Year:2010 Genre: Punk Rock Label: Nute Records Tracks: 40 Length: 64 Minutes My Rating: 8/8
Mark Prindle is a somewhat notorious reviewer of music from New York who often does very interesting and humorous music reviews with a writing style and personality incomparable to most. He has been writing since 1996 and recording music since 1998. This new CD released in December features tracks from many of his previous CD's from over a decade span of 1998 to 2007! Therefore, we are left with a beautiful, surprisingly fluid compilation of forty amazing songs.
I would say that Mark Prindle is as creative a musician as he is a writer... this shit rivals Ween in terms of silliness + musical talent and is easily one of THE very greatest records to be made over the past decade. I guess this makes me apart of the problem seeing as I was unaware of his music before this CD... which was the first time I even had a chance to hear the music. But yes, totally great and versatile and FACUNDO HAS A CRUSH ON MARK PRINDLE so let's get started on this amazing quest through one man's mind. He's Mark D. Prindle.
1. Kibble! Featuring what is probably HENRY THE DOG on vocals... a bunch of weird synth keyboard gibberish. Not very long.
2. Mark D. Prindle Noisy and discordant... despite this, Mark sings with a vocal melody. I'M MARK D. PRINDLE. THAT'S HIS NAME, KIDZ. Despite sounding crazy, I actually believe this is all pre-written music because it repeats... it's just crazy sounding. Who couldn't love that? RIGHT?? RIGHT??!!
3. NOTECHORD Fast and hard. But it's got cool skrichy-skrachy sounds to it... awesome guitar-sounds... CHECK OUT THIS NOISE, Mark sings, as we are provided a loud vaccuum-cleaner-on-acid type noise to check out. YAYAYYY
4. Loving To Love With You This song, as you may guess is about love and being in love and all that shit... the warm but shrill tones of the guitar could melt your soul... WITH LOVE AND LOVING LOVE FOR YOU TO LOVE IN LOVE. Great-sounding song.
5. All The People I Work With Suck Balls For the most part contains this little lead-guitar melody and a fast beat and some great-sounding pseudo-psychedelic guitar melody seeping through your speakers... it then ends with Mark sounding like a curmudgeonly old man singing some shit I can't understand but it sounds fucking funny.
6. Jogging Is The Bestest Another fast song... slightly reminds me of the Germs. The Germs fucking rule! Except instead of Darby Crash we've got Marky Prindle who sings about homeless guys getting buttraped and the apparent joys of jogging. HE SAID "BONEY", AHAHAHAHAHA!!!
7. Length=Quality (Not Just In Cocks, But In Life) Has a weird mambo-type feel to it, except you're being chased by weird evil black sharks with vacuum cleaner heads for mouths... kinda like black, long-necked hammerhead sharks. OH-OH-OHH. Mr. Prindle sure sounds smarmy here.
8. Dreary Old Lonesome Potato A weird pseudo-metal smash-up with sad, cry-y sounding singing. SINGING! SINGING... singing. siiinnggiingnndfgndngdfngdfkhfglhkjjhkghjklghjhg who would wanna be a lonesome potato? Ends pretty abruptly.
9. Hot Rockin' 2Nite A somewhat hilarious "live" (a.k.a. fake arena audience background noise) parody of arena rock. It's pretty great and Mark's voice in the beginning is fucking hilarious as he attempts to sound like a high-pitched '70s rocker but ends up sounding like Mickey Mouse... after the main sung parts, the various members of the band all show off their SKILLZ on the instruments they play, including a pretty kick-ass but un-pretentious lead guitar solo. Who wouldn't love that, right? I FEEL ALRIGHT!!!! YOU'RE WELCOME FOR COMIN' DOWN!
10. Working Late - More Like 'Jerking Nate' If You Ask Me This one has kind of a dark, monstrous feel to it... reminds me of penguins escaping their death over thick black disgusting ice in Antarctica. Mark sings in more ridiculous voices.
11. Furnished With A Caboose One of the saddest songs I have ever heard... a little bit of wimpering feedback and then you hear a descending guitar melody that trickles down the earscope/whatever like teardrops from a man like Mark Prindle who knows the true meaning of pain apparently. But seriously, this song is very sad-sounding. I remember the first time I heard this song I was very stoned and sad began to get even sadder after hearing this and then proceeded to go on a destructive half-nude rampage around my house destroying various pieces of furniture... but that's a whole 'nother story. Seriously, if this song can't make you cry then you have no soul. Just like me because souls don't exist. Think about that next time you trip on robitussin!
12. My Songs Would Be Significantly Less Sucky If I Bothered To Save Up For More Powerful Recording Equipment This song is very ironic because this is one of the best-sounding albums I've heard to come out in recent years... this song is fast and the lyrics are about his supposed poor recording quality and it has a cool solo towards the end.
13. Lefties, Righties, We're All One In The Pearly Gates Of Hellfire Psychedelic hardcore! Awesome! Hear those wonderful thrasher beats and womp-womp and woosh-wash guitar sounds all in one song. Mark's singing style here sounds very awesome... he sounds like an angry old man, but not quite as old as the one in track five. The second half of this song is a bunch of shoegaze-y avant-garde guitarfuckingaround stuff.
14. KEYBORD This one is entirely keyboard melodies except for Mark's singing. Reminds me much of snow falling from the sky in winter. Mark vocally harmonizes with himself... he sings about birds and swearing and shit.
15. Lollipops And Daffodils And Cinnamon And Spice The first part of the song is a cool-sounding synth melody to a fake drumbeat and then the second part features a happy synth melody and Mark singing about nice happy things and wanting people to die. Another abrupt ending.
16. Trading Card Shenanigan This song is kinda slow... halfway through, the song stops and Mark starts singing about somebody ripping up one of his trading cards as a bunch of CHOMP sounds repeat... the music then segues into a really fucking amazing-sounding section with an awesome guitar riff with a delay effect. It reminds me of being somewhere... special, that's where. Everyone should hear this song. Check out that cool melody going on in the background... very amazing-sounding!!!
17. Get Your Knitting Needle Out Of My Ass! ALL THE KIDS ARE HEADING DOWN TO SCHOOL! This song is about a boy who gets fucked up the ass by his grandma's knitting needle... the music itself is pretty awesome as well... GET YOUR KNITTING NEEDLE OUT OF MY ASS.
18. It Means I Love You Mark sings to his female lover that if he has sex with another man then it means I LOVE YOU... Hahahahaha, what awesome lyrics. And horse noises as well... once again this song ends abruptly to PISS YOU THE FUCK OFF.
19. My Cold, Empty, Dying Soul Somewhat somber but it has a cool punky drumbeat... there's vocal harmonies here, too.
20. 12345 I like numbers and counting too. COUNTING IS CONFORMITY. UUGHGHHN UNNNGHHH UGNNGNGHHH... weird wonk-wompy melody. This should be the new Sesame Street theme song. Absofuckinglutely. Hahahaaahahahahaha, I can imagine it now! That would be the funniest thing ever... seeing Big Bird shaking hands with little kids to this music. Towards end of the song, we hear an angry man yell about being told what to do by the government.
21. Pisspoor Excuse For A Shoehorn Sounds much like a Flipper song.
22. NOIZNOTES Starts off with a bunch of echoing 'lectric guitar strums bouncing offa the walls, and then a fast drum beat fades in... Mark reluctantly encourages the listener to respect women and abstain from rape.
23. Innocence Lost THERE'S A TREE IN THE GARDEN AND THE SWING IT HAS BROKE, THERE'S A FACE IN THE WINDOW OF A CHILD WHO NEVER SPOKE... it's slow and depressing... actually pretty eloquent lyrically until he leads up to how he squished a pimple on his ass into your coke COCKSUCKERMOTHERFUCKERBLAHBLAHBLUHBLEGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
24. Honey Child, You Ain't Lived Until You've Drafted A Press Release Announcing That GameSpy Industries Has Received An Equity Investment From Michael Ovitz And The Yucaipa Companies A fast hardcore punk song.
25. Dialing Incorrect Phone Numbers Does Very Little Towards Reducing Stress Kinda slow and not very loud aside from the guitar melodies at the beginning. Makes me think of getting up during a cloudy day. SHIT.
26. Hurting You In A Malicious Manner Yet another great-sounding song. Nice guitar melody, fast beat, and a funky intro.
27. FASTCLEANS This song's about a magical fast cleaning device... like the title suggests, the song is fast with clean but totally 'lectric guitar. STRUMDADRUMSTRUMSTRUMSTRUMMMM...
28. All The People I Work With Don't Suck Balls Anymore Awesome guitar sound... reminds me of a winter night or maybe a summer night but either way with a really nice sunset just about to end and then it's all starry and shit. Lovely song with totally goofy balls-related lyrics.
29. I'm Not An Alcoholic (I Drink Because I'm Depressed) More slicy-icy sounding guitar picking... awesome sounding drumbeat. Sloppy but great. When Mark sings the beat cuts out of the mix. Hahahahahah! What a funny guy.
30. Disco Jaws Thick, murky bass riff and Mark singing in a smarmy but claustrophobic falsetto voice. He even makes weird Pac-Man sounds on the guitar! WOMPWAOWWW...
31. God Rules Starts off with a clean guitar riff and then explodes into a loud, bombastic song with a fast beat... then things change again. I dunno what to say that hasn't already been said. This song sounds pretty cool. Mark sings about all the things that God rules over.
32. My Third Shrinkity-Dink-Dink (Mr. Mustache) Unfortunately this is not a cover of "Mr. Mustache" by Nirvana. But Mark doesn't need to cover songs to sound good anyways. Once again Mark implements that thing where the music cuts out of the mix and we briefly hear only Mark and his various harmonizing clones singing something really stupid.
33. Antonio Banderas Naked A short, somber instrumental track.
34. Irish Eyes Are Smiling (At My Wongdong Sweet Poontong) Another one of my favorite songs on this album. Kinda reminds me of Ween but faster. We have absolutely amazing-sounding guitar riffage, Mark singing a nice vocal melody in a sped-up voice... it sounds absolutely great. One of the happiest songs I have heard... well, actually, that instrumental part isn't very happy, but the sung parts are very happy. They make me smile. The guitar melody is just hypnotizing. Yay for this wonderful song! Just makes me wanna skip through a field of daisies in the sun... and I WOULD if it weren't so FUCKING HOT AND HUMID OUT, MOTHERFUCKER!!!!
35. Mold On My Shower Curtain Is A-OK Has a neat electro/techno-ish beat and a cool guitar riff with some nice lead and synth melodies layered over it. Mark sounds pretty smarmy here... can't think of another word for it. I guess I could imagine taking a shower to this.
36. NOTES Kind of an angry western-ish guitar melody to this one. The singing here sounds boldly whiny here... he even cries IN THE SONG. ISN'T THAT AWESOME?? A man like Mark Prindle un-afraid to show his true feelings even when in the studio... or his apartment room or wherever he recorded this, mang.
37. Pinhead + Diver Down=Aah! (Rounded To The Nearest Decimal, Of Course) Mark ponders the recording techniques of bands such as the Ramones and Van Halen... the music is kind of '80s goth/ new wave-ish sounding... licky-sticky boo!
38. ANGST From the very first few seconds, this song sounds pretty awesome... it's like a catchy pop-punk tune with tons of reverb... Mark sounds like he's shouting off into the sky in the back yard of my old church or something here... I dunno why I think of that visual but I do.
39. SHIFTYLIFTY Feels like weirded out acid blues. Pretty nice guitar riff, I must say. Mark sings in another strange voice. ALCOHOL, YEAH... it actually sounds pretty hilarious when he says "I don't give a damn". Then we hear a bunch of loud whoooooop noises. Te-he. Hahahahahahaha, "Take a train to... SHIFTY-LIFTY."
40. The Post-Man Only Rings Untrue Slow, sad, and buzzy and fuzzy. UNNNNGHHHH. Keeps on fading in and out.
Well... sadly... we are at the end. Of this album. I really like it, too. Like, seriously, this is one of my favorite albums to come out in recent years. I know it's just a compilation of older shit but it WORKS. It's a lot like "The Pod" by Ween to me... just a goofy but nonetheless totally emotionally potent trek through all feelings human beings have. Mark has a great sense of humor and he is a great musician as well! I really hope I get to hear more shit like this in the future. You can listen to the whole thing for free or buy a CD right here:
If you want to hear a new record that leaves very little to be desired, give this a listen. Plus, 40 songs have gotta mean something. Almost every single tune on this album is great.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Furnished With A Caboose/Irish Eyes Are Smiling (At My Wongdong Sweet Poontong) (tied depending on my mood) 2. Furnished With A Caboose/Irish Eyes Are Smiling (At My Wongdong Sweet Poontong) (tied depending on my mood) 3. Trading Card Shenanigan
Year:2010 Genre: Punk Rock/Heavy Metal Label: None Tracks: 10 Length: 25 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Okay, so in January of this year, one of my friends from school handed me a copy of this CD. It's a demo CD by the artist "Matt Bones". Apparently Matt is a friend of hers. Matt Bones was apparently in the Piqua hardcore punk (imagine that!) band, the Street Freaks, which existed during the previous decade until they "got tired and burnt out" on that project. Matt Bones also plays bass guitar for a French industrial rock band called Electra-Kill. This recording resembles more traditional '70s punk rock and early heavy metal than the hardcore/street punk type stuff that the Street Freaks played. According to my friend, Matt was in another band before that but I do not know the name of thiz band. Sorry.
1. All Dressed Up The whole intro guitar melody and riff sound really familiar but I do not know where I have heard this before... perhaps it's just one of those riffs so good that they were simply meant to be invented so they were in our hearts all along and finally, Mister Bones played those notes n' chords THAT WE AS A HUMAN RACE WANTED TO HEAR!! But probably not. Matt has a unique but cool singing voice. This song is about getting fucked-up and loaded at night because there's nothing else to do. It has a metal-ish sound to it... it's kind of a sad song.
2. Shut Up Honky Despite Matt Bones being a honky himself (or simply a very well-disguised negro), he too tells honkies to shut up. Once again, lyrics describe smoking cigarettes and feeling lonely. What a shame. This is a little more upbeat... it's about being pissed off at a chick (?) who's a backstabber and breaks your heart. A lot of emotion in these songs, or at least a very good pop sensibility. Nice guitar playing. It has a slight surf rock sound to it ('cuz of that nifty little beat), with a little Misfits flavour in thare ass well. Ass well. It's a well inside of somebody's ass. Great song.
3. Alien Armageddon This song iz pretty fun. I love it myself. The song, as you may guess describes an alien invasion that destroys the human race and the panic that precedes it. I HOPE I LIVE TO SEE MYSELF GROW OLD BEFORE THE WORLD TURNS BLACK AND GOLD... actually, this song might actually be about the fact that aliens are ALREADY controlling the planet and using our governments/large corporations to carry out their bidding. Either one, I suppose. I have to pop. But anyways, this is a fucking rock song in a sense most people would assume. Except for that little paranoid scream "FIND GAWWWD, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!" in the chorus part. YAY FOR ALIENS KILLING PEOPLEEEEE UUUGHHH NOOOO
4. Blow You a Kiss Through the Wind I love this song as well. It's beautiful... the guitar sounds absolutely wonderful and it's about as blissful as you can get. It's about missing the girl you love and just being able to blow her a kiss through the wind... unfortunately girls hate you (guys if you're into those) and will never love you so FUCK YOU, BITCH.
5. Darkest Times This is probably my favorite song on the CD. The guitar is really soft (maybe acoustic) on this one and the chorus is about as good as it gets. The song's about feeling that you will survive through the hard times in life. I used to drive around backroads a lot listening to this song because I love it so much. Unfortunately my new car CD player hardly works worth a shit.
6. Break the World Another song in a more heavy metal territory. Quite lead-guitar driven. I could imagine a bunch of badass biker dudes blasting this if not for its overtly leftist message... the song expresses a desire to destroy the capitalist system and its greed-driven rulers and the military, so we don't have to live in a world where there is a price on everything. Yet another awesome tune from mister Matthew Boners.
7. Sunburns This is probably my least favorite song on the CD. It's just not as appealing to me as the other songs. The chorus is pretty good, though... I like the twang in his voice in that part. It's like angry glam metal.
8. Some Kind of Hate This is a Misfits cover. And I heard this version before the original (didn't know much about the Misfits at thut point), and briefly I actually believed this was an original song... it's awesome either way, they capture the spirit of the original just fine! Wonderful but gruesome lyrics, extremely hard-rockin' beat and guitar riff. What's not to love?
9. Song for the Gambler This is just acoustic guitar and singing, as opposed to other instruments. It has a pretty but kind of gloomy chorus... the song describes feeling like you're living life against a gambler as "you've been dealt the losing hand". I really like the vibrato in Matt's voice...
10. Hold Another kind of sad pop-metal song, but it doesn't really hold (hah, get it?) up to most of the previous songs here. It has a cool guitar solo, thuh.
Where the glam rock ethic has pretty much been dead since the '90s, this record still has that. It's a pretty refreshing thing to listen to since it doesn't really sound like much else that's being made right now and the songs are all very memorable and well-written. Matt's singing voice is very good as well and it's a nice change of pace from the constant screaming or the canned emo-boy shit that seems to dominate most rock music these days. But yes, this is definitely a good listen and it sucks that this doesn't seem to be an actual band or anything. So I guess the Skeleton Family doesn't even exist and it's Matt Bones. Which would make sense since most skeleton families happen to be buried under graves. But do check out Matt's muzick on his MySpace page here:
http://www.myspace.com/matthewbonesband
BYE BYE!
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Darkest Times 2. Blow You a Kiss Through the Wind 3. Shut Up Honky
Year:2010 Genre:Hardcore Punk/Heavy Metal Label: None Tracks: 5 Length: 16 Minutes My Rating: 7/8
The Whores were a rock band from Bristol, U.K. that existed from 2006 (but they didn't play their first gig until '08) to February of this year. I first discovered them about two years ago from their music video for the song "Somebody" and I instantly realized that they rocked! Their style is a punk/metal hybrid sound... imagine the Distillers and White Zombie had a rock & roll group orgy. The band's line-up consisted of Robyn Pistols (vox/bass guitar), Scrod Vile (also vox/guitar), and Chun Leek (drummist).
I think the band recorded an earlier EP called "Rot to Rust" or something like that, I could be wrong, but this is the band's newest and final (but hopefully not!!) release and it got a decent amount of media attention, but unfortunately the band is still stuck in obscurity for those not in-the-know...
1. Heart of Stone Begins with the strumming of the bass guitar and siren noises... some parts are slow and other parts are fast... completely awesome chords all the way through! It's got a really good feel like something really important is about to happen. Scrod Vile sings on the chorus section with Robyn providing backing vocals. Mid-song, there is a quieter bridge section that explodes in a series of screams and then Robyn starts yelling "FUCK YOUR SYSTEM" over and over again until the band hits up the chorus again.
2. Doesn't Really Matter This is a more fast song. The guitar-playing here (as with all the band's songs, really) is excellent, as the band provides really kick-ass combinations of chord-progressions, lead melodies, singing, and interesting drum beats and tempo changes.
3. Bleed On Me This song is pretty emotionally heavy... the song begins with a soft, quiet intro section, and then things get hard after that! The drum beat is totally hypnotizing and Robyn sounds ready to completely mutilate the subject of her anger with a more-than-bloody vengeance! Definitely the best on this record!
4. Hollow Starts off with a bass-guitar-driven fast verse section with alternating sung parts between Robyn and Scrod, and then it bursts into a fucking great chorus... the shrill chords and the throaty, powerful sounding singing really make a good combo... the Whores' music is packed to the brim with emotional potency.
5. Friendly Bombs Scrod Vile sings on this one... there's not much guitar or bass here, mostly just Scrod singing to a drum beat... the lyrics sing about the shitty state of the world, with sick animals, warfare, paranoia, and all of that great stuff... and so, Scrod continually yells the conclusion that "MOTHER NEVER LOVED YOU..."
It really sucks that this band broke up so soon... they seem to have just about all of the good ingredients for an awesome band... excellent songwriting, a lot of emotion, what seems to have been a pretty entertaining stage presence, and the music was pretty un-generic... as I said before, one of my favorite new-ish bands! Oh well, shit happens. But yeah, definitely go to see MySpacebook/whatever page and check out the songs, because they rock hard!
Year: 1980 Genre: Punk Rock Label: Orange Records Tracks: 11 Length: 21 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
GG Allin. GG. Allin. Was a guy... named. GG Allin. He spent the first few years of his life living in a shitty log cabin with a dirt floor without running water and a father who named him Jesus Christ Allin because he believed his son was to be Jesus Christ. Well, I guess you could say this was true. His brother Merle started calling him "GG" because he couldn't pronounce "Jesus"... his mommy tried to re-name him Kevin after the rest of the family managed to escape from his psycho father, but we all know GG was his real name, after all. So anyways, he grew up doing a lotta fucked-up shit with his best buddy, Merle, and stole a lot of things and basically did whatever they wanted.
In 1977, GG started his first band, the Jabbers. After releasing a few 7" EPs and singles, "Always Was, Is and Always Shall Be" is the main LP the band released. GG doesn't talk about being a rapist or eating shit or trying to rule the world on this album, and to be honest, on this album it doesn't really even seem like he's that headed there -- just a somewhat mean-spirited sense of humor and X-rated lyrics, but nothing as over-the-top as what he would be doing a few years later. 1. Bored to Death A classic ode to misanthropy, boredom, and apathy! GG sings of his hatred of people and their society, as well as being BORED TO DEATH of it. The vocal melodies are catchy as fuck, including the harmonies and GG sings really good here. The guitar and drumming and everything sounds real cool! This song was originally featured on the first 7" the band ever released.
2. Beat, Beat, Beat From the first few seconds, you can already tell this song's gunna be really hot! The lyrics are about GG wanting to get a handjob from a woman. Good drumming on this track.
3. One Man Army Pretty upbeat... not far from being '70s "hard rock" musically. GG's early clean-singing voice here sings well, I like the vocal melody here in the verse parts a lot. ONE-TWO ONE-TWO! Then there's a fucking awesome guitar solo in the bridge part of the song. 4. Assface A pop-punk ditty with razor blade guitars. GG was really good at writing catchy-sounding songs in his early career... this stuff sounds poppier than the fucking Ramones! Anyways, this song features GG talking shit about a girl he hates who "reminds him of his ass" (fat, hairy, covered with zits, when she opens her mouth, out comes the shit) and tells her he's gonna hang her from the highest tree!
5. Pussy Summit Meeting This is a somewhat corny skit that features what must be a bunch of chicks discussing their business which involves selling sex, and along comes a member of the Jabbers who hints to them that they have "a little arrangement" with him... 6. Cheri Love Affair A little slower than the other songs so far. Opens with a sweet-ass lead guitar song. This song features a group chorus of girls singing backing vocals. Pretty snazzy... the lyrics feature GG singing of how sexy the chick he's after is and how he wants to be with her. And fuck her, also. This song is pretty fucking awesome. End of the Birth Side.
7. Automatic GG sings about his anger for a girl who plays games with his mind and talks behind his back, or else he will "make her bleed internally".
8. I Need Adventure This song's about Mister Allin's need to constantly party hard and be dangerous all the time and fuck and all that wonderful stuff. I NEED ADVENTURE, JUST THE KIND THEY PROMISED YOU AND ME! This song was later re-recorded for the "Live Fast Die Fast" E.P. in 1984.
9. Don't Talk To Me A backstabbing egocentric jerk is called out on their douchebaggery. Love the guitar riff and the drum beat definitely! CH-CH-CH-CH-CHATTER CHATTER CHATTER!!!!! Gotta love the erratic screamin' like a demon' on this track.
10. Unpredictable Pretty fast song. This song's about a conclusion many a-male has come to at one point or another -- girls are hard to figure out. Kinda tame subject matter compared to what we are used to hearing from GG. Shit, they would probably be okay with playing this in a car commercial these days if not for GG's fucked-up future. ("Ford Pieceashit. It's UNPREDICTABLE.") Hahahahaha! 11. 1980's Rock & Roll This song's about the new decade, and what it means for the band -- PLAYING MUSIC FOR ANOTHER TEN YEARS! And they did. This song even features some jangly synth-piano playing. What else is there to say? This is my least favorite song on the album!
So that's GG's first album. The first three songs are all from the first GG Allin 7" from 1979, by the way. But yeah, most of this stuff is way tamer than what GG & company would be singing/playing by the end of the decade... 1980's rock & roll, indeed. But it's definitely fun to listen to, most of the songs are very good... fits in well amongst bands like the Ramones, the Stooges, the Germs, and other early U.S. punk bands... fun, energetic, badass, but also catchy. But that's obvious, I'm just throwing around a bunch of overused terms to make this review sound more substantial... because who the fuck actually READS reviews anymore? Nonetheless reviews of albums they have already fucking heard that came out three decades ago. Who still reads reviews? Oh yeah, fucking sheep who want some stuffy-assed yuppie from Rolling Stone's opinion on the latest major label/faux-indie pseudo-rock piece of smelly shit caked into a CD shape. So you want me to say something about this album that's TOTALLY UNCONVENTIONAL? OKAYYYY:
It's JEGGA-ZAMMIN'!!!
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Cheri Love Affair 2. Bored to Death 3. Assface
Year: 1980 Genre: Punk Rock Label: Subterranean Records Tracks: 2 Length: 6 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Flipper formed in the late '70s and were one of the weirdest, punk-est bands in the hardcore scene! This was before the Butthole Surfers, before Sonic Youth, before Die Kreuzen, before the Melvins, before all those fuckers, this was FLIPPER, A BAND NAMED AFTER A FUCKING FISH. While Black Flag and Minor Threat were at their peak and playing fast and tight became the popular thing to do, Flipper played slow, sloppy, and noisy. This was the first Flipper record ever, and already they've quite set into their sound. Imagine the Sex Pistols on LSD. That's Flipper for ya. Flipper sang about all kinds of things... this record has two songs on it, and a picture of a baby on the cover. Flipper was all about dead fish. Today there was a huge storm and there were a bunch of inch-thick balls of hail blasting down on the earth's surface if you live in Ohio. They weren't that hard but they fell that way! Anyways, time to talk about Flipper some more.
1. Love Canal I'm assuming a love canal is a pussy. I mean, like, it's a canal, and you can "love" it if you know what I'm sayin'... or you can actually love it. It's a pretty nice-looking little thingamajig that 50% of the world's population is equipped with. This song is slow, trudgey, mudgey, depressing, and it's about dying and all that other wonderful stuff. The music DOESN'T sound perfect musically, which is FUCKING AWESOME. The guitar riff sounds like a massive rock & roll dragon writhing through the arms of a merciless guitar player, breathing fire and ANNIHILATING, 'CUZ I'M ANNIHILATION MAN AND IT'S ANNIHILATION HOUR OF ANNIHILATION TIME 'CUZ IT'S MY WAR AND YER ONE OF THEM AND I'M AN NIHILIST TOO. Cool weird effects on Brucey Loosey's voice! Isn't that awesome. For the most part, the bass n' drums (not to be confused with drum n' bass) are the most stable part of the song. The guitar is insane and the vocals are just mad!
2. Ha Ha Ha Isn't life a blast... it's just like living in the past... we go downtown to do our shopping... and we live in suburbia... from the very beginning this song rules. It's one of the most well-known Flipper 'tunes... the bass riff is classic, the drum beat sounds awesome, the guitar riff is whacked-out, and I guarantee that you'll have these song lyrics memorized FOREVER... this song basically pokes fun at the suburban middle-class average lifestyle, going "ha ha ha" at its predictability, sterility, and occasionally ridiculousness. Tehehe. I'm still one of those fuckheads. HA HA HA HA HO HO HO HO EH HE HE HE HE HE AH HAHAHAHAHAHA... after that part of the song, Bruce laughs "hahahahaha", and it keeps on repeating and getting even faster. Then it's the end of the song. How's it feel to be laughed at by FLIPPER, KIDZ?
Well, that's the end of Flipper. This record, I mean. Flipper's still around and they released some new albums two years ago, but in my opinion '80s Flipper is the best. They throw punches in all the right god damn places... too punk for your average uptight dumbasses and too punk for your average uptight dumbass "punks"... they'll know punk when they hear Flipper, or anything remotely similar to Flipper. Flipper were drunk, drugged-up, knew when to laugh at themselves, and it costed the lives of a few of them. I don't really know where I'm going with this. Enough with my bullshit. Listen to these songs if you haven't already.
Year: 1981 Genre: Punk Rock Label: Unknown Tracks: 2 Length: 7 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
OH. HI. HI THERE. I'M SORRY ID IDN'T SEE YOU THERE... I AM RAERALLY SORRY, MY GOOD SIR. OH. HI. HI AGAIN. THIS IS ME. TYPING. HI. HI AGAIN. HI THERE. THIS IS MY REVIEW OF THE BAND FANG. THEY ARE A PONK RONK BONK THAT STOITED AUT IN ABOUT 1980 AND THEY HAD THEIR OWWWWN RECORD LABEL CALLED... WAIT FOR IT, WAIT FOR IT...
...ANYWAYS, THEY WERE NOT ON THE BONNER RECORDS LABEL WHEN THEY RELAEASED TGEHEIR FIRST 7-INCH FLATTENED CHODE. THEY WERE ON A RECORD LABEL KKKALLED "FLACID PENNIS WRECK(AS IN TO "WRECK" SOMEONE'S ANUS WITH YOUR CAULK) CORDS"... but not really. I DUNNO WHAT THIS LABEL WAS CALLED. ANYWAYS, THE BAND WERE SKIN-HEADS I THINK (OI OI OI) AND THEY COUNTER-ACTED THE POLITICALLY CORRECT LIBERAL ATTITUDE OF THE BERKLEY CALIFORNIA SCENE BY SINGING AT TIMES VERY POLITIKKKALLY INKKKORECT(ION) LYRIKKKX AND THEY PLAYED THEIR MUSIC MUCH SLAAAOUUUWER THAN MOST OF THE TOAST. ANYWAYS, ON WITH... THE REVIEW. BOYS AND GIRLS... boys and girls... hop inside of my anus and we shall venture on to find out what lays in store next, for the LAND OF MAGIC.
1. Yukon Fang I'm pretty sure that "Yukon" is also a kind of potato... like, the "Yukon Gold Potatoes". The song has a pretty cool bass riff and a slow beat. There's not really any rhythm guitar chords, just some plinking at a semi-muted note. Sam McBride (the singer) has a pretty good voice. He doesn't sound all Bri'ish-soundin' like he does on the band's first album, "Land Shark". 'CUZ HE'S REALLY A KALIFLORNIAN... POSER!!!! POSER!!!! SAMMYTOWN WAS A FUCKING POSER BECAUSE HE SANG WITH A BRITISH ACCENT AND HE'S NOT FROM BRITAIN! LYNCH!!!! No, not really. I don't give a shit what he sounds like as long as he sounds good. Actually, Flipper had this sort of deal about them, also... not sure what was up with that, either. It's a relatively calm song... the kind you can just smoke/drink to and wallow in self-pity or whatever bullshit you got UP YER SLEEVES TODAY!!!!!! Now, for the B-side...
2. Enjoy the View The beat is really cool in the beginning of this song. The guitar makes really cool sounds... in the chorus part the beat is twice as fast. Sam sings in a really throaty, loud-sounding voice as opposed to the calm voice he sings with in the other song. There's some kind of avant-garde lead guitar stuff going on off in yer left ear... and in the center of your hearing scope it just repeats one icy-sounding chord. Someone's responsible for all yer failures, gotta use yer hatred SOMEHOWW...
It's a pretty good record. If you feel lonely or isolated, it especially sounds good. Actually, I've been real depressed for the past few days and just tonight I feel like my old happy self again, and that is a good thing. Even music can't help you when you feel like that. Anyways, y'alls probably know about SLAMMYMCSAMMYMCSAMMYTOWNMCBRIDE killin' his girlfriend and only doing 6 years in prison for it... yeah, Fang are still around and playing shows after 30 years... sounds like a long time now, doesn't it? DOESN'T IT?? Well, having only heard their songs from LAND SHARK prior to this, this sounds a lot different. LAND SHARK sounds more hardcore, but this reminds me of Flipper, but less intense. The first song is devoid of really sounding that intense, it's more of an introspective tune... the other one is also, but it's got more of that rock n' roll energy to it. You can really bang your head to both of 'em. The first one just seems like a late night drinking sort of song. The album that comes after this one, LAND SHARK... they sound more "hard" there and they sing more about being a bad-ass and driving fast cars and stuff. Actually, it hardly sounds like the same band, but it iz. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. Actually, I just realized that the bass riff for "Enjoy the View" sounds just like this:
Genre: Punk Rock/Folk Rock Label: Wrong Island Records Tracks: 11 Length: 34 Minutes My Rating: 7/8
After several EPs and demos released digitally, this iz the first "official" Grrrl Friend album, actually being released in the physical form of a CD which can be bought from the band or you can get it for free from one of their shows. The album basically contains a select 11 songs from the band's "early" studio recordings, 2007 to 2009. All the songs on this album were previously featured in "The Rag", "Grrrl Friend", and "Some Say It's Genetic", some early digital releases from the band. However, Duffy insists that THIS is the first real Grrrl Friend album, so that's basically what this is. But because of it being compiled of various studio sessions spanning over 3 years, there were many different line-ups that recorded different songs. The earliest line-up here is the one featuring Duffy (guitar/vocals), Elyssa Lovelyss (bass/vocals), Jay Briggs (guitar/vocals), and Mike Tambo (drums). In mid-2008 Elyssa Lovelyss left the band and Jay Briggs also left to continue on with his own band, the Sonitus Revolution. The second female vocalist, Cora, is featured in the songs recorded in the 2008 and '09 sessions. Tambo and Duffy are the only members playing on all of the songs. I've already reviewed all of these songs in other reviews so I'm not going to do it again, but I will list them and when they were recorded and describe them in a nutshell.
1. The Hat Was Too Tall Recorded 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Starts out as a noise collage and then turns into a folk song.
2. Roadside Picnic Recorded 2009 in Portland, Oregon. A love song with a really good guitar riff.
3. Ibsen Recorded 2008 in Portland, Oregon. Angry song.
4. Probably Recorded 2007 in Long Island, New York. Fast song.
5. The Rag Recorded 2007 in Long Island, New York. A fast song about a girl with venereal disease.
6. Toole & I Recorded 2009 in Portland, Oregon. The song that this album gets it's name from.
7. Bestiality BBQ Recorded 2009 in Portland, Oregon. A country-type of song making fun of hillbillies.
8. The Slope Recorded 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Melancholy psychedelic rocker.
9. Hanging the Executioner Recorded 2008 in Portland, Oregon. Angry song about being a social outcast.
10. Borscht Recorded 2008 in Portland, Oregon. Angry hardcore punk-type of song.
11. Mine Recorded 2007 in Long Island, New York. Sounds like Beat Happening.
Shortly after they put this one out, the band "retired" the demos from which these songs originally came, so a lot of songs that also could have been on here were kind of relegated to obscurity. Really good other songs they did like "Ouch!" and "Homesick" and "The Flow" and their cover songs. And then there's their REALLY old stuff they did, but Duffy disregards most of those as not being "true Grrrl Friend", so most of that probably won't see light again. But hopefully they'll re-record some of their other songs they have for their next album which is supposed to come out THIS YEAR on GNAR TAPES! WHOOHOO! It'll be fun to hear more new Grrrl Friend.
Most of the songs on this album make up their current live set, along with songs like "Doppleganger 12-Step" which haven't been featured on any albums yet. The earliest stuff on here is sort of a gritty pop-punk that reminds me of a cross between Nirvana and Beat Happening. After that their sound changed a little bit and they added more folk, noise, and hardcore influences to their music. All of the songs on here are really good and if you're looking for a great new band to listen to then Grrrl Friend is the band I recommend. You can hear the whole album on the internet for free on here:
http://grrrlfriend.bandcamp.com/
Stay tuned for the next album. And I know this was kind of a "weak" review because I didn't do very much actual reviewing, but I promise I'll be doing more this next week. So seeya later.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Roadside Picnic 2. Probably 3. Mine
Genre: Punk Rock Label: Burn Books Records Tracks: 10 Length: 21 Minutes Style:Angry/Emotional My Rating: 7/8
Pregnant is a band that formed inside some women's belly in the year ouf oure Lourde, 2007. Some months later, the band fell out of her vagina in the form of a little baby in Brooklyn, New York, and then the baby was ripped into three pieces, and the pieces of ripped-up Baby Guts (also the name of a different band) regenerated into the life-forms known as Stefanie Bridges (bass), Kevin Manion (guitar/vocals), and Ian T. (drums). This was cool, and then the band started playing shows and then they recorded a 7" called "Wanna See My Gun". Then they recorded an album. This album. This was the album. This... IS the album. The band's musical style is kind of like a cross between Husker Du and the Foo Fighters. That's what it sounds like, at least. And they have really cool cover art for their album.
1. Real Talk A creepy cackling cave sound is heard. The singer really does sound like Dave Grohl at parts. The riff is pretty angry-sounding. And there's "oooooh-ooooooh" Beach Boy-like chorus vocals in the background. "NEVAH STARTEEEEYYYAAAHHHH"
2. Skin Display This song's kind of slow. One thing I noticed with the vocals here are that they're kind of layered/harmonized. It sounds pretty good. Kevin's voice is more gritty and Stefanie's voice is softer. I like the chorus riff and melody. YER SKIN IZ ON DISPLAY... SO GO DISPLAY MORE SKIN, BUDDY. Then Kevin coughs at the end of the song.
3. Wormie Who doesn't love a good wormie every now and then? Y'know, that REALLY REALLY REALLY fucked-up sex move called the "Wormie"? What? Never heard of it? If you have to ask... you'll never know. Bitch. But I've eaten worms plenty of times before, so I know a little bit about wormies. The non-sexual kind. If you find worms sexually attractive THEN YER A SICK BASTARD WHO SHOULD BE MUGGED/RAPED/SHOT/SENT TO HELL!!!!!!!! Anyways, this song is fast and it once again has a nice guitar riff... the rhythm guitar has a kind of jangly sound throughout the album and the bass is pretty thick and feels good on the ears. Great song.
4. Help This one's kind of happy-sounding and once again pretty melodic. For some reason the guitar-playing in the verse part of this song reminds me of a little trumpet-blower playing the trumpet really fast. And yet, there are no trumpets. Huh.
5. Toothache Begins with a scream. More angry-sounding. Did he just say "you've gotta eat yourself"? Man, what are they going to do when some kid is listening to this and takes those lyrics to heart and really DOES try to eat themself! THINK OF THE CHILLLDREN... End of Sied A.
6. Safe & Sound Faster. Angrily-yelled vocals in the verse part. Melodic Misfits-like singing in the chorus part. Towards the end of the song there's a part where there's this wave of static-sort-of-noise and it gets louder and louder until stopping at the final chorus.
7. Do You Feel It? This song rocks hard! The guitar melody is fucking awesome, the singing is awesome, the beat sounds cool, you've just gotta hear it! DO YOU HEAR IT?? HE DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN! STRAIGHT OUTTA THE HORSE'S MOUTH!! THE GUY WITH THE SWEATER AND THE RED HAIR... HE IS A HORSE! AND EVERYTHING HE'S SAYING IS STRAIGHT OUT OF HIS MOUTH! SO REMEMBER KIDZ TO NEVER LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH... alright, enough with the horsey jokes. The song transitions directly into the next song, "You Think".
8. You Think A fast song. The guitar riff in the very beginning goes well with the bass guitar. It's real awesome like the song before it and I like how the chorus riff goes... it kind of ascends upwards. Somewhat reminds me of the Germs. The guitar sound and the chord progressions.
9. You Give It to Me Cool drum beat. YOU GIVE IT TO ME, I GIVE IT TO YOU. It's pretty upbeat, but towards the end it gets more dissonant and noisy.
10. Wanna See My Gun? Starts out with a REALLY sexy-soundin' bass guitar riff. The song was originally on a 7" single that was the debut release from the band. I really love how he sings "I don't think this works anymore...". The beat is different-sounding and cool. After the first part, the song gets slower with echo-y vocals and no drum beat. Then the beat gets really fast in the next part after Kevin screams and then he starts singing more angrily this time around! There's even piano-playing in this part of the song... kind of reminds me of that one song at the end of Patti Smith's first album. Then Kevin says something like "ji" or "gun" or "jay" or something like that and his voice echoes all weird. And that's the end. Of the album. Kidz.
I'm a lot more impressed by this album than I thought I would be. The songwriting is awesome, the music might not be that "hardcore" but it sure does sound intense. I'd say it actually reminds me of a mix between the Germs and the Foo Fighters. Know what those two bands have in common? PAT SMEAR WAS IN BOTH OF THEM... which means that PREGNANT is essentially a CREATION of the deranged genious of PAT SMEAR!! Actually, I don't know if they listen to either of those bands, but they do sound good. A few of the songs are less entertaining than others, but by the second half of the album they've hit full throttle quality-wise. Most of the songs are pretty fast, a few of them are slow... the songs never get boringly repetitive, there's some cool effects used here n' there... I should try to buy this record, really. But if you don't have a record player, then you can just download one. But you should buy it sometime. Give the band some of YOUR HARD-EARNED MONEY YOU SLAVED AWAY AT!!! I dunno. Do what you want to. Violence. Violence. Violence. Doesn't make any sense. Violence. Violence. Violence. Do what you want to... and also, I just wanted to remind you how awesome I think the cover for this album is. Flying saucers exploding over a desert. That's just cool.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Wanna See My Gun? 2. Do You Feel It? 3. You Think
Genre: Post-Punk Label: Silent Explosion Records Tracks: 4 Length: 9 Minutes Style:Weird My Rating: 6/8
Thanks to the help of my favorite cartoon ever, Beavis & Butt-head, this band actually got famous for awhile... by then they had gone to more of a mainstream heavy metal sound, but they were totally punk when they first started out. And not your momma's Ramones-like punk either, this is weird-ass window-shatterin' punk! The kind your momma warned you about! The band came from New York City and were named after a 1930s horror film called... the WHITE ZOMBIE!!!! The quality of this record is a bit murky, so it's kinda hard to make out all the lyrics, but I'm going to review all of this stuff anyways.
1. Gentleman Junkie It's like a backwoods-sounding version of New Wave! Rob Zombie's weird, hillbilly-sounding vocals give the music an extra edge. Beat is cool in the chorus part. There's a ton of lead guitar solo-ing going on also, so that might interest you as well.
2. King of Souls [W.Z.] The guitar riff here is even cooler here. A little more up-beat and catchy. I just love the way Rob's singing sounds. End of Side A.
3. Tales From the Scarecrow Man Slower. Very inviting bass riff. Real trippy-sounding lead guitar stuff going on. More awesome-sounding vocals. That guitar just sounds like a ton of little creatures whizzing around your range of hearing. Sort of bubbling and rippling, and then buzzing and leaving a trail of glow behind it. I think I heard a harmonica also. This is my favorite song on the E.P.
4. Cat's Eye Resurrection The fastest song. CAT CAT CAT... I like cats. Because they are funny. The tempo slows down in the chorus part and starts to sound like some fucked-up carnival tune. Rob's got so much of this fucked flow to the way he sings. Well, that's it, man, 'cuz this song is pretty short.
That was the first White Zombie record. It's pretty interesting... in some ways it reminds me of the Butthole Surfers, but not as funny. The vocal style reminds me of early G.G. Allin, but even more redneck. There's a hint of metal in the guitar tonage. Actually, the EP was re-released some years later as a cassette tape which includes two studio out-takes, but I'm too lazy to review those today so maybe someday I'll redo this review all over again or just find another record with those songs on it to review. Anyways, if you like your music fucked, screwed, and skewed, then "Gods on Voodoo Moon" iz for you. PENNIS
...DEAD Kennedys were a very political, creative punk rock band that existed from the late '70s to mid '80s (same timeframe as Black Flag), and the band was fronted by the charismatic, very intelligent man known az JELLO "BI AFRO" BIAFRA. They put out some singles in the 1970s with humorously political-centered tunes such as "California Uber Alles" and all that SHIT, and now here's their first full-length album, FRESH FRUIT for ROTTING VEGETABLES!!
1. Kill the Poor HEEEREZ a nice jolly little tune about killing poor parts of the world with neutron bombs to make more room for fancy hotels and golf courses! WHAT FUN. Even liberals are wimps, too! Everyone sing along with me -- KILLKILLKILLKILL THE POOR! KILLKILLKILLKILLKILL THE POOR TONI-I-I-I-IGHT! The beginning part is slow, but then it gets a bit faster.
2. Forward to Death Even faster, eh? This song's about somebody who's so bored of life in capitalist consumeristic society that he's "looking forward to death", because American society puts a lil' frown on hiz face, man. This song was written by 6025.
3. When Ya Get Drafted Awesome catchy guitar riffs and yet also a frantic, freakish side as well. This song's about Ronald (McDonald) Reagan revving the American people up for a new war with Russia and it's all for fucking BIG BUSINESS (not the band), MAN. The verse riff just sounds fun, and the chorus riff is more mean and mutated. The solo sounds like something out of a horror film.
4. Let's Lynch the Landlord A bit slower. It's funny how all of these songs sound so gawdamn party-tastik and yet the messages are so serious. It's an awesome-sounding song, though. And it's about killing yr landlord (rather than yr idols). Because he wants more money for everytime you drink water. Some landlords who are Dead Kennedys fans have indeed complained about them writing this song.
5. Drug Me This is a really fast song that's not really as much an anti-drug tune as much as comparing the mainstream media and the government and entertainment industry themselves to drugs, using endless fake pleasure to keep ze kiddies entertained THEIR WAY. Yeah, I have to admit that I am into drugs somewhat myself. Not a TON yet, but I do know that getting high/drunk is totally fun. So yeah, drugs are bad mm'kay, but they're also really fun. Awesome weirdo solo in the middle of the song. You can't tell me they weren't on drugs to come up with THAT one!
6. Your Emotions East Bay Ray wrote this lil' song. Awesome super-legit guitar riff. The beat iz fast, just makes me wanna dance! The song discusses how people are somewhat programmed how to feel by society and their surroundings, becoming like biological tape-recorders. YOUR EMOTIONS MAKE YOU A MONSTER!
7. Chemical Warfare AN AGGRESSIVE SONG ABOUT... CHEMICAL WARFARE. "Down at the arsenal they keep the nerve gases, guarded day and night by caged white rabbits" -- AHAHAHAHAHA. In the middle, there's a freakish slow section that sounds like a creepy carnival song, sung by the famous klown, RAMBOZO. Then there's a bunch of hilarious sounds at one part right before the end. End of Side A.
8. California Über Alles One of the most famous Dead Kennedys songs ever... original released as the band's first 7" single ever in 1979, but this is a different version of the song. This version's slightly faster, and it portrays then-governor-of-Kalifornjia as the hippie Hitler enforcing his extremely liberal views on the rest of the state. "Mellow out or YOU WILL PAY"... man.
9. I Kill Children EIGH KULL KHULDRUNZ is another fun fast song beigh the DAD KINIDIZ about a KEH-REZEH SERULL KULLOOWER HO LOIX TEH KULLZ VER MINEH CHILDREN. "I've been butt-fucked one too many ways". Ain't that a drag. I like the riff during the mid-section of the song.
10. Stealing People's Mail Stealing PeoplE'S Mail. Who the hell "People" is, I dunno, but if they were talking about PEOPLE as in the plural pronoun, then Jello would have titled it "Stealing Peoples' Mail", right, right? RIGHT?????????????? NOW NOBODIE KUNT FIND THER MAIL, GODDAMMIT!!!!!!
11. Funland at the Beach Funland, funland... at the beach... Funland at the beach... yeah, I've been there. It FUCKING RULES. The sand is pink, the sky is always blue, and the cloudz are made of cotton kandYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. But really, funland @ ze beach is not always fun, 'cuz the lil' fat kids who like to the candy at this magical little world are getting killed and splattered to bloody little bits by the gigantic fucking rollercoaster and FUN-LAND. OH NO!! (cue Mr. Bill, here). Then there's a guitar solo hyah.
12. Ill in the Head The riff consists of some normal chords succeeded by very quirky weird lead note progressions. The song's about a person who grows a case of mental insanity as an unconscious of tactic of coping with mundane life in the schizophrenic western society.
13. Holiday in Cambodia The most famous Dead Kennedys song ever, so famous, so FUCKING PUNK ROCK that it was FUCKING PUNK ROCK FEATURED IN... a car commercial? What is this world cumming to? Gee, I dunno, but here's what I think about the song: it's catchy. It's about a liberal college student who thinks he knows everything about politics and thinks American life's so hard, but even a sucky moment in the U.S.A. is better than... A HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA, LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! Here's actually what I said about the song in my review of "Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death" earlier this year: "The most famous Dead Kennedys song. Now being used in car commercials, video games, and the like, it is quite well-known in mainstream music fandom possibly for those reasons, and also because it's just a catchy, fun song. This iz the version from the single in 1980. This version mocks the mainstream "liberal elite" kids who think they've "seen it all from daddy's car", but back east "their type don't crawl" -- telling the kids who think American life is tough to cheer up because even the hardest times in America are still "a holiday in Cambodia". The vocal harmonies in the chorus are great."
14. Viva Las Vegas This is a cover of the song by Elvis Presley. Cool bass melody. It's pretty fast. It's a happy-go-lucky tune about going to Las Vegas to see all the girls and have a bunch of fun and shit. Interesting way to end an album, I say.
The album has a lot to say about a lot of perilous situations that plagued the world at the time and just even moreso now! People are crazier than ever, these days! The album has a really gritty, vaguely garage-rocky feel to it, like the band just recorded it to their garage to a few tapes and put it on some wax as-is. I could be totally wrong though, and totally am. It's kind of like the first Dev-O album, but harder. Most of the shit I've said about this album was said in the individual track-reviews, so yes, there's my fucking opinion. Definitely listen to it, if you have anything up that brain of yours you'll enjoy something about it for sure! The Kennedys would go on to perfect their creative genius with their next albums.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. When Ya Get Drafted 2. Your Emotions 3. Kill the Poor
Year: 1980 Genre: Punk Rock Label: Posh Boy Records Tracks:6 Length: 6 Minutes Style:Fun My Rating: 6/8
Before the famous pop-punk group known as REDD KROSS was REDD KROSS, they were "Red Cross". And before that, they were "The Tourists". But this EP is by Red Cross, and even though it would have been short enough to be on a 7", it's a 12" EP. The band was only in middle-school when they formed, so they were really young when they started making music! And I haven't heard much Red Cross/Redd Kross besides that cool song they wrote for "Desperate Teenage Lovedolls", so now it's time to listen to the first Red Cross record:
1. Cover Band This song makes fun of cover bands, playing nothing but popular (and boring) songs that everyone knows and that they're unable to write their own music. The riff reminds me of "Mildred Pierce" by Sonic Youth, though this song was written 10 years earlier, so really it's the other way around. Cool beat, also.
2. Annette's Got the Hits Awesome heavy guitar riff and awesome beat, also. ANNETE'S... GOT THE HITS! Real catchy n' cool and a bit slow, but in a good way. A fun party anthem.
3. I Hate My School This is a song about how the band hates school and cheerleaders and jocks and their social conformity, and how they can't wait to graduate. The riff is catchy and sort of poppy. The beat rules, also!
4. Clorox Girls This song makes fun of California girls who try to be all tan at the beach but bleach their hair blonde, resulting in a really un-natural look to the point where their hair looks white! This one's good a guitar solo at the end.
5. S&M Party This song is really fucking good! The riff and the singing is awesome. It's about getting beaten for pleasure at an S&M party! What fun.
6. Standing in Front of Poseur Some of their voices haven't even changed, yet! This song has a different vocalist, and he sounds like a fucking girl... but he's still a good singer. STANDING IN FRONT OF POSEUR. I swear he's screaming "HOOKER" half the time... I think he is! Cool chords.
So far, I'm sold on Redd Kross. Every song on this EP was real cool to listen to. At this point, the band's lineup was Jeff McDonald (vox), Greg Hetson (guitar), Ron Reyes (drums), and Steve McDonald (bass), in case you're wondering -- actually, I didn't know Ron Reyes was in Red Cross... that's pretty awesome. So definitely check this out. It's a very cool little record from Posh Boy Records, and all of you pop-punk posers should listen to this if you wanna hear how it's SUPPOSED to be done!
Top 3 Favorites: 1. S&M Party 2. Annette's Got the Hits 3. I Hate My School
Genre: Hard Rock, Punk Rock Label: Columbia Records Tracks: 8 Length: 34 Minutes Style: Rough/Fun My Rating: 6/8
Last time I reviewed a Stooges record I actually reviewed their first album, but now I've skipped over to their third album (I own all three) to review for now. I was in the local FYE and asked the person who works there whether I should get this album or special-order "26 Songs" by the Melvins and she recommended this one. Well, it was pretty pricey, but a good record is always worth it, so I spent all the money I had on it. And it WAS good. You got a great picture of Iggy on the front, looking even wilder than he did on the cover of their first record, and some fuck-tastic performance photos in the back. And we all know Iggy Pop does some crazy shit on stage, setting the standard for shock-rock performers who would emulate his erratic stage-antics (like Darby Crash) or take them to a whole new level (like GG Allin). I think he even invented the stage-dive, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.
Anyways, this iz a wild n' sleazy punker party sort of album, and the title fits it well, possibly because it's one of the loudest records I've ever heard, but it just has that chaotic ultra-positive vibe to it -- it's harder than both the albums before it and even more than a lot of "punk rock" that came out in the years following this album. So, let's buckle up for the ride n' SEE WHAT'S IN STORE WHEN I UNLEASH SOME RAW POWER INTO MY HEAD-PHONES!
1. Search and Destroy You can feel the speakers rattle when you put this on and feel those gritty guitar vibes. And Iggy Pop is not only a forgotten boy, but he iz the WORLD'S forgotten boy. And NOT just that either. He's also the ONE who searches n' destroys. A lot of "garage punk" bands of today seem to emulate this sound with the whole loud-as-possible approach. The song has a pretty confident feel and there's a lot of lead guitar n' shit.
2. Gimme Danger Man, that acoustic guitar melody at the beginning. Those strings just pierce right into your ear and right into your soul. It's hard to get that sound from modern production techniques. This is definitely one of my favorite songs on the album, with the combination of electric and acoustic guitar that I really like. The guitar solo that begins around 1:20 of the song is just golden. Nice beat, also.
3. Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell Man, I can't think of anything that sounds more delightfully scumballish! I'm not sure if it's Iggy singing on this one or Ron Asheton (bassist) singing, since he is also credited as a vocalist and the voice sounds pretty different. It's just a rabidly sexual-type song with a violent energy to it and some of the meanest vocals you've ever heard!
4. Penetration The guitar riff here is more on the heavy-metal side, and Iggy sort of does this half-whisper-half-yell singing voice here. One and a half minute in: really weird singing of gibberish! Side A ends here.
5. Raw Power A hard rock-n-roller with a real cool bass melody and a little piano mixed in, also. "Raw power's got a healing hand/raw power can destroy a man"; yeah, that Raw Power shit izn't to be toyed around with, children!! Guitar solo at ze ende. Uf ze saing.
6. I Need Somebody A slower, more blues-y song. The chorus is mildly catchy. Probably the calmest moment on the album. Gives me a desert/cactus sort of vibe for some reason (I drew a cactus on my arm today). A cactus is a neat thing to look at. Its needles are actually the leaves of the plant and it's got a big, fleshy stem... you can eat them also! I see cactus parts for sale at the grocery store (and I swear to God I'll try one before I die!).
7. Shake Appeal I believe the Melvins's song "Snake Appeal" was titled as sort of a tribute to this one. Lots of hand-clapping for this song. Really cool guitar melody. Great chorus melody also. Kind of unexpected and jittering like that. The guitar solo in the bridge section is excellent ass well. "Ass". Ha. Ha. HAAAAAAaaa. Iggy makes funny noises for the rest of the song.
8. Death Trip My other favorite song from the album. Pure power! RAW POWER! RAW POWAH! And the "raw power" in this one completely lies in the riff, man. Or wo-man. Whichever one you are. Also the longest song, clocking in (I know, it's an over-used cliche) at six minutes! The bridge section is the high-point of this song, with just that riff that never gets old, Iggy screamin', and the endless sonic chatter of those wild rock-n'-roll GUITARS!!!
So that's eight songs of RAW POWER, kidz. Not a "weak" record by any means and serves as a good bridge between hard rock and punk rock. Apparently it was also Kurt Cobain's favorite album. Personally I like the debut album better, but I'd say this one's just a tad better if not equal to "Fun House". But yes, check it aut. And I'm aut. Aut.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Gimme Danger 2. Death Trip 3. Shake Appeal
MY WIFE LEFT ME BECAUSE THESE SONGS ARE TERRIBLE
