RF7 - Hatred on the Rise

 

  Maybe you've already come across today's song, it seems to have popped up a few times on my Facebook feed recently. Despite being a few years old, it's very topical and so this is the perfect time for it to be rereleased and it certainly merits a place on this blog.

  RF7 are a hardcore punk band from California who've been around since 1979. They've released an impressive number of albums including 2009's Hatred On The Rise lp. If you missed it (as I did), fear not, it's getting a digital makeover and you can check it out here on Swedish label Just 4 Fun's Bandcamp page : https://just4fun2.bandcamp.com/album/hatred-on-the-rise

   There's a new record, Day At The Crisis, due soon but in the meantime, following on from Donald Trump's election victory, a video has been put together for the rereleased digital album's title track. Both relevant and hard hitting, this is Hatred On The Rise.....

 

The Rotten - Enemy Of The State

  The Rotten are from Kitchener, Ontario and since they got together in 1999 have been mixing modern street punk with the classic '77 style of punk that they're very much influenced by. Active locally in promoting anti racism and anti sexism organisations, they're a band that back up their lyrical content with direct action. For them, punk isn't a fashion statement, it's very much a way of life.

  Their debut album, Destroy This Wretched Country, came out in 2000. They followed it up in 2003 with Circus Of The Demented but it's their third studio album, 2009's Enemy Of The State (released by the excellent Rebel Time Records) that featured the song I'm posting today.

  I recommend you snap up Enemy Of The State from Rebel Time's Bandcamp, it's "name your price" so you've no excuse not to.  https://rebeltimerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-rotten-enemy-of-the-state

  After a long and brave battle against breast cancer, their drummer Ang (Angela Dawn Orchard) passed away on 3rd May 2015. Today's update is dedicated to her memory.

  This is the title track, Enemy Of The State.....

Hidden Spots - Dance Dance Dance

  Hidden Spots were from Chattanooga, Tennessee and formed following the break up of The Jack Palance Band. In 2007 they released a split ep alongside Dan Padilla, The Tim Version and Tiltwheel and they also released a few 7"s (Important Transmissions, Secret Noise and a split with Black Rainbow). The song featured today though was on their highly rated Hundred Million Voices album. Released on Mauled By Tigers records it came out in 2009.

  The line up on the album was Eric Nelson (vocals/guitar), Mike Pack (bass/vocals), Buddha (aka Brian D. Bush) (guitar/vocals) and Ryan Maddox (drums/vocals). Bands they subsequently featured in include Basement Benders, Dark Rides and Future Virgins.


  Singing about politics and fucked up shit that makes them sick, this is Dance, Dance, Dance......

Duncan's Divas - Sway

  Duncan Redmonds has featured in some great bands. The main one being the legendary Snuff but he's been a member of The Toy Dolls, Guns 'N' Wankers, Billy No Mates, Dogpiss, 5 Shitty Fingers and Urin-8. He's also released various solo work and collaborations including the song I've posted below.

  Duncan's Divas was a project in which he got together with numerous artists and released 3 albums of covers of songs by female singers. Half Western and half Japanese songs, the first release was 2007's Sticks Up Girls whilst the follow up was 2009's Up And At 'Em. Also released (2013) was an album called Snog which was a split featuring Duncan's Divas and Duncan's Geezers.

  The songs covered have included tracks by the likes of Katy Melua, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Nancy Sinatra, Vera Lynne, The Supremes and many more.
I've chosen this rather stylish cover of a song that was featured on the 1959 album A Touch Of Tabasco which was by American jazz singer Rosemary Clooney and Cuban band leader Perez Prado. The original version was a 1953 mambo instrumental called Quien Sera? It was also a big hit in 1954 for Dean Martin.

  This is Sway.......

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like the lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance, you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we sway I grow weak

I can hear the sound of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

Quien sera el que me quiere a mi
Quien sera, quien sera
Quien sera el que me de su amor
Quien sera, quien sera

I can hear the sound of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

Sway me smooth, sway me now

Wingnut Dishwasher's Union - Urine speaks louder than words

  Pat The Bunny (aka Patrick Schneeweis) is from Tucson, Arizona and he plays acoustic folk punk songs (https://patthebunny.bandcamp.com/). He's also a member of anarcho-punk band Ramshackle Glory (https://ramshackleglory.bandcamp.com/). He first became the pin up boy for the diy folk punk crowd during his time with Johnny Hobo And The Freight Trains, the Vermont based acoustic solo project he began in 2000 which expanded over time to include trumpet, harmonica and washboard bass but remained acoustic and stuck to his original anarchist ethos.

  Following the breakup of Johnny Hobo in 2007, Pat formed Wingnut Dishwasher's Union, a collective which featured more instruments (though often live shows featured just Pat) but similar ideals and sound. Before disbanding in 2009 they released 3 albums (Toward A World Without Dishwashers, Never Trust A Man Who Plays Guitar and Burn The Earth, Leave It Behind).  https://diybandits.bandcamp.com/album/burn-the-earth-leave-it-behind

    From Burn The Earth....This is Urine Speaks Louder Than Words.....

I swear that someday
I'll tell you without lying
I was born to quit smoking
I was born to quit dieing
on that day, not doing heroin
will be easy as piss and on that day
I'll stop talking so much shit about the government

'Cause urine speaks louder than words
on a politician
or on a prison warden
urine speaks louder than words

I swear that today
I was born to be living!
I was born to be singing!
I was born to be fighting
but will somebody say
is this resistance or a costume party?
either way i think black with bandanas is a boring theme
I don't gotta tell ya
crackers are great with amnesia
when you wanna forget something like
centuries of racism
they say look at the man on
center stage and pay no attention
while millions get locked in a cage
riots break out in oakland

urine speaks louder than words
on a prison warden
or on a Bart policeman 
urine speaks louder than words

Vicious Cycle - I Hate Cops

  This will be a quick intro as I know very little about today's band. The song's supposedly a cover of a classic by The Authorities called I Hate Cops (which appeared on this blog last August http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/authorities-i-hate-cops.html).

  This version is by Vicious Cycle and sounds rather different to me but is still a short, sharp blast of killer punk rock that deserves it's place in this collection of top notch songs.

  You can find it on a compilation called Killed By Trash 2 which originally came out in 2009 on P Trash Records and has recently been re released : http://www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk/products/551051-v-a-killed-by-trash-vol-2-lp-full-trash-20-bonus-v-a-killed-by-p-trash-vol-50-7-p-trash-50

  Anyway, please compare and contrast both versions, as they're both great, and see what you think......

The Transgressions - Braindead

  Regular visitors will know that I love a bit of catchy, dumb pop punk and one of the best songs of this type to be released in recent times is featured today. I don't know too much about The Transgressions other than that they're a three piece from Madison, Wisconsin, they've been together since 2008 and they've not released much (seemingly they spend most of their time drinking beer and gorging on pizza).

  Headed by vocalist/guitarist Ben Gretenhart, they've had several line up changes, split up, reformed, relocated to Knoxville and now Ben is joined by Eric M (bass/vocals) and Hank R (drums) and there's the prospect of new material in the (hopefully) not too distant future.

   Influenced by the likes of Screeching Weasel and the Mutant Pop back catalogue you can listen to them here : https://thetransies.bandcamp.com/

  From 2009's Waste My Time, this is the rather wonderful Braindead.....

I'm braindead
I stare into space
I'm braindead
I can't stand this place
I'm braindead
I don't give a shit
I'm braindead
With no place to fit

I'm braindead
Always wasting time
I'm braindead
But I'm feeling fine
I'm braindead
With no thoughts inside
I'm braindead
Yeah, my brain has died

I'm braindead
I'm braindead
Don't ask me I don't care
I just sit around and stare

I'm braindead
I've given up hope
I'm braindead
Cause I'm smoking dope
I'm braindead
As I watch TV
I'm braindead
When you talk to me

I'm braindead
Always wasting time
I'm braindead
But I'm feeling fine
I'm braindead
With no thoughts inside
I'm braindead
Yeah, my brain is fried

I'm braindead
I'm braindead
Don't ask me I don't care
I just sit around and stare
I'm Braindead

Yum Yums - I Wanna Be The One

"IT'S TIME TO KICK ASS AND CHEW BUBBLEGUM"  

  After a couple of great hardcore tracks it's time to post one of my favourite ever power pop songs.

  The Yum Yums have been purveyors of catchy as hell power pop since 1993. Their debut single, Girls Like That (which was very nearly the song I posted today so make sure you check that out too), came out on Screaming Apple in 1994 and since then they've built up a great collection of releases, including 4 albums (and a couple of compilations).

  The Norwegian quintet currently line up thus; Morten Henriksen (vocals, guitar), Ulf Bendiksen (drums), Vibeke Saugestad (keyboards, vocals), Egil Stemkens (bass, vocals) and Gunnar Brontveit (guitar, vocals). They've lots of new songs ready to go so we can expect a new album in the not too distant future, they'd love to tour England so if anyone can help them sorting that out then it'd be much appreciated.

  If, like me, you're partial to catchy as hell, bubblegum pop then you'll love this. From 2009's Whatever Rhymes With Baby, this is I Wanna Be The One.....

The Riptides - Shit Outta Luck

 Today's song is one that popped up on an old mixtape that I was listening to in my car on the way to work and it summed up my mood pretty much. It's a mid tempo, melancholic number about the ordinary, downtrodden Joe Soaps in society and it's oh so true. It's by Ottawa's The Riptides and it was the closing track on their 2009 Tales From Planet Earth album.
  Formed in 1998, the band released several albums on their own Goblin label but more recently it's been Asian Man that's been putting their stuff out ( as well as the Planet Earth album this latter part of their catalogue has also featured split eps with  The Queers, The Dwarves, The Apers and most recently the Surf Nazis Must Die split with The Connection). They currently boast the talents of original members Andy Vandal (vocals) and Bob Goblin (bass/vocals) plus Doug Vermin (guitar/vocals), Corey Omega (guitar/vocals) and Dan Lumley (drums).
  This is Shit Outta Luck......

We're on a bus we're at our desks, in the check-out lines
We're taught to chase our parent's dreams and things will turn out fine
We go to school, can't pay our bills - the future's not so bright
We all know the Kids ain't alright

We work our jobs we punch the clock, vote and pay the rent
We put our faith in Democracy, and in the President
The passerby just gets in line - blind leading the blind
We wave as the world passes by

Now it's too late, it's too late, Whoa-oh - cause we're shit out of luck
It's too late, it's too late, Whoa-oh - cause we're shit out of luck

Who do we blame? What is the cause? Could it be you & me?
We've paved the way for The Decline with our complacency
We're walking dead on Doctor's meds, with one foot in the grave
A United State of Decay

Now it's too late, it's too late, Whoa-oh - cause we're shit out of luck
It's too late, it's too late, Whoa-oh - cause we're shit out of luck
It's too late, it's too late, Whoa-oh - cause we're shit out of luck
It's too late, it's too late, Whoa-oh - cause we're shit out of luck

We can't take this anymore
We can't stand it no more
No we can't take this anymore
We can't stand it no more  

Cute Lepers - Young Hearts

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....

The Spits - Tonight

Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, lo fi garage punk band The Spits have released a handful of self titled albums since they formed in 2000. They've also released several singles and split eps, including one with NOFX. This song, Tonight, was the lead track on their 2009 Spits 1V album and is a great example of their primitive but catchy basement sound...

Social Circkle - Drunk cop

Massachusetts band Social Circkle formed in 2006. They put out a demo and several 7 inch singles but my favourite release from them was an album called City Shock. Released in 2009 it contains 11 blistering tracks of frantic hardcore punk that's catchy enough to earn a place in this blog. This is Drunk Cop.....



Standing on the corner
Blue shirt red face
No such thing as law and order
You're just a big disgrace

And your breath stinks of alcohol
I saw you drinking on the job

Sitting in your cruiser
Drinking beer you stole
From the kid on the corner
You left him laying in the street

And I watched you kill for alcohol
I saw you
You left him laying face down in the street

You're four to the floor
You're three sheets to the wind
'Cause you're a drunk cop
You're a drunk cop

Standing on the corner
Blue shirt red face
No such thing as law and order
You're just a big disgrace

And I watched you kill for alcohol
I saw you
You left him laying in the street