"You’re the greatest you’re the latest you’re that superstar..."
Do you remember back in the day when we had punk pioneers such as The Pistols, The Clash, The Damned etc. 3 chords, attitude and some spiky melody? Do you remember we also had the likes of Wreckless Eric, Ian Dury, TV Personalities etc. DIY acts that weren't quite punk but comfortably fit under that umbrella. Today's song reminds me of them.
The Dear Boys are from Bexhill On Sea in East Sussex. They're a trio made up of Tony Page, Tony Fletcher & Brett Buddy Ascott and last month they released their first single of 2026 (their 5th physical release). It's part of the build up to an album which is planned for later this year.
Dedicated to the next generation, it's a song that seeks to promote self worth. Get out there kids, the world is yours. Take it. You're great!
So today's song is one of those that you gravitate towards it because of the title before realising it's really rather good. It's by a "foamcore" (yeah, fucked if I know what that means too) band from Norwich called Rudimentary Paste (https://www.facebook.com/RudimentaryPaste).
They're a trio featuring Sim (vocals/guitar), Bob (bass/vocals) & Nigel (drums/vocals) and they debuted this time last year with an ep titled Octopus Milk & Other Tall Tales.
Reminding me a little of Mclusky, this is the title track. It's called That's Why She Lost Her Job as a Blue Peter Presenter...
She says, drink paint And I say, no you probably shouldn't drink paint Shouldn't drink paint Shouldn't drink Shouildn't drink paint Shouldn't drink paint Drink paint!
She says, eat soap And I say, no you probably shouldn't eat soap Shouldn't eat soap Shouldn't eat Shouldn't eat soap Shouldn't eat soap Eat soap!
Sometimes, she says, you just have to Eat the apple
Picking the bones of progress of sorts and I am concussed by milky affectation
She says, brush until your gums bleed And I say, don't brush that hard Dentists say do not brush that hard
She says, don't eat my filthy bread She says, don't eat my filthy bread She says, don't eat my filthy bread And you definitely shouldn't eat that bread 'cos that bread will definitely kill you
Sometimes, she says, you just have to Stitch yourself into the walls
Picking the bones of progress of sorts and I am concussed by milky affectation She's carrying something Now she is walking What is she carrying? Where is she?
I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine
How could you possibly improve on greatness? Well they've only gone and drafted in Lucy from Primetime. Primetime of course being the band who topped the Just Some Punk Songs 2014 end of year chart with this beauty : https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2014/06/primetime-tied-down.html
The full line up is now Guy Butterworth (Guitar), Johnny White (Guitar), Lucy Anstey (Bass), Nathaniel Weiner (Vocals) & Pat Daintith (Drums). It's a triumphant return, a brand spanking new 3 track ep titled 15 Minute City. Stop reading and go get it. It's out now on Static Shock Records and it's ace! https://staticshockrecords.bandcamp.com/album/15-minute-city
And now for the part where I highlight a song. Today it's impossible to choose between the "absolute bundle of DIY greatness" that is 15 Minute City and the "childlike punk gem" Petrol. So you're getting them both...
One of the more interesting newcomers of 2020 are Bristol DIY collective Silicone Values. They announced themselves in June with a single called I Hate Fascist Rock And Roll (I think we're all with them on that one!) and they followed it in September with the excellent dystopian pairing of Utopian Futures & Nuclear Sun (which was covered here : https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2020/10/silicone-values-utopian-futures.html).
Now they complete a hat trick of killer singles with the release of "two more tinnitus inducing one-trick ponies..."
Buying into the Desperate Bicycles rallying cry of "It was easy, it was cheap, go and do it" they bring us a couple of sub 2 minute lo-fi delights. Just As Simple As That is a jaunty blast of budget post punk whilst the song you'll find below marries up a splendid title with a terrace style chanted chorus of "who do you think we are?" From what I can make out, it's a critique of modern day Britain, or at least a sizable section of it.
The Surburban Homes are the Swell Maps/Desperate Bicycles influenced diy lo-fi punk band that have seen most of their previous releases featured on here and have always gone down very well when I've played them on the show. It seems as though I'm mistaken but I could have sworn the last time I played them I was told they were splitting up. As today's update will prove, this hasn't been the case though looking on Bandcamp it appears as though they've relocated from West Sussex to Gijon, Spain.
Originally it was scheduled as their second ever release but problems with In The Red Records saw it put back several times before eventually being pulled. It's now seen the light of day. The band would one day like to release a Spiral Scratch for the modern era and whilst they doubt this is it, it's still a bloody good critique on our "crappy society." This is the lead track, it rails against the current trend to package everything up in shiny plastic. Glossy sells. "Rock n Roll is dead but they'll give you a cozy alternative....a false sense of rebellion" This is Magazine Version...
Today it's a band I hadn't heard of until I received a message on Google from Shane Hobensack who's a member of Mr. Lisp telling me that they're a punk band from Philadelphia, PA, who have a wide range of influences ranging from NOFX to Ween and would I like to review their new album, Get Our Minds Right.
I'm always wary about these kind of messages as obviously I want every song I share with you to be something I like and as everyone's taste is different then obviously I'm going to be sent stuff I don't like and I hate to say no to people. Also I'm not really a good enough writer to do proper reviews so I rely on pretty similiarly structured introductions with links to the music so you can hopefully think ah, Mick likes it so let's have a listen and make our own minds up what it's like. But Mr. Lisp are good and the title track to the album that you'll find below is very catchy so here you go...
If you check out their Facebook page you'll notice there's not much band info available (heaven forbid anyone thinks that's the reason for the 2 paragraphs of waffle at the start of this review!) https://www.facebook.com/MrLisp/
As for a review, the best you're going to get is that I enjoyed it and recommend you go and see what you think. If you like it, tell your friends I'm sure all the bands on here are grateful for any word of mouth they get. Below is the obligatory Youtube link, it's the title track, Get Our Minds Right...
Orange Bomb are a 4 piece D.I.Y. punk pop garageband from Surrey featuring a line up of Martin Holmes (vocals), Rob Allbeury (guitar), Matt Harriman (drums) and Andy Marling (bass). Originally a duo formed from the ashes of The Wot Nots their debut album was titled (One) and you can check it out here : https://metalpostcard.bandcamp.com/album/one-orange-bomb
Last March they returned with album number 3, it's called Pop Heavy and it's more of the usual catchy melodies combined with pithy lyrics. Expect Wry Observationalistic alt stylings rather than typically glossy pop punk. It's storytelling with quirky characters and plenty of nostalgia. It'll leave you with a warm glow. They're always looking for good gigs with likeminded bands so if you can help then give them a shout.
This song is about a chap called Richard Household who invented a girlfriend and to avoid being caught out at the school disco he told everyone she had died. With lyrical couplets such as "Up to number 3 The Jam's Eton Rifles, Tracy's breasts wobbling like trifles" and shout outs to the likes of Midge Ure, Haircut 100, Boy George (he must be a girl!) etc, it'll transport you back in time.
This blog started at the end of 2013 when I was still on holiday from work, Christmas was over and I was bored so decided to see if I could suss out how to make a blog to collect together a bunch of cool videos. Just so it didn't resemble Youtube too much I thought I'd better write a couple of lines saying what the songs were. I'm still doing it.
The first song to feature was I'll Be Gone by The Oblivians and this was followed the next day by Radioactivity with Alright. Day 3, 1st Jan 2014, saw me post Dissatisfactions by Onsind (http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-buzzcocks-once-wrote-song-called.html ) No one knew about the blog back then and even now, nearly 4 years later, only 20 people have viewed the page. Considerably more will view the song I'm posting by them today.
There must be something about the north east accent that attracts me, Bear Trade's Silent Unspeakable will quite probably end up being my favourite album of 2017. No Ditching were a band I adored (I'm gutted they appear to be no more) and Martha are one of the UK's best bands. As they share members with Martha and No Ditching, it's no surprise that Onsind (One Night Stand In North Dakota) are pretty wonderful themselves.
It's also no surprise that a band who's name is a reference to the lack of adequate abortion facilities in some areas of the USA write songs that are intelligent and hard hitting but they wrap these iron fisted missives in velvet gloves. The best protest songs are the ones that sucker you in with a catchy tune, letting the message slowly seep into your brain as you hum along. Onsind have been doing this for a decade now and you can find their music name your price here : https://onsind.bandcamp.com/
With a line up of Nathan Stephens Griffin, Daniel Ellis, Naomi Griffin, Jason Cavalier and Claire Swift, they'll be releasing their new album, We Wilt, We Bloom, next month on Specialist Subject and Salinas Records. A tour will coincide and you can find details here : https://www.facebook.com/onsind/
To whet your appetite, here's their new video for a song called Immature. You can also get it name your price on Bandcamp with all money donated going to Savage Collective ("The salvage collective aims to brings together women (cis, trans & intersex), trans & non-binary survivors & activists who experience gender oppression, violence and abuse in UK activist communities to nurture activist cultures of care, accountability & safety.
We aim to provide a network to share experiences, resources, skills and build communities of belief, support and action." )
My neighbour told me a story, About a kid who bought a house aged twenty one, I said "you're winding me up just for fun" He said "it's true! By the way, your rent's due, son" "But that seems so unfair" He said "if you tried really hard you could get there, But your generation's so immature, you want it all on a plate, you want it all on a plate, you want it all..."
Do I sound like a teenager, When I say that you've infantilised our rage, When I say I want to put my self in danger, Do I sound immature?
Yeah we're still living in our parents' basements, Or renting foul accomadation from our baby boomer mates, And god forbid you take a selfie or you're hated, By a generation raised in a welfare state, They say we're all so self-obsessed, So lazy, so work-shy, and all the rest, It's seems to me the one thing that unites my friends is that we all just wanna fucking die.
Do I sound like a teenager, When I say that you've infantilised our rage, When I say I want to put my self in danger, Do I sound immature?
Freak Genes are a new band from Manchester featuring the talents of Charlie Murphy and Andrew Anderson. Having previously played in bands such as Red Cords, Hipshakes, Holiday Ghost and Proto Idiot they joined forces last year and began recording an album. The fruits of their labour is titled Playtime and it was released on Alien Snatch Records last month. Their influences are Swell Maps, Nick Lowe, Devo etc and I've also heard them compared to The Buzzcocks. You can check out the album here : https://aliensnatch.bandcamp.com/album/freak-genes-playtime
They're already working on a follow up album and in August they'll be playing the Get Lost Festival in Hamburg. A European tour will follow and the line up will expand to a 5 piece for the live shows.
I played this song on the latest Just Some Punk Songs show and it went down a storm with the folk in the chatroom. This is Going Wrong.....
So we're going to be having another election in the UK. It looks like the result is a foregone conclusion, the electorate are going to vote for continuing with the austerity option, cheered on by the vast majority of the press who really don't seem to like Jeremy Corbyn's disunited Labour Party. Call for a strong NHS, less of a gap between the haves and the have nots, more talk/less bombing, fairer taxing of multinationals and better standards of education for our young and it seems you get labelled a crank. Yeah, Corbyn comes across as an idealist without much of a clue how to actually put his ideas into practice but that's not really a surprise given that most stories are rewritten to suit the agendas of those who have the loudest voice. Personally I'd rather give an idealist the chance to aim towards a better and fairer future, maybe it's an impossible dream but better trying and failing than carrying on as we are. That was a party political broadcast from the Just Some Punk Songs Party. Now for some music.....
The Tuts are a trio from London featuring Nadia Javed (vocals/guitar), Harriet Doveton (bass/vocals) and Bev Ishmael (drums). They play upbeat diy indie pop-punk music with lyrics dealing with "sexism, feminism and everyday life-isms." Since playing their first gig in 2011 they've been feted by the likes of Billy Bragg, Kate Nash and Pauline Black and received plenty of radio play for their numerous singles and debut album, Update Your Brain. You can check out their music here : https://thetuts.bandcamp.com/
The song you'll find below featured on Update Your Brain but is now getting a timely single release. The band are also touring and asking people to voice their opinions on what they think is worth voting for. To check out the dates or to send your opinions check out their Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/thetutsband/
Following on from yesterday's update featuring D.L.I.M.C. here's another one of Mark Winter's many projects. G.S.B. (Goldman Sex Batallion, or Gordon Spicer Band as was ) have released a cassette ep called Goldman's Beat and it's more of Mark's inventively off kilter diy indie punk. There's also a non ep track called I Like Violence on the Cool Bands cassette compilation alongside songs by some of his other bands such as Ooze, Big Zit, C.C.T.V. etc.
From Goldman's Beat this is the "hit" it's a jaunty, wickedly inventive pop song called Telephone Bore....
I'm not even going to pretend to know much about D.L.I.M.C. other than it's the brainchild of Mark Winter, one of the most original and inventive musicians out there. From Indiana, he's also involved with a plethora of other bands such as Coneheads, Liquids, G.S.B. (I'll feature them on here soon), C.C.T.V. etc....
As D.L.I.M.C. (it stands for d.leopardo industrial music co.) he's released a bunch of catchy as hell diy cassettes (February Cassingle, July Cassingle etc) that you can find on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5moaPjC8XUcKmd9bbNqqYDvRYAY3dxQR ). The song you'll find below is the one that seems to be most people's pick of the bunch, it's from the November Cassingle and it's called Wicker Park....
Living in the suburbs is such a drag
My parents give me money to fill plastic bags
Someday I’ll live large and get a brand new car
Drive to Chicago where my life will start
Oh I’m so cliche
The city and my suburb are the fucking same
I'll move to Logan Square, shop at Wicker Park
American Apparel and latte art
Staying inside after it gets dark
I love the city just not the poor parts
My alternative lifestyle is a fucking farce
Mommy thinks I’m crazy cause i dyed all my hair
Pour packages of food items on the clothes that i wear
Some less fortunates tried to steal my backpack
The six corners is the only place where i don’t get laughed at
So you work for a company that tells other people
About a service that a copy company offers through a website?
Oh you go to a club in Boystown where they play retro new wave music?
What’s that like?
Who fucking cares about the brand of circular sunglasses that you wear
Your slick beard or your fixed gear bike
Or whatever shit that encompasses your life
I happen to think that your boring and trite
So you say there the same, does that make me half right?
I’m still better off than you, you delusional ass wipe
People like you just make me sick
Your city is the suburbs, your poor is for the rich
When you abandon your apartment and move back with your mom
I hope it all burns so your neighborhood is gone!
If "feminist coldwave" featuring synth rather than guitar sounds like your cup of tea then I'm sure you'll enjoy this (in fact you probably discovered it a few months ago and are wondring why I'm so late to the party!). The lead track from the ep is a hypnotic and slightly creepy song called Everything Is Fine....
Hailing from Indiana, Liquids are one of the coolest bands around. Their music is a riot of short blasts of lo fi diy hardcore garage stompers and they're often mentioned in the same breath as fellow Indiana outfit Coneheads (http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-coneheads-way-things-am.html). Mat Williams features in both bands.
Over the course of the last couple of years they've released a bunch of cassettes, eps and the rather excellent Hot Liqs re recorded compilation album which you can check out on Drunken Sailors Bandcamp page : https://drunkensailorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hot-liqs-lp
Drunken Sailor are also streaming the new ep called More Thana Friend. There's 111 copies of the record available on gold vinyl which is due for release in a couple of days but I'd be surprised if they weren't already pretty much snapped up. To get more info and to listen to the ep click here : https://drunkensailorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/more-thana-friend-ep
From the new ep, here's a song that previously went by the title Gwenys Song but now seems to be titled XxxXx. Whatever it's called it's great.....
Pioneering punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue issued a call to arms back in '77 when it proclaimed "here are 3 chords, now form a band." It was a suggestion that was acted upon by a generation of bored kids who were discovering that you didn't have to be a talented musician to be in a band and make music.
One band who were a prime example of the punk diy ethos were The Desperate Bicycles who formed in Dalston, East London, in March 1977 and who's intent was to record and release a single on their own label (Refill Records). They booked a local studio for 3 hours and for the princely sum of £153 produced the Smokescreen 7", a debut single which turned enough of a profit to finance the follow up, The Medium Was Tedium.
Next up was the New Cross, New Cross ep (from which today's song is taken) and then another single called Occupied Territory. Their only album was a Porky Prime Cut (if you're an old bugger like myself, you'll possibly remember that record engineer George "Porky" Peckham would etch his trademark into the run out grooves of many of the eras vinyl discs) called Remorse Code.
One more single followed, Grief Is Very Private, before they split in 1981. It's not easy to get hold of their records nowadays as they've never wanted to go down the road of re releasing or reissuing.
This is Advice On Arrest...... it won't happen here they can't do it to me i've got nothing to fear never seen the spg we've got democracy who needs solidarity this is what to do when it happens to you!
shout out your name take all their numbers make witnesses for your defence at the station they will search you make a list of your belongings don't sign for something you don't own at the station there'll be questions don't answer, see a lawyer first don't make a written statement without legal advice
I don't usually post live videos on here but I'll make an exception for today's song. Phat Bollard are a Cornish band that travel the country playing to audiences in the hope of earning enough to get by on. Unlike most bands though they're more likely to be found busking in front of passers-by in town centres rather than playing the more traditional venues favoured by gigging troupes. From Calstock, Cornwall, they're a folk outfit that sing about life, love and politics, often adding a humorous twist. Occasionally their sets don't go down well with everyone and they are ordered to leave town.
They hit the headlines a while back thanks to their song Millionaires, it's been viewed over 3 million times on facebook (where there are several different live recordings of it) and is a hit out at peoples attitudes concerning homelessness and big business. If you want the studio version (or any of their other releases), chuck a few pennies in their hat over on bandcamp...... https://phatbollard.bandcamp.com/track/millionaires-2
Today's song is by East Vancouver's The Rebel Spell, a band who formed in 2002 and who play socially conscious punk rock with a d.i.y. attitude. They originally featured Toddserious (Todd Jenkins) on vocals, Wretchederin on guitar, Chris Rebel on bass and Stepha on drums though by the time of their latest release Elliot was on bass and Travis on drums.
They've released four albums; Expression In Layman's Terms (2003), Days Of Rage (2005), Beautiful Future (2011) and Last Run (2014). There's was also 2007's Four Songs About Freedom ep. You can check them all out here : http://therebelspell.bandcamp.com/album/last-run. If you like your punk music heartfelt, honest and with a coherent message, you're probably already familiar with them. If they've passed you by then now's the time to put that right.
Tragically, Todd Jenkins passed away earlier this year. On Saturday, March 7th, he was in a fatal accident whilst rock climbing in Black Velvet Canyon.
Today's song is one of the best I've posted thus far, it's the title track from their Last Run album......
Run run run run my gorgeous cousins to a beautiful place where the helis don’t fly Out of the reach of man and industry away from this scourge, the destroyer of all This doesn’t come from logic or ignorance you’ve been set up and sentenced to die You’ve been blamed but you won’t be tried just poisoned or shot for someone else’s crimes Don’t blame the wolf, don’t blame the seal if it will help you can blame me Blame the tar sands and the fishing fleets, or forestry, blame industry
200,000 cattle trample the land, roads end wilderness for everything it has The tailing ponds kill the river that runs through and wolves get the blame for missing Caribou Giant drag nets scrape the ocean dead and somehow seals are the new threat Double the humans in less than 50 years and it’s someone else’s fault when the herds disappear
Don’t blame the wolf, don’t blame the seal, if it will help you can blame me, Blame the tar sands and the fishing fleets, or forestry blame industry Don’t blame the wolf, don’t blame the seal, if it will help you can blame me, How about the growing cities and the sprawling streets, blame agriculture, blame industry Blame me Blame me Every witch hunt the same purpose, be it women, wolves, snakes or albatross How long will these games go on they do nothing to help and only deepen the loss Blame the war on nature, blame the fear of green, blame the lazy cowards in huge machines, Blame us all together as we poison the sea, blame the way we consume and breed and breed or pesticides and the GMO wheat, the water you waste for the taste of meat Blame acid rain, yes it’s still a thing, clear-cuts you can see from space reactor leaks, open pits, massive dams and their floods of death Blame our anthropocentric mind disease, science dragged out back and forced to its knees Blame your own inaction while the world bleeds, blame that on the distractions of your silly scene I know you need a sacrifice to your god of greed if it will help you can take me blame me blame me blame me
