It was a tough decision which song by Ausmuteants to post today. I added their single to youtube a few days ago (hopefully they don't mind) but their Amusements album is a totally different beast full of catchy backing synths and tales of peeing, pooping, alien abductions and getting kicked in the head by a horse. In the end i decided to post a link to the album ( http://ausmuteants.bandcamp.com/album/amusements ) which i highly recommend you all check out, hell check out all their stuff. Hailing from Geelong, Australia, they began as a duo but are now a 4 piece, they're influenced by electro post punk bands (an excuse to mention Devo as all their reviews seem to do) and by far too many obscure early punk 7"'s and they're catchy as hell. This is the aforementioned single, it's called Felix Tried To Kill Himself.....
As promised, today we move away from the sugary pop punk delights from yesterday towards something rather more noisy. As I'm sure you're aware, punk has a large following in Japan and has many bands, one such being Tokyo's Tom And Boot Boys. Featuring members of The Discocks they've been releasing manic, pogotastic material since the mid 90's. Their eps have titles such as Punks Are Alright, Punks Are Fucked Up, Fuck You! Stay Punk and Stupid And Naked Punks Are Running In My House. This is the sort of dumb, fun music that you really need to turn up loud and shout along to, this is Piss Off MTV Punks.....
Punk encompasses a good few styles of music, many of which have appeared in the blog. everything from hardcore, through oi and street punk, garage, electro punk, folk, pop punk, the list goes on. Today's song is just a sugar rush for a Monday morning, some might think it's too poppy to be classed as punk, if that's you, come back tomorrow for something a little harder. For the rest of you, this is a band from sunny LA called Upset. Featuring members who've previously been in other bands such as Vivian Girls, Best Coast and Hole, they released their debut album, She's Gone, last year on Don Giovanni Records. Ideal for blasting out whilst driving along coastal roads with your window wound down, this is You And I.....
I've been waiting patiently to add today's song to the blog but a studio version seemed as though it wasn't going to get uploaded to youtube so hopefully no one will shoot me with their phasers for adding it myself. Unfortunately I don't know much about Giorgio Murderer other than he's a creature from outer space who occasionally takes over the body of Rob from Buck Biloxi And The Fucks in order to churn out throbbing, slightly off kilter weirdness. He's done a split single with B.B & The Fucks (one of the tracks is below) and there's a compilation track called Primitive World which you can listen to here : http://rubberneckzine.bandcamp.com/track/giorgio-murderer-primitive-world . This is one of last years most fun tracks, make sure you play it loud, this is Theme From Star Trek.....
Formed in 1991, in Kent, as a backing band for Billy Childish's band The Headcoats, The Headcoatees soon began releasing material of their own. Featuring Holly Golightly, Ludella Black, Kyra LaRubia and Debbie Green, the all girl outfit were active throughout the 90's, industriously releasing a plethora of albums and singles. This is their 1997 cover of the Plastic Bertrand Classic, Ca Plane Pour Moi.....
"It's not a war It's just a game of football So what you fighting for What you fighting for?" Forming in a Surrey pub in 1996, The Foamers were regulars on the UK scene for the best part of a decade. Mixing punk, oi and ska they released a couple of albums and a few singles, this song was the title track of an ep that came out in 2001. Calling for peace on the terraces, this is Football.....
London four piece Sauna Youth are a punk band that aren't afraid to experiment, (have a listen to 2012's Dreamland for proof of that : http://saunayouth.bandcamp.com/releases ). They're also capable of penning one of the catchiest tunes around (Oh Joel, b side of their cover of Pissed Jeans' False Jesii Pt 2). They've been ploughing their own diy field for around 5 years, always interesting, often brilliant, this is the jewel in their crown (at least in my opinion).....
Does anyone have a girlfriend who has a tendency to get drunk off half a bacardi before heading off to the nearest sink to pee? Californian One man band Vaguess (pronounced Vegas) addresses this problem on today's blog entry. Taken from his recent album Simpler Times (available for name your price here : http://refryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/simpler-times ), this is the one minute and a little bit of loose change sonic blast of Sinkpisser.....
sinkpisser, sinkpisser i can't take you to the party cuz you'll piss in the sink after half of a bacardi
sinkpisser sinkpisser
sinkpisser, sinkpisser i'm sorry about your eyeliner you cried it into the sink and washed it down with your piss
sinkpisser sinkpisser
you really shouldn't drink you'll piss it down the sink at least the dishes are clean
A first today, the blog's first interview. Despised Kids are a 4 piece pop punk outfit from Katowice, Poland. Impressed with their enthusiasm and their dedication to having fun persuing their love of pop punk music I asked them a few questions which they kindly replied to, here's the results.....
Firstly, you're new to me and probably new to some of the blog's readers so can you give a brief history of the band.
Band was founded by drummer Michal Kubiak and guitarist/vocalist Artur Zurawik in mid 2012, bass player Marcin Bytnar joined later that year.
We are a Pop-Punk band from Poland, originally a three-piece but in the beginning of 2014 became a four-piece due to join of lead guitarist Dawid Holona.
We played a lot of normal and acoustic shows during those years, even in front of the famous "Spodek" in Katowice.
Our first single out of the "Party Time" EP called "Love in a hospital" was shared on various Facebook pages, such as "Pop punk Rules" and "Breakdown magazine", the same goes to our second single "Down"
Right now we are playing shows and slowly creating new material for our first LP that we are going to record later this year.
And if everything goes right, our first single with a videoclip to it will be out this summer.
So big things are coming.
Currently "Despised Kids" are:
Michal Kubiak - drums/percussions
Marcin Bytnar - Bass guitar
Dawid Holona- Lead Guitar
Artur Zurawik- Rhythm guitar/Vocals
Why did you want to form a band? fame? fortune? girls? or just because you love the music and thought you could do it better than most of the bands that are currently around?
Michal: I didn't want to start a band just because of girls, fame or fortune but because of my love to music.
Since I was a kid I dreamed of being in a band and now those dreams are coming true.
Marcin: Mostly for fun and I’ve always wanted to play in a band, but in my hometown basically 95% of bands play only covers.
You are not cool enough to play with them if you don’t know how to play RHCP and Metallica, and I thought playing covers is boring and not creative, and fortunately, Artur thought the same.
Artur: I always wanted to form a band, not for fame or girls (laughs) but to just be myself and to do what I always dreamed of doing; because music was always my escape, my shelter that I loved and helped me get through hard times.
Dawid: Without a doubt I'm in a band because of my love to music.
It's exciting that I can create it and share it with other people.
Your bio on facebook lists influences like blink 182, all time low, simple plan etc, is it just american bands you grew up listening to or is there a healthy punk music scene in poland that you could recommend bands from?
Michal: I love those bands and I grew up listening to this type of music.
It all began when as a kid I listened to "The Offspring" and I simply felt in love with pop punk ever since.
But unfortunately in Poland there aren't as many people listening to it than abroad.
Artur: I am all about american bands like Nirvana, blink182, Green Day , All Time Low etc. because I never found good punk or pop punk band in my country that was giving their best live.
To me too many bands (especially young) in my country act like a bunch of snobs with big egos and they always stand still while they perform on stage! I mean really WTF?!
Marcin: I don’t really listen to polish punk, but it seems to me that it mostly consists of bands who play punk mixed with ska and bands who want to play the same but don’t know how.
You say you're best known for your crazy live shows, give me an idea what to expect at your shows?
Michal: There is always lots of great humor and good music combined with awesome contact with the crowd that we want to satisfy in every possible way; if you know what I mean! (Laughs)
Marcin: If the band isn’t having fun, the audience won't have fun either, so we try to interact with the audience in every way possible, like inviting some people on stage to sing with us, a lot of chatting with people between songs etc
Artur: You can expect great performance with crazy and breathtaking behavior and of course a lot of dickjokes!
I know that I want to give people the best and the craziest show of their life that they will never forget.
Dawid: On our shows you can expect a lot of crazy stuff and plenty of dickjokes! (laughs)
And our connection with crowd creates unforgettable gig for both sides.
Do you gig abroad?
Artur : We would love to and we are doing everything that is possible to play shows abroad.
Michal: I would love to have a chance to play abroad and I hope soon we will go on tour outside our country.
Marcin: It would be pretty cool, but I would like to record an album first because I know we can sound better than our ep.
Dawid: I'm the newest member of this band and I personally never played abroad but I'm looking forward to it.
Is it easy getting your music out to the big wide world?
Marcin: Yeah, you can upload your music everywhere and its cool.
We received some positive feedback from all around the world, even though, as I said earlier, I know we can sound better.
Michal: It's hard but I hope we can make it.
Dawid: I think it's hard to get big but I hope one day we will reach that level.
What's the most fun aspect of being in the band?
Marcin: Every live show!
The feeling when you see people having good time when youre playing is really awesome!
Michal: Shows and when we are working together on new songs
Artur: Live shows, definitely.
Dawid: For me the most fun aspect is a possibility to create music with your friends and playing shows because then we are doing the funniest and unforgettable things!
I heard today's song on the excellent Faster And Louder blog ( there's a great review here : http://fasterandlouderblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/kill-hippies-return.html ), it's from the new album by Ohio's Kill The Hippies (the title of which is You Will Live With Us Forever). Formed back in 1993, they play a unique, offbeat style of punk and have released several tapes and singles, most of which can be found collected together on the 2 disc "Erectospective." There's also an earlier album called Spasms In The New Age. This is my favourite track from the new disc, it's called Volcano......
This is the last of the sci fi themed oldies for now, the rest of the week will feature some more up to date tunes. Art Attacks were a London band who were only around for a year between April 77 and March 78, in that time they released two singles and appeared on a couple of compilation albums. Vocalist Edwin Pouncey went on to achieve fame as artist Savage Pencil, the band splitting when he left to finish his degree at The London Royal College Of Art. This is the excellent I Am A Dalek.....
The 3rd of the Easter songs with a loose sci fi theme comes from a band that formed way back in 1976 in Leamington Spa. Favourites of John Peel, The Shapes toured with the likes of The Fall, The Photos and The Cure and carved out a cult fanbase who lapped up their humorous tunes, What's for lunch mum? (not beans again!) being a particular favourite. Like a lot of the bands from this era, they didn't hang around long, falling by the wayside during the Two Tone explosion emanating from nearby Coventry. This is I Saw Batman In The Launderette, it's based on a true story about a man dressed as the titular superhero who handed a wanted criminal into a Yorkshire police station, he'd earlier been spotted in a Leamington Spa coin-op laundrette.
Continuing the loose sci fi theme of this Easter weekend, today's song is a cover of an old Rezillos classic. Man Or Astroman? have been a prolific surf punk outfit ever since they formed in Auburn, Alabama in the early '90's. They've released an impressive back catalogue of sci fi inspired tunes and featured a plethora of extraterrestrials "sent to Earth to play surf music." This song, Destination Venus, is dedicated to my mate Bill (one time vocalist with a band called Brezhnev) who never tires of telling everyone how great it is......
It's good Friday today, the Easter Weekend is upon us and I've decided the songs over the next 4 days are going to have a loose sci fi theme. First up is a band from the planet Accrington (it's located in the Lancs constellation) called The Cybermen. Like a good few of the bands in this blog they released very little before disappearing (why don't these bands get the recognition that they deserve? most of the general public don't deserve ears). Comprising of Ian P Dixon on vocals/bass, Paul M Milek on drums and Roger Entwistle on guitar and vocals they released just the 2 singles on their own Rockaway label. Released in 1978 and sporting a rocking upbeat tempo, this is Cybernetic Surgery.....
Taking a brief break from all that noisy punk music, here's a classic slice of power pop. Back when i was at school there were several objects of teen lust, mainly Debbie Harry and Gaye Advert but then along came the rather lovely Wendy Wu, lead singer with The Photos. I could write a few lines about them but the comments section on youtube gives a good, concise intro so i'll nick that..." The Photos evolved out of the short-lived and ill-fated punk band Satan's Rats. Guitarist Steve Eagles, bassist Dave Sparrow, and drummer Olly Harrison remained together when the band broke up in 1978 and, casting around for a new vocalist, were initially hoping to link with Jayne Casey from the recently sundered Big in Japan. However, she had already launched her own new band, Pink Military, and the trio returned home to Evesham, near Birmingham, and began scouring the local club scene. There they met the ultra-photogenic Wendy Wu and, following a series of very well-received live shows, signed with CBS in August 1979. Wendy Wu - Vocals, Steve Eagles - Guitars, Vocals Dave Sparrow - Bass Guitar, Vocals Olly Harrison - Drums "
Their s/t album was packed with glossy power pop/new wave tunes and reached number 4 in the UK charts but rather than push on to greatness their follow up, Crystal Tips And Mighty Mice, was withdrawn before it hit the shops and Wu left the band. They split in 1981. This is their 1980 single, Now You Tell Me That We're Through......
Today's song is another great tune that's been recommended by Chris from Chain Letters, it's the A side of a 7 inch single from 1979 by The Maids. Hailing from Berkeley, California, the 3 piece band only released the one single (on their own Anemic Records), it was recorded in 4 hours at a cost of $82 and is about a Japanese soldier who stayed hidden in the Philippine jungle after the end of World War 2. Whilst not the best known of punk singles it seems to be loved by those who've heard it. This is Back To Bataan.....
One of my favourite record labels is Portland, Ohio based Dirtnap Records. Included in their roster are awesome bands such as Radioactivity, Neighborhood Brats, Mean Jeans, Mind Spiders, Low Culture, Steve Adamyk Band, Bad Sports, White Wires, Missing Monuments, Autistic Youth and a shitload more. Their latest release is the new album from Sonic Avenues. The band are from Montreal and fit in well with Dirtnap's garage influenced pop punk signature sound. Mistakes is their third album, following on from their self titled debut (2009) and the widely praised Television Youth (2012) and from what I've heard so far is going to see them expand their fan base considerably. This is the official video release for Automatic.....
A bit of an oddity today but one that's catchy as hell. I know virtually nothing about Helen Keller except that they aren't the famous deaf and blind female author/teacher but are the brainchild of of a guy called Norman Durkee who used to write jingles for adverts. They only recorded a handful of tracks but this one, Surfin' With Steve And E.D. Amin is gonna get lodged inside your brain.....
Back in the early years of the new millennium one of Britain's top punk bands were Cheltenham's 4Ft Fingers. I caught them live on several occasions (they seemed to be forever touring) and was never less than impressed. Noticeable was their ability to pull in the 14 year old new generation of punk rockers as well as the older "seen it all before" crowd such as myself (it could be quite weird for the then mid 30 years old myself pogoing in the pit with kids less than half my age but it was good to see that punk certainly wasn't dead). Originally forming in the mid 90's but not settling on their unusual name or getting properly off the ground until the end of the century the four piece released their debut album, At Your Convenience, in 2001. Mixing pop punk that had bite with occasional ska beats it brought them to the attention of Golf Records (home at the time to the likes of Snuff and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) who released albums number 2 & 3 (From Hero To Zero, A Cause For Concern). They also seemed to be forever on rotation on satellite channel P-ROCK TV (I remember my daughter spent much of her 3rd year dancing round the living room with me to Last Man Standing). Line up changes seemed to slow the momentum a little but they managed a 4th album, 2008's New Beginnings Of Old Stories before more departures seemed to spell the end. Rather reassuringly though, they're still out on the road, probably at a town near you, "older, wiser and still rocking out." The song I've chosen was from 2002 and is here largely for the heartfelt line of "You Meant The World To Me...." This is Emergency Manoeuvre..... Tuck your head between your knees
I love you and we'll always be together
There's not much left to say
And words can't help us now
But squeeze my hand my dear
And we'll pray together
Your heart is slowing down take me instead
Just rest your heavy eyes and head
You're fading away
Like a camp fire burning out
Don't leave me here by myself
I'll never forget you
You meant the world to me
Thanks for the memories
It was true love for me
You brought me to my knees
You meant the world to me
Remorse of course is what I wish for
And now I'm slowing down
If I knew this day was coming
I would of told you how I felt
Impact is immanent
Being with you is permanent
I couldn't keep control
The car began to roll
The end is here my dear
Hello can you hear me
Or have you just gone to sleep
I'll join you soon
And until I do
I miss you
I'll never forget you
You meant the world to me
You know when you listen to a song and think "that has a great beat, I'm not sure what the guys singing but it fits in perfectly with the music", this is one of those. Yobbish vocals transported from 1977 and laid over a pounding tune that'll have you bouncing round the room. Straight outta Cleveland, Ohio, and featuring a couple of members from The TKO'S, The Plain Dealers are an old fashioned (in a good way) blast of raw punk rock. This is Terminal darkness....
"I stand alone on the westside in terminal darkness man. Their midnights are passing my midnights forever. Among minions of the Living Dead Screaming and sirens and cops and the shots fill my ears. And the runaway trains in my mind are as long as the smoke trails from war planes over my head.
The streets call my name and they wait in the alley , try to strangle me. Every window takes shots, bullets go right thru my heart. It's like a blitzkrieg attack, the bricks and the cracks, they try and end my life. The people like me, we're the stones of the city man. Have you ever seen a city retreat?"
Montreal's Mark Sultan has been part of numerous bands, often with co collaborator Blacksnake (aka King Khan), one of which, The Spaceshits have already featured in these pages. Today's song however was recorded under his own name and features on 2007's The Sultanic Verses. Blending early rock n roll, pop, garage and lots of woo woo's, this is the gorgeous Beautiful Girl.....
A while back i featured a song by The Briefs, Steve E Nix from that band started up his own outfit in 2007. The Cute Lepers, from Seattle, play an infectious brand of new wave/power pop which was influenced by the likes of Johnny Thunders, Joan Jett and Elvis Costello etc. This song, Young Hearts, is a good example of their harmonic punk sound and it's taken from the 2009 album Smart Accessories....
"Hey folks, I just took a piss/I just slit my wrist/I feel like a bitch...!"
Hailing from San Francisco, Nubs are one of those one hit wonder type bands that are "famous" for the one "hit" and not much more. The song in question, and what a song it is, was released in 1980 and goes by the name of Job. They got back together again years later to tour and released an album but this was their moment in the sun.....
One of the best gigs i went to was in a student union place in Lancaster called The Sugar House and it was by a band who formed in 1987 called Mega City Four. They came from Farnborough, England, and originally consisted of vocalist/guitarist Wiz (Darren Brown), his brother Danny (guitar/vocals), Gerry Bryant (bass/vocals) and Chris Jones (drums). Playing catchy punk infused indie anthems they soon became a big hit on the live circuit and released a host of singles/albums up until they split in the early part of 1996. Tragically, in December 2006, Wiz died after collapsing with a brain haemorrhage.A trust, The Forward 4 Wiz trust was set up in his name ( http://www.f4wt.org/about-2/ ). Today's song, their debut, is dedicated to his memory, this is Miles Apart.....
Lets have some hard, fast punky oi music today. The Oi! Scouts got together in the mid 90's but took a while and several line up changes before they settled down to become local favourites on the New Jersey punk scene. They didn't hang around for too long but they did put out the classic album Boots For The Breakdown in 1999. this song is from that album and is called Nuke The Nazis.....
They don’t think about their conscience, They do think about what’s right. All they do is kill innocent people, And their stupid fucking lies!
C’mon let me hear you say, Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Send them all to hell today, Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Don’t you want to win this war? Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Show them what were fighting for! Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s!
All those people that suffered They try to brainwash me and you. They try to brainwash all the citizens. With their stupid points of view!
C’mon let me hear you say, Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Send them all to hell today, Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Don’t you want to win this war? Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Show them what were fighting for! Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s!
Nuke the Nazis, nuke the nazis! Nuke the Nazis, nuke the nazis! Nuke the Nazis, nuke the nazis! Nuke the Nazis, nuke the nazis!
All those people that suffered They try to brainwash me and you. They try to brainwash all the citizens. With their stupid points of view!
C’mon let me hear you say, Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Send them all to hell today, Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Don’t you want to win this war? Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s! Show them what were fighting for! Nuke the Nazi’s Nuke the Nazi’s!
Today's update features a new song from a band that's been around since the back end of 1979. Originally formed in Reno, Nevada by two sets of brothers (Kevin Seconds, Steve Youth & Tom Munist, Dim Menace) 7 Seconds have been a mainstay of the hardcore punk scene. There's plenty for you to go at if you decide to seek out their back catalogue and they've got a new album due next month called Leave A Light On from which this song, I Have Faith In You, comes......
Back to the mid 90's today for the offensively named The Spastics. Featuring the pissed off vocals of Elka Zolot, guitar licks from Justin Schenburg, Lisa Schenburg on bass duties and Ian McClean pounding away on drums, this song was from their first 45 which came out on the infamous Rip Off Records. As you might expect from a band who's members also played with the likes of The Trashwomen, Rip Offs, Bobbyteens, Infections and Spoiled Brats, this is a punked up dose of garage n roll but it's also catchy as hell. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Cherry Pop.....
As previously mentioned, I'm open to suggestions for songs to add, especially cool stuff I've not previously heard. One such recommendation has been sent by Chris Parker of Chain Letters and here it is, the first band from Finland to feature in the blog. I've no idea of the state of the power pop scene in Helsinki but I do now know that there's at least one great group from there. As I know nothing about them other than it appears they've released 3 ep's (First Times, One Time Thing and Mono Mono) if anyone wants to add info to the comments please feel free. This song, recommended by Chris, is from their s/t debut and is called Girl On The Run and it's a killer tune........
You can thank Kevin Patrick McGovern of The Prostitutes for today's blog entry as he drew my attention to this classic slice of 80's Canadian pop punk from Vancouver's Modernettes. Releasing their first ep, titled Teen City, in 1980 they went down a storm with the youth of the day, it's the sort of disc i can imagine a young Green Day pogoing around their bedrooms to. Unfortunately they didn't hang around very long, though there was another ep, 1981's View From The Bottom and an album, Gone....But Not Forgiven before frontman John "Buck Cherry" Armstrong moved on to front Los Popularos. From the Teen City ep this is the wonderfully upbeat (though tragically misspelt) Barbra.......
One thing that's surprised me a little whilst updating the blog is how many female artists are finding their way into it. Many people view punk rock as all male foursomes, drums, bass, lead guitar and snotty vocalist. Obviously there's always been women prominent in things (Siouxsie, Poly Styrene, Exene Cervenka, Fay Fife etc etc etc) so maybe i shouldn't be so surprised that I'm including so many. Anyway, I'm waffling, so will just say, here's another band that has prominent female involvement, to be more precise Stef Petticoat, who was pretty much a one woman band, playing the aforementioned drums, bass, lead guitar and (not so) snotty vocals. Hailing from Germany and quite possibly inspired by the likes of The Slits and The Raincoats, Stef moved to London in 1978, forming a band called Necessary Evil before starting up The Petticoats. This release from 1980 was a 3 track single with Normal, being the lead track.....
Forming in West Yorkshire, The Magnificent are the type of honest, working class punk rock band that would have grown up listening to the likes of The Clash, Rancid, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Bragg. The trio originally played together when they were 15 in a band called The Pedantics and were regulars on the local scene in bands such as Buzzkill and That Fucking Tank before joining forces again in 2008. Whilst they aren't reinventing the wheel, they can certainly pen great songs about disillusionment, growing up and the decline of modern civilisation. They released their first album, Pay The Crimes, in 2009, album number two, Bad Lucky, following in 2012. Included on that disc was the previous year's single, 1981 (which is name your price here : http://themagnificent.bandcamp.com/album/1981-single ). Combining themes of nostalgia and growing up beset by poverty this is a great example of their craft....
