Hold My Dishrag Body Tall.

Did I mention that my CD collection was stolen a few months ago? I had all of my CD's, over ten years worth, in a duffel bag in Jennie's car. Why I left them in the car, I'll never know, and I'll never forgive myself. But, there they were, in her car for three nights or so. Of course, somebody broke into the car, stole her laptop, rifled through her shit, and stole the duffel bag. Luckily, I had 90% of them backed up on this computer. So, I didn't lose all of the music, just the tangible aspect; booklets, cover art, etc... I'm often reminded of this loss when I'm posting. Like, today, I'm posting The Birthday Party, "Hits". The CD had a really nice booklet, with a well written band bio. I'm sorry I don't have it to share anymore. Regardless - This is a greatest hits collection, picked by guitarist (later, drummer), Mick Harvey and released by 4AD.

At the end of the nineties, I was desperately searching for new music. Not new chronologically, but something that stood out, something I hadn't heard before. I was telling a friend of mine that, although I will always love punk and hardcore, I felt that the initial excitement had worn off. "Punk" had become a self-limiting genre. Everything had to be in 4/4 time, or D-beats, power chords, the endless repetition of the phrase, "I don't care..." I knew that there had to be some bands, somewhere, doing things their own way, without all the rules and regulations. I mentioned Sonic Youth, a band I've always admired for their free-for-all experimentation. My friend, Matt, asked me if I had heard The Birthday Party? I said no, and he practically dragged me to his car and we went back to his place where he handed me a copy of "Hee Haw" and told me that I held the solution to my woe on that 5" disc. I should have been excited, but truthfully, I didn't believe him. I'm a cynical bastard. But, Matt was right. Listening to that CD was like losing my musical virginity all over again. Nick Cave's tortured howls, grunts, and baritone vocals were an adventure ride of emotions. The Exorcist came to mind.Tracy Pew, all the while holding down repetitive, hypnotic bass grooves. Harvey's guitar screaming, jangling, and shrieking feedback. Calvert, somehow always on time, but never on time with his beats. This was exactly what I needed. "Hits" is a great place to start, and it will give you an idea of the range and evolution of a band that never had any rules, self-imposed or otherwise.

part-1
part-2

Completely Unjustifiable.

I came across this video on Legacy Document. I honestly cannot believe that shit like this happens in our country. In short, a handcuffed, unarmed man was fatally shot at point blank range while face down on the ground. There is absolutely no way to justify this action. According to this article, the officer may have "mistakenly believed he was using his stun gun." Um, shouldn't he be trained to know the difference when licensed to carry a lethal weapon?!? Don't watch this if you are easily disturbed. Apparently some action has been taken by Bay Area citizens, as it should be. Next time you see a cop, throw a rock at 'em for me. (Music will be back tomorrow).

R.I.P.-Oscar Grant

New Feature!

I've always thought it would cool to have an interview feature on the blog, and now there is. I'm going to try and get a hold of some people I admire, being musicians, writers, artists, skaters, or whatever, and have them answer a few simple questions. In fact, I'm asking them the simplest journalistic questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? And, How? I'm leaving it up to the subject to decide how they want to answer. Some people will probably give us the most basic answers, others may rant, and others may take an entirely different path. The point is, these are creative people, and I want that to shine through. Personally, I find most interviews to be a little boring, because the questions are always the same. I'm hoping that by providing these questions, in their naked, most Basic form, the subjects will be able to express themselves without constraint. Who knows if it will work, but I'm looking forward to the results.

Our first guest is Todd Pot, of one of my all time favorite bands, Apocalypse Hoboken. If you're unaware of this band, I highly recommend you go back to my first post and check them out. Todd's got a totally unique voice, and his lyrics are an art on their own. Here is his interview:


Who .....What .....When.....Where.....Why.....and How..............first things first. I hate doing interviews. Back when Hoboken was in full swing I was the first to curl up in the fetal position and fey sleep when it came to interview time in the back of the van, some crappy bar, or some dudes shitty living room next to his shitty record collection, smack dab next to the shitty litter box that I was to surely curl up next to and try to get a couple hours of shitty shut eye......I was about seven years old when my uncle had given me two cassette tapes: "Computer World" by Kraftwerk and "Wild Planet" by the B-52s. Both of these albums shaped how I felt about music. There was more to music then the stuff that I heard on the radio.......four years would go by and that's when things really started to change... skateboarding made it's way to the Midwest... Nash and Variflex were the only decks we had to choose from, unless you went the mail-order route......I chose the latter. What came with skating was the marriage of music......skate rock......MRR.....Flipside.....Suburban Voice....and a slew of bedroom zines .......I was a sucker for American punk and heavy metal.........i never got on the whole Sex Pistols or Ramones kick....I could give a fuck about dressing a certain way ...I truly just dug the music......so years of stuffing my ears with as much as I could went by.....lots of drugs....lots of pussy.....and more drugs....my favorite local band was a band called Apocalypse Hoboken.......I tried to see them as much as possible, which was an easy feat. During 1987 to 1992 the band played what seemed like every weekend.....during that time the punk scene in Chicago and suburbs was a full fledge scene.....your usual gaggle of misfits and miscreants made up the scene and shit was cool.....I graduated highschool in 1991, floated around for two years, and stumbled upon a flier in a record store called The Turntable. Not only did The Turntable supply us with our records, but the kind owners supplied half the northwest suburbs with weed ....if you were lucky enough to be cool with the owner's son he would pull out his Trapper Keeper of Damned and Psychic TV photos......the whole Manchester thing was really big at the time, so this dude was all up in that shit, ya know Stone Roses ...Primal Scream...Loop.....you get the picture, and I digress....the flier that caught my eye "APOCALYPSE HOBOKEN is looking for a singer"......I tried out with a handful of lyrics and a gutfull of want, and for fuck's sake I became the singer!
The band tried hard to make a dent.....Fireside Bowl was in full swing....Elgin and the Third Floor was wiping the suburbs ass ...shit was good. Hoboken set out from the get go to be different than the bullshit Fat....Doctorstrange.....Epitaph shit that oozed through Chicago....Naked Raygun was another curse. I dont like Chicago styled anything ...keep it outta my music.........our need to be different only alienated us even further......the band toured a great deal, we signed to a horrible label out of California called Kung Fu, run by horrible people that play in now horrible bands......we were stuck and pigeonholed.....made it to Europe with a band called the Ataris, another fart in a dixie cup band.......had a blast though.....went out with At The Drive-In and Murder City Devils which proved to be a complete kick in the nuts....they don't like to share cocaine. Our best tour was with The Candy Snatchers - we finally found comrades!!!! needless to say Apocalypse Hoboken ran its course. Personal strife and band bullshit inevitability tore us apart....it was a good run though!!! Now to today.....I'm kept busy with a plethora of bands:
The House That Gloria Vanderbilt ...... Tongues....Vicelords......Jewsteeth......He-man.....and the occasional Apocalypse Hoboken reunion for all those "Chicago style hot-dogs" write me if ya want @ penistubes@yahoo.com xoxotpot

Todd also asked me to link you guys to God's Balls Records and Litter Box Studio, and so I did. Thank you Todd, for taking time to answer The Basics.

Radical Friends!

Started college today. My first day in a classroom since '97. Tomorrow I'm going to have to write a bum check to get my text books. C'est la vie, right? Oh, well, I'm supposed to get a financial aid check by next week to cover the balance. Hopefully a job someday, too.

Hey, there. You got ten minutes? Then listen to this awesome little E.P. that Head Wound City put out a couple years ago. It's like a hipster (I'm using that word to define all the people that use that word. Myself, too?)all-star band: Justin and Gabe from the Locust, Cody and Jordan from The Blood Brothers, and Nick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I'm not ashamed to admit that the Locust are in my top five favorite bands, I've got a big ass tattoo to show it. Blood Brothers put out a couple good tracks on every release. And, I guess I missed the boat on the YYY's, but they aren't terrible, by any means. The Spike Jonze directed "Y-Control" video is actually really awesome and hilarious. I read an interview once, where they talked about asking Gabe not to play so many double bass beats while recording this, which he answered with a silent, contempt-filled stare. You can find an excellent band bio here, and then pick up a t-shirt from their Myspace. Three One G is sold out of this record, but you should buy something from their catalog, they're running a pretty honest operation, with some really good bands.


Blunt Force Trauma Town

Back and Bloody

Jesus, two weeks is a long time to be away from home. We just got in, and I'm worn out. I've got a new feature that I hope will become a regular fixture coming in this week. It's a surprise, but hopefully you will be as stoked as I am. (See how I am tricking you into coming back all week? I learned that from watching cable Tv, while on vacation.) I won't bore you with my vacation pics, or stories. Pretty much we saw some friends, saw some family, and stayed drunk for the whole thing. Hope you all had a nice time while I was out. Thanks for not trashing the place.

Now, onto some tunes. I'm lazy, so this is an easy one: Slayer's, "Reign In Blood". I have this thing about finding something that can be used as a "perfect example of..." Track 10: "Raining Blood", is the "perfect example of Metal." If aliens were to land, and they were from some horribly weak suck of a planet, a planet with only Pop music say, and they came and asked us, "What is metal?" This is the track I would play. It hits you in the face within the first ten seconds. Soon, there's a spooky, atmospheric interlude, lulling you into believing that, maybe somehow when Tom asked, "Do you wanna die?", and you said, "Um, no thanks, sir." Maybe they heard you, and now you're out in the rain, cold, but safe. Then, POW! Two guitars come galloping out of the fog, and you're picked up by the throat. You're carried off on one of the greatest riffs ever, into a battlefield of double bass and frenetic picking. The General orders one last rush, and the solo comes in to annihilate what's left of the enemy. In less than five minutes, you're ass is totally handed to you, and then... nothing. That, my friends, is metal.

Perfection

It's such a shame, the kitten with no name...

We've been adopted. At four o'clock this morning, we woke up to crying. Jennie got out of bed to see what was going on, and when she opened our front door, there was a kitten. She came back in, put some shoes on, and trailed it down to the basement, where it was hiding. By now, I was out of bed, and I came out to check out the kitty. What we got was an extremely filthy, but affectionate little, grey cat. We were unsure of what to do, and we didn't want to take her to a shelter, where she might be killed. So Jennie gave her a bath, fed her, and spent the night in the living room with her. We've been discussing getting a pet for a few months, but are still on the fence. Jennie wanted a cat, and I wanted a dog. Not that I dislike cats, I love any animal, but I have an allergy to felines. Plus, we are leaving town. We took the kitten to the vet,to see what kind of problems this stray might have, and were very surprised to find out that she has a perfectly clean bill of health. We got her first set of vaccinations, and were on our way. We scrambled to find a place to keep her. Luckily, one of neighbors said that she would feed her and such while we are gone. So, we have an adorable, 4 month old cat. She's very clingy, and seems to crave attention more than food or play. She even seems to be litter box trained. Hopefully she won't be too troubled while we're gone. Any ideas for a name? (Update: We've started to call her Fooly Cooly.)



P.S. We found a dog on pet finder that we may adopt, as well. So, it may be getting pretty crowded in here soon.

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Alright, so I'll be out of town, and away from my hard drive for two weeks. I know, your sad, it's OK. Fetch yourself some cocoa, or better yet: some bourbon, and cozy up with a good book. I highly recommend "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. If you haven't read it yet, then I hope it's because you are illiterate. There's just no other viable excuse. It takes a while to get into the groove, and the first few chapters are just endless descriptions of what people are wearing, but it truly is one of the best novels ever written. Look up the word Psycopath, and that is exactly what you get with the character of Patrick Bateman. And don't think you know it, just because you watched the movie. There will be a test. Other books of note: "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men", by David Foster Wallace; "Guns, Germs, and Steel", by Jared Diamond; or anything by David Sedaris. I know those aren't exactly new releases, but I've got library fines, and I don't pay much attention to the new and hip.

Now, I know most of you are going to be busy during the holidays, so I'm not too worried about abandoning my post for a bit. But just in case your overwhelmed with free time, I am going to leave you with THREE albums to masticate while I am gone. Yup, I'm awesome like that. Well, not that awesome: Two of these are Rap albums (RZA got a decent response, so, why not?), and the other is an album you should have bought years ago.

First up I've got the "Blue Eyes Meets Bed Stuy" Mix tape, by DJ Cappel & Smitty. Hit em up, and buy a real copy. Who knew that Frank would get along so well w/ Biggie. I heard from a close friend, whom I'll refer to as "Nick", that these guys perform together every Friday night at a cabaret in Hell. Of course, you've got to be on pretty good terms with the owner if you're ever going to catch that show. I didn't even like Biggie until long after his demise. Now a days, I consider his work to be some of the only pure gangster shit ever created. This is a billion times better than any of those other B.I.G. tapes floating around, trust.


Next: Method Man's first solo foray, "Tical". The first of the solo Clan efforts after the "36 Chambers" album. This shit is so damn ill. Meth's voice cannot be topped, in my opinion. Even though he doesn't enunciate as clearly as a lot of cats out there, his flow is ridiculous. Nobody can touch this shit, for real. "Tical" will make even the most suburbanest, white kid feel like a god of underground funk. Sick.


Ah, the Denim Demons. The Apocalypse Dudes. The Saints of Semen. "Ass Cobra", by Turbonegro. Fucking, classic. This is the album where these boys really found themselves. No more blackface. Just Levi's and ass rockets. So many good songs on this. Like I said, you should have this already. This album and "Apocalypse Dudes" are the apex of Death Punk sensibility. Yeah, they reformed (I got to see them play, on the reunion tour), and yeah, they've put out some new albums. But this is the good shit, the china white of punk rock n'roll. Need I say more? Just get it already. Best wishes for the holidays, and I hope you all get what you want from the people you love and pretend to love, and that your greed is satisfied. Oh, yeah, all three of these are ripped at 320kbs.

Biggie and Frank
Methodtical
Turboneger

This is the way victory sounds...

Jennie and I are leaving for Minneapolis on Saturday. We'll be there for two weeks. I'm getting hyped up to see all my favorite people, and eat some Jimmy John's. Why can't we have a Jimmy John's on the West Coast? Best sub sandwiches ever (Go 'head and argue, but I'm not budging on this one). So, I thought I'd post another Minnesota band that you probably haven't heard of. [If your only into the super heavy stuff I post, you might want to skip this one. But if you like to rock, please read on.] Superhopper are pretty great. If you're ever in the Twin Cities, go catch a show, they're always playing. Have a beer or a shot with Kermit, the singer, he's a really nice guy and he knows who you need to talk to if you want to book a show. Hell, get a hold of these guys and try to make them play in your town. Catchy as crabs, hook-laden, and energetic as fuck, these guys will have you all singing along by the end of the set. Last time I saw them, at the 7th St. Entry, Kermit had just gotten married, and was in a super great mood, and had all kinds of funny stage banter (Though by the end of the set he just kept slurring, "Party. Weee'rrre gumma parteeee.)There's a whole show posted on Youtube here. And now comes the shitty part of this post... As much as I love these guys, this CD does not do them justice. Hyper-kinetic keyboard guy Math P. is buried in the mix. In fact, I didn't even realize there were boards on this the first time through. Also, Kermit has a British accent, and I can't figure out where that came from, odd. Still, while I don't endorse this EP as a whole, I can tell you that it has at least three songs I will listen to and love forever. "Kermit Hates Music" is a nice 'lil middle finger of a tune directed at crybaby emo kids and scenesters everywhere; "All Tomorrow's After Bars" is an honest depiction of what it's like to watch your frends lose it in the party scene, "I don't want any of your cocaine, I just wanna know you're OK."; and the CD closes with "Eye of the Tiger Applies to Everything", a song I can't help but always listen to twice in a row. I seriously wanna do the Flashdance when that song kicks in. And listen to the insane drum fill at the end. So rad. If nothing else, get this for that track. And to the band: sorry if this isn't a H.J. of a review. I love you guys. I'll try and pick up a copy of the first CD, "Does this sound exciting yet?" while I'm out there. Oh, yeah, I also included a song from a local compilation, which has those catchy keyboards turned up proper.



Oh, here.

It could of been you...

I was going to post Crispin Glover's album, but it looks like I'm not the only one who's been watching the River's Edge. So check out this post over here for some true weirdness. While you're over there, check out what he's got to offer, there's lots of good stuff. I didn't really have a back-up post, and really, you guys need to get caught up. Nobody's even touched the Worst Case Scenario or the Covered Up Comp., yet. So, I'm just gonna give you some random shit I scanned in. Suck.

Pre-Snuggle Bandit:


A Beautiful Man, doing his business:


???:


Streetlight Records Autograph Sesh. Only ten people showed up.:

I assure you we are open...

So, it looks like things have dropped off here, again. I'm not sure why, though. I'm thinking that, maybe it's because of the way I've laid the posts out. Could it be that people stop over, and don't see album art, release info, etc., and so move on without realizing that there is awesome, free music to be had at the click of a button? I mean, I'd like for you to hear what I have to say about things, rather than having you leeching and running away, but it looks like people aren't even doing that. Is it a lack of nudity? Well, the other blogs I follow don't seem to be posting any porn, and they are doing great. Do I just listen to horrible, unlikable music? I don't think so, and I'm trying to post a reasonable variety of genres/styles. Do you just hate zshare? I'll try mediafire for a couple posts, and we'll see if that improves things. Perhaps it's the blog title itself? I assure you that there isn't any 80's pop music here, though. Hmm. Well, if you've gotten this far, please, take a moment or two to leave a comment and let me know what I am doing wrong, or what could be improved, say hello, be heard, tell me a story, or just tell me to go fuck myself. As with anyone doing a blog, I'm curious to know what the reader is thinking. I'd like to thank the couple of people that have commented regularly: Thanks.

Now, on to the music. Today, going through my library, I noticed that a lot of the songs I like are covers. Which makes sense. A good cover works because it's like a two-for-one, especially when you have sentimental attachment to the original version. Of course, the band doing the cover also has to add their own seasoning to the mix, without spoiling the original flavor. Too often a band simply "punks" up a song by stripping it of unique qualities, reducing it to three chords, and playing it faster than the original (I'm looking at you Me First and the Gimme Gimme's, you cookie cutter bastards). So, I put together a collection of some of my favorite covers, and titled it, simply enough, "Covered Up". There's a variety of styles on display, from the simple, acoustic, campfire vibe of Aeriel M's rendition of the Misfits "Last Caress",to Charles Bronson spitting out a Hüsker Dü in under thirty seconds, to the industrial clanging of Rosetta Stone paying tribute to Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings". Most of the tracks should be familiar, and even sentimental to you. Please, let me know what you think, or talk about some of the covers you enjoy.

This is just a picture of my little sister and her dogs. It doesn't have anything to do with this post:

Get the "Covered Up" Comp. here

Why does man build his house on the sand?

I picked up "The Complete Works of Worst Case Scenario" (Vermiform Records) back in '98, almost on accident. I had actually been looking for a different band that a friend had played for me the night before, but my brain was still saturated with demon alcohol, and I couldn't remember the band's name. Worst Case Scenario sounded about right, and lucky for me, it wasn't. Because the band name I was trying to remember was Victim's Family, and after listening to them without an ocean of beer in my bloodstream, I came to the realization that I do not like that band at all. Worst Case Scenario, however, are awesome. Do you watch Peep Show? There's an episode where Jez and Super Hans recruit Sophie's cousin, because the music he makes is the closest thing to what they are trying to do, so it's like pre-emptive plagiarism. That's kind of how I feel about WCS. I've always written songs that sound similar to their screamy, discordant, post-hardcore, but I never recorded them. Anger, despair, fear, the whole black side of the emotional spectrum gets covered here. This CD collects everything the band released, so there's a bit of difference production-wise, say, between track 3 and track 15. Like a lot of the bands I like, the vocals are kind of love 'em, or hate 'em. I never learned much about them, I guess the guitar player was also in Unwound. Oh, and if you try and Google them, you'll get a ton of other bands, because Worst Case Scenario is a common name. This is the Olympia, Washington band that existed in the 90's. Oh, I don't have track one on here, "If You Were A Sparrow, I'd Clip Your Wings". I guess I never ripped it because it's just a skronky, free jazz instrumental, and I always skip it.


My link expired, but check this out: Illogical Contraption posted it! Head that way and get it.

Before They Were Stars

I thought I'd share this interview and an ad from before Jason was an actor. Along with pushing forward street skating, Jason has always come across as a charming and funny guy. If you didn't know, a couple of years ago, Chris and Jason resurrected Stereo Skateboards, and he's back on the board. This is a pretty insightful interview about a pretty turbulent time in skating. [I decided not to color correct this in Photoshop, I kinda like the aged, sepia toned look.]

Call To Your Father In Vain...

Way back, when I was in junior high, and I owned every Slayer/Megadeth/Danzig t-shirt that the local head shop could supply, I had a pretty decent collection of metal albums. Years went by, and I had almost forgotten about these blasphemous, evil men. It wasn't until about a year ago that I found myself seeking out these purveyors of brutality once again. I found that most of the bands I listened to were kind of boring and formulaic, but a few have stood the test of time. One of the superior ones, I think, Resurrection fucking shreds. "Embalmed Existence" is an atmospheric album, each song has a spoken intro which weave a misanthropic story of an evil, cursed, wretch of a man. The musicianship is in the uppermost levels of Florida Death Metal's fret terrorizing hordes. What really makes this one stand out for me, though, are the tortured vocals. More screech/scream than grunt/bark. It looks like they re-released this with a bunch of bonus tracks, so maybe you should go buy it, yeah? I will, and I'm getting one of the tees to replace the one that I had so long ago. Going through my uploads, it looks like metal is what you're craving anyways, so I'll give you this one to gnaw at, like a lycanthrope at an abortion clinic.



Evil

Red Means Go, Fucker!

Alright, another one of my favorites here: New Bomb Turks - "Pissing Out The Poison". I've have owned no less than four copies of this CD. Three were stolen, and one may have been lost, or too scratched, but I definitely have owned it several times. There was a time when this style of sped-up garage rock held exclusive rights to my listening ears. For a couple years I couldn't get enough of bands like Zeke, Teengenerate, the Fumes, the Humpers, and the New Bomb Turks. Then, Epitaph records started snatching up everything they could get there hands on, and a few of these bands suffered. I don't know why, but Epitaph puts some sort of fart into the mix, and bands I've loved never put out decent releases on that label. But, before they were scooped up by the E., these guys put out the amazing "Destroy, Oh Boy!" and about 600 killer seven inchers. A grip of those singles are collected on this CD, as well as some previously unreleased gems. I'm especially fond of the tracks they recorded with Billy Childish, of Thee Headcoats. Several screaming covers: "I Wanna Sleep" by the Modern Lovers (Who I'll probably post soon), "Just Head" by the Nervous Eaters, "Summer Romance" by the Rolling Stones, and a few more that you can just read off the liner notes I scanned. I've always loved that these guys sound like they are having a shit-ton of fun when they're playing. In almost every photo I've seen, the singer is frozen three feet off the floor, and he's always whoopin' and yelling out "Ye-ah! Yee-ahh!". Joy.


Get Fast!

Thug Life

So, yesterday started off with a bang. Actually, two bangs. Jennie and I slept in pretty late. When we finally got up, she took a trip to the 7-11, and I hopped in the shower. While I was soaping up my parts, I heard a gunshot. "Hmmm, I think that was a gunshot? Maybe just the construction noise?", and then another loud bang. "Nope. Those were gunshots. Shit, I hope Jennie wasn't anywhere in the middle of that." Luckily, she wasn't. She had gone to 7-11, but then decided top go to the Mercado on the corner after. She was in there when the shooting occurred, and everyone started freaking out. I guess a guy on his motorcycle witnessed the shooting, and ran in to use the phone. So, more than ever, Jennie wants to get the hell out of L.A.. I don't know any more details, but I'm guessing that it was fatal: the ambulance arrived with sirens and left silent. It's not the first time I've heard gunshots in the neighborhood, but I'm bummed that it happened so close to Jennie. Otherwise, I'm kind of indifferent. I'm guessing it was the usual gangster shit, and I don't think there's much I can feel about it. It happens. It's the city. One of the kids that worked for me in the back stock of American Apparel got shot and killed in his backyard earlier this year. I was bummed, because he was a nice enough guy at work, and he did a good job, without complaining. But, he was into gangster shit, and he got killed over some minor squabble. But, like most of the people I worked with, I don't have much experience in that lifestyle. All I know is that shooting at each other is common enough, and life expectancy is low. I attended an independent study high school my junior year, in San Jose. I was definitely the minority, a white kid with blue hair, and not running with any crew. Fights broke out daily between the other students. Almost weekly, they talked about friends that had been killed over whatever these kids get killed for. I was never in the middle of any conflict, one of my classmates told me that they assumed I was crazy. I kind of am, but I definitely would have gotten annihilated if any beef came my way. I don't know what my point is. I guess I'm just saying that my capacity for compassion is almost gone. I don't care about these things, and maybe I should. Not that I want to go volunteer with youth counselors, or anything, but I feel like I should be afraid when people are getting killed a block away. But... I'm not. I just don't care.

I Can Almost Take It Back...

I'm pretty sure that, out of the handful of people that read this, at least a couple of you skate. So, if you do, and you've seen Flip "Sorry", you'll recognize Gray Matter. Ali Bouala and Geoff Rowley's parts are to the tracks "Burn No Bridges" and "I Am The Walrus", respectively. After I got that DVD, I rushed over to my local record shop (Extreme Noise in Mpls, at the time)and picked up this CD. Fairly straight forward punk rock, just a bit cleaner than some of the other Dischord bands of the era. Standout tracks include "Caffeine Blues", "Oscar's Eye", and my favorite from this disc, "Take It Back". "Head" clocking in at over 7min. is pretty good as well, it starts mid-paced and has an extended 'jam' type section in the middle. Enjoy.


Here it is

Crap

I'm very upset with technology, right now. I'm having trouble with a lot of the albums I want to post being in .wav format, at ridiculously large bitrates, so that the files are huge. If you know a decent, free wav to mp3 converter, please let me know. So until I get that situation sorted out, all you're going to get today is another crappy comic. Feel my pain.

I Wanna Pass Notes With You...

When I first met Jennie, five years ago, I told her that I had a crush on her and that I wanted to write her name on my shoe. This childish tactic worked better than I could have possibly imagined. So, I would like to say thank you to Todd Congelliere, and the other charming lads in F.Y.P., or Five Year Plan for reminding me that "The word mature is a synonym for chickenshit." Often, when the responsibilities of my adult life become overwhelming, I like to turn for the sugar-hyped, spastic punk rock of F.Y.P.'s "Dance My Dunce" CD. If I remember correctly, I bought it at one of their shows in Cupertino, around '94. I think it cost me all of $5, and was one of the first three CD's I owned. I've bought a couple of their other releases, but Dance My Dunce remains my favorite, to this day. The album is filled with songs of pre-adolescent rebellion, from the opening shout of "Shut your fucking mouth!" (Dum Cos I Said So), D.M.D. seldom relents in its assault on all things adult. "Ian Stuart As A Crash Dummy" stands out as one of my favorite thrash songs, with comedic lyrics about the death of the Skrewdriver frontman, who was decapitated (according to some accounts) in an auto accident. You even get some Xylophone in the mix on a couple of tracks. So rad. So call in sick to your stupid job and spend the day skating and shouting to the tunes of F.Y.P.. Speaking of Skating, you can find some cool clips of Todd himself, who was a unique pro skater for years. Also, if you haven't heard them, some of the boys went on to form Toys That Kill, one of the best bands to see live, ever. And, support Recess Records, they are cheap and wonderful, a rare combination.


I Don't Wanna Sit Next To You! (DL)

With Full Of Smiling Fate...

I have to admit something... I have total Jap Envy. I know that reading this, some members of my family will be quite upset, because I come from a fairly racist clan (though they would never admit it). It seems that most Americans are split when it comes to the denizens of the Land of the Rising Sun. Either they feel that the Japanese simply steal our ideas, and sell them back at a mark-up, or, like me, they are blown away at the level of perfection the Japanese bring to their endeavors. Now, I'm not claiming to be an expert on Japanese culture. I don't speak the language, I've never been closer than California, I don't like Sushi (Though, I appreciate its aesthetic quality. Jennie makes adorable heart shaped rolls at home.), and I've never enjoyed the company of a Companion Girl. I am, however, a fan of many of their exports. Their groundbreaking animation, such as "FLCL", "Spirited Away", and "Paprika". All of which blow just about anything American out of the water, with the possible exception of Pixar films. I've read a few books on the Yakuza, and I highly recommend the book "Speed Tribes" for a look at the seedy subcultures us round-eyes are often unaware of. So, today I'm sharing with you a fine example of Japanese ingenuity: Melt-Banana. An almost perfect blend of Noise and Punk. Thrash and Studio-trickery. Cute and Spastic. "Charlie" is wholly original in its mashing of genres. In fact, I'd call them one of maybe twenty absolutely unique bands. Please to enjoy.




Ichiban!

The Return

Alright, I'm back in town. I had some important family business to attend to, but things are back to normal. Good news: I got my scanner running again, so you can expect nice album art scans, and a lot of other crap. Like this here comic:



I started this series of comics a couple years ago, but never really tried to do anything with them. Most of 'em are far to offensive to be published anywhere, but you'll find that out soon enough. I'll also add pictures to the posts, for context. Oh, and I've got a bunch of ads from old skate magazines, as well. Like this:


I actually had that board, I remember it being a slick bottom. I am also a crappy artist, and I'll put up drawings occasionally. Anyway, it's good to be home.