Fort Awesome

Happy Birthday by Altered Images

2012-01-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

It's so damn stupid a song, it's brilliant.
Take a nice listen right 'ere
Here's what the lead singer, Clare Grogan looks like nowadays. Very Thatcherish, yes?

Short review of Man who fell to earth

2012-01-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

good cinematography and good acting from Bowie. It's basically a more depressing, sexual version of Edward Scissorhands.

The Ramones- the accidental first parody of a boy band

2011-12-27T14:37:00.001-08:00

Sorry Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett but the Ramones were the first band to satirize the manufactured pop stuff since the lead three members seemed to parody the archetypes accidentally, think about it.

1)Joey: So sensitive that the poor man had OCD

2)Johnny the tough guy to the point of being a racist, controlling asshole

3) Dee Dee-the "wacky" guy who was obsessed with nazis and even fantasized about killing his girlfriend in a song. Also illiterate as any account on the making of Rock n Roll High School will tell you(took him 50 some takes just to get the word Pizza)

4)Tommy/Marky: the straight man who tried to keep everyone together although Marky was an alcoholic for a while and well, with people like the above going at each other's throats(for good reason, granted, Johnny stole Joey's ladyfriend and married her), who could blame him?

This is fucking brilliant

2011-12-22T15:13:00.001-08:00

Just watch it and tell me I'm wrong

Just a note

2011-12-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

When choosing to what Coldplay Scientist cover to listen to, go with the Aimme Mann one because Willie Nelson and his voice is a letdown.
In the meantime, here are some of my other favorite female sung covers:

Colin Farell's ex sings a Smiths tune (Much better than it sounds, believe me)
Neko Case sings some Tom Waits, probably far better than Scarlett Johansen

Sia sings Radiohead, although here, the violins are the standout part.

This is an issue

2011-12-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

Gorillaz are going to have converse shoes in Feburary of 2012. The problem?
Nike as usual, has pretty big sweatshop issues, especially in the case of Converse.

Damn it

2011-09-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs to hear some Flying Burrito bros/Gram Parsons right fuckin now!

my 9/11 tenth anniversary playlist and why

2011-09-11T00:10:00.001-07:00

1) New York State of Mind- Billy Joel:Yes, this was far, far too overplayed in the month or so after the attacks, but listening to it in its original form, it's a soft solitary, sad ode to his favorite city. I picture a young Joel standing on an apartment's roof looking out over the city with a beer in hand just as the sun goes down. He's come a long way from Hollywood whether it was for a gig or to visit his best girl, but now he gets to unwind from the long tedious, likely heated drive and savor the metropolis in all its charm. I don't care what a dickish slate writer says, Joel's all right here. Basically, the calm before the storm as it were

2) A Pair of Brown Eyes-The Pogues: My Boy Shane seems to have predicted certain tragedy about 16 years before it occured, but I'm not trying to spout any conspiracy theories here: Shane says the song was about talking to a war veteran in a pub just as the narrator was going through a breakup, but this song could easily apply to 9/11 too, besides, who didn't want to drink and cry for a few hours after watching all the news coverage?

3) Two silver trees-Calexico: This is from the Nevver blog and it has a nice haunting melody and whispering to it, capturing the specter of death and paranoia that hung over the city and nation for weeks afterward

4) All is Violent, All is bright: Another meloncholy piece courtesy of the Nevver blog, a bit cheesy with the guitars at first, but then it gives off a good tense industrial vibe

5)Hallejuah- Jeff Buckley: I don't think there's any explanation necessary for this one, although I sort of prefer John Cale's version better if only for the vocals. But this is very beautiful on its own, especially the guitar solo.

6) This Mess we're in- PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke: I haven't listened to PJ Harvey that much, but she works nicely with Yorke's (good and emotional, mind you) wailing though I have to give the prize for vocal work here to Yorke, he's the hero of this tragic love story and does a hell of a job with it. A good mix of mourning and fear here; I picture a man stumbling from the wreckage and squinting through the sobbing, confused crowd trying to find someone, anyone he can clutch on to for help.

7) Oh Comely-Neutral Milk Hotel: from the one and perhaps only both surreal and heartbreaking album ever. The lyrics seem absurd, but with the acoustic guitar and Jeff Mangum's strained voice? god damn. Just get Aeroplane Over the Sea, seriously.

8) I really feel(Lunar Flex) Drum Club; Another ominous industrial sounding track, complete with middle eastern chanting. Very primal scream like like except slower and apocalyptic. Listening to this, you can picture a taxi slowly moving through a wrecked city.

9) The National Anthem- Radiohead: I could see this song used in a Bourne Identity film, it's a perfect five minute summary of a panic attack with Thom wailing a mantra about large crowds(everyone's around) and attempting to hang onto sanity(Hanging on). My most favorite Radiohead song ever is probably Idiotique for it's almost pogo-esque beat against bleak lyrics, but this may very well be at a close second(well, okay, second place is probably Paranoid Android). I guess then you could say Kid A is an electronic, paranoid version of Aeroplane over the sea?

Todd Haynes' Superstar a mini review

2011-09-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

Movie's
Kudos to the effort and the amount of Barbie dolls that it took , but overall, it just feels very tasteless and well, campy. I understand his attempt to present 70s light pop as literal plastic and obviously how society's ideals of beauty translates to barbie dolls and thus anorexia, but all in all, I was unimpressed.

thoughts on Straight edge

2011-09-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, only one question really: where the fuck were the lady straight edge bands?!!!

Question

2011-09-01T17:27:00.001-07:00

Is what Nicki Minaj is doing all that different from the works of Wu Tang clan or RZA?

Punk and the swastika

2011-08-30T01:43:00.000-07:00

for a certain somebody
Okay so some of the punks back then were kinda dumb,but they were young and could relate to the feeling of being in Nazi Germany(oppression of labor unions, Powell,etc.) Did I mention that Johnny Rotten had a great love of Reggae and Siouxsie would later fully speak out against racism? Read the whole feature, it's a tad bitter in places, but it's a lot more complicated than just "punks wearing swastikas are ultimately racist!" Was it a stupid gesture? Yes. Was it somewhat, perhaps a tiny bit understandable in context of their surrounding environment? Also yes.

call me fucking stupid

2011-08-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

But I'm actually kinda happy a hip hop artist with D.I.Y. internet Roots won an MTV award And anyway, couldn't A tribe called quest also be grouped under the White hipster fanbase genre of rap? Methinks there's a bit of ageism going on here.

thoughts

2011-08-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

Imperial Bedroom: It's a much less unnerving version of Pinkerton set in a jazz bar. Poor lil Declan mopes and mulls over whether to talk to a girl, scolds himself for not being the right type and regrets past loves that went sour. And he's not at all sarcastic about it; he's quite, reserved and,well, sad. It's quite a far cry from the sarcastic Costello many were used to on his earlier stuff. While it lacks the agonized wail of a Gordan Gano, say, Imperial Bedroom is the best damned Jazzy emo precursor out there. Get of yer ass and get it.

Crazy Rhythms: The rhythms aren't crazy, but they're good. Pitchfork called this geek rock and I'd agree in some respect; Loveless love, Moscow Nights and Original love deal with the yearn of no longer being a virgin,but most of the time, this record sounds like a really good garage band tuning up and practicing, giving it all a nice suburban "we're rocking out to beat ennui" vibe.

Assesments

2011-08-16T21:52:00.001-07:00

Mission Of Burma: Like the Minutemen, they aren't so much punk as acoustic rock and as much as I hate to say it, this didn't draw me in. The guitars on All world cowboy romance were quite impressive, but overall it didn't have the catchy hook of a "Shit from an old notebook" or the smooth softness of "Do you want New Wave or do you want the truth"

Young Marble Giants: Now this? Incredible- these guys flirted with everything from pre 8 bit noises on "The Taxi"(Seriously, these guys coulda been video game composers if they wanted to) to simple guitar pop on "Wurlitzer Juke box" t0 the60s spaghetti western guitar sound on " Choci Loni" and the lady's voice makes it all even more unnerving. No wonder they didn't record another album, it probably couldn't top this one! Bravo kids, bravo!

Next up: Imperial Bedroom and Crazy Rhythms.

In which I peruse selections from the Pitchfork various best album of the (insert decade here)

2011-08-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

I went to bed early last night and with not much to do, I decided to check out Pitchfork's picks for best albums of the 70s, 80s, and 90s- here's the ones picked out as most intriguing either due to a lyric sample or description alone:

80s:
Imperial Bedroom-Elvis Costello: apparently, this was quite the personal album. Oh, and I have to thank him for producing Rum,sodomy and the lash of course.
Fear and Whisky-Mekons- described by Eric Carr as a " drunken redneck lecturing on socialist economic policies" I am in!
Signals, Call and Marches- Mission to Burma: Academy fight song is a catchy sonovabitch(okay, it's not on this album, but still) and That's when I reach for my revolver packs an emotional wallop(why the fuck hasn't it been used in some remake of Hamlet?) so why else wouldn't you want to listen?

Crazy Rythyms- The Feelies: Being impressed with their cover of Paint it Black,making the sitar filled classic into a low key yet rallying cry for raining on people's parades(I assume) and their original Boy with Perpetual nervousness, I decided to check out the rest of their album. Oh and Brendan reid says they were a precursor to Weezer only obviously not as creepy as River Cumuo(let's hope)

And don't the Kids just love it- Televison Personalities:Pitchfork sez these guys invented Twee, but to me, stuff like This Angry Silence or Part time punk highlights something darker: it's basically a much sadder version of Charlie Brown. Twee's actually more cheerful even when it talks about relationship problems

Colossal Youth-Young Marble Giants: The final Day is a short, disturbing gem, and apparently, the morbidly fascinating idea of the apocalypse haunts the rest of the album too:

Though the album's spare, perfectly placed strokes of guitar, bass, organ, and voice would have more of an effect on mopey slowcore types and basement four-trackers, the ineffable thing about the Giants' music was how simultaneously haunting and cheery they could be. "Eating Noddemix" is music for brushing your teeth to the morning after an apocalypse, and the inimitable "Wurlitzer Jukebox" is a dance track for the last man on earth, with a geiger counter relentlessly ticking out the beat. Om, baby, yeah. --Brendan Reid

Brushing teeth?A Geiger counter? Oh Boy!

E2-E4-Manuel Göttsching. The last name alone sold me

70s:

Band of Gypsies- Jimi Hendrix: Never heard this one, nuff said.

A tribute to Jack Johnson-Miles Davis: Not a fan of boxing,but this somehow intriguied me

Historie de Melody Nelson-Serge Gainsbourg: Apparently a very creepy album about Serge's ladyfriend. Sounds like another precursor to Pinkerton

I'll do the 90s list tomorrow, but today's selection I chose to download Young Marble Giants' Colossal Youth and Misson Of Burma's Signals, Calls and Marches. My reviews will come soon.

Book O Mormon

2011-08-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Didn't get to see the musical,but I got the broadway cast recording and shall be listening to it. Methinks "Fuck you, God" may very well be on par with that of The Pogues' gallows humor, vulgar semi religious anthems such as Sickbed of Cuchulain or Sally Mcleanne, but we shall see.

read this man's blog

2011-07-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

it's good

Doug Fieger, you wicked dead bastard

2011-07-20T23:32:00.000-07:00

Why? Why in god's name must My Sharona be so fucking catchy enough for me to listen to it three times in a row? I think I'm gonna listen to it a fourth time..ooh yes.
Is their first album actually in any good?

oh Drunksongs blog-

2011-07-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

How I miss thee

Along with Something I learned today, 7 inch punk, and Born in the basement(where'd that one get off to?), this blog opened me up to a whole slew of punk sub genres. It took a long, long time for me to determine who exactly my favorites were(the selection was overwhelming and back then, I could only judge whether I liked it or not based on "catchiness"),but they certainly introduced me to good stuff like Descendent's 'Merican and The Specials. God bless them.

Boys of Summer

2011-07-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is the only Eagles associated song I will ever tolerate; it's an interesting parallel to songs The Descendants, particularly Silly Girl and Hope, all of which lament onof lost love, but Henley represents the regret that comes later in life. Rather than simply obsess over the girl who got away and vow that he's the only one for her, Henley pines for her while also realizing his juvenile foolishness("Don't look back, you can never look back"). Sure, he's still in love with her, but at least he's honest about his behavior, if not necessarily outright self loathing. There's a similar structure in Pulp's Common People(I'll get to that one later); Jarvis starts out berating his supposed love interest about how lower class people live, but as the song builds , he turns inward, revealing his hatred for himself and the way his life turned out. While Milo Ackerman had a whole 20 years or so in front of him during Milo Goes to College 40 something Henley was trapped between the nostalgia of youth and embracing a sad existence as an adult in the bleak year of 1985.

Am I a crazy weirdo

2011-07-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

or do the lyrics to Dag Nasty's What Now allude to more than a bromantic friendship?:
silly boy
in over his head again
silly boy
doing his best again
silly boy
why don't you ever learn?
silly boy you
can't help getting hurt
behind us- lying and hiding
behind us - the lying and hiding

I know it's not much, you gotta hear the spoken word part to understand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqLSSdoW2Zc
Tell me yer thoughts

coming up sometime: Between The Descendents and Motley Crue lies The Donnas- an assessment

Emo saturday morning part 3: adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

2011-05-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

Between 1993 and 1994, a few strange things happened: we got a new president who was just as bad as Bush I(trying to end the welfare program, starting an uncalled war with Bosnia when diplomacy and justice would have faired better,etc.), Cobain commited suicide*, Kafkaesque comic Bill Hicks succumbed to cancer, A young religious man named David Koresh went mad and took a bunch of women and children hostage, and Lorraine Bobbit cut off her husband's cock. Yes, it was a confusing, tumultuous time to be a young person and it certainly shows in these songs. Some have a poppier tone like Evergreen's Constellation while others accurately capture the fear and chaos brewing; listen to the manic howl of Indian Summer's Truman or the suspenseful clatter of Gauge's 38 cinder, that's the sound of desperation and the fear of what was to come.

*By the way, all that talk of Cobain being a spoiled rock star is somewhat diminished here in his suicide letter:
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2011/05/its-better-to-burn-out-than-to-fade.html

We see that he was in the throes of depression and for him, there wasn't much of a way out since no one really took the effort to reach out and say something until it was too late and they did it half assed.

Emo Saturday Morning part 2: Ren and stimpy (1991-1992)

2011-05-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

This here's another short one, but I'm surprised how much I mined out of the first one with one glance at Fugazi's lyrics so here we go:

So we start with another blast of sincerity from Nation of Ulysses, an anarcistish emo/punk band from D.C. with their song Today I met the girl I'm gonna marry. Although this could also be an example of irony since they were quite supportive of Binki Kill, the famous riot grrrl band who eventually moved to D.C. from Washington. Either way, it's a passionate, desperate yelp for love and justice.

Next is Samiam with Clean, this one being a bit more brooding and angsty in the Nirvana sort of vein. Nowadays, everyone says the band's popularity was based on marketing and well, alas, that is true in the case of the grunge genre which they ultimately became a part of. Nonetheless, a glance at the lyrics shows that there's a tiny influence from Nirvana's Lithium, displaying that sort of everyday moping around the house feeling burnt out kind of mood:
http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/samiam/clean.html

Now, onto Jawbox which is slightly more intellectual as opposed to Lithium or Clean as it explores a relationship between two people, one person of which feels a sense of pity and sympathy for the other.
congratulations sister
you put yourself right over
though you don't think i understand
this sudden awkward rupture
this stuck-unhealing fissure
no love could possibly withstand
and i'd never say

it doesn't mean that much to me
glad anyway
to see you struggle free
This half sarcastic half sincere delivery really defines the tone of the first half of the decade; many romantic comedies of the era like Reality Bites or Singles tried and failed to mix existential dread with the wry observations of shows like Seinfeld. Yet, in the end, everything came out as insincere and smarmy with only the music and surprisingly, Children's shows like Pete and Pete or even Ren and Stimpy pulling this off the best.

Next: 1993-1994

Emo via my Saturday morning tv shows: a summer project

2011-05-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

So yes, another quick one while school's away- from 1990-1997, I recall watching some kind of Saturday morning block or another or at least watching repeats of some cartoon

Let's start with 1990, Bobbys' world: I didn't watch it when it first aired cos I was two, but whatever, it's good starting point:
songs:
Repeater-Fugazi
wit's end/never more-Iconoclast
Want-Jawbreaker
Guatamala- Moss Icon

1990 was a time of uncertainty and anxiety, obviously because it was the start of a new decade, but also because of the fall of the USSR and end of the cold war in general which left everyone feeling lost and confused, a sentiment nicely expressed by Fugazi:

You say I need a job,
I've got my own business
You want to know what i do?
None of your fucking business
But now I'm lying here
Knowing that business had a name,
But now I'm a number

While this could easily be read as an anti communist sort of sentiment, I believe that it's about losing a status of sorts. In the 80s, people were stockbrokers, hair metal stars, corrupt politicians, any type of deed or sin of the famous you could possibly imagine was splayed across pages as though they were bold epic novels, (a trend which only got worse into the 90s, but that comes later), once the decade was over though? Bam! They became part of the population, one of the unwashed working class people that they once scoffed at.

Along with status change, there was also a hint of sincerity creeping in whether it was expressed through an environmental message like in Moss Icon's Guatamala or via the voice of a tongue tied, lovelorn young man in the aptly titled Want. The 90s was going to be a totally different decade and these songs certainly showed it.

Next: Ren and Stimpy or Emo years 1991-1992

The Meatmen vs Animal collective

2011-05-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

Meatmen-we're the meatmen and you suck 198_: surprisingly boring for a so called bad taste band(and for a man who dresses like he's a race car driver being represented by the church of Scientology) Gimmie good ol GG Allin's I wanna fuck myself any day

Animal Collective- Here come the Indians 2003: despite the reputation of these guys as childish hippies, I liked their version of the clanging industrial noise made famous by throbbing gristle or even Lou Reed's metal machine music. Is it redundant? Sure, but they bring a much more lighter, peaceful mood to the style, almost like Phillip Glass trying his hand at Industrial rock.

Swing Kids discography

2011-05-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

It's like if a rage induced, spurned rimbaud took a buncha caffeine pills and put his poems to song. And the screaming! Oy the screaming! I think Justin Pearson has pioneered screamo here, friends.

Do I like it? Well the performance certainly more passionate and desperate than Cap'N Jazz's Gilliamesque depictions of youth trauma. I kind of like it.. they certainly brought gothic rock to a softer genre with their cover of Joy Divison's Warsaw so kudos to that(which as an excellent bass line). Yet, lyrics wise, Cap 'N Jazz wins for surrealism.

So what does this 23 year old who was barely out of Elementary school think of these two 90s emo landmarks?

Cap'N Jazz: 8/10 for weird lyrics yet generic beats

Swing Kids: 9/10 for tight, tense rhythm and striking if occasionally grating vocals

Otherwise, I am quite happy with Sunny Day Real Estate and Rites of Spring being my two favorite emo acts.

Bonus review thing: Cap'n Jazz's alphabetapolothology disc 1

2011-05-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

So I've sampled Cap'N Jazz's stuff before and could never understand what the hell they were talking about even when I looked over the lyrics. I figured they were depicting some sort of twisted nostalgia for a traumatizing childhood as seen in songs like In the clear which depicts a child's fear of a child eating dog or Yes I'm talking to you which is apparently about mournfully reminiscing of eating cookies with your childhood friend turned best girl on a moonlit night. But then, there's songs like olerud which seems to involve a boy venting all his love problems onto his fairly young father or my personal favorite, Que Suerete which tells of a love/hate relationship between a boy and girl. So is it a concept album biography? How one person develops from a fearful boy into an equally timid socially awkward young man? What? While this record's interesting, the idea of surreal childhood memories was better explored with Boards of Canada's Music belongs to Children, I think.

cro mags' age of Quarrel

2011-05-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

Speed metal and "political views" don't mix. For reals.

Nice insight here though and it's nice to know I'm not the only one who has Negative Approach as their favorite hardcore band:
http://onebaseonanoverthrow.blogspot.com/2009/01/if-aids-dont-getcha-then-warheads-will.html

Texas

2011-05-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

So listening to the sample of texas I put together, I found it's not like California at all,it takes after the likes of Washington with the diverse sound; there's the skuns for instance with their straight up rock of Earthquake Wave while Plastic Idols composes a slinky, spaghetti western-esque if politically incorrect tribute to Asia with Siamese Lust. Even the actual defined punk bands are diverse; Big Boys bring a funk rythym to the incredibly short "Lesson" while The Dicks give us crunchy, grinding guitars in No Fucking War. Could it be that post punk had more of an impact than punk itself? If so, how and why? Does this phenomonon extend to the southeastern region as well? We shall find out!

four corners of hardcore: an experiment

2011-05-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

So my summer boredom has led me to explore whether the four corners of The U.S. (Florida, Washington D.C.*, California, and Washington) had a different hardcore sound and here's my results:

D.C.: Maine didn't have much, I'm afraid so I used this one and took away the obvious bands Minor Threat and Bad Brains. Here, I found that a lot of themes of the music dealt with rage against the government which likely resulted from being constantly surrounded by government buildings and the like. Lewis Black highlighted this as for why he does his angry shtick in one of his specials too. I also realized that the area as well as the states surrounding it, there were quite a few songs dealing with the hardcore scene itself like Government Issue's anarchy is dead or minor threat's bottled violence. I was gonna put th' inbred here too, but they're from the midwest, thought they were from Virginia!

California, specifically Oxnard: Much more thrashy and skate styled as opposed to the others with a general fuck parents let's skate! tone to the songs as opposed to D.C. Thus, despite what many punks claim, there was a tiny bit of influence from the devil may care druggy whimsy of 60s San Francisco.

Florida (more like flori-duh! Amirite?): Florida's sound is basically the Boston of the south; there's no real politics except teeny tiny pockets(i.e. Proletarian in Boston, the Eat(maybe?) in Florida) with the rest being pure stupidity (roach motel, Hated Youth vs.The Freeze, Gang Green, F.U.s) Lots of hatred for the state itself though, particularly from roach motel. probably due to the heat and far too much tourism( as they address in reptile land)

Seattle:this had less punk on it and more post punk, but still provided some interesting insight. For one, it showed that hardcore punk even then was making an impact after its initial period what with the U Men's solid action starting with a punk bass beat whereas The Melvins and Fluid deviated from it, choosing more of a 60sish rock flavor. For another, the punk sound a lot less alike;The Fartz were typical fast hardcore while the Lewd was much more traditional. So Seattle is the most diverse of this group, obviously. Sorry Portlandia.
I may do two others, comparing the rest of the southeast scene with Florida and Texas with California.

Right..

2011-01-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

So everyone knows about the infamous Quincy episode about punk rock, yes? And everyone knows about the terrible, terrible attempt by one of his interns to demonstrate pogo dancing, right?

But have you ever seen the actual band that plays on the show? Well, I got em right here, folks:
Please to enjoy, Mayhem!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjHV9wQv6u8

Boo!

2010-12-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

I'm still here,but mainly posting round here:
http://politicalanxietycloset.blogspot.com/

But anyway, The Dead milkmen are great; Big lizard in my backyard is like if The Ramones locked themselves in a ramshackle beach house, huffed tons of paint and tried their hand at twee pop.

Enjoy their biggest hit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJYjr-vUKZM

current list of my favorite albums of all time

2010-03-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

1) Stop Making Sense-Talking Heads:Byrne may have the best vocals for a post punk/art punk band ever
2) Rum, Sodomy and the Lash-The Pogues:If there was anything that could define the emotion of depressed weariness, it would be this album
3) Remain in Light-Talking Heads: Please take a moment to bow to Mr. Brian Eno. He and Byrne were the best two white guys to successfully blend foreign beats with rock(Well,okay, the Clash too.)
4) Pinkerton-Weezer: The best personal character study of a sleazy nerd with a Japanese woman fetish ever. Also based on Madam Butterfly.
5) Demon Days-Gorillaz: Second only to maybe Radiohead's Ok Computer, this will likely be the soundtrack playing during the apocalypse
6) Tie: Unknown Pleasures and Closer-Joy Division: always nice for a gloomy winter day and very underated guitar work from Bernard Sumner
7) New Day Rising-Husker Du: Celebrated Summer is one of the saddest beautiful songs ever recorded while Girl who lives on Heaven Hill, Perfect Example, and New Day Rising are quiet pop masterpieces
8) London Calling-The Clash: the only white boys to successfully mix ska, rockabilly, and punk all on one excellent album
9) Nevermind the Bollocks,Here's the Sex Pistols-Sex Pistols: Contrary to popular belief, Malcolm McLaren didn't construct this band by himself, rather Steve Jones and Glenn Matlock worked at his shop and they were the ones who auditoned John Lydon. All the better for it, I say.
10) Quadrophenia-The Who: The best teen angst album ever produced. Without this, there'd be no punk rock or even the good versions of emo
11) : Nebraska-Bruce Springsteen: Proof that the man who wrote Born to Run had a much more darker, abstract side and thank god for that.
12) Velvet Undeground and Nico- Velvet Underground: Lou reed is one of America's greatest unsung treasures. That is all.
13) Farewell concert-Oingo Boingo: An insane blend of arena rock, ska, and ghoulish cabaret never sounded so epic
14) David Bowie-Low: See the Stop Making sense entry. Bowie or Talking Heads + Eno=Pure magic
15) Tie: First issue and Second edition-Public Image limited: The sound of a youngish soul lost and tormented(particularly noticable in Careering, Theme and Poptones)
16) Singles Going Steady-Buzzcocks: The second coming of early Who and Beatles with more of a poppy flavor, but with the same tired and true love themes
17) Ramones-Rocket to Russia: The result of a diet of heroin, comics, bad b- horror movies, bubblegum pop, and well, just about every fucking thing these kids from Queens could get their grubby mits on
18) The Who sell out-The Who: The pop culture tribute to old radio that probably spawned the Ramones and slews of other excitable boys and girls
19) In the Flat Field- Bauhaus: Dark Entries is practically Joy Division hepped up on Caffiene Pills and trust me, this is a compliment. Also worth hearing for Peter Murphy's wailing on double dare
20) Times they are a changin and Freewheelin Bob Dylan-Bob Dylan: If the Lonsome death of Hattie Carrol and Girl from Northern County don't get you choked up, I don't know what to tell you

obligatory Big star post

2010-03-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

cross posted from livejournal

let me just say I love the hell out of September gurls, I really do.This was the most heartbreaking part of the av club newsstory:"Chilton's death comes days before a Big Star event at the South By Southwest music festival that would have found him sharing a stage with Stephens and Hummell together for the first time in 35 years. That would have been something to see."http://www.avclub.com/articles/rip-alex-chilton,39312/
Maybe it's because I'm tired or re reading the articles I found for my Beloved essay(which i still need to start),but I sweart to god I'm kinda close to tearing up about this. Here's some of the choice songs:
http://swill-merchant.blogspot.com/2010/03/children-by-million-sing-for-alex.html

Here's the best cover I may've ever heard-Elliott Smith doing their song"Thirteen":http://www.naiveharmonies.com/2010/03/stacks-big-star-thirteen.htmlfirst Andrew Koenig and now Chilton.

For conan

2010-01-22T20:20:00.001-08:00

I thought this pogues song sums up his situation pretty damn well:

The Old main drag: http://forkknifemusic.com/2009/10/11/the-pogues/

Tarantino goes to Jay-pan

2010-01-14T14:35:00.000-08:00

Watching Kill Bill the other night inspired me to seek some Japanese zip album files today. There's plenty here if you're interested:

http://cosmichearse.blogspot.com/search/label/Japan

Aseop is the Murdoc Niccals of Music blogs.

Most epic valentine's day itunes playlist eva

2010-01-11T23:31:00.001-08:00

and for some reason,I was highly compelled to make it in fuckin January:

1) Oh Oh I love her so

2) The man I love-Zebedy(From a nice compilation of history of gay themed music through the 60s and 70s that I found at best buy)

3) I wanna sleep in your arms-Modern Lovers

4) She's the one-Heavens to Betsy

5) Love buzz-Nirvana

6) Good good things-Descendents

7)Across the sea-Weezer(for the creepy lovers out there.)

8)White trash hillbilly trick- Peter Grudzien(from the same album as number 2)

9)Eros-Rod Mckuen
10) Baby won't ya-Mc5

11) Where've you been all my life- Fotomaker(from a power pop compilation that was released in 93-with artwork by dan clowes to boot!)

12) Silly Girl-Descendents

13)All kindsa girls-Real Kids

14)Get the time-Descendents

15) Laser Love-T rex

16) See her tonite-The Damned

17) Love story-The lurkers

18)Someone I care about- The Modern Lovers

19) Looking at you-Mc5

20) I wanna be your boyfriend-Ramones

21)Girlfriend- Modern Lovers

22) Christi Girl- Flash Cubes

23) No other one-Weezer( This should totally be a ballad in a musical)

24) Looking for a boy- Chris Robinson

25) About a girl-Nirvana

26) New Rose-The Damned

Djdja miss me?

2010-01-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

Probably not cos no one's reading my blog I'll bet. phooey.

Anyway, last year was busy for me and there just wasn't anything particularly punk worthy to rave about. Although I can tell you I've gotten into some techno 7os/80s shit after picking up the pitchfork 500 book- I particularly like New Order, stuff of producer Gorgio Moroder and the old rap music ie africa bambakita.

Here's a few good mp3 blogs for stuff like that:
http://anightoutwithdiscodave.blogspot.com- a cute swedish dude

http://www.youngcreature.net/- not so much 70s and 80s as there are modern 00s tracks

http://www.arawa.fm/- lots of obscure stuff here, some of it wackyish.

http://beatelectric.blogspot.com/- lotsa soulful 70s 80s beats-good stuff.

that's all for now,but I'll be back.

Good and evil

2009-05-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

In one corner there's Fear: http://hearditbefore.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/beers-queers-and-fear/ a bunch of beer-drinking, horny jock punks who throw around the word faggot

In the other corner we have DYS Wolfpack:http://cosmichearse.blogspot.com/2009/03/brotherhood.html Angelic, straight-edge, likably celibate, uh, Jock punks.

So which wins the battle? No idea, but it'd be fun to watch,no?

"Childhood is short,maturity is forever

2009-03-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

Okay kids,I have a little reading assignment for you all, read the following lyrics:

All-O-gistics by the Descendents:
http://plyrics.com/lyrics/descendents/allogistics.html

Halloween-Dead Kennedys:
http://plyrics.com/lyrics/deadkennedys/halloween.html

Minor Threat-Minor Threat:

http://plyrics.com/lyrics/minorthreat/minorthreat.html

Now,I want you to really think about what these lyrics are saying, the tones may be different,but they all share the same theme: A celebration of youthful freedom. However, consider the personas these frontmen exhibited: Ian was serious about uniting teenagers together to change the world, Jello was satire and sarcasm and Milo was, well, a kid: an awkward, lovelorn, goofy kid. Think back to your high school peers: they were underdeveloped, nervous about the future, and working out life in general. With all these stresses in life, adolescents either turned to snarkiness or retreated to their own little world of immature jokes and obsessions( farts,junk food,women,etc.) as a form of escape. They want to be their own person and understand the world on their own terms and enjoy themselves before adulthood hits. Thus, I think All-O-gistics captures this time of life. Minor Threat and Halloween seemed more like calls of action or moralistic statements: Individuality without actual appeal.

Bad Brains-I against I

2009-02-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

The best of the hardcore bands gone metal records: starts out generic,but builds up a good rhythm by the third song.

requirum for Lux

2009-02-06T00:08:00.000-08:00

My thoughts on Lux here: http://elastic-spam.livejournal.com/354278.html

Without a doubt..

2009-01-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

The most intense straight edge band EVER:
http://crucifiedforyoursins.blogspot.com/2009/01/negative-fx-st-1984.html

Seriously folks, this is Minor Threat on PCP. Hahhahah I know, ironic, right??

About a girl..

2009-01-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

Get the Lowdown on The Singles soundtrack here:
http://garagepunk.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rockin-with-90s-grungesong-by

In other music news, I checked out Y by the pop group, it wasn't anything special.. sorta like Pere Ubu with pianos.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Enjoy some Mexican Ramones: http://theeheadveins.blogspot.com/search/label/zeros

Personal favorite tracks: Main street brat(Generic,but damn catchy), Handgrenade Heart, Wild Weekend, and Going Nowhere Fast.

This holiday season..

2008-12-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

Put a lil bit of 80s letterman in your heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtaPyKdiRuI

Stop! Mr. Show time.

2008-12-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

I'd like to take a short break from my finals studying to show you some fine quality Mr. Show sketches

Jeepers Creepers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxfxfh9w44g

Excellent singing from one David Cross there. Oh, and Jack Black too,of course.

Fun fact: The giant cliff David walks up on was where the fight between Captain Kirk and Gorn was filmed. Oh, and David nearly slipped off the cliff to his death.

Kidnapper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLuZGlwStBM

Here, Bob does his best Henry Rollins impersonation. Sadly, he doesn't smash the mirror a la damaged.

Swear to God:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4hp9kz_A4

Just watch this one, Bob's the best man at acting angry.

And finally, one of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI0hvm10AHo

Pure Hell-Noise Addiction

2008-11-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

Link here:http://downunderground.blogspot.com/search?q=Pure+Hell

I swear, this is one of the best stooges-style bands ever and one of the first black punk bands as well, a few years before the Bad Brains even!

It also reminds me of Prince for some reason, I guess it's due to the hypersexuality displayed. so..yeah, if Prince went the punk route, this would be the end result.

Stiff Little Fingers

2008-11-23T00:20:00.001-08:00

So what can I say about their debut Inflammable Material? Well, it's pretty rusty and sharp. It reminds me of a war torn junkyard full of old metal that could easily give someone tetanus and this is a good quality. The two best songs here are the title track and Breakout because Jake really sounds like Elvis Costello with a throat fulla cigarettes and phleghm. Barbed Wire Love is another amazing song about star crossed lovers that ends with the hero's legs getting blown off. I can definitely picture them pissing around Belfast, kicking scattered trash, dodging the army, and avoiding barbed wire all while yearning for freedom

rip it up n start again

2008-11-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

So a good acquaintence of mine, Andrew has moved his blog to here:http://www.armagideon-time.com/

I wish him the best of luck

Anyway,I have been recovering from a nasty cold,but damn it, that won't stop me from posting my ever changing list of top ten albums of all time, here's the latest edition:

1)Quadrophenia-The Who
2)London Calling-The Clash
3)Aladdin Sane-David Bowie
4) Velvet Underground and Nico
5)Iggy Pop-Lust for Life
6)Stop Making Sense-Talking Heads
7)New Day Rising-Husker Du
8)Demon Days-Gorillaz
9)Tom Tom Club-s/t
10)Sex Pistols- Nevermnind the bollocks

Encouragement

2008-11-05T00:24:00.000-08:00

Greetings everyone:

this evening, the U.S experienced an exciting historical event: the election of Barack Obama. However, there has also been some devestating news on the civil rights front: Florida and Arizona have passed gay marriage bans and all over the country,reproduction rights to abortion access has been restricted. However, with the much more open minded view of Obama, there's a big chance that these restrictions can be overturned. (In fact, you can see his views on important issues here:

So here now, is the song,I'm Not Down by the Clash from their classic album London Calling. I know nothing about copying audio(or burning as the kids call it.hohoho),so the lyrics shall have to do:
If it's true that a rich man leads a sad lifeN' that's what they from day to dayThen what do all the poor do with their lives?On judgment day with nothing to say?
[Chorus:]I've been beat up, I've been thrown
Out but I'm not down, I'm not down
I've been shown up, but I've grown upAnd I'm not down, I'm not down
On my own I faced a gang of jeering in strange streetsWhen my nerves were pumping and IFought my fear in, I did not run
I was not done[Chorus]
And I have lived that kind of dayWhen one of your sorrows will go away
It goes down and down and hit the floorDown and down and down some more
Depression But I know there'll be some way
When I can swing everything back my way
Like skyscrapers rising up Floor by floor, I'm not giving up
So you rock around and think that
You're the toughestIn the world, the whole wide world
But you're streets away from where

It gets the roughestYou ain't been there[Chorus]I'm not down [x7]

So to paraphrase a quote from the Daily Show, I say to the yearnin and fighting masses, keep yearning and fighting!

All about Tank Girl

2008-11-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

This is tank girl and her boyfriend Booga

They live in the Australian outback where she had a bit of a military career cleaning toliets

She's pretty tough,crude, and violent,but at heart, she just enjoys chaotic fun. Oh, and of course, she drives a tank.

The comic was created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett who went on to co-create the group Gorillaz(I'll get to them eventually)

If the comic had a personal soundtrack, it'd probably consist of this:
http://suckingicecubes.blogspot.com/search/label/7%20year%20bitch

and a bit of this:
http://www.borninthebasement.net/?p=764

There's also a giant coffee table book about the comic being released in November: http://titanbooks.com/products/uk/10249-the_cream_of_tank_girl/

So order the comic collections on Amazon and please to enjoy! (as they say on the internet.)

A picture post of things that are great

2008-11-02T00:57:00.000-07:00

CBGBS

Mystery Science Theatre 3000

John Kricfalusi's art

Keith Harring

Mr. Show

Let me cut this dance to introduce myself as the chosen one to speak

2008-11-01T23:57:00.000-07:00

Hi.

My name is Jenny Maurer

This is my blog.

This is my other blog:http://elastic-spam.livejournal.com/

and this is my other music based blog: http://garagepunk.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=waus90you72p