named Hubert at the above show from early 1982 (perhaps the regular singer was sick or somethin?). The very awesome Idle Time archive has two pictures of the band from that show- one here and another here. I first saw a picture of the flyer for this show back in 1995 and the Recipients stood out because they were the only band name I didn't recognize on the bill. So I added them to a list of mystery bands I kept in my head (it was pretty big list at that point in time and has since dwindled a lot, thankfully). Fast forward a few years later when I saw them listed on the wonderful Texas Punk Discography when it was in its infancy- I was excited to see that the Recipients released a record. About a year later P.R. taped me a copy of the 7", and that was 10 years ago already.
"Constitution" was comped on the original Hyped To Death #1 comp CD back in 2000 and I think that's where many people rediscovered them. I don't have a vinyl copy of this record so I don’t have a scan of the sleeve but H2D #1 had a small glimpse of the rather plain sleeve that had black and white stripes on the front (and back?) with just the band name on it. Pretty Spartan. The A-side, "Lunatic", was to be comped on the Hooked On Junk LP back in 2003 but that project was aborted and never officially released- more on THAT comp at another time.
Both sides of this single are pretty original sounding stuff that stands out against yer average sounding stack of punk discs. The band plays in a rather passionate, energetic manner and there’s lots of great, unique guitar noise and some muscular drumming. But I think "Constitution" is the catchier and stronger of the two ditties. Pretty hummable, which is a good thing. "Lunatic" is nice too but it’s only downfall for me is that they repeat the chorus "You’re a lunatic! No I’m not; yes, you are!" about ten times too many and it gets slightly annoying. Other than that, it's nice. Um, the liner notes of H2D #1 called the band a cross between the Dead Kennedys and the Nasal Boys- err, I really wouldn't call it THAT. For me, I don’t take a comparison to the Nasal Boys lightly since their "Hot Love" 7" is a total barnstorming jaw dropper. And this Recipients 7" is not on that par. When I think "Dead Kennedys" I envision lots of echoplex guitar, and there's definitely none of that on this meat and potatoes 7". I’m not sure what to compare the Recipients too, actually. It's good, tho- enjoy.
Lunatic.mp3
Constitution.mp3
See kids, my route to hearing the Recipients 7" is how the whole process of hearing rare records used to work before punk music blogs were everywhere and the interweb was prevalent. It was a damn journey that would sometime take years. Nowadays, instant gratification means that you type a band or record name into Google and a minute or two later you’ve not only found a blog that has that record but you’ve already downloaded it and either burned the mp3’s onto a CD or loaded into directly onto yer iPod. Not to say I prefer "the old way"- I’d much rather have the quick, instantaneous route since it saves so much time and effort. But, looking back over the years, I've jumped through a lot of hoops in some quests to hear certain obscurities. I had regular places I'd scour "back in the day"- MRR’s great Scumpit columns of the late 80’s and early 90’s; the small print of want lists and sale lists in MRR’s classifieds (‘member those?); Dr. Strange Records’ huge printed catalogs; and Mike Bastarache’s great set sale lists. Once I made a list of records in my head, the first place to check was, of course, local record stores every week (this was before marriage, kids or a "career" so I had nothing but time to record shop back then). If that didn't turn anything up then I'd look through tape trading lists. If such and such tape trader had said items, then I'd mail him a letter with my wants, patiently wait a few weeks (or impatiently for months) and then finally get a cassette tape in the mail (this was several years before we all had burners and CD-R's). But nobody had certain rare records so that's where the never-ending want list came in and where certain records sat for years before I got a chance to hear them, eh.
Deprogrammer
I saw "semi-good" because I cannot get into the slower, rockier, moodier flipside on that record, "80-81". This points to a bigger fact that, overall, Deprogrammer is a mixed bag for me quality-wise. I have never heard their first record, the very rare "Discipline" 3-song EP, so I cannot vouch for the quality of that one. But for what I have heard I say "mixed bag" 'cuz Deprogrammer leans too much towards the rock part of "punk rock" for me. I cannot call them a "punk n’ roll" band- a style I usually get into- because, to me, that term means that you lean more towards the punk side than the rock side of the fence and I do not think Deprogrammer accomplishes that specific mixture. Not that they strived to in the first place.
Anyway, on this, their only LP (and their last of 3 records), which was released on the (in)famous Mystic Records label, they churn out 3 good songs for my ears. The rest of the tunes plod along and during those, I lose my interest and my mind begins to wander so I am not posting the whole LP. Plus the style of the singer is not really my cup of tea and kind of annoys me after a while, to be honest. The great Texas Punk Discography had me intrigued for the last 10 years since someone on that site called the LP "great guitarpunk chugs, nicely influenced by the Avengers and Flesheaters". Ummmmm, I guess we all hear different things in records, ya know, cuz the best Avengers or Flesheaters songs I know sound a lot better than what this LP has to offer. But maybe that's just ME.
I will get on a more positive vibe here and tell you why I like the 3 songs that I do on this here record. The leadoff track, "Heroine", is a fine choice to start the record- it's a slow grinder with the 'ol double entendre that is a thinly veiled homage to smack, dope, Lady Junk, whatever you want to call it. With such a lovingly sang ballad were these dudes really junkies or just singing wanna-be "junk rock"? Someone who was around back then post some comments and let me know. The next song I posted, "Denmark", is a catchy ditty that is rather hummable. But my favorite song on the LP is the last one I posted, "No Way", which leads off Side 2. It’s a rather tense affair with some great guitar work, nice punchy drumming and some neat tempo changes, especially at the 1:52 mark- great! "Denmark" has the "punk-friendly" length of 2 minutes- the other two are- gasp!- about 4 minutes long each which is way longer than I usually tolerate but I like em both for some reason.
If you want to hear the whole LP, search eBay- I found my copy on eBay for just under $15 last Fall so it won’t dent your pocketbook too much. I mean, the sleeve on my copy is a little beat up (as you can see in the above photos) but the vinyl was extremely clean. The sleeve is rather thick cardboard and the artwork is just plain and Spartan and kinda blah. The budget-minded vibe continues on the back of the sleeve where the lyrics to all songs are printed so no separate insert had to be pressed up. And the labels are in the "classic" Mystic style- flat-looking black and white with just the band logo and, of course, the Mystic logo we all know and love. Perhaps the plainness of the sleeve caused it to be overlooked by the record buying public and caused it to fade into obscurity. I mean, damn, with a better looking sleeve more people mighta picked this thing up in 1982. There were a lotta records out that year, a lot of which had much cooler sleeves that jumped out at ya.
Like I mentioned before, Deprogrammer was listed in the Texas Punk Discography but they were really Texas folks who transplanted to California- I think the only record they released while based in Texas was their 1st EP from 1980 (which, again, I have yet to hear) on the band’s At Last label. Their 2nd release, the "Instant Passion" 7" from 1981, was on the same label but the address is in Los Angeles. The story is that all band members were- except for San Diegoan and singer Richard Scott (aka Scott Shannon)- from Garland, TX which is just outside of Dallas, home of many great late 70's punk bands. Deprogrammer moved to L.A. after the "big" record deal with Mystic and sometime after the "Instant Passion" 7" they went from a 4 piece to a 5 piece with the addition of rhythm guitarist Jim Littleton. Er, considering that this LP was the band’s last release we can only guess that things did not work out so well with old Doug Moody’s Mystic label. I am curious to know more, so maybe someone from the band will post some comments and tell more firsthand stories of what led to the demise of the band- was frustration? Was it smack? Was it your Mom? Inquiring minds would like to know this (and an estimate of how many copies of the LP were pressed).
SIDE 1
Heroine.mp3
Subject Object
Letting Go
Take Th’ Blame
Nightmares
Denmark.mp3
SIDE 2
No Way.mp3
Forever
Propaganda
Complex
Plain Jane and The Jokes
(NORTHERN CALIFORNIA- SICK SOUND, 1981)
Here is a rather rare one from a post-Insults band- the guitarist was Richard B. Shively (aka "Richard Sikk") from the Insults, along with his wife Deborah on vocals. It is also on the same label as the 2nd Insults record, which was the snot"Stiff Love" 3-song EP (which you can check out here on the always great KBD Records site).
Of course there is also a bass player and drummer in Plain Jane and The Jokes, but I don’t know who they are since I only possess rips of this rarity instead of a vinyl copy so I can’t check the credits on the back of the sleeve or anything. Perhaps it was the other ex-Insults (?). If you happen to know this, or any other information about Plain Jane and The Jokes, please post some comments.
If you are familiar with and a fan of both great Insults 7"s from 1979, you will definitely recognize the similar guitar sounds emanating from Mr. Shively’s instrument. But while both Insults records were full of wild, off kilter guitar noodling, the playing on this Plain Jane record is a bit more restrained me thinks. They do cover the Insults' "Zombie Lover" (the B-side of their 1st 7") but I prefer the original over this redone version. There are also two other covers, a funny short one of the Velvet Underground’s long opus "What Goes On" as well as one of the first punk cover songs, that of the Dils’ immortal "Class War". Funny cover there, full of sloppy playing and the singer chanting "You asshole, you asshole, you asshole" at the end. Kind of lightens the mood of the serious and overtly political original if you ask me. [Speaking of the Dils, I think THEIR live cover of "What Goes On" (see the "What Stuff" comp) was very moody and much better. But I digress...] Plain Jane was "rediscovered" when their version of "Class War" was included on the beloved Bloodstains Across California comp way back in 1993. And that probably set off a fire storm of sorts amongst collector scum and sent the price skyrocketing after it languished it dollar bins for 12 years before that. But such is the nature of record collecting, eh.
Probably my favorite song on this pretty good 12" is the last one, "I Hate", which- given that they play three other cover songs- you may assume is a cover of White Boy’s killer 1978 song of the same name (from the mostly-great ":30 Over DC" comp LP which, incidentally, was reissued by Henry Rollins’ 2.13.61 label a few years back). But Plain Jane’s "I Hate" it is an original, uh, "composition" as are the first four tracks. This 12" is definitely not one of my favorite records but overall it's a fun, somewhat sloppy record that is definitely worth a few spins. The vocals are bit monotone and Deborah really can't sing all too well but I think that adds to the charm of this disc. Thought I'd post it because I haven’t seen it on any of the other 3,000 punk music blogs currently out there.
TRACK LISTING
Agent Orange
Hostage
Soylent Green
I Got Fired
Zombie Lover
What Goes On
Class War
I Hate
Here is a .rar file with all 8 songs on it
As an added bonus, here is the Insults 1st 7" (which used to be posted elsewhere but since disappeared), released on Ric Mar Records in 1979
Population Zero.mp3
Zombie Lover.mp3
ENDNOTES
The Insults were based out of Watsonville, CA- Plain Jane and The Jokes, I have no idea (someone help me out here). I always wondered where the fuck Watsonville was but found out a number of years back while driving with the Mrs. from San Francisco to Los Angeles. We took the scenic route that I highly recommend, driving due South along the Pacific Coast Highway that runs right next to the Pacific Ocean. Very nice, relaxing ride that you can split up over two days. Anyway, we get outside of San Francisco and about an hour or so later we see a sign for Santa Cruz. Exciting to me since I am a lifelong skateboarding fan and Santa Cruz Skateboards is based out of there. From the late 70’s until about 1991, Santa Cruz was THE punk company back when punk and skateboarding went hand in hand. They had the killer graphics from Jim Phillips, along with a bunch of raw, unpolished riders from Steve Olson to Duane Peters to Jason Jessee to Tom Knox.
But I digress again… anyway, we first pass Santa Cruz. Then a little later on is a nondescript sign for Watsonville, CA- I almost crashed the car since it kind of came out of nowhere. Here was the home of the Insults, the town in which they spawned such rude ditties as "Stiff Love" and crazy, whacked out anthems like "Population Zero". And, from what we saw, it looked like a mellow, cute, little, quiet town right next to the Pacific Ocean. For all we know, the Insults could have been sitting on the beach writing their classic tunes while staring off into the ocean as the waves rippled and the sun glistened on the water (ha!). I wanted to get off in Watsonville and find the first hippie record store I could that would be stockpiling multiple dead mint copies of both Insults 7”s 20+ years later (LOL!) but thought that’d be a pipedream so we kept on driving. But it made me think, yeah, I can see why the Insults played such rude stuff- they were in a little hippie town in Northern California and probably wanted to throw a monkeywrench in the mellow, quite vibe of their hometown and shock people a bit. Which I am sure they succeeded at after I saw their hometown firsthand. Thank goodness they- and countless other bands in the same situation worldwide- did this in the late 70’s because here we are 30 years later still enjoying their wreckords.
Lou Miami and The Kozmetix
5.12.2009 UPDATE
I've updated this posting by adding an mp3 of the B-side, "To Sir With Love". I was about to say "enjoy" but I'm not sure if you're going to like it- let me know.
Here’s a great song that, for some reason, was never included on a KBD-type comp during the 1995-2000 boom period of those comps, way before blog mania and the conveninence of having old stuff posted everywhere online. [Come to think of it, in this decade there's really only been two great vinyl comps of KBD-type stuff- 2001’s No One Left To Blame LP and 2005’s Staring Down The Barrel. And those were seemingly put out by the same chap. But I digress...]
"Fascist Lover" would have fit well on a late 90’s KBD comp, what with its fast pace and especially those thundering, barnstorming drums that really jump out at ya during the breaks (and ESPECIALLY during the last 20 seconds of the song- damn!). The drumming is one of the highlights for me, right along with the kooky-ass lyrics and the tall tale singer Lou Miami tells about his mother getting knocked up by a Nazi exile in South America after WWII. Huh?! Pretty off the wall stuff, especially the chant of "A fascist lover made my mother, and then my mother made me". Hilarious. And, to top it all, there’s a nice sharp gee-tar solo in the middle from guitarist Jack Rootoo (who, incidentally, died in June of 2008. Lou is dead too, but more on that later...)
Er, but then there's the flipside- a homoerotic cover of "To Sir With Love" that was made famous in the late 60's movie of the same name with Sidney Potier (?!?). So Lou Miami kept up the fine KBD tradition of "one great song per record" by choosing this as the flipside. Actually, it’s not THAT bad of a B-side I guess- there are ones far, far worse- and I have kind of sort of kind of warmed up to it over the years. Or maybe just gotten used to it being there. But it's still a total departure from the A-side so I have not included it. If I get some requests to post it, I will then probably toss it on here.
Now, if Lou Miami really released this record in 1982 Boston (some people say 1980), I bet he was a HUGE hit with the muscle-flexing, shaved head hardcore boys club since apparently he was a somewhat flamboyant character and wore makeup or drag sometimes on stage. Even the sleeve of the record is supposed to look like a Lord & Taylor cosmetics bag, fer Chrissake, complete with a plastic handle at the top- LOL! All that combined would have no doubt put him on the hit list of the "youth crew of youth".
Fascist Lover.mp3
To Sir With Love.mp3
ENDNOTES
There is a nice fan tribute page that I got some of my information from for this posting- go here to read the whole thing and to see some rare pictures and flyers of the band. According to that page and other sources, Lou Miami started playing in Boston around 1978 at famous places like The Rat and he and the Kozmetix ceased to exist in either 1984 or 1985. Besides the single, they also released a 6-song 12"EP in 1982 on the well-known (but spotty) Modern Method label. Circa 1985, they released the 6-song "Rituals" 12"EP on Chuck Warner’s Throbbing Lobster label- both of those later records were posted on this blog. The band also appeared on two comps, the "Sounds Electric" LP on the Revolution Records label and the "Boston Gets Stoned" LP that was on the Bowtown label and is a bunch of Rolling Stones covers (anyone have any of this stuff? Both of those comps are probably crap but I still wouldn't mind hearing em for curiosity's sake). According to the above fan page, Lou Miami got into witchcraft (?!) in- where else- Salem, MA and then died in Los Angeles of the ol'- ahem- "natural causes, heart failure" the first week of August 1995, just shy of his 40th birthday.
Reissue of Clockwork Criminals "Young and Bold" 7"EP- Coming Soon!
Speaking of reissues, Chicago-based label Drag City has been on a roll with reissues during these cold months (with namely the JTIV reissue and unreleased Death LP), and this momentum continues with their officially reissing the rare Fems "Go To A Party" 4-song 7"EP circa Buffalo, 1982- pick up one of these too! The label's site sold out of the reissue in ONE DAY after it came out on March 17th, but other places may still have copies although they seem to be disappearing fast- Google it and see where copies turn up (eBay- here they come! har har). NYC's Other Music had some copies mid-week but those now appear to be gone. [In case you forgot, the Fems were "rediscoved" when their great, unique-sounding tune "Go To A Party" was included on 2001's No One Left To Blame comp LP. Copies of that comp still turn up from time to time, so pick one up if you don't already have one, or if you played your original copy to death. Speaking of which, Death was rediscovered on that comp too].
Intravein
Well, I am sad to say (and I know those of you with short attention spans will also shed a tear) that this will be a shorter posting since I do not know much of anything about Intravein (who does?!) other than the fact that they were from the U.K. and that most copies of this 7" came in just a rubber-stamped plain white outer sleeve. And, according to the great Punk 77 site, supposedly some copies came in a black PVC sleeve which would be kind of funky looking if it really exists.
"Speed of The City" made it onto my Top 250 song list and is one of my favorite thug punk ditties. It’s a pretty tense affair, with a nice slow buildup in the first minute with just the drum pounding and spooky whispering. Around the :50 mark, that chunky bass line kicks in and does not let up until the end of this classic 4 minute (!) ditty (far longer than one man’s 2:36 rule!). To top it all off, at the halfway point this cool guitar solo barges in- very nice! And then more nice guitar noise towards the end. Pretty tough sounding stuff. A lot of good thug punk came outta the U.K., although other countries had some good stuff in a thug punk-ish vein- one example that quickly jumps to mind is Sweden’s Slobobans Undergang and their classic "Maktgalen". Or the tough-guy classic "Mercenary" from Brooklyn, NY’s Ducky Boys.
Well, the B-side "Sick" is also 4 minutes but is a clunker and just drags on and on for me. And has too much of a pub rock-vibe going on, which is a genre I have NEVER gotten into. I included it simply for the purposes of completion. Oh well, at least Intravein got it right for one memorable song.
Speed Of The City.mp3
Sick.mp3
ENDNOTES
Intravein morphed into just "The Veins" by 1979 and that band released one 7" called- yikes- "Lose Control To Rock n’ Roll" on Redball Records. Um, I have never heard it but I don't know if I ever really want to because two major red flags jump out at me. Red flag #1- that song title is just completely corny sounding and makes me suspicious that it'll just sound like shite. I get some sort of Spinal Tap-ish image in my head of the band all bug-eyed throwing up the horns and saying, "I just love control to rock n' roll, baby! Woooo!". The sleeve which I have seen brings to light red flag #2- the band has SEVEN frickin' members. Yes, 7. Most memorable punk bands were either trios or had 4 members, 5 would be pushing it at times. No classic bands had 6 or 7 members... expect maybe for Da Slyme but that’s a whole different story. Also on the sleeve several- not just one- of the Veins members have moustaches. And- here is the coup de grace- the band members include one "keyboards and synth" player. Not just the general "keyboards" credit but keyboards AND synth. Given that, I say case closed on this one. If you can prove me wrong and can speak of the greatness of the Veins 7" please let me know, or provide audio examples.
Mopo Mogo
I was first tipped off to the Mopo Mogo 7" back in '98. A year later, P.R. taped me a copy and I was hooked right away on its unique sound, especially by the snotty B-side. As you will hear, it does not follow the typical punk formula of "guitar-bass-drums" so it’s one of those outside-the-box classics. Um, first, there's no bass. Secondly, there's no real drums- just a drum machine (that of course brings to mind fellow Frenchmen Metal Urbain). And thirdly, as I found out through my research, there was no band.
It turns out that Mopo Mogo was a one-man band- namely, one Didier Ruyer who was just armed with a guitar, amp and drum machine. Didier was from the city of Colmar which, for reference’s sake, is about 5 hours Southeast of Paris and somewhat near the Swiss border (French and Swiss readers in the know will probably chide me for my simple Google Map geography). From what I understand, Mr. Ruyer was a race car driver(?!) of sorts who got into punk after hearing bands like the Dead Kennedys, and the 7" was then recorded a few months later. Judging from his photo of him on the front of the sleeve, he was trying hard to get "the punk look"- check out the spiky Mohawk, leather jacket and- how punk is this- the pet mouse on his right shoulder. The mouse makes me picture some Mohican character straight out of an early 80’s punxploitation movie where the main punk character squats under a dank, dirty bridge with only mice and other vermin as his friends. But I digress...
This 7" was the only Mopo Mogo record, but Didier Ruyer/Mopo Mogo appeared pseudonymously as "Le Cure De La Lune" ("The Father of The Moon") and contributed one song to an obscure punk and minimal synth compilation LP entitled "Colmar Futur" that was also released on the Studio label (label #16-024) in 1983. Supposedly 1,000 copies were pressed- does anyone have this LP? Furthermore, would you want to share some rips of it? Apparently the comp has 4 different bands on it.
Here is a picture of the front cover of the "Colmar Futur" comp LP
Both sides of this 7" are winners in my book and stand out against yer average "punk-by-numbers" classic. And of course because Didier sings in French- for me, French language punk just sounds so fucking cool. I mean, a French singer could be babbling about tying his shoes or emptying the trash but if it’s sung in French it just sounds totally smooth and flowing. The late, great Tim Yohannon of MRR once said many years ago that French is the language of punk, and I definitely second that. Like I mentioned before, the B-side "Fuck Off" is the real winner for me and kind of drips attitude with its slower approach. It’s very catchy, and you may find yourself humming the song and chanting the chorus in a sing along manner. But with a song title like "Fuck Off" it better have some attitude, ya know. If you’ve never heard this tune before, be patient because there’s a long, slow intro before it kicks into high gear around the :40 second mark. The A-side has a faster pace and, like the B-side, has some great wailing guitar noise but on this one the drum machine is almost at a fast pace. Weird, in a great way. I can’t think of another song with a speedy HC pace played on a drum machine.
"Pouvoir", was on the somewhat well-known comp LP from the 90's entitled "Chaos en France Volume 2". But as far as I know, "Fuck Off" has not been comped anywhere although IMHO it’s the better of two great tracks.
Pouvoir.mp3
Fuck Off.mp3
ENDNOTES
Now, there is some debate over how many copies of this 7" were actually pressed. Just first know that it's fucking rare and has gone for $300 or more on eBay. Some people say that 1,000 were pressed but given its high price tag that seems unlikely, unless there was some sort of scenario where most of the 7"s ended up in a trash can, were tossed in a field in the French countryside, or ended up lining bird cages or something. One old auction listing I found says that only 200 were pressed, and I tend to believe that estimate more given the record’s high price tag. I do not have a vinyl copy, just these rips. For years I struggled with a hiss-filled taped copy which was hard to clean up digitally and which I hesitated to post- thankfully the above mp3's I recently acquired have clean, clear sound (I think they were ripped from a vinyl copy).
Didier has been playing guitar in a Colmar-based group called Mai-ak Affair that has apparently been around since 1997. It's pretty mellow stuff that is not my cup of tea, though. Which of course means that no one else is allowed to listen to it.
mp3's Wanted
Hey Taxi "I Hate Dogs" (CA, 1980)
Infections "I'm Not Funny" (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1980- not the late 90's Rip Off band)
Thanks!
LJUD FRAN FRIBERGA
V/A "LJUD FRAN FRIBERGA" LP (BRODERNA SURF- SWEDEN, 1978)
In any event, in the
1999 issue of the great Ugly Things ‘zine, the one and only Mr. Johan "KBD 1-4"
Kugelberg made a very brief mention of the Ljud fran friberga comp that got my
nose open. Six months later, P.R. taped me a copy and finally 6 years later in
January 2006 I happened upon someone online was selling a copy (not through eBay) and I
couldn’t pass it up ‘cuz I don’t think copies turn up that often. The one I bought (and, er, not for $5 or
something) also came with an insert booklet which I didn’t know that it
did. The pocket sleeve is printed on
thin paper and is somewhat fragile so good luck finding a NM copy of this 31
year old record, Chachi.
And check out the
photos of the bands on the front- no one looks like they’re over 18! The kid on the far right looks like he’s 14
or somethin. So I guess this LP can be
considered true "Swe teen punk" (a popular catch phrase sometimes). The production has a very cool, garage-y
feel, and much of the playing is crude, raw, unpolished bashing which makes it
a winner in my book. Not to say there
aren't any clunkers- for my ears, the two Santa Luzia with prominent keyboards
are rather boring. But most tracks are so great, especially ones like "The King
and The Queen", "They Are Gone" and "Mrs. Blue". Dig that growling guitar noise on “Mrs. Blue”
that, dare I say, slightly reminds me of Nervous Breakdown-era Black Flag. The High Voltage track “I’m A Fool” was on
KBD #50 back in 2003 but, while good, I don't think it's the best track. But, as well as know, taste is a very
personal thing. I don't think any of
these bands released their own records or appeared anywhere else- if you know something
to the contrary (or have the discs!) please post some comments.
SIDE 1
Chilly Chimes- The
King and The Queen
Fifth Avenue- Night
Overdoze- They Are
Gone
High Voltage- I’m A
Fool
Superstition- Mrs.
Blue
Santa Luzia- Saj,
alskar du maj
SIDE 2
Santa Luzia- Tysta
gatan
Superstition- Real
Cardiac
High Voltage- I Saw
Her
Overdoze- Run
Through The Desert
Chilly Chimes- Katti
har inaa kamrater
Check out a .rar file of the entire LP here
Breakouts
BREAKOUTS "JACKED UP URBAN MODIFIED" CD (SAN FRANCISCO, 1996)
I don’t have an original copy of this CD but
it was dubbed for me by J.T. in '96 back in my tape trading days and was
originally identified as an unreleased CD.
For all of these years I thought it was never was officially released
UNTIL I began putting this post together and found out that it was indeed
released, albeit in a limited manner and apparently without any distribution. I also found out the official name of it,
because for all of these years I have just been calling it "Unreleased
Breakouts CD". Did have the track listing for all these years, tho.
If anyone knows of
his whereabouts (or if you are reading this yourself Rudy Fontaine), post some
comments. Some comments on another blog talk about how mighty the Breakouts were live in early 80’s, and other blog commenter mentioned that he has live tapes from that era full of unreleased tracks- if this is you, share the
wealth eh.
Lux Interior R.I.P.
I found out a few things from reading a few online obituaries- first, the fact that Lux and Ivy were married for 37 years. I knew they were a couple for more than 30 years but, wow, they've been married as long as I've been alive. Now I knew he was born in Ohio (lovely Stow to be exact, about 40 miles Southeast of Cleveland and a little North of Akron), but I did not know that he was born on October 21, 1948 which made him 62 years old. I also did not know that he had a pre-existing heart condition prior to his death. So while you and I complain about being tired after surfing the internet or flipping through dollar bins at record stores, Lux had more legitimate health complaints AND he still found time to writhe around on stage like a madman for years and years.
First Ron Asheton, then Lux- what icon is next to die in 2009? Shit, we're only 5 weeks into the new year. And I am still very bummed that Rudy Ray Moore another legendary Ohioan (via Fort Smith, Arkansas) died last October.
I think I am going to make a contribution to Glendale Hospital in memory of Lux, and I think you all should too.
Ron Asheton of Stooges, RIP
I also found out through the power of the information superhighway that this Saturday the 17th there will be a tribute held at The Music Hall Center For The Performing Arts located at 350 Madison Street in Detroit- The Detroit Free Press has more info and an article here. Me, the Mrs. and the kids usually go to Detroit to see family King Day weekend but cannot this year... damn.
While I was not some kind of Stooges fanatic, I was a big fan of most of their classic ditties. I will never forget being floored the first time I heard Mr. Asheton's amazing guitar noise on "I Wanna Be Your Dog" many years back as a young and impressionable teenager. That was the first Stooges song I heard, followed by the equally amazing "No Fun", then "T.V. Eye" and the list goes on.
Opus
Ah, here is one of the "holy grails" of punk rekkids- this mega rarity supposedly only had about 200 copies pressed. But out of that small number, not many survived- the story goes that bassist A.J. Terry had most copies of the small pressing, but when he and his friends were kicked out of the Silverlake, CA house in which they were residing most copies Mr. Terry had were thrown away by the people who promptly gave them the boot. And the rest is history for fans of the obscure micro pressings. About four years ago uber punk detective #1 Ryan Richardson cracked the case, the details of which are on the Opus page of his great Break My Face site so I am not going to repeat them all here.
From hearing some differing opinions over the years about
this record, there seems to be a line drawn in the sand about it. Seems that the people that hate it and/or
don’t think it’s that great of a record think those who hype it up, love it and
cream their jeans over it do so only because it’s so painfully rare and NOT
because the music is that great. Or they
think people grow to like the record and give it a break only because of its
rarity. The detractors say that had the
Opus 7" been a common punk disc with thousands of copies floating around
(imagine that!), it wouldn’t be such a revered classic.
OK, on to my sidebars (I love these although you may not). According to a friend of the band, the first copies of the 7" came with the yellow sleeve and the white sleeve came after. Which, due to its extreme rarity, translates to mean that 1 or 2 surviving copies have the yellow sleeve while the other 10 or so known copies have the white one. Here is the yellow sleeve- I don’t want to call it a "variation" because it's got the same pictures and layout as the white sleeve and is just a different color of paper really.
I thought the Discwasher was doing a good of a job as it
could, as certain records still had noticeable noise on them and I just chalked
it up to the nature of vinyl, or to the fact that maybe my Dischwasher kit was
worn out. But then someone tipped me off
to the joys of real nerdy record cleaning when they recommended Nitty Gritty’s
budget-minded KAB EV-1 kit.
Now of course I had heard of these expensive audiophile cleaners for a while but when I saw the price tags for some hovering around $500 (and even as much as a fucking grand!) I said forget it for years. The KAB EV-1 is on the low end of cost at around $150 but it does a bang up job of cleaning most records. It looks a bit odd hooking up your vacuum cleaner to the EV-1 but it vacs most of that grimy shit away. But of course some records are too far gone with too many scratches or to get them sounding Near Mint again. So in those cases, make sure you’re vague and say it's a "vintage pressing in pretty good condition" as you try to sell it on eBay. The future owner will love you for it.
Defnics- Unreleased Live Tracks From 1981
The Defnics’ only release back in the day was the “51%/Hello From Berlin” 7” back in 1981 on Terminal Records which was the label run by Mike Hudson of the almighty Pagans (Terminal Tower = Cleveland landmark- get it?). More on that 7” later... The Defnics’ singer and rhythm gee-tarist was Bobby Conn (nee Bill DeGidio) who was in the almighty late 70’s Pagans for a brief time and actually sang on the immortal “Six and Change” before Mike Hudson took over as lead warbler. Er, Messrs Hudson and Conn had some falling out years later because, according to Mike Hudson’s liner notes for Thermionic’s 1998 reissue of Terminal’s 1982’s GREAT “Cleveland Confidential” comp LP, he said Bobby Conn turned into a “white power Nazi dude” who scared Hudson’s wife and son. Fuck. The lead guitarist for the Defnics was Bob Sablack who would go on to several other good Cleveland bands back in the 80’s like the Pink Holes, the Plague and others.
When I discovered the Defnics way back when, I had found yet another hometown band to be proud of (although I was hearing them for the first time years after their 1982 breakup). Even though they were from the East Side of Cleveland, The Defnics still rocked in my book (ha ha). Let me explain my lighthearted jab-- I grew up on the West Side of Cleveland and for years there’s been this “East Side vs. West Side” rivalry of sorts. Chicago has the North Side vs. South Side thing (and the West Side vs. South Side thing too) for example- I guess most major U.S. cities have similar pseudo-jingoistic rivalries going on. Cleveland’s East vs. West rivalry has lots of different factors layered in it, but at least when I was growing up in Cleveland it boiled down to West Siders seeing themselves as more salt of the earth, down home, common folks while East Siders were seen as snootier, wealthier and more elitist. Or maybe I should sum it up like this- West Siders worked in the factories owned by the East Siders. Both the East and West sides of Cleveland have wealthy AND normal, working-to-middle class suburbs which kind of negates the perception each side has of each other but enough on that for now.
Anyway, the address for the Defnics on the back of my vinyl copy of their 7” is in Eastlake, a "normal" East Side suburb (in terms of median income) about 20 miles Northeast of downtown Cleveland that is very close to Lake Erie. Due to its close proximity to the lake, Eastlake is near the infamous “snowbelt” area of Cleveland where they get fucking dumped on in the wintertime with wonderful lake effect snow. ANY part of Cleveland gets a lot of the white stuff every winter, but the snowbelt is like the usual heavy snowfall x 10. Fun.
OK- back to the issue at hand, the Defnics. A year after I first heard their 7” I then heard their great track on the “Cleveland Confidential” comp LP, the very tense and haunting slow grinder, “Suicide Trip”. Cool! The Defnics were 3 for 3 in my book so far. These were the only three songs that the Defnics committed to vinyl back in the early 80’s, but I really wanted to hear more. There had to be some unreleased live or studio stuff, I thought.
And it turns out that there was! A short two years later in late 1996, back in the height of my tape trading days, someone from Cleveland taped me some unreleased live stuff by the Defnics (c’mon, where else would stuff like that pop up on a tape trader list?!). It was great- lots of LOUD thick guitars, nice singing by Mr. Conn, very catchy and hummable mid-tempo ditties that were in a similar vein as “51%”. As with many of my live tapes, this one came with no song titles but someone that I recorded it for around 2000 actually wrote to the band via the great ClePunk.com site and acquired all of the song titles (thanks P.R.).
Listening to the unreleased stuff over the years, it made me sad to think such great stuff never saw the light of day on an official rerelease. I thought that perhaps these great tunes would linger in the netherworld of tape trading forever so why not put it on my blog. Well, while I was halfway done with this post I did a random Google search on the Defnics and actually found out that the Smog Veil label is actually going to put out a Defnics reissue, er, tomorrow (January 6th) entitled “Black Hole Anthology 1980-1982”. Um- the timing of my posting and this reissue is coincidental, as I was planning on doing this post for some time but kids, family life and the holidays interfered. [Well, the holidays interfered- I love my wife and kids so I should choose to instead say “postponed” in reference to them, eh]
From listening to the quick 30 second audio samples on Amazon, it looks like this Smog Veil reissue not only has the 7” and their Cleveland Confidential comp track but also unreleased live AND studio stuff from the early 80’s. Although I have never met him, I am kind of acquainted with the cool guy Frank Mauceri who runs Smog Veil and I don’t want to steal his thunder so I have slightly revised the tracks I posted below so as not to lapover with his label’s official reissue. One of the tracks, “Governor’s Daughter”, that I was going to post sounds identical to the version that was also included on Smog Veil’s 2001 “Pies and Ears” comp of lots of Cleveland bands so that song is not here. I also see that the upcoming Defnics reissue also has a different version of the track "My Girl" that I was going to post below, so I left that one off too so there is no lapover again although the versions of it differ. I’d love to know why the ones I posted below were not included on the upcoming Smog Veil reissue ‘cuz they are great- ESPECIALLY the lead off track, “1981”, and are NOT substandard filler by any stretch as is the case with too many “discovered” live tapes I have heard over the years by other KBD-type bands. Perhaps the song title “Daddy’s Little Homo” was seen as a bit too politically incorrect for 2009 (er, plus the sound quality is a little too rough also). Social Distortion gave us “Mommy’s Little Monster” and the Defnics gave us "Daddy's Little Homo", so I guess they can be considered companion tracks of sorts- har har har...
Most of these tracks were recorded at the famous J.B.’s Down Under in Kent, Ohio which is about 40 miles South of the Defnics’ home base of Eastlake (and 10 miles or so Northeast of Akron a.k.a. Rubber City, also home to some cool bands in the late 70’s and early 80’s). Kent, Ohio is of course home to Kent State University where VietNam war protestors were shot dead at in 1970. Another embarrassing bit of Ohio trivia (there’s a lot of it, my friends- don’t get me started or this blog posting will go on forever). Cleveland had a famous long-time venue called Peabody’s Down Under that I saw some great shows at in the late 80’s but totally different place than J.B.’s in Kent.
LIVE @ J.B.’s DOWN UNDER, KENT, OHIO, 1981
1981.mp3
Filing Out.mp3
(Banter With Crowd Hecklers).mp3
Governor's Daughter
Wild Dreams.mp3
My Girl
Mongo Boy.mp3
Bringing Me Down.mp3
51%.mp3
LIVE IN OHIO, 1981 (LOCALE UNKNOWN)
Daddys Little Homo.mp3
ENDNOTES
From reading the VERY informative Defnics page on ClePunk.com with lots of info from lead guitarist Bob Sablack, the band apparently had some problems at Kent, Ohio shows with the local skinheads- perhaps this who was heckling the band during these live songs and taunting them to play faster. Or, if not skinheads, then maybe some local drunk redneck wandered into J.B.’s that night (always a fun person to have at shows) and gave the band some shit (?).
Stamps collectors- get out your magnifying glasses and follow along with me as I dissect the fragile sleeve for the Defnics 7”. First off, my copy- like all others- is a plain white inner sleeve that has square, mustard yellow-colored paperstock pasted on both sides. I absolutely LOVE homemade sleeves on punk records- it’s very charming, DIY and part of what makes punk so, er, punk for me. I just picture the band sitting in some kitchen gluing together all 1,000(!) sleeves, in between swigging on some beer, for a very long period of time. I mean, it seemed like a long, two-part process- first they had to glue together the sleeves (and then wait for them to dry) before they slid the actual vinyl into each and every sleeve or else the glue might have permeated and wrecked the vinyl. What a labor of love.
Damn, they must have used some strong glue on the sleeve because the record is almost 30 years old and the paperstock on my copy show no signs of loosening or peeling off. From the Defnics page on ClePunk.com, I found out that the cover photo of the band playing live was taken at a place called The Flipside on Green Road (in Eastlake?). The back of the 7” shows the band standing between two garages in someone’s backyard- wonder where this photo was taken. Speaking of the back of the sleeve, this is where some variations come in when I do a little research. My copy has the band's contact address in Eastlake handwritten in blank pen in the lower left-hand corner (see picture of my copy above)- also handwritten is "Write!" just below the address. But I seen other copies- like this one on Brian Sayle’s great punk rock sleeve archive site- which have NO address on the back of the sleeve- hmmm? Maybe some old band member will post a comment here and clear up this important global dilemma. How many copies had the handwritten addresses out of the 1,000 pressed? Inquiring minds want to know. Forgot the problems with the economy or the war in Iraq- this sleeve issue demands our utmost attention and focus in the new year.
Some sleeveless copies of the Defnics 7” turned up in the mid 90’s at this bad record shop in Cleveland with a wanker of an owner who hovered over you and who kept his short stack of Defnics 7” under the counter. I forget how much he sold them for, or to what “elite” customers, but I tried to obtain a copy on a trip to Cleveland in 1995 and was totally denied in a somewhat condescending manner by that tosser. Goddammit, I cannot remember the name of that place for the life of me but I remember he had a small section of punk vinyl which was ridiculously overpriced for dog-eared copies of some common U.K. 7”s. Doh.
I keep plugging the ClePunk site, but they have a GREAT stream (read: not for download) of two live Defnics songs here- one of unknown title and “51%”. These tracks seem to have come from a different show than the one I am posting but is still circa 1981 or 1982 and not from the Defnics’ early 2000’s reunion.
One more thing if you’re still reading- there is a documentary that has had some East and West Coast screenings called “Cleveland’s Screaming” that talks about the early-to-mid 80’s Cleveland and Kent, Ohio scenes (HC mostly). I have not seen it yet but there are several trailers on YouTube, and very soon Parts Unknown Records is supposed to be selling copies. There was a GREAT interview with the guy who did the film in the January 2009 issue of good old Maximum Rock n’ Roll. It was a fantastic issue in general, as the theme was “Punks and Film” and aside from interviews with contemporary filmmakers, went all the way back to punxploitation films of the late 70’s and early 80’s. But, sorry, no interview with our friend, the beloved Steven Blush who did “American Hardcore”. Har har.
Ground Zero
How many damn bands named themselves Ground Zero in the late 70's and early 80's? I can think of three off the top of my head- the ones from Boston who had a few cool songs (see Killed By Death #12); another one from Minneapolis who released an LP (and maybe other stuff?) in the mid 80's; and then this obscure bunch from fucking Pittsburgh.
This is a cool, catchy EP that is all over the place- hooky punk, HC and and even an "artsier", slower track in the last song, "You Talk". The guitar on "Controversy" is just so darn happpy sounding that you cannot think any bad thoughts (like you might whenst listening to evil KBD stuff like Vicious Visions "I Beat You" or Bobby Soxx "Scavenger of Death"). It was 1982 and HC ruled the nation, so the third track "Living In Tandem" is their nod to the prevailing trend at the time. But me thinks they were probably more comfortable playing non-HC "traditional" punk like "Controversy". The 2nd track, "T.V. Land" is crappy wanna-be reggae dreck sandwiched in between two great tracks, and I was not going to include it. But for the sake of being a "completist" and posting the whole EP, I reluctantly put it down below. I try not to include crap tracks in my postings so hopefully this will not sully my reputation. Well, at least they got it right on 3 out of 4 tracks.
Controversy.mp3
TV Land.mp3
Living In Tandem.mp3
You Talk.mp3
A couple of side notes (as usual)- first, listening to this record made me realize that I split stuff into "A List" and "B List" records. This Ground Zero EP would be on the B Team. I mean, it's mostly good but not a "must have" jaw dropper of an A-Lister like The Mad's "I Hate Music" or The Weirdos' "Solitary Confinement". Far from it, but good for a listen once and a while. Or a welcome surprise a track like "Controversy" pops up on a shuffle on my trusty iPod. Perhaps this record is remembered more in collector scum's minds because it is rather rare and obscure.
Which brings me to my next sidebar. This record is definitely on my list of "Records I Kinda Wish I Hadn't Traded Away" since copies of it do not pop up that much. I've had a Favorite Search on eBay for this record for some time, and zilch has popped up. I first got interested in finding this EP when it was listed on Tim Yo's famous Want List from MRR (from like the March 1989 issue). I used to study that list because it had hundreds and hundreds of records I had never heard of before, including this EP. So one day in 1996 I was happy to stumble upon a copy for like $2 at a local record store during my weekly hunts. If I remember right, it had a cool, kinda fragile silkscreened sleeve (the above image is borrowed) and an insert [I really am impartial to silkscreened sleeves in my old age]. But then in the late 90's I thought, "Eh, it's all about the music- do I really need an actual copy of this record? I can just record it onto cassette and enjoy the tunes without having to necessarily put needle to wax" So in a big deal, 20-record trading deal with someone this EP went to a new home on the East Coast (who knows where it's traveled since then). Oh well, I know we are all supposed to not have regrets and all that, blah, blah, blah but I KINDA regret getting rid of this EP. But it's not on the list of records I TRULY regret trading away. Man, THAT would be an interesting posting but perhaps too emotional for me to do...
NEW POSTS COMING SOON!
Until that time, dig on the below video of The Screamers circa 1978. I am not on YouTube a lot, but this is one of the coolest things I've found on there. Too bad so many other bands with synthesizers never sounded as evil and punk as The Screamers...
Inclusions
Here is a band about which I know absolutely nothing, other than the fact that they were from Minneapolis (damn, what a great scene they had in the late 70's and early 80's!)... and they made only one record, this nice angular DIY-ish 7" which apparently was issued without a picture sleeve. So if you've come lookin' for a raw and snotty posting then you will probably want to skip this one.
The U.K. was like the DIY headquarters in the late 70's and early 80's but there were a number of great like-minded records from the U.S. during that same time period (more postings of them will follow in the future). With this track from The Inclusions, you get a great stripped-down, minimally-produced sound that includes- gasp!- an acoustic guitar. How unpunk is that?! I usually despise acoustic guitars, but here it totally works for some reason. Maybe it's the subtlety of it. The singer also has a unique, sing-songy "up and down" style that I dig but which will probably annoy others. I also like the guitar noise (of the electric type) that kicks in towards the end, nice way to end it.
The great Collector Scum.com site dated this 7" from 1980, but I say 1981 since it has all these Ronald Reagan references and he did not become President and start destroying the U.S. until January 20, 1981. Unless of course The Inclusions were closely following the 1980 presidential race and recorded it in late 1980 sometime after the November election. Which is kind of unlikely since nearly all (all?) Reagan references do not start appearing in punk records until 1981 (now THERE's an idea for a future posting!). Very early in the year too, I may add, which shows how much he pissed people off from the get go. But that's another issue in itself...
If you know anything about The Inclusions (or have a spare copy or two you want to donate to me) please post some comments. Um, since my other postings are short novels I feel kind of obligated to write more but I guess I will cut it short. Oh yeah- the B-side, "Russian Youth", is not quite up to par as the A-side so I didn't post it [11.20.2008 POSTSCRIPT: due to a request, I have stopped being stingy and have now posted the other side]. Thanks to S.B. (via J.R.) for burning this for me a number of years back.
Unamerican Activity.mp3
Russian Youth.mp3
Back From The Grave
Before I heard the rather amazing Back From The Grave comps, my understanding of rock n’ roll from the 1960’s was very limited. I thought rock in the 60’s comprised of mainly two periods: syrup-y safe Beatles and British Invasion-type stuff in the mid 60’s and then wanky psychedelic hippie shit between 1967 and 1969. And I thought that was about it. I liked the cool guitar noise on The Stones’ "Satisfaction", I dug the rawness of the Kinks’ "You Really Got Me" and I thought Hendrix could noodle the guitar pretty well (although he meandered on and on sometimes). And I had always liked Question Mark and The Mysterians’ "96 Tears". But I thought that was the extent of raw, somewhat in-your-face, good 60’s music.
I thought raw and desperate did not happen in rock until the 1977 punk explosion. I had no idea that hundreds, if not thousands, of obscure-o garage bands released total stompers back in the dark ages of the mid-60’s. [Yes, you guessed it- my next sentence here is "…But that all changed when I heard Back From The Grave comps"]. Man, there were some pissed off, scorned teens recording some splendid fuckedness back in 1966! By "splendid fuckedness" (a term coined I think by Mr. Richardson to describe the 70’s KBD sound) I mean raw guitars, desperate vocals, pounding drums and- ah!- crummy production. Basically a general disregard for "playing it safe" and being commercially viable. ALTHOUGH- and this makes Back From The Grave ditties even MORE charming- some of these musical trainwrecks were good ol "happy accidents" and me thinks not an intentional shunning of commercial potential. Like the band intended to make "a hit" and ape The Stones or some other popular group but instead the song committed to vinyl came out sounding just fucked and a record that no one would dare buy or, if they did, it was promptly thrown into the trash. (Which of course explains in some cases why some of these 60’s punk discs are so painfully rare. But I digress...). I mean, Back From The Grave is basically a collection of love songs. Yeah, some of the scorchers are "woman-you-did-me-wrong" ditties but look at some of the others with their sappy "I love you!" lyrics.
[To get on a slight tangent (my specialty), I am always fascinated by "happy accidents", whether they involves 60’s punk, 70’s punk, UK DIY or whatever. Regarding some of these happy accidents on a Back From The Grave comp, here’s how I picture it going down back in 1966 with some of these bands. Band plays lots of teen dances and has a growing following. Band attracts interest of record label, probably a shady one. Band is excited and goes to said label’s run-down basement "studio" that had bad mics, a bad mixing board and cheap equipment to record their single. Band feels happy after the recording session and feels like they will have a can't miss "hit" on their hands and be the next big thing. Band listens to recording session and can’t believe how fucked the production sounds and how distorted their guitars came out. Label releases raw single anyway. Radio stations and the general public totally ignore band’s single. Most copies are thrown into the trash and band is forgotten. Which is where a 60’s addict like Tim Warren finds them nearly 20 years later and puts them on his Back From The Grave comps.]
What is really funny to me is how some of the bands with the corniest hairdos or straight-laced appearances (suits and ties, anyone?) produced some of the rawest memorable ditties of all on these comps.
Sad to say, I did not hear my a Back From The Grave LP until 1996. I clearly remember becoming interested in hearing them after reading a great long feature on bootlegs in an issue of MRR from the Summer of ’91. In that article, they interviewed Mr. Kugelberg (before everyone knew he was the culprit) about releasing KBD Volumes 1-4. He said that his inspiration came from the (I quote) "fuck-all amazing Back From The Grave series". I thought, jeez, if those 60’s comps inspired him to do his great KBD volumes then they’re probably worth checking out. But that still didn’t happen for another 5 years as I was neck-deep in obsessing over late 70’s/early 80’s Killed By Death-type stuff.
All eight Back From The Grave volumes have great stuff on em. But that’s not to say all songs on all volumes are top-notch. There are some clunkers and out of place songs- but that’s ANY comp, from the 60’s or 70’s or whatever time period. I am not a big fan of tambourines and especially not harmonicas, and there are enough mediocre songs with those flavors spread across the eight volumes to make me sigh and press the "Next" button on my iPod (the modern day equivalent of picking up the record needle and going to the next song, I suppose). But taken as a whole, Back From The Grave is an amazing series filled with a lot of wild stuff that was thankfully documented and preserved by the fanatical Tim Warren. And the "revenge" artwork on all eight volumes totally rules and is hilarious.
Hopefully people bored with bad music in 20 or 30 more years will stumble upon Back To The Graves and be awestruck too. When they’re all grown in 20 years, hopefully my two sons will ask me "Hey Dad, have you ever heard those Back From The Graves? Wow, great stuff!" But hopefully they won’t ask me until I first get a chance to put in my hearing aids so I can hear properly hear them, har har…
A lot of great songs stick out in my head as being the best cuts, but I have tried to narrow it down to a Top 10, Next 10 and Honorable Mentions. What are yours?
MY TOP 10 (ALPHA ORDER ONLY)
1. Groop- Alright.mp3 (Volume 8)
One of the most high energy BFTG songs, especially on what sounds like bongo drums. For me, the drumming on this tune is the 60’s equivalent of The Maids’ "Back To Bataan" from more than a decade later.
2. Jerry and The Others- Dont Cry To Me.mp3 (Volume 3)
Amazing pounding and thundering drums- damn! One of the best drum solos ever, as funny as that may sound since drum solos usually involve groups like Rush.
3. Jesters of Newport- Stormy.mp3 (Volume 5)
Very tense and organ-driven. Good guitar solo too. Second best use of an organ ever, right next to "96 Tears".
4. Keggs- To Find Out.mp3 (Volume 5)
Totally primitive and out of tune slop- a genre-defining song, I think. If there was ever to be a dictionary entry for Back From The Grave, it should say "See Keggs,The". This song MUST have been a "happy accident"- there is no way the band intended for it to sound this primitive when they went into the studio that morning with a hangover to record this classic.
5. Outsiders- Summertime Blues.mp3 (Volume 2)
This stomper of a cover song, with its amazingly LOUD and raw guitar snarl, completely blows away the wimpy original.
6. Puddin Heads- Now You Say Were Through.mp3 (Volume 7)
The production on this raw and fast tune totally throws the great pounding drumming and loud guitar snarl right in the front of the mix. Listen closely and you’ll hear a juice harp in the background- how eccentric and odd!
7. Reasons Why- All I Really Need Is Love.mp3 (Volume 2)
Some pretty sappy lyrics but some raw, fast manic guitar playing makes you forget about that. Also cool is that this came out not in the usual Back From The Grave year of 1966 but rather 1967 when hippie shit and wanky psychedelic music was everywhere and rock n' roll like this had mostly disappeared.
8. Sir Winston and The Commons- Were Gonna Love.mp3 (Volume 3)
Totally mean and nasty guitar crunch and punchy drumming makes for a jaw-dropping combination. No other Back From The Grave song has guitar noise that sounds quite like this, me thinks.
9. Snails- Snails Love Theme.mp3 (Volume 7)
A slow, mean grinder that is as primitive as The Keggs’ “To Find Out”. Probably the biggest and best musical trainwreck on Back From The Grave. Just amazing. The first guitar of many, er, "solos" at the :45 second mark makes me cringe and grit my teeth- beautiful! These guys (and their gal pals) had a big-ass party in the studio with hilarious results. I laugh every time sometime in the background drunkenly yells "Raaandy, baaaaby!" near the beginning. For some reason, the singer sounds to me like he’s preaching so I picture him singing behind a pulpit with dark shades on while the band plays behind him in some hot, run-down church while their gal pals and other friends get wasted in the pews and throw bottles and hamburger wrappers all over the place.
10. Vestells- Wont You Tell Me.mp3 (Volume 5)
A more melodic, "feel good" track and not really raw and snarling like a lot of Back From The Grave songs, but extremely catchy and hummable.
MY NEXT 10 (ALPHA ONLY)
Botumles Pit- 13 Stories High (Volume 4)
Fugitives- You Can't Blame That On Me (Volume 3)
Golden Catalinas- Varsity Club Song (Volume 6)
Half-Pint & The Fifths- Orphan Boy (Volume 7)
Illusions- City of People (Volume 5)
Intruders- Ain't Coming Back (Volume 3)
Murphy and The Mob- Born Loser (Volume 3)
Outspoken Blues- Not Right Now (Volume 8)
Sloths- Makin' Love (Volume 4)
Worlocks- I Love You (Volume 7)
HONORABLE MENTIONS (ALPHA ONLY, AGAIN)
Benders- Can't Tame Me (Volume 8)
Bunker Hill- The Girl Can't Dance (Volume 4)
Canadian Rogues- Keep In Touch (Volume 2)
Dave Myers & The Disciples- C'Mon Love (Volume 8)
Elite U.F.O.- Now Who's Good Enough (Volume 8)
Few- Escape (Volume 5)
Gentrys- Wild (Volume 7)
Little Willie and The Adolescents- Get Out of My Life (Volume 3)
Moguls- Another Day (Volume 7)
Nightriders- With Friends Like You, Who Needs Friends (Volume 8)
Spiders- Don't Blow Your Mind (Volume 7)
Tombstones- I Want You (Volume 7)
Travel Agency- Jailbait (Volume 7)
Triumphs- Surfside Date (Volume 2)
My Top 250 Songs
[I know, I haven’t
posted anything to the site in more than 3 months which is like 10 years in
“blog time”. So I’m sure people have
probably either given up on me and stopped checking the site to see what’s
new. Maybe some folks got mad and even
deleted me from their internet favorites, har har.
Alan Milman Sect-
Stitches In My Head (NYC, 1977)
Bad Brains- Big
Takeover (NYC, 1981)
Bad Brains- Pay To
Cum (7” version) (D.C., 1980)
Black Flag- Damaged
II (with Dez only, from 'Everything Went Black') (CA, 1980)
Bobby Soxx-
Scavenger of Death (TX, 1980)
Buzzcocks- What Do
I Get? (
Cheifs- Blues (CA,
1980)
Crime- Hot Wire My
Heart (SF, 1976)
Dead Kennedys-
Holiday In
Detention- Dead
Rock n' Rollers (NJ, 1983)
Dicks- Rich Daddy
(TX, 1983)
Eat- Communist
Radio (FL, 1979)
Electric Eels-
Agitated (
Endtables- Process
of Elimination (KY, 1979)
Filth- Don't Hide
Your Hate (
Flesheaters- The
Word Goes Flesh (CA, 1979)
Frantix- My Dad's A
Fuckin' Alcoholic (
Gasoline- Killerman
(
Germs- No God (CA,
1978)
KAOS- Alcoholiday
(CA, 1980)
Kriminella
Gitarrer- Vardad Klädsel (
Mad- I Hate Music
(NYC, 1978)
Mad Virgins- Fuck
& Suck (
Maids- Back To
Mentally Ill-
Gacy's Place (IL, 1979)
Middle Class- Out
of Vogue (CA, 1978)
Nasal Boys- Hot
Love (
Normals- Almost
Ready (N'Leans, 1978)
Pagans- Dead End
Pagans- What's This
Shit Called Love (
Public Disturbance-
S&M (NJ, 1983)
Razar- Stamp Out
Disco (
Really Red- Modern
Needs (TX, 1980)
Rude Kids- Absolute
Ruler (
Sonics- The Witch
(LP version) (
Iggy and The Stooges-
Search and Destroy (
Tapeworm- Break My
Face (CT, 1978)
Teengenerate- This
Is Rock n' Roll (
Weirdos- Solitary
Confinement (CA, 1978)
Wipers- Over The
Edge (
THE REST OF THE
250 (ALSO IN ALPHA ORDER ONLY)
A Tribe Called Quest- Award Tour (NYC, 1993)
Absentees- Tryin' To Mess With Me (CA, 1981)
Action- T.V.'s on The Blink (
Adolescents- Kids of The Black Hole (CA, 1981)
A-Frames- Nobot (
Agent Orange- Bloodstains (I prefer the 'Rodney On ROQ
v.1' version) (CA, 1980)
Alleycats- Nothing Means Nothing Anymore (CA, 1978)
Angry Samoans- Lights Out (CA, 1982)
Attentat- Omyndiga (
Bad Brains- Don't Need It (NYC, 1981)
Bad Posture- Time For Smack (SF, 1983)
Big Boys- Which Way to Go (TX, 1984)
Black Flag- Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie (CA, 1978)
Black Flag- Nervous Breakdown (CA, 1978)
Black Flag- Rise Above (CA, 1981)
Black Market Baby- Potential Suicide (D.C., 1981)
Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath (
Black Sabbath- Electric Funeral (
Black Sabbath- The Wizard (
Black Sheep- Flavor of The Month (NYC, 1992)
Bollocks- Another City (MD, 1981)
BPeople- Can Can't (CA, 1981)
Brats- Magazine (
BVD- Duty (
Cardiac Kidz- Get Out (CA, 1979)
CH3- I'll Take My Chances (CA, 1983)
CH3- Manzanar (12”EP version) (CA, 1981)
Circle Jerks- World Up My Ass (CA, 1980)
Clash- Police and Thieves (
Consumers- Teen Love Song (AZ, 1979)
Controllers- (The Original) Neutron Bomb (CA, 1977)
Controllers- Jezebel (CA, 1979)
Cramps- New Kind of Kick (NYC, 1980?)
Creation- Making Time (
Crime- Frustration (SF, 1977)
Crowd- Modern Machine (CA, 1979)
Cult
Curtis Mayfield- Pusher Man (
D.D.T.- I'm Walking Down The Psychopath (GA, 1983)
D.O.A.- Fuck You (
D.O.A.- I Don't Give A Shit (
D.O.A.- The Prisoner ('Let Them Eat Jellybeans' version)
(
D.R.I.- Sad To Be (TX, 1983)
Da Slyme- Kickin Till I Die (
Damned- Neat Neat Neat (TX, 1968)
Dave Brubeck- Take Five (
Dead Boys- Sonic Reducer (I prefer the rougher 'Younger,
Louder & Snottier' version) (
Dead Kennedys- California Uber Alles (LP version) (SF,
1980)
Dead Kennedys- Kill The Poor (SF, 1980)
Dead Kennedys- Moon Over Marin (SF, 1982)
Dead Kennedys- Police Truck (SF, 1980)
Defnics- 51% (
Desperate Bicycles- The Medium Was Tedium (
Devo- Whip It (CA, 1980)
Dicks- Hate the Police (TX, 1980)
Digable Planets- Where I'm From (Aural G. Remix) (NYC,
1993)
Dils- Class War (CA, 1977)
Dils- Mr. Big (CA, 1977)
Dirt Shit- Exit (
Discharge- Realities of War (
Dogs (
Dow Jones & The Industrials- Can't Stand The
Eddie and The Subtitles- American Society (CA, 1980)
Endtables- Circumcision (KY, 1979)
Eppu Normaali- Poliisi pamputtaa taas (
Eric B & Rakim- Don't Sweat the Technique (
Ernie & The Top Notes- Dap Walk (N'Leans, 1972)
Fix- Vengeance (MI, 1980)
Flipper- Brainwash (SF, 1981)
Flipper- Ha Ha Ha (SF, 1981)
Flipper- Sex Bomb Baby (7” version) (SF, 1981)
Flyin'
Gang Green- Snob (MA, 1982)
Gang of Four- Damaged Goods (LP Version) (
Gears- Let's Go To The Beach (CA, 1979)
Generation X- Your Generation (
Germs- Forming (CA, 1977)
Geza X- Isotope Soap ('Let Them Eat Jellybeans' version)
(CA, 1981)
Gizmos- Amerika First (IN, 1977)
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five- The Message (NYC,
1982)
Grim/Klone Band- Heat's Rising (NJ, 1978)
Guilty Razors- Don't Wanna Be A Rich (France via Spain,
1978)
Haskels- Takin' The City By Storm (WI, 1980)
Helmettes- I Don't Care What The People Say (
Hitler SS- Slave (
Hooker- Young & Suicidal (MA, 1975?)
Human Hands- New Look (CA, 1981?)
Husker Du- Diane (MN, 1983)
Ice 9- Revolting Mess (
Intravein- Speed of The City (
Iron Cross- New Breed (D.C., 1981)
Ivy Green- I'm Sure We're Gonna Make It (
Jay Reatard- Blood Visions (TN, 2006)
Jerry's Kidz- Marionetts (NM, 1983)
Jeru The Damaga- Come Clean (NYC, 1993)
Jesters of
Johnny Concrete- Johnny, Johnny (
Keggs- To Find Out (MI, 1966)
KFC- Kriminalpogo (
Klips 1988- Ultimatum (
KMD- Peachfuzz (NYC, 1991)
Kneecappers- Tumor (
Kraut- Unemployed (LP version) (NYC, 1982)
Kriminella Gitarrer- Silvias Unge (
KRS-One- Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love) (NYC, 1990)
Laudernunnan- Ensam i natt (
Legionaire's Disease Band- Rather See You Dead (Than With
Wool On Your Head) (TX, 1979)
Les Thugs- I Love You So (
Link Wray- Bo Diddley (D.C., 1965?)
Link Wray- Rumble (D.C., 1959?)
Los Reactors- Dead In The Suburbs (OK, 1980)
Lost Cause- Born Dead (CA, 1981)
Lost Sounds- Plastic Skin (7EP version) (TN, 2000)
Love- 7 and 7 Is (CA, 1967)
M.D.- Manisch Depressiv, Part 1 (
Machines- True Life (
Manu Dibango- Soul Makossa (
Massmedia- Jag Vill Ingenting (
MC5- Kick Out the Jams (
Meatmen- Orgy of One (Demo version) (MI, 1981)
Mentally Ill- Tumor Boy (IL, 1979)
Metal Urbain- Panik (
Meters- Cissy Strut (N'Leans, 1969)
Mike Rep & The Quotas- Rocket To Nowhere (OH, 1975)
Minor Threat- 12XU (D.C., 1981)
Mirrors- Shogeki-x (
Misfits- Hollywood
Monks- Monk Time (Germany via U.S., 1966)
Mort Subite- Ich Liebe Ulrike (
Mox Nix- We Won´t Be Controlled (CA, 1982)
Music Machine- Talk Talk (CA, 1966)
Naked Raygun- I Lie (
Negative FX- Feel Like A Man (
Negative Trend- Mercenaries (SF, 1978)
Next- Cheap Rewards (TX, 1979)
Nights and Days- These Days (
NNB- Slack (MN, 1978)
No Tag- No Tag (NZ, 1982)
Outcasts- 1523 Blair (TX, 1967)
Pack (
Pekinska Patka- Bela Sljiva (
Penetrators- Teenage Lifestyle (NY, 1979)
Plugz- Achin' (7” version) (CA, 1979)
P-Nissarna- Jugend (
Poison Idea- Lifestyles (
Powertrip- Lab Animal (CA, 1982)
Private Dicks- She Said Go (
Professionals- (Join The) Professionals (
Public Enemy- Bring The Noise (NYC, 1987)
Public Enemy- She Watch Channel Zero (NYC, 1988)
PVC- Waiting For WW III (
Queers- We'd Have A Riot Doing Heroin (NH, 1982)
Question Mark & The Mysterians- 96 Tears (
Reactors (CT)- I Want Sex (CT, 1979)
Really Red- Teaching You The Fear (TX, 1981)
Really Red- Too Political? (TX, 1981)
Red Decade- Scars of Lust (
Rejex- Niagara Baby (
Rhino 39- Prolixin Stomp (CA, 1979)
Riots- I Can Go On (U.S., 1966?)
Rocket From The Tombs- 30 Seconds Over
Run-DMC- Peter Piper (NYC, 1986)
Rutto- Mi Vihaan (
S.S. Decontrol- Glue (
Saints- (I'm) Stranded (
Saints- Erotic Neurotic (
Screamin' Mee-Mees- Hot Sody (MO, 1976)
Screaming Sneakers- Violent Days (FL, 1982)
Shattered Faith- We Love
Shitdogs- Reborn (LA, 1981)
Shock- This Generation's On Vacation (CA, 1978)
Skunks- Earthquake Shake (TX, 1979)
Snails- Snails Love Theme (GA, 1966)
Snuky Tate- Stage Speech (SF, 1979)
Social Distortion- 1945 (13th Floor Version) (CA, 1982)
Social Distortion- Hour of Darkness (CA, 1982)
Sonics- Strychnine (
Sperma- Bombs (
SS- Blitzkrieg Bop (
Stains- John Wayne Was A Nazi (I prefer the 7” version)
(TX, 1980)
Stooges- I Wanna Be Your Dog (
Subhumans (
Suicidal Tendencies- Institutionalized (CA, 1983)
Swimming Pool Q's- Rat Bait (GA, 1979)
T.S.O.L.- Abolish Government/Silent Majority (CA, 1981)
T.S.O.L.- Sounds of Laughter (CA, 1981)
Tampax- UFO Dictator (
Teen Idles- Get Up and Go (D.C., 1980)
Testors- You Don't Break My Heart (NYC, 1977)
Thee Undertakers- Death Breath (Skull Version) (CA, 1981)
Tiki Men- Black Cat (CA, 1994)
Tronics- Shark Fucks (
Ike and Tina
Tyrades- I Am Homicide (
Tyvek- Mary Ellen Claims (
U.X.B.- Mr. Fixit (
Undertones- Teenage Kicks (7” version) (
Units- Cannibals (SF, 1979)
Unnatural Axe- They Saved Hitler's Brain (MA, 1978)
Urinals- Ack Ack Ack (CA, 1979)
Vandals- Urban Struggle (12”EP version) (CA, 1982)
Velvet Underground- The Gift (NYC, 1967)
Victims- Television Addict (
Weirdos- Destroy All Music (CA, 1977)
Wire- 12XU (
X (
YDI- Zombie Youth (Demo version) (
Maybe I’ll add a
few more songs and revise this list if I realize that I forgot some. But no promises there…
Let me just say
that an iPod is such an easy way to manage all yer music. I do not mean this as bragging, but my iPod
has like 6,000 songs on it and they’re all at my fingertips everyday with no
CD’s or cassettes to fumble around with (after my initial fumbling of course when
I have to rip the tracks from vinyl and those other sources). An iPod makes it so easy to create a list
like I just did in a relatively short amount of time with NO retyping. Once the playlist was set, I exported it to a
text file, cleaned it up a little and then tossed that text into a Word
file. Very easy and non-labor intensive
and carpal tunnel-free. I know some of
you who do still do not own iPods but if you can afford it I would highly
encourage it. Sell a few records to raise
the money if you haveta. Or, shit, ask
yer Mom to get you one since you’re still living in her basement anyway, he he.
Factory (CA)
[I am on a roll- here's my third posting in as many days. Someone I know recently told me my posts are too wordy so here is my big experiment to keep it short and sweet. This one's dedicated to him]. There were several bands worldwide who have gone by the name of Factory- these ones were from California, and specifically Southern California according to the great Collector Scum site. What you get with this track is some good driving "chugga-chugga" punk with some nice punchy drumming and tense-sounding vocals (albeit a little annoying at times). Now this track is not "Grade A" punk like The Mad's "I Hate Music" (or anything on the early Killed By Death volumes) but I would say Factory is a nice "B Grade" rarity. The flipside, "Smile!", has grown on me a bit over the last 10 years that I have been acquainted with this disc and has some decent guitar noise but it's definitely not on the same level as "World Gone Mad". The sleeve artwork and font choice, as you can see above, is really BAD in the "yuck!" sense of the word, and I wonder if this caused many people to pass it on by in record store bins. Um, I do not know anything else about Factory so I guess that's all I have to say for now. Fill me in on any details if you have them.
World Gone Mad.mp3
The Tapes
Here's another very early one from Sweden, and even more obscure than my previous post of the Homo Electrica 7". In 1978, an absolute boatload of wonderful punk records were released in Sweden but ones with a date of 1977 can be pretty much be counted on one hand. Well, this Tapes 7" is not really punk per se in the "classic" sense of that word. It's more DIY-ish but it a bit early for that categorization too. Whatever you want to label it, me thinks it possesses the same energy and spirit behind a lot of punk. I have to admit, it took me a few listens to get into it but I was hooked after that on its sloppy, charming nature. "Dreamland" is the winner on the record- very catchy with some great hokey "Ooo-ooo-ooo" background singing goin on and an odd guitar. And the tambourine playing also definitely adds to the song's overall quirkiness. It's sung in English in a rather serious, flat manner- which I dig- and the singer's Swedish-accented English makes it more charming for me. And it's topped off by him spinning a great story which, as you will see, ends on a tragic note.
"The Mysterious Mr. Kugelberg" has tipped me off to countless great obscurities like this one over the years through various articles in the wonderful Ugly Things 'zine, and I thank him for that. Mr. Kugelberg's "Valhalla of Amateurism" articles turned me on to several bands like The Tokyos and Kriminella Gitarrer in my, er, more "formative" KBD years. And although I questioned some of the records he listed in it, his "Top 100 Punk Records" list in the 1999 issue of Ugly Things turned me on to some incredible stuff I had never heard of before. In the 2001 and 2002 issues of the zine, he did a two-part "Top 100 DIY Records" and more great obscurities then came to my attention. Now, The Tapes 7" was not in that Top 100 but rather featured prominently in a "whoops" post-script of 20 records he should have included on the list. I had never heard of them and was immediately intrigued- I remember thinking "How many more unturned stones ARE there in Sweden when it comes to obscurities? Will it ever end?!" (Hope not!)
I know nothing about the band and Johan did not give more more info other than hyping it by saying it is "A heartbreaking work of staggering ineptitude" that is "geographically challenged hick-punk-chug from the boondocks of Scandanavia". I wonder what region of the country they were from- does anyone know? Given the generic band name, a Google search goes absolutely nowhere. I do not have a vinyl copy of The Tapes 7", only some mp3's, so excuse the crummy scan I pulled above from the aforementioned Ugly Things article.
Dreamland.mp3
Is It You.mp3
Homo Electrica
I could go on, but Stuart's article in the February 2005 Maximum Rock n' Roll on Homo Electrica summed up the record and the band's history very nicely so here is what he had to say:
"HOMO ELECTRICA released one two-song, one-sided 7" on Violent Vinyl, limited to 200 copies, with a crude sleeve. It was recorded October 10, 1977. Their name is supposed to be Latin for 'The Electric Human' but then it should have properly been Homo Electricus. The thanks list includes Lou Reed, Alvin Lee, the hippie guitarist of Ten Years After, and Ginger Baker, the drummer of Cream. My initial reaction was that this was too good to be true. Then I listened to it.The two songs are mid-tempo (meaning they end up mostly playing the tempo in between the fast and slow ones to which they accidentally waver), untalented, at times arrhythmic, and obviously enthralled with rocknroll as if they lived in the parallel universe in the which the DESPERATE BICYCLES had respectfully watched the PISTOLS bash out their floating racket during the Silver Jubilee and then torpedoed and sank their vessel (homemade torpedo, natch). 'Beat On' and 'Surviver' (yes, with an e) are basic tracks about rock music that sound like PROBLEM's younger brudders lampooning their elder siblings' love of rocknroll. But music this recklessly passionate and passionately reckless is no joke.Frederick, the singer of HOMO ELECTRICA, discovered punk rock because his school library had a subscription to New Musical Express, but he had been a fan of Lou Reed since the early 70s, even going as far as to get a short haircut like Reed's while long hair was in. (Note: HOMO ELECTRICA, like a million other bands, covered 'Waiting For My Man'). The bassist had never played before, but the drummer had previously played in another band- ironic because his drumming is some of the worst this side of Houston's Vast Majority (actually, that's unfair: no other drumming is that bad!). On October 10, 1977, HOMO ELECTRICA had a gig at their high school, and after the crowd left, they recorded the two songs for the 7" live through the mixing board. They found the cheapest pressing plant in Sweden, and decided that it'd be even cheaper to squeeze both songs on one side of the record. They cut and folded the sleeves themselves, decorated the blank labels with a marker, and then sold copies to friends at school and to stores, employees of which were surprised that these kids had made their own record. Without even knowing about the DESPERATE BICYCLES, HOMO ELECTRICA embodied their DIY principles. Or, perhaps I should say that the 'BIKES, as perfect as they are, wanted nothing more than to be like HOMO ELECTRICA, but the difference was that the intellectual Brits couldn't help being self-conscious in the process. In the end, HOMO ELECTRICA played only ten gigs and lasted a year and a half, but their admitted intention of using the band to get girls (not to enact a DIY ethic) seemed to work, because none of the boys in their school would go see them play.Sometimes I wonder what listeners want to get out of a punk record. If every band were out of tune, lo-fi, and stupid, the world of punk would be a boring one, but I think there should be a lot of room in our collections for gems like HOMO ELECTRICA, because they're vivid, unadulterated (and un-adult) examples of a punk rock aesthetic by kids who did not know or care to know any better. It's records like this, even if they're not something one wants to listen to every day, which make the search for rare old punk records worthwhile. Oh yeah, to my knowledge, this record does not appear on any compilations." [Punk Business Manager's note: no, Homo Electrica has not been on any comp and in these days, when the virtual world of mp3 blogs have kind of taken the place in SOME ways of KBD-type comps being pressed on actual vinyl, to my knowledge, no, Homo Electrica has not appeared on any other blog yet]
www.punktjafs.com/ny/09_historik.htm
Bollocks
Here’s a real catchy, fun, unique-sounding EP! And from the early 80’s D.C.-area scene of all places, which at the time was dominated by lots of thick n' chunky traditional hardcore. This EP has energetic drumming, quirky bass plucking and great guitar noodling with some- gasp!- ska influenced strumming here and there. Now, the term "ska punk" (Operation Ivy et all) usually causes me to clench my teeth, cover my ears and run for the nearest bomb shelter. But on this cool record it totally works for me. And what makes the package complete is the DIY cut-and-paste nature of the sleeve where they cram as much text and pictures as humanly possible onto both sides (including what appears to be some Arabic text in the lower right corner- cool!). The two-sided insert is also jam packed with clip art, good ol' handwritten text as well as stuff down on a typewriter (yeah!). Nice and raw looking like packaging on a punk record should be.
Another City.mp3
Blow Up The Bayou.mp3
R.I.P. Vicious.mp3
Never Mind The Bollocks.mp3
Peer Pressure.mp3
Business Man.mp3
Invasion of The Plastics.mp3
War On Drugs.mp3
All Rock Stars Should Be Drafted.mp3
Song For Baltimore.mp3
ENDNOTES
An MRR Scumpit article from 1989 on the old D.C.-area scene first got me interested in hearing this EP after they recommended it as a good yet more obscure one. At the time my knowledge of D.C. area stuff was limited to either Dischord-related or 1/2 Japanese. J.T. taped the EP for me a few years later and I was instantly hooked.
I then raved about it and taped it for Scott (later of the very sorely-missed Antenna Internet Radio site of which I was a contributor in the interest of full disclosure). Scott dug it and shortly thereafter unearthed a boatload of copies in a big warehouse find in the D.C. area. Being such a cool guy, he was nice enough to send my multiple copies of the EP. What is very curious is the different sleeve variations- the PS came in a variety of colors, from white to light yellow (see above) to darker yellow and even a minty-green one if I remember right. Then some of the different sleeve colors have slight text variations on the front- I'd have to check all my copies when I get a chance, but I believe some less stuff written on the shoe. But I'd love to know how many copies were pressed in total and which colors constitute a 1st pressing, 2nd pressing, etc. Their later "Mediterran" EP also came in a variety of sleeve colors, including white and green. Again, I'd have to check all my copies to see which ones I have and if there's any others.
HERE IS THE TWO-SIDED INSERT
Public Disturbance
[FIRST OFF, I HAVE NOT POSTED ANYTHING IN SOME TIME BUT WORK-RELATED NONSENSE AND IMPORTANT FAMILY-RELATED MATTERS HAVE TAKEN UP MOST OF MY TIME OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. I HAVE LOTS OF POSTINGS IN MY HEAD THAT I'D ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO THROW UP HERE BUT ADVANCED WARNING THAT I MAY FADE IN AND OUT AGAIN AS THE YEAR UNFOLDS...]
What a great EP, but very "out of place" if you will. First off, it came out in 1983 when speedy atonal hardcore was taking over the land and unique, out-of-the-box PUNK records like this 'un were few and far between (and probably frowned upon by the majority of muscle-headed hardcore conformists emerging at the time). Secondly, it came out on the Mutha label and sounds rather different from Mutha's other output at the time. Thirdly, they break the "KBD Rule" of "first release is the best" since Public Disturbance released a rather generic LP (Mutha 003) prior to this EP (which is Mutha 011).
"S&M" is a total instant classic, I have absolutely loved it since the very first time I heard it many years ago when someone taped the whole EP for me. The guitar noise totally rules- it's haunting and weird in all the right ways and sounds kinda psych-ish. For some, a great song is judged by just the geetar noise. For me, it's got to be "the total package" which is the case with this 'un. The drummer pounds away, the bass player plucks along and the singer wails aways in a crazy manner with the goofy lyrics and they all create a nice, tight package and get it so damn right. To top it all off the song is full of off-kilter breaks that you don't see coming, especially at the end. And fear not- this is not yer typical KBD record with one "happy accident" and a bunch of other bad songs-- it's a winner from start to finish for me. "Destroy The Fad" is a crazy one. It calmly starts off with a great out of tune guitar intro and then dives right into things-- dig how the drummer REALLY pounds away on that one. "S&M" is the best tune for me but the last one, "Do The Gilly", is the craziest- the guitar wails away and gets really outer space-y and things get pretty insane and reach a very fevered pitch throughout until it just abruptly ends. Yeah!!!
I absoutely love records with crude, crazy amateur-ish artwork and this one has it in droves from the dripping band logo to "Oh God!! I should have stayed at football practice"... completely hilarious. OK, I get that the guy on the left is the scared jock and the guy on the right is the punk (wearing what appears to be knee-high fishing boots and not biker boots as they may have intended) whose face tells me that he is about to enjoy the upcoming S&M from the angry lass. But who is the naked balding guy in the middle supposed to be? A tortured school teacher, an uptight suburban dad.. or perhaps a paying client of the Mistress? You tell me. And, oh yeah- you gotta always love the homemade Mutha Records logo which graced their releases. Almost forgot- the artwork from this EP graced the cover of 1995's superb Killed By Death #8.5 comp if you didn't already know ("S&M" led off Side 2 of said LP).
S&M.mp3
Destroy The Fad.mp3
Do The Gilly.mp3
ENDNOTES
OK, I guess I do these endnotes because I already babble too much above when people probably just want to listen to the music I posted instead of reading paragraph after paragraph just talking about the record. Perhaps you've made it this far so here goes...
In a trade about 10 years ago, I was very excited to get a vinyl copy of this Public Disturbance EP. The vinyl and sleeve were dead mint too, natch. The guy who traded it to me said that the picture sleeve appeared to be a photocopy and was not sure if it was an original. If I remember right, he said that his sleeve looked a bit different. The foldover sleeve with mine did not appear to be a photocopy, though- first off, the picture quality is very very good, almost too good to be a photocopy. Also, the paper is a thicker and glossier which is atypical of yer typical Xerox. I described my sleeve to the Yahoo! KBD Group about a year ago to get a consensus about it. Someone that bought a copy of the EP when it came out responded back and said his looked the same as mine. So I guess mine has an original sleeve- cool! Cumstains across my record collection!
There were lots of great "Welcome To The Scumpit" articles in MRR between 1988 and into the early 90's (I particularly remember that 1989 was a very productive year for the Scumpit). These one-page articles were great sources of info on lots of obscuro stuff that I had never heard of before, and I used to comb the articles for names of bands and records unknown to my ears. Some records or bands I discovered through the Scumpit articles remain favorites to this day, including the Public Disturbance EP. I was first tipped off to the EP when it was mentioned in a "guest Scumpit" written by none other than Tim Yohannon in the June 1989 issue. He did a short roll call of some of his favorite obscurities so you know it was quite a list. When he described the off-kilter nature of the Public Disturbance EP I was intrigued and had to hear it. Regarding Tim's list and very discerning taste, the article appears to have been very influential because most of the then-unknown records he listed ended up being on various early volumes of Killed By Death or other sorta comps in the early-to-mid 90's from the 1st Middle Class EP to the Public Disturbance EP to Deiter Meier's "Cry For Fame" 7" to the Village Pistols 7". A variety of enterprising collector scum must have taken note of Tim's recommendations. Although it didn't appear on a KBD volume, Tim's article also mentioned the wonderful proto-hardcore SS 12"EP from Japan and, lo and behold, there was a CD reissue of it in the early 90's on an official label too and not as a boot.
The other interesting thing about Public Disturbance to me is that they had a black member (see the back of the sleeve- turns out his name was Darryl Hell and he played bass). I have an affinity for punk bands with black members since it was and unfortunately still is an anomaly in many ways (check out the pretty cool 2003 documentary Afro Punk while you're at it since it's now out on DVD after being on the festival circuit for a while). The always great Roctober 'zine helmed by Jake Austen did us all a favor- a 2002 issue of the 'zine did a very great article called "Black Punk Time" whose purpose is to be a comprehensive list of black people in punk and sorta-punk bands. The list continues to be updated on their site (I have provided some info myself for it even on mostly KBD-type bands)- go here for the article. Darryl from Public Disturbance is mentioned in it, and someone updated his listing to say that he played in some other bands (none of which I heard of) and is currently working as a DJ- here is his MySpace page if you're interested.
FROM JUNE 1989 MAXIMUM ROCK N' ROLL
Clockwork Criminals
(RECORDED 1980 / RELEASED 1982)
[MARCH 21, 2009 UPDATE
I took down the mp3's of this EP after a request from former member Bill- he told me it's going to be reissued on CD very soon which is great to hear. I still don't have specific details on the reissue, but pick one up when it comes out and continue to check the band's MySpace site for specs.]
Damn, what a barnstormer of a record! "Young and Bold" calmly starts with the singer making his declaration in the first few seconds of the song and then- wham!- total charging noise smacks you right in the head. A nice, unexpected surprise- the guitars are loud, tense and waily, kinda DIY-ish in sound (unlike "traditionally" loud guitars that tend to be chunky and thick a la Black Flag or P.F. Commando). The drummer and bass player pound away trying to keep up with the two-chord geetar player and then the singer wails away in a desperate manner- in other words, wonderful! Also impressive that this unique racket was recorded in 1980 at a time when not a lot of bands were soundin’ out there like this.
[As a sidenote- sigh, I miss all those different Hyped To Death-related comps that Mr. Warner churned out in 2000 and 2001. In the late 90's- pretty much after KBD#12 came out in late '96/early '97- KBD-type comps had really started scraping the barrel and most were big letdowns that had maybe one or two good songs and then a dozen mediocre tracks- in other words, a waste of yer hard earned money. Sure, a lot of bands on those bad comps were total obscurities but that does not justify inclusion on a comp. C’mon gimme something that SOUNDS good or I could pretty much care less than it was a sleeveless "private pressing" of 10 copies or whatever (the U.K. is the capital of these types o' rarities). But oh yeah- back to Hyped To Deaths- here came uber-collector Chuck digging up total obscurities like Screamin’ Sneakers that were rare as hell, previously uncomped AND which sounded ABSOLUTELY wonderful too. Now don’t get me wrong- not every CD was full of 100% Grade A prime chug- there were some clunkers to my ears but overall Chuck did a good job before the fun was forced to come to an end]
ENDNOTES
Clockwork Criminals have a page on MySpace on which they posted 3 unreleased songs, two of which are available for download (the fouth track is their track from the "Bullshit Detector" comp). Unfortunately, they are too drawn out and dreamy and lack the total smack-in-the-face quality of their EP. Oh well, still interesting that they have a page and posted em to begin with...
The great Detour Records site has a nice history of the band- read on:
"Hailing from the South Coast of England from a fairly large town called Hastings, the band started off life called 'Charlie and the Criminals'. They notched up a few gigs under this name before opting for the 'Clockwork Criminals'. Despite the 'Young and Bold' EP coming out in 82 it was recorded in 1980. They played along side most of the other local bands that were around on the same gig circuit like 'Smeggy and the Cheesybits', 'The Teenbeats', 'The Pirahnas' and just about all the other top South Coast bands.
Sadly the band only released one single but also had another track featured on a compilation album called 'Bullshit Detector' that was released on the 'Crass' label.
The vocalist and guitarist went on to form 'Flowers of the Past' who gigged a lot in 1982 doing the whole "State of the Nation" tour with 'Vice Squad' and releasing a single called 'The Fuhrer' / 'Medieval' on 'Memorial records'."
Here is the above writeup complete with TONS of pictures of the band, flyers, buttons, etc:
http://www.detour-records.co.uk/CLOCKWORK%20CRIMINALS.htm
Stiffs, Inc.
Besides being stuck in a time warp listening predominantly to 60's and 70's stuff, punk and otherwise, I am also a big fan of 90's "KBD-type" punk (excuse the shallow term but I didn't want to use the even-more shallow term "garage revival"). So here's my first semi-modern posting (er, this one came out 12 years ago so, fuck, I think that qualifies as modern) of one of my favorite 90's punk gems. Kind of unlikely considering the band was on a- gasp! - major label (I am usually not a fan of majors or wanna-be majors), but given that Mr. Johan "Killed By Death v.1-4" Kugelberg worked (ran?) the Onion label at the time then it makes more sense. Johan also signed Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments to Onion and released their good "Bait and Switch" LP the same year. And then Onion also did a Monks reissue during the same period, another unlikely release on a major had Mr. Kugelberg not been lobbying for them all I suppose.
Both songs from this promo 7" also appeared on their much-hyped "Nix Nought Nothing" LP in '95, which now lines cut-out bins and can be found for a few bucks. Onion musta pressed a ton of them in hopes that Stiffs, Inc. would be "the next big thing" thus the total glut. I cannot listen to that whole LP, though- the singer irks me about halfway through, and I’m even not that hot on the flipside of this single but "Chelsea" is genius. A very catchy ditty from the first note, and a very layered song. Check out how the guitar goes from being strummed in the beginning to kinda growling a little later and then back again. The band changes up the overall tempo of the tune several times which is nice, especially in the last 30 seconds when they finish it off with a whole different vibe that totally works for me and is a rightful finish to a great tune. These guys could really play, and they got it so right in these 4 minutes (far longer than my preferred song length too). "Chelsea" is melodic in all the right places but then driving and punchy in all the right places too. Right on.
Chelsea.mp3
TRIVIA NOTES: Before signing to Onion, Stiffs, Inc. had two self-released 7"s in '94 as just "The Stiffs" that were pretty good- the "Destroy All Art" and "Blown Away Baby" 45's ("Blown Away Baby" also appears on "Nix Nought Nothing"). Then after their flop on Onion, they released the "Electric Chair Theatre" LP in '97 on another label. It was a disappointment to me when I listened to it about 10 years ago, but maybe I need to give it another listen all these years later. Sometimes time heals wounds when it comes to some rekkids. [Case in point- when I first heard Cocksparrer's thug-punk stomper "Runnin Riot" about 10 years ago it didn't grab me for some reason, but now is a fave of mine and I don't know what I was thinkin' a decade ago. I was in my fucking 20's, gimme a break]
COLLECTOR SCUM NOTES: In the most recent issue of the great scholarly 'zine Ugly Things Mr. Kugelberg happened to mention that he pressed up this promo 7" in a run of only 200 copies. Never knew that until now, so that’s kind of cool to find out all these years later. I found my copy for 49 cents here in Chicago in a cheapo bin full of bad 80's records- if you look closely at the above picture of the sleeve, you'll notice a few things. First, some store employee put a black mark in the upper right of the sleeve, presumably this meant the thing was getting tossed into the cut-out bin. Secondly, the sleeve has a tear in the same area from where I tried to remove the price sticker- not a good idea when a sleeve is cardboard (doh). The sleeve is a thick cardboard job with no artwork, just Spartan informational details much like the Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments promo 45 that also came in a run of 200 copies on Onion.
From Punk To Horrid Junk, Case Study #325: The Red Rockers
Anyway, Sirius satellite radio is on in the van and he’s flipping through the hundred or so choices for stations with different themes- comedy, R&B, hip hop, country, etc- there's too fucking many. We happen upon a station called something like "80's New Wave" and who is playing but the fucking Red Rockers and that horrid song of theirs "China". My first instinct was to quickly change the station, but I decided to listen to the whole crappy song so I could really remember how bad they became a few short years after their great "Guns of Revolution" 7"EP in '80 and "Condition Red" LP a year later.
The "Condition Red" LP drops and the Red Rockers are blazing around town doing lots of shows and playing great punk making a name for themselves in S.F. after their big move from N’Leans.
Punk cred = pretty high
The band continues to play punk shows (see flyers below from April of ’82- even a show with the Bad Brains at the height of their power!) but starts "experimenting" and- yikes!- "branches out" by slowing down the speed of songs, turning the amps down from 11 and getting more "melodic" or whatever. Major labels start sniffing around because the band has toned things down and are more "marketable". Old fans of their blazing p-rock lost interest in them in droves.
Punk cred = waning quickly
The Red Rockers sign to Columbia Records and do a group hug while saying "We’ve made it! We are on a major label! We are the next big thing and will be famous rock stars remembered for years and not a flash in the pan! Yippee!!"
Punk cred = -1,000
The band has a meeting and says "No more hints of loud stuff in the least bit- you know, wimpy music like Culture Club is really huge right now so let’s go that route- and PRONTO! We’ll still call ourselves a rock n’ roll band, though, and keep the Commie-related band name".
Band rapidly wimps out and then shortly thereafter writes and records crap like "China", puts out an album called "Good As Gold”, lumbers along for a few more years and are merely a small footnote in the annals of rock history and loathed by punk fans worldwide for their big sellout.
September 1, 2007
The Punk Business Manager- any maybe a few others- hears "China" on satellite radio and is perplexed at their rapid descent.
I was 11 years old in 1983 and not into punk when "China" came out and I vaguely remember seeing music videos of theirs on Friday Night Videos (‘member that show? It was on NBC and watched by those of us without cable). But if anyone active in the punk scene back then remembers seeing the Red Rockers in their great '80 to '81 period (or the pre-Red Rockers band the Rat Finks), please post some comments below so I can get some first-hand stories of how they wimped out so quickly. Inquiring minds want to know. Maybe they were just punk poseurs the whole time singing about guns of revolution and anti-war stuff but always keeping their "eyes on the prize" of getting a major label contract and mainstream acceptance? Help me out here.
Guns of Revolution.mp3
*This is the version on the "Condition Red" LP from 1981, which I different and I think better than the one on their 1980 7"EP
1982 Flyers
And here is a video of "China" that I found, where else, but on YouTube
When Unreleased Is The Best
The great Good Bad Music blog recently posted the 1st Mystery Dates EP from 1982, and although I found a few of the songs- especially the lead-off track "Mystery Date"- to be catchy and hooky, dammit, it can’t hold a finger to this whopper of an EP! Put the two records side to side and it makes one think that the 'Dates were holding back and "toning things down" on their official releases because they really speed things up and let loose on these unreleased nuggets! Maybe they let down their hair because they knew this stuff was not going to be committed to vinyl? Or maybe they released their two EP’s earlier in 1982 and then changed their style to a speedier, more HC-ish by late '82/early '83 when this unreleased stuff was recorded? I'd love to hear from an old band member so I can solve this, er, "mystery" (har har).
"Protect The Innocent" (my favorite track) is like a freight train with its charging pace, loud guitars and loose, unique warbling from lead singer Frank. It’s like they’ve got their head in two worlds- on the one hand, they’ve got the speed of hardcore but also want to maintain a punkier edge by having hooky, very catchy guitar noodling. A tricky tight rope to walk, if you ask me, but they totally pull it off.
MORE RAMBLING- MAYBE YOU'LL MAKE IT THIS FAR DOWN THE POSTING
*This EP was put out in ’96 by Ryan Richardson’s sorely-missed Existential Vacuum label. I had never heard of the Mystery Dates but in the Summer of ’96 while closely studying the record reviews section of Maximum Rock n’ Roll (as I did at the time) I was tipped off to this EP after they gave it a glowing review. I was a big fan of Ryan’s EV label so I had to get this one- and quick- since there were only 500 copies made. Looking back, Ryan kept us on our toes since about all of the EV releases were very limited, especially the scum editions with different colored vinyl, etc. It was always fun, albeit a little stressful, for me to try to track them down sometimes since you know they’d sell out in a flash. Nubees 7" in an edition of 45 copies, anyone? And I snagged two copies of the Mystery Dates EP at the also sorely-missed Dummyroom record shop here in Chicago during the Christmas of ’96, after I was sure that I wouldn’t find a copy. A nice holiday surprise.
For any very young whippernsappers who may happen to be reading this (although I bet you're in your 30's or 40's, you old man!), there was no fancy interweb to order records on in a jiffy back then- you had to do something we called "mailorder" where you hand-addressed(!) an envelope, slapped a 25 cent stamp on it and put- gasp!- actual cash in an envelope and mailed it off with your order. Said records would sometimes take weeks to get. Kid, back then PayPal only described a generous friend who funded your way into a show or otherwise fronted you cash.
So here we are about 10 years later and I’ve now heard the Mystery Dates stuff in reverse order- the unreleased stuff first and then one of their "official" EP’s. Had I heard them the other way around, maybe I would appreciate the unreleased stuff even more than I already do (?). Who knows? And who fucking cares other than me?
Dad and The Boys
Anyone else ever heard of these guys? Pretty good driving punk n’ roll but not even close to being a household name in KBD land. About 5 years ago I saw this record listed on one of Mike Bastarache’s great set sale lists and it stuck in my craw as a record I had never heard of. And the band name was pretty funny and memorable. I forget how much he was asking but it must have been more than $10 or else I would have taken a chance on it. Fast forward to late 2004- I get an e-mail update list from good old Dr. Strange and while casually looking through it, there’s The Dad and The Boys 7” for cheap enough to "take a chance" on it. Got it in the mail a week later and have been digging it and been intrigued by it ever since. Like I said, I think it’s pretty good, pretty driving punk n’ roll. And it has an interesting vocal style which is always a plus in my book. [As a sidenote, I have a hang up about vocals- if a record has raw guitars but bad vocals it bugs me. It kind of wrecks it for me, like part of the "whole package" is missing. On the same hand, if a record has just decent guitars but a good, heartfelt singing style then I am more apt to give it another listen].
Unfortunately, the flipside which I have not posted drags on and is too mediocre for my ears. The sleeve is a plain white inner sleeve with cut out pictures pasted on the front and back of the sleeve (a la the Defnics 7"). Dad and The Boys had another 7" a year earlier in 1985 called "Reagan In The White House" on the same label and with the same type of cut and paste sleeve. I found it on eBay for very cheap about a year ago but, unfortunately, both sides are mediocre and forgettable.
I assumed the band was from Nashville, TN since that’s where their label Wave Records was as stated on the back of the sleeve. But when I bought their other 7" on eBay the seller said in the item description that the band was from the Detroit area. But, c’mon, what are the chances that an obscure band from Michigan would release two singles on an equally obscure label in Nashville? Maybe better chances than we think- I Googled the name of the studio (Muzican), and it turns out that there is a Muzican Studios in Canton, MI which is about halfway between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Hmmmm...
Enough stamp collecter obsessing- wherever the fuck they were from, I can sum up this record by saying that they're yet another band that had only one shining moment and got it right on only one song. But is "Kamikaze Pilot" an Grade A all-time amazing classic? Um, no. But it’s at least a "Grade B" tune. But in terms of obscurity it’s Grade A. But you gotta divorce obscurity from musical quality because there’s too many records out there given attention for the wrong reasons- namely, because they’re very obscure. I think you gotta stay focused on how the music on an obscurity actually sounds. I think we’ve all seen too many eBay descriptions in ALL CAPS and with 50 exclamation points touting a record as immediately wanton because it’s "MEGA, MEGA RARE OBSCURITY!!!!"
Dad and The Boys- Kamikaze Pilot.mp3
Inanimate Objects
No raw, blazing KBD-ish "criminal guitars" or over-the-top snottiness anywhere on this record. And the production is a bit thin and muddled. But I really dig this entire EP. All facets of it really work for me- the guitar noodling combined with the energetic drumming along and the cool, kinda whiny vocal style that has a hint of Texas twang sound great together to my ears. Very catchy. And rather unique sounding with a “thinking out of the box” aspect to it, if you will (so many other punk discs from Texas fit this description too, for that matter).
The last song on the EP, "The New One", which was on the very first Bloodstains comp back in '92 (Bloodstains Across Texas, kids) is good but probably my least favorite song on the EP. The other four songs just have more depth and character in my book, especially a slower, "artier" song like "Vacancy" or the toe-tappin' "Hot Rox". These guys were from Really Red's and The Hates' hometown of Houston so I assume they played some shows with them back in the day. Their song on Bloodstains Across Texas was good so I was curious to hear the rest of the EP but, given the far-too-prevalent KBD rule of "only one good song exists", I assumed the rest of the EP would be spotty or just plain suck. So I was pleasantly surprised 10 years ago when I first got to hear the whole thing and I've dug it ever since. And there was no "this one grew on me over the years"- no, I liked it the first time I heard it. A vinyl copy with a stain on the sleeve fetched $200 this February on eBay, so I can only imagine what one in mintier shape goes for. If you have a spare copy lying around, hook me up since I had to rip these from my cassette copy (thanks Bruce C for taping it for me way back when).
Welcome To My New Host!
The Five
The great Last Days of Man on Earth blog recently posted the other Five 7”, the “Act of Contrition” EP. I had first heard of the Five back in November of 1995 when “Death Chord”, from that EP, closed out the “Bloodstains Across The Midwest” LP I had just bought (from the sadly-missed Dummyroom record store here in Chicago, sob). It was a haunting kind of psych-punk tune- great! And cool sleeve! I want to hear the whole EP! A few months later I found a copy of the Five’s LP from 1987 (also at the Dummyroom)- um, not bad but not like “Death Chord”. And then time passed- I did not hear the rest of the “Act of Contrition” 3-songer until LDOMOE posted it a few weeks ago. So, in total, I waited nearly 12 years to hear the other two songs on the EP. Maybe you see this coming but I was disappointed. The EP, aside from “Death Chord”, did not do much for me. Oh well, not the first time that happened (although I have to say that I’ve never had to wait THAT many years to hear the rest of an EP).
BUT for my ears there is one other really good Five song- better than “Death Chord”- and that is “Napalm Beach”. Good old B.C. (my source of many KBD rarities in the mid-to-late 90’s) taped this for me 10 years ago, and I still do not own a vinyl copy of this record (good luck finding one for less than $200 or $300). But I think I did a pretty good job transferring this from cassette to mp3. The Five get the haunting feeling down very well on this tune, from beginning to end- it starts off with just some bass plucking and weird noises going off in the background, then the drums and guitar kick in nicely. They build up this incredible tension with the desperate sounding vocals and drum pounding and right when the song hits it peak of tension during each chorus, it then instantly drops off into this great sharp, jabbing guitar noise- awesome! I can’t really make out much of the lyrics but I sense a reference to the classic “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” scene from the almighty movie Apocalypse Now, which came out just a few years before in 1979.
Sorry completists, but I am not posting the flipside, “Excite Me”, because it’s BAD (as in it sucks)- a throwaway ballad-type of wank job that does absolutely nothing for me. Yuck.
Platinum Blonde
If you remember Platinum Blonde from the 80’s, you may be asking “What the fuck are they doing here?!?” They evolved into this horrible band that got really big in Canada in the 80’s and had all the trappings of that sad era-- hair-sprayed manes of hair, embarrassing clothes, etc (see photo below). BUT this very first record of theirs, released on their own label, is a superb very catchy, kinda poppy record that is wimpy in all the right ways. I don’t enjoy much poppy stuff, but I think both sides of this 7” are wonderful, especially "Hey Hey You"- dig the bass plucking throughout the tune and the cool middle part where the drums pounds away- that's what I'm talkin about! I have been in love with this single since someone (thanks B.C.) first taped it for me about ten years ago.
I doubt that they released it on their own label so they could support any sort of DIY ethic-- I am guessing that this 7” served as Platinum Blonde’s “calling card” to major labels so they could get a big record deal and all that crap. This 7” is rare as hell (and therefore expensive as hell too)- if you have a spare copy that you want to give away, please consider me a worthy recipient. I ripped these mp3’s from my cassette copy, so these will not be “audiophile” quality and may not sound too good on your five grand stereo and/or your $1,000, noise-cancelling headphones. But, as the Screamin’ Mee Mees famously said on the back of their 1st EP, “Play loud on cheap stereo”. (Or “cheap CPU”, to kind of update it for 2007…)
Hey Hey You
No Regrets
Here is Platinum Blonde a few years later in the 80's when they sucked... (well, now that I look again at the cover of the 1st great 7", I guess they didn't look much better then either...)
Disorder
Here's another killer record from Holland! If you're lookin' for one of the Disorders from the U.K. you've come to the wrong place, Chachi. Damn, how many good Dutch punk records were there in the KBD years?! Too goddamn many! Ivy Green, Mollesters, Helmettes, Flyin' Spiderz... the list goes on and on and on. Disorder is a somewhat more obscure one that was sadly not included in 1996's great I'm Sure We're Gonna Make It comp CD (booted on vinyl as Killed By Epitaph double LP in '98, natch). This EP was listed in the Dutch punk discography in the Het Gejuich Was Massal book also from '96. This book is full of lots of nice pictures and what appear to be various stories and anecdotes from the old Dutch scene but I can't call the book "great", though, because it's all in Dutch and I can't read a lick of it (aside from the discography).
Johnny Concrete
Denmark had a small but awesome scene in the late 70's and early 80's that left us with great records from the Sods(!), Gatecrashers, Lost Kids and a few others-- and this EP, which is one of my all-time favorites! A great record from start to finish, no filler at all- every song jumps out at me with sharp guitar noise, great drumming and Johnny's great vocals that just drip attitude. He was the singer for the Dream Police, and he is being backed by them on this EP so I am not quite sure why this record did not come out under the band name and is instead a "solo record" for Johnny. In '79 the band Cheap Trick released an LP called "Dream Police" so maybe Johnny and the boys were trying to distance themselves from those guys-- the liner notes on the back of the sleeve hint at this. Earlier and slightly less-powerful versions of a few of these EP songs appear on the fantastic "Paere Punk" comp LP from '79.
Introductions/Welcome
I've been into "Killed By Death"-type stuff from the late 70's and early 80's since then and am always looking to hear great obscurities from that era. Since the great Messthetics comps came out earlier this decade/century/millennium I've more "formally" gotten into DIY-type stuff. I have also picked up a liking for some 60's punk a la Back From The Grave and, to a lesser degree, some obscure (there's that word again- see a pattern?) deep funk from the 70's. And of course "new" KBD-type bands from the boom of the 90's onward have a special place on the top shelf... which I guess sounds dramatic like I have a swank wet bar in my house with certain records hoisted on high and analyzed like a bottle of good wine and played on a special $10,000 gold plated audiophile turntable. Er, in reality the top shelf is just my white, scratched up 20 gig iPod that has most of my music on it. But my main love over all these other genres is still the raw, sometimes poorly-produced, obscure, limited pressing, passionate, heartfelt KBD punk of yore.