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.
Bear vs. Shark
Whoever said that adults are constantly trying to relive their youth isn’t as crazy and jaded as all of the actuaries in your life might have you think. I, for one, am happy to find a band that�ll make me recall something as banal as rolling down the highway in my Chevy Sprint Turbo, bobbing my head to strains of Fugazi, The Pixies, Nation of Ulysses, Quicksand — whatever made a lot of noise. Plus, cacophony was pretty much all that sounded right on 3-inch factory speakers cranked loud enough to drown out the rumble of that three-cylinder Sprint engine, especially when that turbo power kicked in. Bear vs. Shark makes me misty-eyed over those kinds of memories without pushing too many nostalgia buttons of their own, so pretend you’re behind the wheel and bob along.
Mission of Burma
I swear the punk rock kid in high school — the big one, John (?), not the skinny one, Adam (Sam might remember this better than I do) — had “Mission of Burma” stencilled on the back of his black leather jacket. Naturally, I thought it referenced World War II in some way. And so, with thoughts of John and the ’80s in mind, I’d like to dedicate this post to Jared, fan of bands that were around long before he was conceived. Although his Favorite Song Ever, Mission of Burma’s “Academy Fight Song,” isn’t available in the free and legal MP3 form (a video of this song is, however, on the band’s homepage), these tracks from, oh, last year, when Jared was 17, are pretty kicking too. Enjoy.
Bullet Train to Vegas
Back in college, my friend and roommate Dave Stohl studied Japanese and taught me a few key phrases: “Good morning.” “Very cool, isn’t it?” “Make a U-turn here?” and “Please do not pee out the window of the bullet train.” I’ve never really had occasion to use these…until now. The first two phrases are fairly obvious. The third in reference to the band’s throwback post-punk aesthetics (right down to the sound of the cassette tape snapping into the deck at the start of “Cut the Party…”). The fourth is sound advice under any circumstances, but especially when you’re rolling at breakneck speeds as these lads do. Domo, Dave. And, domo to you too, Bullet Train to Vegas.
Mike Park
On July 2nd, Mike Park’s “Living Room Tour” is coming to Livonia, MI, a few miles down the road from here. First he’s playing in Ben’s living room in the afternoon, then there’s an evening show for Stephanie and Andrew. How cool is that? Maybe we can set up a 3hive sponsorship and I could carry his guitar case inside the house or something. The back-to-basics spirit of the tour matches perfectly with Park’s musical approach; think of Woody Guthrie’s social vision — “This guitar kills Fascists” — or the in-your-face emotion of Billy Bragg. Mike Park may not be the best guitar player ever, or have the finest singing voice, but when he tells you he thinks racism sucks, you can be sure he means it.
Radio 4
My sister Christy saw these guys play at Coachella a couple weeks back and sent me an email asking what I knew of them, especially their percussionist (what is this, a dating service?). To my embarrassment, I knew nada. After reading up, I see that one of their two singers is Anthony Roman, formerly of Garden Variety, who I do know for his ragged, plaintive punk of some 10 years back. After listening up, I hear funky homage to Britain’s most danceable post-punk bands (Wire, Gang of Four, The Clash) and the feelgood politics of NY peers !!! and Out Hud. So thanks, sis, for keeping your brother’s ear to the street (apparently the Mitubishi ad they were featured in didn’t do it) — and happy birthday!
The Weakerthans
In light of the recent discussion in Wisconsin to legalize cat hunting (if you haven’t heard about this, check here), it seems appropriate to post The Weakerthans, whose “Plea From a Cat Named Virtute” is actually told from the perspective of a cat. Katherine slipped me a disc of their melodic Canadian punk/pop, replete with a little steel guitar here and some blazing noise there, and it’s been the only rotation in my car’s CD player for a few weeks now. As for the licensed hunting of feral cats, it seems like The Weakerthans would likely not approve. To my knowledge, 3hive has no official position on the matter.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Some kid was walking by singing “Knock on Wood” the other day, and it got me thinking about the Bosstones. In 1989, I played trombone in a ska band that opened for for them in Toronto. Nineteen eighty-nine! That kid probably wasn’t even born yet! And although the words “now defunct” are commonly associated with the band, I like to think they’re aging nicely, still dressed in plaid from head to toe.