Fe Fi Fo Fums- You Might Get Me

Slowing things down today with a slice of lo fi garage rock from Seattle's The Fe Fi Fo Fums. The band released an album, Shake All Night, in 2006 as well as a handful of singles. This song, You Might Get Me, was the b side of 2007's I Just Wanna Boom Boom Girl......

Stiff Little Fingers - My Dark Places

Today's song is the 100th posted since the blog started at the end of December, hopefully a few of you have discovered some great music and some new bands. I doubt anyone will be discovering a new band today, as for the 100th song I'm choosing one of my all time favourite bands. I bought their first album when it was originally released in 1979 and have seen them live many times since. 2014 sees the release of their long awaited new album, No Going Back, I am of course talking about Stiff Little Fingers. The Belfast band formed in 1977 and apart from a few years in the 80's have been active ever since, their current line up being Jake Burns, Ali McMordie, Steve Grantley and Ian McCallum. This song, My Dark Places, which is Jake's personal account of the depression he suffered following his divorce, shows that they've not lost the ability to pen a classic tune.....

Sneaky Pinks - I'm Punk

Today's song seems to want to take a shit on top of your kid and whilst that's something i probably wouldn't condone i would still recommend you check out this concise blast of punked up garage n roll tunage. Featuring Justin Champlin, aka Nobunny, The Sneaky Pinks released a couple of singles in the mid 00's and then seemingly disappeared until the release in 2013 of the I'm Punk/Puke Pudding 7" single. Trashy and fun, this is I'm Punk......

Good Throb - Bag

Today's entry in this pick n mix punk rock time machine is from London 4 piece Good Throb. A live 9 track demo tape released in 2011 was followed a year later by a 4 track s/t single (name your price : http://superfirecords.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-7 ). More diy punk with an attitude followed in 2013 with the Culture Vulture single ( free here : http://goodthrob.bandcamp.com/album/culture-vulture-7 ) and coming soon will be the debut lp, charmingly called Fuck Off. This is Bag and it's great......

Osker - 13

One of my favourite albums is Treatment 5 by Osker, it was their first album and came out on Epitaph Records in 2000. Comprised of 18 songs with an attitude it was the better of their 2 long players (though a decent % of their fans would vote for it's predecessor, Idle Will Kill). Famed for frontman Devon Williams' fuck you attitude the band split in 2002. This is 13......




heartbroken,
i watched the rain beat on the sidewalk.
complete with grey skies and headlights
and puddles on the sidewalk,
everybody's ruined like me...
it's weird now, when i look back.
each day spent careful is still consumed over time.
i think it's worse to be aware
and know this change than to go on every day unknowing...
i'm having trouble with realizations.
why does it have to be a regretful mess.
if i could have one day back now,
i swear i'd use it well...
oh 13, where did you go?
you're gone when i needed you the most.
i know that from here it's downhill.
make the best of a slow death. people change, yeah.
and that can never be good.
i liked it that way, why did you stray?
maybe i'm unhealthy.
oh won't you stop and stay frozen in time with me...

The Ills - 1-2-3 Hate u

  A 1 minute blast of fuck you on the blog today from a band who's members go by the names Erika Ebola, Danny Dysentery, Ally Acidosis, Tommy Tinnitus and Stella Salmonella. The Ills are a garage/punk/pop/trash/riot grrrl 5 piece, they got together in 2010 and are currently based in Iowa City.  Influenced by the likes of Rip Off Records' Loli And The Chones and boasting "no friends, no talent, no songs over a minute and a half!" they've so far released a couple of eps and an album called Tuning Out. The first ep is available free here : http://theillsrock.bandcamp.com/album/i-kill-me-ep
From the album, this is 1-2-3 Hate U......

The Carpettes - small wonder

It makes me feel old when i look back for songs to post in the blog and come across something from 1978 and think "I bought that when it was released." If i remember correctly I'd not heard the record before buying it but thought the cover looked intriguing. Fortunately the music contained within was excellent.
  From Tyne And Wear in the north east of England, The Carpettes were formed (in 1977) by 3 members of a band called Brown Sugar (as the name suggests they were influenced by The Rolling Stones). A couple of singles on the Small Wonder label were followed by a move to Beggars Banquet for 3 more singles and a couple of albums. Despite splitting in the summer of 1981 they've been back in one form or another since 1996. The record i bought all those years ago was named after their record company, this is Small Wonder?

I don`t need record companies that wanna rule me.

All of them think so obscene

But I don`t care about publicity

I just don`t care for your generosity.

Small Wonder
SmallWonder
Small Wonder
Small Wonder

They give you the bright idea to be a star
You`ll never make it, you`ll never go far
They say a good musician gone to waste
I tell you it`s just a stupid taste

Small Wonder
SmallWonder
Small Wonder
Small Wonder

You talk about popularity

D`ya think that it`s a wise move

The useless generation knows nothing , so what does it prove?

I can tell you straight to your face

Small Wonder the saviour of the human race yeah!

Small Wonder
Small Wonder
Small Wonder
Small Wonder

Nuclear Spring - Crisis

Featuring members from various bands including CREEM, Nomos, Natural Law, La Misma etc,  Nuclear Spring are a relatively new band from Brooklyn, New York. They released a demo to positive reviews in 2011 and followed it up last year with a single and a 12 inch ep from which this fabulously catchy song, Crisis, is taken from.....

The Beltones- Fuck You Anyway

Formed in 1994, The Beltones are a street punk band, originally from Fort Lauderdale, who's gravel voiced singer, Bill McFadden, brings to mind Leatherface's Frankie Stubbs. Their discography includes a handful of singles and a couple of albums (On Deaf Ears and Cheap Trinkets). This is probably my favourite of theirs, Fuck You Anyway......                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Tonight is the night that I come unglued. No longer will the beautiful people walk the streets and smile while I sit and stew. Been waiting all of my life just to give it to you. Gonna pay back all you generous souls and when I'm done you motherfuckers will all be through. Just kidding, please forgive me, didn't realize that the whiskey would hit me so quickly. I'll just grab my death and be on my way. Didn't mean to wreck your evening, don't you worry 'bout me cos I'm only bleeding. And before I go there's just one last thing I wanna say. Always taking back the things that I say and do. I never meant to hurt anybody, but there's something inside that just won't play it cool. I wouldn't mind beating all of you black and blue. So if you want me I'll be off in the corner holding back on saying what I really think of you.

Protex - Don't Ring Me Up

Classic power pop/punk today. Protex, from Belfast, were formed in 1977. Originally called Protex Blue after the song by their main influences The Clash they soon gained a reputation as a great live band and attracted the interest of British record companies despite still being at school. Unfortunately they split in 1981 after just a few singles, their album, Strange Obsessions, didn't get a proper release till 2010 but at least it's release led to a couple of the original members reforming and getting back out on the road. This is the wonderful Don't Ring Me Up......

Boats! - Smoking Is Cool

Hailing from Sacramento, California and playing no fuss, catchy punk rock since their formation in 2007, Boats! have so far released 3 albums (Boats!, Totally Jawsome and Black And White). Inspired by the likes of Clorox Girls, The Briefs, Buzzcocks & Exploding Hearts and currently on Modern Action Records, this is Smoking Is Cool....

Lawrence arms - Drunken tweets

A new song today, one that mixes plenty of fuck yous with literary references to the likes of the poverty stricken protagonist of Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment, the equally poverty stricken black youth of Richard Wright's 1930's Chicago set novel Native Son, and the 3 headed canine guard to the underworld.
Like Bigger Thomas, The Lawrence Arms are also from Chicago and have been together since 1999. They've recently released their 6th studio album, Metropole, on Epitaph Records, an album inspired by bassist Brendan Kelly's visit to Italy where he stayed in The Hotel Metropole (where he recorded many of the album's sound bites). This is Drunken Tweets.....

KITTEN FOREVER - Famous Friends

Killer bass alert!

Minneapolis trio Kitten Forever, comprised of Liz Elton, Laura Larson and Corrie Harrigan, have been together since 2006. Inspired by Riot Grrrl, post-punk and hardcore they've released several cassettes, singles and eps as well as a couple of albums of brief, stripped down and bass heavy tunes. This song, Famous Friends, is a party anthem that definitely benefits from being played loud.......

La Dispute - HUDSONVILLE, MI 1956

Once upon a time, Black Francis sang, ominously, "it is time, for stormy weather"

The sense of foreboding and unease found on the above mentioned Pixies song is nothing compared with that on the lead track on Rooms Of The House, the new album from Michigan post hardcore outfit La Dispute. Poetic and imbued with a sense of creeping dread the song, HUDSONVILLE, MI 1956 tells of the  battening down of hatches to ride out the tornado which is tearing up power lines, splitting neighbour's sheds and bending in kitchen windows. A mother trying to drown out the cataclysmic sound of sirens and the howling wind whilst worrying for the safety of her absent husband as he in turn worries about his wife and baby son. The worst of the storms touched ground up in Hudsonville.....

"Stay calm
Keep the radio loud
Take care"

The #1s - Sharon Shouldn't

Rather predictably on St Patrick's Day, today's update comes from Ireland. One of the best singles of 2013 was released by Dublin 4 piece outfit The #1s. An uplifting and catchy as hell slice of garage tinged power pop with backing vocals to die for. You've quite possibly all already heard this track as it made it's way into many end of year "best of" lists. Deserving of a place in any blog celebrating great music, and available for "name your price" here : https://sorrystaterecords.bandcamp.com/album/sharon , this is Sharon Shouldn't.....

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Jerks - Get Your Woofing Dog Off Me

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said Let there be punk: and there was punk."

And lo, whichever version of the Punk Bible you believe, whichever church you follow (the church of Iggy, of The Ramones. of The Pistols etc), a new religion found a multitude of followers.

Amongst these followers were 5 teenagers from Yorkshire who saw the light after witnessing the 1976 Anarchy In The UK tour and immediately started practising in a lowly garage. Despite playing their first gig in Leeds under the name Simon Snake & The Amputated Leg Band they soon settled on the less unwieldy name Jerks. Good enough to tour with the likes of Sham 69, The Adverts, Generation X and Penetration they released several decent singles, none better than their wonderfully titled debut, Get Your Woofing Dog Off Me.....

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing - Brunel

One of the best things about doing this blog thus far is being able to share music from bands from the UK who might otherwise not get the exposure that our American cousins get. Being honest, I've no idea how well known today's band are across the pond (or any of the other British bands that have featured thus far) but a part of me hopes people on foreign shores stumble across the blog and discover that there's some great bands over here, most of whom are deserving of a wider audience.
Punk rock can take many forms. It can be a rallying call for a disgruntled youth, it can be a song about a girl, it can be pretty much anything. Todays band, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, are a Steampunk band from London who take their name from some chalked graffiti left by Jack The Ripper. Formed in 2008, they have a rather distinctive style which combines humour and Victorian era history to great effect. This song, Brunel, is taken from This May Be The Reason Why The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing Cannot Be Killed By Conventional Weapons.....

Apocalypse Babys - 'Jacqueline'

  Hailing from somewhere near the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, Apocalypse Babys got together in 1990 at a time when the UK punk scene was viewed with indifference by a public who'd briefly pogo'ed their way through the late 70's but were now "grown up" and had settled down, donned comfy slippers and had traded in their old 45 singles for more sedate cds. Not put off by this they self released plenty of quality material throughout the 90's and early to mid 2000's. Led by original vocalist Asterix they're still a feature on the live circuit today. This song, Jacqueline, is a classic slice of tuneful new wave influenced punk rock and can be found on their 1997 Local Heroes ep......

Screeching Weasel - radio blast

  Just back from a game of 5 a side football, bed soon then up at 4.45 for work so i can't be bothered writing much on today's update. So here's a band everyone should know, Screeching Weasel. This song, Radio Blast, was a 7" single that they put out in 1992 and was their show of distaste at the state of rock radio.

)

The product you're trying to sell
Isn't going over to well with me
And I just wanna see it explode
The stations have the feel of the pulse of the nation
And I'm losing my lunch
It's a rip off and I wanna see it exposed
Classic rock for balding farts
Who need to feel young
Plastic rock for snotnosed brats
Fat DJ's deciding what's hot
Spinning snake oil that the suckers forgot
Is the same slop they've been shoveled for thirty five years
The public doesn't know any better
But so what cause who's gonna let them
Hear anything that's not bought and paid for up front
The rancid puke that you're peddling 
Makes me sick and I'm telling you
I wanna see it blown up
Radio blast
I wanna say I'd like to see it explode
I'd like to say I wanna see it explode
Bought off by alternatives reps
Don't you ever forget
Who is really standing behind your paycheck
It's time for a structural change
It's time for a pipe bomb in the basement
I think it's time to smash you
Don't worry about inflation
Take a well desreved vacation
And sign off from a crater

The Tours - Language School

A classic old power pop/punk/new wave/whatever tune today. The Tours were from Poole, England and despite signing to Virgin in a 6 album deal,  unfortunately only released a couple of singles (though in 2010 Cherry Red put out a compilation album called Album Of The Year... (That Never Was) ). This, their first single, was released in 1979 and was, according to Cherry Red, played by John Peel on 50 consecutive nights, he declared it his 2nd favourite 45 of all time after Teenage Kicks. It's Called Language School.....

)

Chain Letters - Bad Reflection

Former front woman of Toronto's Young People With Faces, Sophia Dilley, relocated to L.A. and joined up with new bandmates with cool names such as Johnny Bubblegum and Violet X (and Chris Parker who possibly couldn't be bothered thinking up an alias) to form power pop/punk outfit Chain Letters. Their debut single, which sees them being compared to bands ranging from Pointed Sticks, The Avengers, The Muffs, Talulah Gosh right through to The Buzzcocks and  contains 2 tracks which indicate imminent greatness, this is Bad Reflection.....

Bombshell Rocks - Scars And Tattoos

Founded in 1995 in Vasteras, Sweden, and originally called Down And Out, The Bombshell Rocks have a back catalogue of impressive politically motivated street punk albums, eps and singles. Despite losing vocalist Marten Cedergran who left to concentrate on his career as a tattoo artist in 2003 they soldiered on and released what looked like being their final album, The Conclusion a couple of years later. Great news though, Cedergran is back singing and they've just released a 7 inch on Pirates Press Records. An album is in the pipeline for later this year. This is side A of the single, Scars And Tattoos, I'm glad to say they haven't lost the knack of penning a catchy tune.....

Sicko - Bad year

Today's song used to be the ringtone for the alarm clock on my phone. Formed in 1991, Seattle 3 piece Sicko released 4 albums and a handful of singles and eps in their 10 years or so together. Renowned for their fast upbeat songs this is my favourite, taken from their 1995 album Laugh While You Can Monkey Boy it's called Bad Year.....





ps.... Shook Ones did a very good cover of this song on their split ep with Easel

a request.....

I've had a few people from the bands featured in the blog contact me with the odd comment or correction which is appreciated but if anyone wants to add a bit of meat to the bones of the songs please feel free to use the comments sections. it'd be great if people took the time to write a bit about their band, maybe something about the song that's been posted or their upcoming releases. Suggestions for future entries are also welcome. cheers :)

Juniper Moon - ¿Volverás?

Over to Spain today for a song by a pop punk band called Juniper Moon. Forming in 1996, they gained a reputation as one of the Spanish independent scene's best bands, certainly they were probably the only band from that country i heard on the radio over here in England. This song, Volveras, was a dayglo delight of fizzy effervescence and came from their 2002 album El Resto De Mi Vida....

vultures united - oh bondage, up yours!

Founded in 2007 in Orange County, California, Vultures United are a hardcore punk band who a couple of years back decided to put out a cassette containing covers of songs that originally had female vocalists. After coming up with more songs than intended, they expanded it to album length. Called Girls, it includes this rip roaring version of X Ray Spex's Oh Bondage, Up Yours!.....

Morning Glory - Standard Issue

A new song today from Morning Glory's War Psalms album which has just been released on Fat Wreck Chords. Originally forming in 2001 after the break up of Ezra Kire's previous band, the excellent Choking Victim they returned after a long break with Poets Were My Heroes which was one of my favourite discs of 2012. War Psalms sacrifices some of the orchestral touches from that album in favour of more and heavier riffs, this is Standard Issue.....

The Spaceshits - C'mon, Let's Suicide!

The Spaceshits were a rock n roll / garage punk band from Montreal who featured, amongst others, Mark Sultan and King Khan. Renowned for their short and often violent live shows they released a couple of albums and several singles before splitting, Sultan and Khan going on to collaborate on such projects as The King Khan & BBQ Show. This song, C'mon, Lets Suicide, can be found on their 1999 Misbehavin' album....