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.

Top 20 of 07

THE LIST

20. Far From Finished - Living In The Fallout (Think Fast!)- Somehow this band went under my radar for a long time. They play punk rock the way I like it: influenced by the Clash and Social D. I can't get enough.

19. Neurosis - Given To The Rising (Neurot)- The most aggressive album of the year totally lived up to my expectations.

18. Pelican - City Of Echoes (Hyda Head)- Pelican are so good that even though this is their weakest record yet, it's still superb. "Dead Between The Walls" is one of their best songs.

17. Cloak/Dagger - We Are (Jade Tree)- I liked this band from the start, especially because I was a huge Count Me out fan in high school. I don't think all the songs are as strong on those from their demo or the "Pinata Breaks" 7'', but it's a great record nonetheless. "Kamikazes" and "Walk The Block" more than make up for the couple of filler tracks.

16. Torche - In Return (Robotic Empire)- I fucking love Torche. That's all that really needs to be said.

15. Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb (Relapse)- I am not a metal head. Never was and never will be. But there's something about the violence and severity of Pig Destroyer that has always drawn me in. "Heathen Temple" makes my mouth water, lusting for destruction and ruin. Is that too cheezy to say about PD?

14. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence) -They (still) do it best.

13. Modern Life Is War - Midnight In America (Equal Vision)- Nothing MLIW will ever do will be as good as "Witness". MIA is really good, though; better than most people have been giving it credit for. Standup tracks include "These Mad Dogs Of Glory," "The Motorcycle Boy Reigns" and the title track. "I drag my chains, they don't drag me."

12. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (Merge)- Neon Bible reminds me a lot of last winter. Snow days and cold apartments. Walking around Philadelphia freezing my ass off. It's a terrific collection of songs and though a little indulgent at times, it's really triumphant.

11. Ceremony - Scared People EP (Bridge 9)- Obsession.

10. Blacklisted - Peace On Earth, War On Stage EP (Deathwish)- Believe the hype! "Canonized" was the best hardcore song of the year.

9. Baroness - Red Album (Relapse)- I-can't-stop-listening-listening-to-this.

8. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works (Relapse)- Miss Machine part II. That's a really good thing. Sidenote: Gil Sharone is a maniac. Top tracks include "Nong Eye Gong," "82588" and "Milk Lizard." The closer is right on, too.

7. Grinderman - Grinderman (Mute)- Nick Cave is a fuckin role model. "No Pussy Blues" takes the award for best song title in music history.

6. Chuck Ragan - Feast Or Famine/Los Feliz (Side One Dummy)- This stuff has been on heavy rotation since it came out and was the soundtrack to my autumn. Really strong songs, namely "Do You Pray?"

5. Jesu - Conqueror (Hydra Head)- I always thought shoe gaze was really overrated. This proves me wrong.

4. Radiohead - In Rainbows (self-released)- Q: How did a new Radiohead record come out and it's not my number 1?

3. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (Fat Possum)- A: Because Dinosaur Jr. got back together.

2. The Good, The Bad & The Queen (Parlophone)- And because Damon Albarn made a record with Paul Simonon.

1. Pissed Jeans - Hope For Men (Sub Pop)- And because aside from Tragedy, Pissed Jeans are the best punk band on the planet.

The Daily Coyote

A woman in Wyoming took in a baby coyote and it now lives with her and her cat Eli in a log cabin. The coyote's name is Charlie and she updates this blog daily with rad pictures and an occasional note on life with a coyote. Best blog on the Web.

http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/

Best of 2007

During each year I compile a list of new records that have come out, which I deem notable, important, or just plain good. I have been having trouble putting 2007's list in any order, and I came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. I ranked the top 6, and the rest are all still really good.

1. Pissed Jeans - Hope For Men
2. The Good, the Bad & the Queen
3. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
4. Jesu - Conqueror
5. Radiohead - In Rainbows
6. Chuck Ragan - Feast or Famine/Los Feliz
Electric Wizard - Witchcult Today
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works
Neurosis - Given To The Rising
Modern Life is War - Midnight in America
Blacklisted - Peace on Earth, War on Stage EP
Baroness - The Red Album
Pelican - City of Echoes
Pygmy Lush - Bitter River
Grinderman - Grinderman
Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb
Torche - In Return EP
Cloak/Dagger - We Are
Bad Brains - Build a Nation
Far From Finished - Living In The Fallout
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Some of 2007's new music that really disappointed me was:
The Stooges - The Weirdness
Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
Bjork - Volta

2007 was a much better year for new music than 2006. Much better. And 2008 is looking to even exceed it. For far we can look forward to:
Cursed - III
Dead Meadow - Old Growth
Disfear - Live the Storm
The Loved Ones - Build & Burn
Paint it Black - New Lexicon
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
HWM - Til the Wheels Fall Off
Blacklisted - Heavier Than Heaven, Lonlier Than God
D4 - The Civil War
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

One For The Underdogs (Here We Go!)

(Yes, that title was a Ducky Boys reference.)




One of my favorite Oi! bands of all time is Germany's Oxymoron. I don't hear many people talk about them but those who do, love this band. They came out of nowhere and released one of the best street punk records of all time with 1995's "Fuck the 90's, Here's Our Noize!" on GMM Records. (Sidenote: Whatever happened to both Atlanta's GMM Records and New Hampshire's Cyclone Records?; they put out some amazing 90's punk records. I used to mailorder from both of them on a regular basis. Cyclone actually put out the Dropkick Murphy's first EP: "Boys on the Docks EP".) But anyways, I put on "Fuck the 90's" yesterday afternoon while I was shoveling and I fell in love with it all over again. It's dangerous, violent, and passionate in such an unconventional way. I think that can be credited to both the production and Sucker's voice. Oxymoron also released a second full-length, "The Pack Is Back" in 1997, a split 7'' with the Dropkicks in 1998 called "Irish Stout vs. German Lager," and a terrific EP, "Westworld" in 1999. They also put out a record in 2001 called "Feed the Breed", but I never got that one. If you're a fan of bands like Cock Sparrer, Sham 69, 4 Skins, Condemned 84, or old Dropkicks, get any of these if you ever come across them. I'm pretty sure they're all out of print (the split 7'' has been out of print since '98) so you might be able to find some used. Amazon has a few copies left too. Oxymoron's Web site seems to hint that they're on hiatus, as various members have side-projects going. (http://www.oxys.de/)

Speaking of underrated bands, one drastically different than Oxymoron is Denver Co's "Planes Mistaken For Stars." They've broken up but No Idea Records just put out a 24 song retrospective called "We Ride to Fight." It includes their first record, 3 EP's, a split, and some sweet Flag covers. I already had most of these songs but I ordered it anyway and it just came in the mail. It's $7 from No Idea and it's impossible to be disappointed with. This band was really special. Just do it. (http://www.noidearecords.com/)

Out On An Island

"Shock Troops," Cock Sparrer's 1982 Oi! milestone, has always been one of my favorites. There was always one song on it though, that irked me, as it never fit in with the rest of the record. "Out On An Island", is a 4+ minute unhurried personal statement that I always saw as boring and expendable. That was until yesterday afternoon when I was listening to a punk show on URI radio, and I forced myself to listen to it. It's now one of my favorite Cock Sparrer tracks, and I don't know how I ever slept on or skipped over it. I'm into this Oi! sensitivity; where can I find more!?

"Everybody's got a number tattooed on their soul
And the time's gonna come boy, when your number's called
Everybody gets a uniform and a hut to live in
They give you your rank, you tell 'em your next of kin."

"But I'm gonna be out on an island
In the middle of the bright blue sea
Out on an island
Where nobody's gonna bother looking for me."

Damned Dickies

Two of my most recent music buys have been two punk classics. I found "Machine Gun Etiquette", the Damned's 1979 album, along with "The Incredible Shrinking" by the Dickies on sale. MGE is 16 flawless tracks of their "Damned Damned Damned" sound, slowed down and more powerful. I'm really digging the song, "These Hands", a first-hand account of a killer klown and his exploits. This special edition also has an absurd cover of "White Rabbit". It works just as well as Slapshot's version, only it lacks the humor of a straight edge band covering a drug-classic.

The Dickies are what Green Day have long strived to sound like. L.G. Phillips' singing is the blueprint for the inflections and tones that Blowjob Armstrong has always gone for. This silly record is such a treat, and its humor ranks it along the Ramones and Descendents. One of their first singles was actually a hypersonic cover of "Paranoid" in 1979 (which isn't very worthy of the original), and this record contains other covers such as "Silent Night" and S&G's "Sounds of Silence." So much keyboard/organ between this and MGE!

Also, the new Paint it Black record, "New Lexicon" is unreal. With each record this band evolves more and more, and they exemplify the originality that is still possible in music as claustrophobic as hardcore. Dr. Dan's diction and rhyme are perfectly suited for Dalek's interludes and flawless production.
Key Tracks: We Will Not, Gravity Wins, The Beekeeper, Check Yr Math

Dear Shane MacGowan

Dear Shane MacGowan,

Thanks a lot for drinking with me Saturday night. Never mind what people say about you being a reckless drunk junkie. You're good company. I mean, even though you now reside in a wheelchair and look like the Nazis destroyed by the spirits of the Ark at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, no one else sings as nonchalantly about spending Christmas Eve in the drunk tank as you. I kind of wish you hadn't ashed all over my room and shat on my floor, but hey, you're Shane MacGowan.
Thanks buddy, cheers!

-T

Playlist
MLIW - Midnight in America
Chuck Ragan - Los Feliz
HWM
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Ave. I
Explosions in the Sky

Axl Rose circa 2007

Shiiiit...

Broken Bones

Do you remember going to Chuck E. Cheese as a kid? Were you one of the ones whose parents threw your birthday parties there, or just the ones who were invited? I clearly remember having friends who were the "Chuck E. Cheese party kids". My parents put my birthday parties on in my garage. I remember it was before they had much money, and we would literally play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and use coloring books.

Then when my dad got a new job and we got a pool, I was suddenly more popular. My parties were packed and my gifts got better. One year Connie & Pa (Sutherland grandparents) bought me a neon-green and black Nash skateboard. It should be stated that my driveway was excessively steep and long; ideal for sledding, not skateboarding, as it was a couple of hundred feet long. I flipped and I told my friends and cousins to follow me; that I would christen this amazing gift with blood and tar. Well, the truth is I thought I would make it. There was no doubt in my mind. "It's my birthday," I probably thought, "I'm indestructible!"

I remember walking up the driveway with my friends staring at me in awe. I felt so good. So cool. It was my only chance as an only child to prove my worth to the kids of my neighborhood. Then a cousin ran screaming into the house to warn the adults of what I was about to do. Realizing I had about three seconds before 15 ripened authorities ruined my birthday, I sprinted to the top, stood on the deck, and cruised down. At first I remember thinking, "this isn't so bad." Then I picked up speed at a horrifying rate. I don't think I lasted more than 75 feet altogether. I was tossed off the board and I fell on my knees. I don't remember the pain, but I can imagine it was agonizing. I definitely heard screaming. I ended up skinning my knees so badly that they were black from the tar for months. Blood was everywhere. I still have very faint scars on my knees to this day.

Anyways, I think that's where it all began. I would go on to break my leg under the wheels of an ATV and my ankle twice playing tennis. I would get my thumb caught in a van door and almost lose it completely on Thanksgiving day, at the same house where years later I would break my leg. I would fall on concrete steps and lose three front teeth, and crack two ribs skateboarding down a grass hill. I would crash my bike into my garage and lodge my handlebar under my chin. I would have my nose broken twice, once in a fight and once because the (older) singer of Most Precious Blood swings his mic very aggressively. I would get a few concussions (hockey, pillow fights in hotel rooms, Converge shows, more hockey). I lost count of the stitches. But I would also get a haematoma on my maiden tequila night, and chip countless teeth thanks to the fake teeth installed because I used to gnaw on pens like meat. I'm sure there's more, I just can't remember them all right now. I guess I hit my head a few too many times.
22 years and still going strong.

Playlist
Beta Band - The Three EP's
Subhumans - From the Cradle to the Grave
Against Me! - New Wave
Jesu - Conqueror
Converge - You Fail Me/Jane Doe
Michael Patrick MacDonald - All Souls: A Family Story from Southie

The Polyphonic Nightmare

Over the last two nights I have had dreams that revolve around two bands: one of which I love and one of which I loathe.

The first began in suburban Rhode Island, where I met the leader of the Polyphonic Spree. I should state here that that "band" has always freaked me out to no end. I don't get it, and I don't want to get it. I'm okay with keeping the hell out of cults. In my dream though, they were less a "band" and more an environmental group, so I hesitantly joined.

After some time, I began to realize that they were in fact, trying for a New World Order-type worldwide cult in which everyone wore white and danced in the fields. I tried getting out but they wouldn't let me, so I ran away. Fearing for our lives, Shelly and I moved to upstate New York to get away.

I have these terrifying images in my head of a group of eight or so people in white robes chasing after me through fields and forests, trying to gas me.

I hate the Polyphonic Spree.

Last night I dreamt that Botch reunited at the Tweeter Center. For some reason my parents came and when we sat down the venue suddenly changed in a Transformers-way into a trailer home. Botch played in the trailer home and my parents freaked. People were going off left and right and my mom hid in the back corner. My dad tried fighting everyone there, and after the first song Rick ta Life walked in. People immediately tried killing him with knives and boots and a pretty serious melee broke out.

I don't know what goes on in my brain but whatever it is, I hope it keeps up.

LOLMETAL

http://warehouse.carlh.com/article_141/

Just go here. It's amazing.