Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 25
Location: Kg Delek, Klang
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DA SHOW #11: Technical difficulties prevented us from getting this going a whole 2 weeks earlier but here we are anywhatsoeverhowwartsandsods. Part 4 in our enduring compendium/pandemonium of the underbelly and maw of the P-Rock. Here’s the inevitable Rundown:
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THE POP GROUP — Okay, so we did say we wouldn’t be playing the PG but resistance is obviously futile when you’re up against these guys because they’re undeniably THAT good. We don’t care if you’re a punk-rocker, indie-rocker, metal-head, experimental rocker, or even the average mat rocker on a scooter, etc.., everyone (and we mean EVERYONE) should own the PG’s first album, Y, released in 1979. KLASSICK!!!! (beb).
DEEP WOUND — J Mascis’ and Lou Barlow’s outfit pior to more illustrious projects: Dino Jr., Sentridoh, Sebadoh, Folk Implosion and a bunch of other stuff. And here’s what an astute super hardcore Hardcore friend of ours is always bound to say whenever the subject of DW arises, particularly when the context affords a comparative “analysis” between DW and those other later-day J and Lou projects: “Maaan, did these guys WUSS out after that or what?”. INDEED-y!
BLACK FLAG — Now here’s another band we resisted featuring since everyone and their mother are already acquainted with them but what the gabba-gabba-hey…
You know how almost every Black Flag fan has this geeky propensity to debate incessantly over which BF vocalist was the better or best? Keith? Chav? Dez? Hank? Well, over here, we think BF sounds the BEST without any vocals. Here’s a track from that one anomaly of a vocal-less record, The Process of Weeding Out EP, by the BF that we’re certain still boggles (and frustrates) many a BF fan. The entire EP sounds like Ginn & co doing the free improv jazz-noise thang with some expansive fanfare.
CHROME CRANKS — We have an obsession over how the Blues (or perhaps more exactly, the dirt and grime rock ‘n’ roll version of it) is dismantled, transformed and bastardised through the angular prism of punk rock. And from this prism, no doubt and no less often idiosyncratic and fractured, you’d find bands like Pussy Galore (featured in Part 2) and Royal Trux (Part 1). Chrome Cranks is another one of such bands that did an eschewed interpretation of “Punk Blues”. Incidentally, CC had another thing in common with PG and RTX: being that Bob Bert who is CC’s longest standing drummer played for PG (and Sonic Youth pre-Steve Shelley) which had members who went on to form RTX which is, in our (err) humblest estimation, the COOLEST band bar none alive today that unfortunately don’t get as much love as they should. Yea, so that went on a slight digression but good no?
THE NUNS — One of the many great bands from the 1st wave of Californian (LA/SF) punk rock during the late 70s. Other bands from this particular period and milieu that we featured were The Screamers (Part 2), The Germs (Part 3), The Urinals (Part 2), and The Flesh Eaters (Part 3). Of course there were many many others too especially those on the roster of Dangerhouse Records — X, the Dils, the Avengers, Black Randy & The Metrosquad, the Deadbeats, just to name a few.
DAWSON – Another collosal force from the Glaswegian scene circa late 80s to mid-90s we talked about in our Intro to Part 3. You probably won’t find much on Dawson with Google, Wikipedia, and even the ever reliable and well-written Trouser Press, but let us tell ya this: these guys kick up one helluva dynamic clamorous shit-storm of a monster untouched and unfounded anywhere in punk and post-punk-dom. Don’t let their lack of profile and internet presence, their lack of contemporary appraisal and hype, and their languishing in semi-obscurity, prevent you from checking out this phenomenal bunch of Scots. Really folks: if there is ONE track we want you to especially hear, it’s this
one from their 1993 effort, Terminal Island.
SAVAGE REPUBLIC — Farkin’ hell kids, for every article we read citing these 80s LA post-punkers/art-rockers as forefathers of “post-rock”, we’ll hurl in our best bulimia. Gotta admit though that GYBE’s harping on about and fawning over these guys have certainly done SR alot of good by bringing them out of considerable obscurity. Apart from GYBE, you’d find a wide range of acts citing them as influences or fans: metal experimentalists, Neurosis/Tribes of Neurot, powerviolence pioneers, Man Is The Bastard (Joel Connell now drums for the reunited SR), Jane’s Addiction, Sonic Youth, every other dronerocker, industrialrocker, and a whole lot more.
Musically, SR is unique in more ways than one. Imaginatively fusing anything from the gloom trodden sound and rough production qualities/sensibilities of post-punk bands like Joy Division and Killing Joke, Krautrock (Can and Faust in particular), Glenn Branca (who fronted the Theoretical Girls which we featured in Part 2), the timelessly unparalleled Flipper (featured in Part 2), Throbbing Gristle, just to name a few.
MALARIA! — Quite possibly the most well-known of the countless awesome and original acts that make up the singular bedlam that is the German New Wave (Neue Deutsche Welle). We featured a few more of these German New Wave bands in previous editions — Deutsch-Amerikanishe Freundschaft,
or better known as DAF, and Mittagspause (both in Part 2).
BIG FLAME and BOGSHED — Stunning bands from the Ron Johnson Recs fold which we briefly hyped about in our Introductory commentary for Part 3. Beefheart + the Fall + punk rock = unbeatable combo. Trust us kids, that’s where you should and want to go.
SIMPLY SAUCER — There are many bands that get bandied about as making up the pantheon of “proto-punk” (whether or not “proto-punk” suitably characterises them is certainly another thing worth mulling over since it’s pretty obvious that most, if not, all these bands have more than just the “punk”
about them. Or are more than merely the anticipatory vessel for “punk rock” to come. Certainly, if anything, most “proto-punkers” look like transcending and transgressing “punk rock” altogether). The most canonical of “proto-punk” bands are obviously the Stooges and Velvet Underground. Then, there are those that are lesser known but are nevertheless as worthy of the “proto-punk” claim and throne. We featured a few of them before — The Electric Eels (in Part 1 and the EE is just stunning! — to imagine this kind of sound happening around ‘75 is almost outrageously inconceivable), Rocket from the Tombs, and Crushed Butler (both in Part 2). Here’s another one of the lesser known by repute but by no means lesser in quality. Simply Saucer reminds us a great deal of the VU. Always delightful kids. Always. Now, when was the last time you bludgeoned yourself to death with the VU? Go ahead, you know you NEED to. Simply Saucer is just as good.
THIS HEAT — To say that This Heat was “ahead of its time” is nothing short of an astronomical understatement. Yes, we love hyperboles. We think they’re just beyond any kind of mortal passage of time. Timeless you say? More like: time stood still, the heavens parted, the heavenly fathers decided to take a nap/leak, and THEN there was/is This Heat. (Don’t ask what that is supposed to mean. f**k should we know). Think everything exploratory, expansive and TIGHT (without being contrived) about post-punk, prog-punk and post-rock (from the Tortoise side of the pond), and you get pretty close to This Heat.
The featured track “Horizontal Hold” comes from TH’s 2nd album, Deceit, issued by Rough Trade in 1981. More recently, this year, a 6-CD box set Out of Cold Storage was released that collects together all officially recorded/released output of the TH as a retrospective tribute to the band.
ANTI-CIMEX — Scandinavian d-beat progenitors and legends. Track is from their Raped Ass 7″ — arguably the ONLY good thing ever released by them. The rawness and chaos are sweetly palpable and upfront. Despite being influenced by Discharge, this stuff sounds far more primitive and basic (but by no means any less complex) than anything those UK-ers ever purged from their system. Play this loud like everything else here.
THE GIRLS — Along with Mission of Burma and La Peste (featured in Parts 1 and 3 respectively), The Girls were part of Boston’s late 70s/early 80s punk scene. Here’s Mission of Burma’s ace-hero, Roger Miller’s account of the Girls back in the day: “The Girls [which] I consider to be one of the best Boston bands around at that time period - they had one bitchin’ single, and at one point were banned in EVERY CLUB IN BOSTON. If that doesn’t give them brownie points, I don’t know what does!”
http://www.rockinboston.com/girls.htm
GENBAKU ONANIES and SYSTEMATIC DEATH — More early Japanese punk/HC. We like very much. And as some of you well know — the Japanese do everything in their inimitably special way that almost always results in the most creative and unprecedented music you will ever hear and experience. We featured other Japanese acts in previous editions — the Stalin (Part 1), Friction (Part 2, awesome band this one!), Boredoms (Part 1), Aburadako (part 2) and Ruins (Part 3).
LUCRATE MILK — Holy shit! These early 80s Parisians are simply and spastically out of this world. Unlike the relatively well-publicized accomplishments of that otherr bunch of French punkers we featured in Part 2, Metal Urbain, very little has been documented and known about Lucrate Milk. What we do know, and this according to our ears and superior judgement, is that these guys are EASILY the crème de la crème doing the convulsive spasmodical side of post-punk/art-punk. And they do it without sounding the least “cutesy” and “novelty” kinda way like some bands tend to. But concoct such a treatment that made it a veritable artform in itself as much as it is the most PUNK-est thing to do.
NEGATIVE APPROACH — American hardcore pioneers. Recently reunioned (controversially not in the shape of the original lineup) for a few one-off events — one of which being notably the Thurston Moore curated Nightmare Before Christmas (a sister sub-fest of sorts for All Tomorrow’s Party). Featured track, “Evacuate”, is from their only full-length, Tied Down. This one track deviating from and not sounding anywhere like the majority of their HC-leaning output. Sounding like something the Melvins could have palpitated and discharged circa early/mid 80s but only spikier (?). No hooves, mind your step.
CATHOLIC DISCIPLINE — Another 1st wave Californian (LA to be exact) punk rockers, with a cover of the Modern Lovers’ Pablo Picasso. Our only and first acoustic number!
NO TREND — Famously/infamously known, very much like Pussy Galore (featured in Part 2), as being the band MOST reviled and hated (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, MISUNDERSTOOD) by the DC Hardcore/Dischord Recs scene during the 80s. Here’s NT bassist Jack Anderson detailing that bit of history: “No Trend was despised particularly in DC because of the insular nature of the DC hardcore scene at the time. We did not play hardcore music, but we did play hardcore shows. We also taunted punk rockers, who were essentially conformists within their own scene. We were challenging punks to think about the uniforms they were wearing, and a lot of people didn’t want to hear that. There was a sentiment, especially from [Minor Threat’s] Dischord Records crowd, that No Trend was ‘bad for the scene’ because we were so critical. And simply put, Jeff wanted to be despised.”
The full article here: http://nypress.com/15/2/music/music2.cfm
UT — All female New York No Wave group that rivals the Slits (featured in Part 2) in the jagged contorted flair and chutzpah inducing department. While it could be said that Ut lacks the Slits’ melodicism and groove, the former certainly ups the ante on the stark austerity and rhythmic disjointedness that Ari and co. would probably never venture to go. These days, Ut has been mentioned as being “proto-RiotGrrls”, sound-wise that is: a percusory blueprint for the likes of early Sleater-Kinney and the more recent and marvelous Erase Errata.
THE ENDTABLES — One of the earliest bands (apparently shortlived between ‘79 to ‘80) of the Louisville (Kentucky) punk rock scene. This is the scene that later gave rise to the likes of David Grubbs and his many projects like Squirrel Bait and the always excellent Bastro (featured in Part 2), and much later Slint.
TAR BABIES — More SST Recs affection. You dig?
THE SOFT BOYS — The acclaimed and peerless Robyn Hitchcock’s most famous outift before ANYTHING else. One of the few bands that suffered from that “too early, too late” scenario. They were too early for Punk Rock, and too late for the 60s/early 70s psych rock gravy train. Or perhaps they came across as just too much of an absolute oddball anomaly uncategorisable in the grand scheme of both musical paradigms. Were they punk rock or were they a bunch of Canterbury garage psych pop-rockers? Who cares. Fucking A this one.
REPTILE RANCH – Cardiff (we believe?) based obscuro art-punkers who hang around circles with Young Marble Giants back in the 1980. Featured on the first of many amazing and epic (in its own charmingly ambitious way) compilations issued as part of the Messthetics anthology. Check Messthetics here: http://www.hyped2death.com/ AND BUY THE CDs. The folks behind Messthetics were also responsible for the recent loving appraisal of the horribly underappreciated and superb, The Homosexuals (featured in Part 1 of our show).
THE SWANS — We kinda agree with the Trouser Press entry on the Swans (the early Swans that is, since they explored many sonic territories throughout their career) that they’re like the VU’s “Sister Ray” at half-speed. Only, in our estimation, a whole lot slower and SLUDGIER (which obviously is a given) when you get to the second album, Cop. All current worshippers at the altar of all things sludge/doooom/stoner/slooow-brutal rock/metal SHOULD pick up that second album and tell us this record isn’t some kind of forefather to all of that (AND SOME). Anyway, we’re not featuring a track from that record but from their first, Flith.
BONUS TRACK: JOHNNY ROTTEN — Johnny Rotten’s recorded commentary for a recent exhibit at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s called, AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion. Dude was always a funny guy. And this is just absolutely PRICELESS. Hahaha.
We got it from here: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/05/not_eloquent_bu.html |
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