Showing posts with label oi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oi. Show all posts

Friday, June 06, 2008

Hard Skin

Hard Skin just came through the USA and reminded me why I fucking love Oi! music. One of their terrific singles can be found at the following link.

Make My Tea: http://www.punkvinyl.net/blog/Hard_Skin-Make_My_Tea-ep/01-make_my_tea.mp3

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

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/)

Friday, January 11, 2008

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."