B9

When I was getting heavily into hardcore in high school Bridge 9 Records was on top. As I went though college I grew wary of the bands they were signing: straight-brimmed hats and '508' tattoos. With the new Have Heart and Ceremony records, they've recovered for me.

I think Have Heart's Bostons is one of the best hardcore songs ever written. It's unbelievable. And I can't stop thinking about Ceremomy's "Still Nothing Moves You." It's beyond angry. Punk. Pure. In the spirit and vein of Kill Your Idols truly, NO GIMMICKS NEEDED.

IRON AGE

I can't get enough of Constant Struggle. The metal feel makes me grin every time I rock this record. Definitely a party record too. Riffs and spliffs.

The evil belly of Rise and Fall or Integrity with the balls of Cro-Mags.

California

I've been in California for awhile. Swimming, arcading and record shopping. The greatest surprise of all was driving by a record store called "TKO". It was closed so the next day we swung by and my assumptions proved right, it was the retail store for the San Fransisco punk label, "TKO". I spend a lot of time and (somehow) minimal money in there but I re-bought some old New England classics: The Vigilantes - No Destiny EP and :30 Over Tokyo's eponymous full-length.

It was pretty amazing to see these records as the :30 one is way out of print and I never thought I'd be able to get my hands of another copy. As I get back into these again I'll post about them.

Tuesday proved to be 90's day though. I saw the Melvins (!!!) then finally picked up Mudhoney's Superfuzz Bigmuff. It's the new Sub Pop Deluxe Edition. I can't turn it off and I'll post about that one too as I get more into it.

Blondes

I work as a bartender and one of the absolute benefits of the job is listening into my customer's conversations. On a daily basis I meet assholes, alcoholics, yuppies and musicians. Last night though, took the cake of embarrassingly stupid conversations. The blonde's voices were high, dainty and airy. Every syllable was drawn out. I was so annoyed I was grinding my teeth.

Blonde 1: I think I'll get a Diet Coke. I need to wake up.
Blonde 2: Yeah. Good idea.
Me: Diet Coke doesn't have any caffeine.
Blonde 1: (Very confused look.) Umm, what do you mean? Like, your Diet Coke is caffeine-free?
Me: Uhh, no. Diet Coke is caffeine free.
Blonde 1: No it's not.
Me: Yes. It is.
Blonde 1: Ohhh my Godddd. What should I get?
Me: A Coke.
Blonde 1: No wayyy. Too many calories.
The other bartender: How about I make you an espresso martini?
Blondes 1 & 2: Yeahhh. We want those.
Me: Don't you think there's more calories in that than in a Coke?
Blonde 1: Oh wow. I didn't even think of that. Wow. Oh my Goddd. You're smart!



Fuck. I had to leave.

Iron Fist

I recently got Motorhead's 1982 album, Iron Fist. It's no Bomber, Overkill or Ace of Spades, but like the Ramones, it's all fuckin good. The title track slays and the 11 others make me want to drink heavily. Job well done, Lemmy.