Man, I love me some good old-fashioned punk rock. Western Addiction hit the spot. Ask a 14-year-old kid today where to turn for punk rock and you’re liable to get a dose of anything from NOFX to Taking Back Sunday and plenty of stuff in between. Different strokes for different folks. Punk’s never been about one sound anyway. But when I was 14 some of the best punk rock sounded a lot like Western Addiction. And it’s good that that sound has held up for years because every generation deserves their very own Black Flag and Minor Threat.
Lagwagon
I should feel old, like the subject of Lagwagon’s “Falling Apart.” The whole flashback sequence that led to this post was triggered by my pal/former housemate Brent announcing he has a second child on the way — and Brent has always been one of my YOUNGER friends. Yeah, I should feel old. Lagwagon probably should, too, considering the flashback took me to a photo shoot for grid some 10 years ago where Jon dropped them and other bands from the Warped Tour inside a dollhouse using Photoshop magic. (I wish I could find the shot of Angelo Moore dressed up as a maid…Jon?) But Lagwagon’s still making music and I’m still writing about it. So, pass the multi-vitamins and fire up the heating pad…here’s to another 10 years of punk rock and baby makin’!
Speaker Speaker
I thought I’d impress the lady and take her up to L.A. to see a rock and roll show. It’d been too long since we’d got our rock on. We were on the guestlist and everything. We had a babysitter and everything. As we were getting on the 405 at 7pm on Friday night I knew we were in trouble. Traffic. Long story short: missed the show, did a quick shopping spree at Amoeba, replaced a Housemartins (The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death) CD that we’d lost, and sang-along to it all the way home while sucking down milkshakes from In ‘N’ Out. Not a bad night after all. Probably, because, unlike Speaker Speaker, I was right when I picked my girl. We still share a similar taste in music years down the road. And like you, it’s safe to assume, we’re still listening to music fanatically when many of our friends have given up on it, or somehow, unexplicably, started listening to Top 40 Country radio. Speaker Speaker shares The Housemartins and Joe Jackson’s youthful exuberance that too many people lose when they hit their late 20s/early 30s. Don’t let it happen to you.
Dropkick Murphys
For those of you who find Flogging Molly too restrained, melodic or musically talented, here’s Dropkick Murphys. Full-on Celtic punk rock, yelling and brogue and steel-toed boots, it’s all here with the Murphys. Their version of “The Auld Triangle” is what I always thought the Red Roses for Me out-take of the same song by the Pogues would sound like, I guess. But “The Warriors Code” is for true believers (and is just way too cheesy for me).
Beautiful New Born Children
Proof that bands DO get signed from unsolicited demos. And I’m happy to give bands a couple tips to do just that: 1) Write and record a few damn good songs. 2) Know your audience. Don’t send your death metal band (do people still actually listen to death metal?) to March Records for example. 3) Believe in magic, ’cause you’ll still need a little of that and a lot of luck.
Oh yeah, the band. RIYL: ADHD inflicted XTC on crack. And I mean that in a good way.
Les Georges Leningrad
Petrochemical Rock. That’s how Les Georges Leningrad describe their music. These crazy Montreal post-punks are concussive, explosive, and just plain loopy. Imagine Atari Teenage Riot raised as Quebequois on The Fall and performance art.
The Drips
Shouldn’t be too long until The Bronx come up for air with some long-awaited new recordings, but for now you can enjoy a side project with a couple of the members.
The Damned
Nothing like downloading The Damned on a Sunday afternoon… I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get to The Damned (Clay couldn’t believe I beat him to it), but you just don’t expect some of your old favorites to be this on top of things. I was turned onto The Damned years ago by a good friend who had amassed a huge vinyl collection, which I believe included, close to, if not, everything The Damned had released. I spent many hours at his house taping albums and recording mix tapes of The Damned. Then in 1993 his home was among hundreds burned in the Laguna Beach fire, burning along with it, yes, all that vinyl. I don’t know if I’ve ever really repaid him for turning me onto some great music, so hey, Randy, gimme a call and bring your iPod…
The Constantines
Guess I could have waited until the new Constantines album comes out in October to post these guys, but I’m putting them up today as “the band that played twice within an hour of my house in the month of July and I missed them both times.” Ah well… In the month of July, my daughter took her first trip to NYC and went #2 on the potty for the first time; Sam and I used power tools in his backyard in July; Jon aged gracefully into his next decade in July; Clay recovered from daughter #3, and so on. Catching live the intense art punk of The Constantines would have been a great addition to this list, but, come to think of it, I actually wouldn’t mind a little down time.
Angry Samoans
I’m late with my post because today was my son’s birthday party with his school friends and I’m still recovering. As a swarm of five-year-old boys took over our backyard, this song kept running through my head. I was certain someone was going to poke-poke-poked their eyes out jumping from the roof or demoing the new Batman disc gun (didn’t one of those kill a kid once?). Fortunately, everyone left with both eyes intact, though one little buddy landed a bloody nose in a rowdy game of hoops. Hey, you know what they say: it ain’t over until someone gets hurt or pees in the kiddie pool. BTW, there’s a classic “Lights Out” comic strip by Dennis Worden over at WFMU’s site.