The World

In junior high and high school, my buddy and I used to trade our CD's and tape them, making copies for ourselves and expanding each other's knowledge of punk rock. One Friday he brought in the U.S. Bombs' The World, which was released in 1999 on Hellcat Records. I was really excited because the few songs I had by them on compilations had always stuck out to me with their Clash sound. That weekend I stayed at my grandmother's house, and I remember listening to that CD over and over again on my discman, in my mother's old bedroom. I didn't see one of those 18 tracks as filler; I loved them all.

I was drawn in equally by the sound, which took from the punk rock that I loved, ('77 punk as opposed to the pop-punk that was rampant at the time), as by the skater, cut and paste political imagery. I loved that the political imagery wasn't all anti-US as most of my punk records were. Although there remained criticism of the US ("US bombs the world"), there was underlying American pride in the WWII imagery and songs like "Yanks & Rebs", where Duane sings, "I'm proud to be an American!"

The standout track for me was "Joe's Tune", which is credited in the liner notes as written by Strummer himself. I have yet to find out the real history behind that song. Was it written by Strummer for the Bombs? Or is it a cover of a Strummer song I've somehow never heard? Either way, The World remains one of my favorite punk records from the 90's, and thankfully it's still in print.

"Well the black man got the rhythm
And the white man got the law
And I know one thing I've been workin for."
-Joe's Tune

"That dunce in the corner says he wants to be a cop
Caught me smoking in the toilet stall
Said "I'll get you when I grow up."
-Billy Club

Homme

As with most people with pulses, I think Josh Homme is the fucking man. And it's not just because he was in Kyuss or anything, but look at the man. Watch him smoke. Jesus. And he knows his garage rock history pretty damn well. Before I die I want a night out drinking with Homme and Jesse Hughes. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thought that today.

Nobody Laughs Anymore

When I was first getting into punk in the 8th grade I immediately found a small group of older and like-minded friends. Together we started a tradition where everyday we sat on a ledge outside of our high school listening to CD's through crappy computer speakers connected to an old disc man. Though we listened to a lot of classic bands such as Minor Threat, The Dead Kennedy's and the Ramones, we were lucky because at the time the New England punk scene was blowing up. All of the best bands around were available for us to see live on a monthly basis in Boston and suburban Massachusetts. This was right when the Dropkick Murphys gained Al Barr from the Bruisers and started making a name for themselves nationally, and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones had released their commercially successful Let's Face It. Underneath all that were unbelievable bands like The Showcase Showdown, :30 Over Tokyo, The Pinkerton Thugs, The Ducky Boys, and my favorites of all of them, The Trouble.

Along with a couple of compilation tracks and 7'''s, The Trouble only released one LP, Nobody Laughs Anymore on GMM Records, which was re-released by Bridge 9 in 2005. The sheer force and energy of NLA along with Gibby's excellent lyrics, hooked me right away and I often found myself listening to it over and over again. I've always loved how it's a simple punk rock record, but in it are strong traces of street punk and hardcore. The lyrics are reflective, violent, and often dark, and the cover of Joy Division's "Insight" as a secret track cements NLA as a moody classic.

It's no surprise that the singer went on to form Panic, a front runner of the 2002'ish lyrical hardcore scene along with American Nightmare and Carry On. I'm sure a lot of people who didn't know The Trouble got into them from AN's cover of "Dead & Gone" on The Sun Isn't Getting Any Brighter EP, and because of the B9 re-release of Nobody Laughs Anymore. Either way, it's a classic 90's punk record, which gets played in my room on a weekly basis, and deserves more recognition.

"All things lost, nothing gained
Every passing day intensifies my pain
I look towards tomorrow, yet cling to yesterday
Hoping sometime I'll find my way.

Each day a reminder of my mistakes
Each day a reminder of what it takes
Nothing to look forward to from what I can see
The old days ended too soon for me."
-Dead & Gone

Bad Luck Zednik

In 2002, my friends and I went up to Montreal for a school band tour. At the time the NHL playoffs were going on and the Bruins and Canadiens were playing at the Molson Center. When we got off the bus in the city, proudly wearing the black and gold, Canadiens fans violently shouted at and threatened us in French. We reveled in it and it wasn't until we got to our hotel room and turned on the TV that we really understood the hostility. In the third period with a commanding lead, Boston's Kyle McClaren elbowed Montreal's Richard Zednick in the face, knocking him unconscious and dealing him a serious injury. As fucked up as it sounds, we were kind of elated and laugh about it to this day.

Well, Zednick now plays for Florida, and on Sunday it looked like his life had ended. His teammate Olli Jokinen's skate accidentally cut the external carotid artery in Zednick's neck, spilling blood all over the ice, ending his season. For a few minutes no one knew what to think and hockey feared the worst. At least he's okay now.

The only other time that I know of this happening was in 1989 when Clint Malarchuk, the goaltender for Buffalo had his internal carotiod artery sliced open by a skate, spilling blood everywhere. I won't post the video because it's pretty gruesome, so just search on youtube if you want to see it.

Anyways, cheers to Zednick. One tough guy.

My War: Side B

My War is probably one of the most simultaneously underrated and appreciated punk records of all time. The reason is mainly Side B: three sludgy tracks all over six minutes long. I feel like the people who are aware of it, are in awe of it. I've heard the Melvins cite those three songs as key inspiration for their sound, which in turn owes a lot to Side B because the Melvins inspired countless awesome bands.

When I was in high school I definately didn't appreciate those songs; I was a purist and those songs are not fast by any measure. I always loved Side A, with "My War" and "Can't Decide," and it wasn't until I moved to Philly that it all clicked and I really got the whole thing.

"Nothing Left Inside," "Three Nights" and "Scream" are how I feel inside on a regular basis, and listening to them is unbelievably fulfilling.

"I might be a big baby
But I'll scream in your ear
Until I find out just what it is
I am doing here.
Until then,
AHHHHHH!"

Ed Force One

Iron Maiden has done it. They're new 757 has been dubbed "Ed Force One." Right on, fellas! Aces high!

Rodney Mullen OS!

Live '84

The first two Black Flag records I ever owned were Damaged and The First Four Years, which both seem to be the starting points for most Flag fans in general. They are after all, the most "accessible" of Ginn's creations, in that they basically follow the punk formula of short, angry and loud.
When I was in the 9th grade an older friend gave me a cassette tape of their Live '84 record, which, since that day has held a spot on the short list of recordings that changed my life. I had never heard anything so angry and tight before; I didn't realize that sound was even possible! The transitions between songs were brilliant. I clicked with Black Flag like I clicked with the Clash; I could have been in that band; I was meant to be into them. They were for ME.
I became obsessed with that tape and soon wore it down. The drum beat never relented and it powered an hour and 15 minutes of aggression and release. I related to Rollins' lyrics on a level I had never experienced. Paranoia, fury and impatience. It was like when I discovered Holden Caulfield, only MUCH better. After all, my entire class read The Catcher In The Rye, but Flag was mine.
Songs like "Can't Decide," "My War," "Slip It In," "Black Coffee" and "Wound Up" became my "Here Comes The Sun," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Strawberry Fields Forever." I had found my Beatles.

Black Flag was a whole different beast live than on studio albums, and their bootlegs are the reason I'll always defend Rollins as Flag's best frontman. Live '84, Who's Got the 10 1/2? and the Annihilate This Week EP are some of the greatest live punk recordings ever. So heavy. So original. So influential. And somehow, so underrated.

Rabbit In Your Headlights

Last night I put on a random Radiohead mix that I had hanging around and "Rabbit In Your Headlights" came on. It's actually by Unkle and it simply features Thom on vocals, but sometimes I forget how great this song is. I worked someone once who had the quote from the movie "Jacob's Ladder" tattooed on their arm, as it's featured as a sample in the middle of the song. It's a great quote but it's also one of the longest quotes I've seen tattooed.

"If you're frightened of dying and then you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But, if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels freeing you from the Earth."

Anyways, the video for this song is one of my favorite ever.

Hipster Metal

Yeah, that thing. The trend of the last year or so in which hip magazines and Websites cover certain heavy metal bands they deem chic and cool. Some of its first subjects were progressives like Sunn O))), Boris and Mastodon. As frustrating as it was to see a Website cover and equate Mastodon and the Hold Steady together, it was understandable because well, Mastodon's really fucking good. It makes perfect sense for someone to worship both at the alters of Mastodon and Radiohead.

In fact, the only coverage that was truly dumbfounding was that of Southern Lord and Relapse bands. There is nothing remotely accessible about Sunn O))), which is why it has always been the underground of the underground. So why the coverage? Why the mentions in Spin, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork? The hipster metal fad has always been inevitable. There' always been something bewitching (sorry) by the darkly esoteric nature of heavy metal in general. By nature, metal deals with mysterious and unnatural subjects, which are both entertaining and contemplative.

So maybe the "hipster metal" fad should be of no surprise. Even Shins fans must find metal alluring for at least a little while. Doesn't that guy from the Mountain Goats write for Decibel? Today in a write up on the new Disfear record, Pitchfork referenced Tragedy, Kylesa and Victims. They just couldn't help it, though. No one can disregard D-beat and Sabbath riffs. That's the point! The difference is that next year when we're still here, they'll have moved on to something new. Just please don't let it be disco-punk again.