photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
there something about the INVIGORATING EXPERIENCE of watching a LIVE PERFORMANCE and being a part of the COMMUNITY that celebrates and supports it. its hard to explain since it is about FEELING a certain sense of CAMARADERIE of being on the same EMOTIONAL and PSYCHIC WAVELENGTH with a bunch of total strangers, all taking in the ENERGY of the environment and elevating it as a SINGLE ENTITY. at least that is what i felt when i saw MEMORABLE shows of yore like the DEFTONES at OZZFEST 99 in JERSEY, AFI at WARPED TOUR 2000 in VENTURA or MOTORHEAD at the STONE PONY in 2003.
whats cool about the CALIBERTV YOUTUBE channel and its in-house produced LIVE SHOWS of METALCORE, POST-HARDCORE and POP PUNK bands like THE USED, WE CAME AS ROMANS, FALLING IN REVERSE, SUM 41, EMMURE, UNDEROATH, WHITECHAPEL, CHELSEA GRIN and STATE CHAMPS, is that the cinematography and audio mixes very much effectively translate that CONTAGIOUS and COMBUSTIBLE ENERGY of a LIVE PERFORMANCE. this series is SPECIAL because these performances are not clever branding exercises or byproducts of OBSCURE radio station sessions, CALIBERTV is solely focused on making you eager to go out and get in the pit as soon as possible. most definitely worth checking out.
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photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
even though i fully realize its fundamentally PRODUCT PLACEMENT, i am such a fan of WELL-RECORDED and PRODUCED LIVE PERFORMANCE videos by MUSICIANS whatever the rationale. and there is something about ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS where songs get stripped back to their SKELETAL ELEMENTS and take on a different flair for the listener. sometimes with PEDALS, DISTORTION and "wall of sound" PRODUCTION these nuances get overlooked in a mix so an all-acoustic rendition very much provides an opportunity to showcase the artistry of both the COMPOSITION and MUSICIAN. conversely it also provides an opportunity to show the lack of such as well.
TAYLOR GUITARS has both their LONG-RUNNING ACOUSTIC SESSIONS and SOUNDCHECK LIVE MUSIC SERIES doing the same basic function in showcasing MODERN ARTISTS. the roster of BANDS showcased in both SERIES that i was drawn to were most definitely from the POST HARDCORE, PUNK ROCK, SKA and POP PUNK genres such as TAKING BACK SUNDAY, DESCENDENTS, NEW FOUND GLORY, LESS THAN JAKE, SPARTA, TUNNEL VISION and WAGE WAR. its pretty COOL stuff and most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
when mercurial co-VOCALIST / GUITARIST TOM DELONGE abruptly left BLINK-182 for the second time after the touring cycle in support of NEIGHBORHOODS (DGC, 2011), BASSIST MARK HOPPUS and DRUMMER TRAVIS BARKER were again left to pick up the pieces. the first go around they started the spin-off group +44 and released the EXPANSIVE and quite STELLAR WHEN YOUR HEART STOPS BEATING (INTERSCOPE, 2006) record to a decidedly disappointing commercial reception of the project. for all intents and purposes, that record was the artistic successor to the self-titled BLINK-182 (GEFFEN, 2003) album that found the group very much come into their own as MATURE PRODUCERS and SONGWRITERS. in retrospect, it is obvious that the record-buying public wanted a BLINK-182 record and not a new project.
lesson learned. when history repeated itself again and the two found themselves likewise stranded, they moved ahead and recruited the much CELEBRATED ALKALINE TRIO VOCALIST and main SONGWRITER MATT SKIBA to join BLINK-182 in DELONGE's absence. the show must go on. for the HARDCORE fans this was seen as a lateral move as SKIBA was a much HERALDED MUSICIAN in his own right and a WORTHY COLLABORATOR and DELONGE replacement. NINE (COLUMBIA, 2019) is the follow-up to the SKIBA debut CALIFORNIA (BMG, 2016), and like its predecessor is a COHESIVE and surprisingly SUCCESSFUL effort that marries the POP melodicism of CLASSIC BLINK-182 with the decidedly SARDONIC and downright GLOOMY lyrical persona that is SKIBA. STANDOUT tracks include the singles "DARKSIDE," "I REALLY WISH I HATED YOU," "BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH," "HAPPY DAYS" and "GENERATIONAL DIVIDE." all successful bands have a UNIQUE internal creative chemistry that is organically determined and often UNSPOKEN in nature but mysteriously relied upon nonetheless. what is INTERESTING is when lineups get shuffled around and the quality of their output wavers. at those times you get a sense of how IMPORTANT and almost ALCHEMICAL those DELICATE relationships actually are. such is the case with JANE'S ADDICTION and their myriad of projects featuring various core members (i.e. PORNO FOR PYROS, POLAR BEAR, THE PANIC CHANNEL, SATELLITE PARTY, PSI COM and so on). such is also the same of BLINK-182 and their reshuffled outside projects (i.e. BOX CAR RACER, ANGELS & AIRWAVES and the aforementioned +44). when SKIBA joined the band it was unclear if BLINK-182 could survive this permutation, but in actual fact they were creatively thriving along the similar historic lines of AC/DC, FAITH NO MORE, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, BLACK SABBATH and ALICE IN CHAINS before them. it was probably INEVITABLE but DELONGE later rejoined the band. again. so the legacy of NINE is a FRUITFUL trajectory of an ALTERNATE version of the group that prematurely ended. at least until DELONGE gets bored again and decides to leave and spearhead another LAME project with his publishing company. in my mind its a bit of a letdown that HOPPUS and BARKER let DELONGE back in but, you know, that is their prerogative. i just remember looking forward to the next SKIBA / HOPPUS / BARKER collaboration that seemingly will never come to pass. regardless NINE is well worth checking out and one of the STRONGER later period BLINK-182 releases that did nothing but further cement their legacy as a POP PUNK powerhouse. photo & text by nacrowe
in the intervening three year-span that separated the IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE (COLUMBIA, 1997) release from its aptly-titled predecessor SMASH (EPITAPH, 1994), seemingly everything for THE OFFSPRING had completely shifted. no longer were they a JUNIOR PUNK ROCK band (to peer groups like PENNYWISE, NOFX and RANCID) turned 6X platinum SURPRISE CULTURAL PHENOMENON on an INDEPENDENT label, but instead now a significant asset to big CORPORATE players on a STORIED major label. their CAREER NARRATIVE in essence mirrors that of the INTERNAL DYNAMICS of the PUNK ROCK genre in the 1990s, which was in the midst of an UNFORESEEN IDENTITY CRISIS navigating those MURKY waters between SUBCULTURE and MAINSTREAM, DIY operations and LARGE-SCALE DISTRIBUTION, PUNK ROCK elitism and mainstream acceptance. all of these concerns, of course, are now complete anachronisms of a long bygone pre-internet age when gatekeeping of PHYSICAL PRODUCT and GLOBAL PUBLICITY and DISTRIBUTION avenues were a real thing. it all sounds quite SILLY and QUAINT in retrospect.
i moved from SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA to NIGERIA in the fall of 1995 and SMASH was the VERITABLE soundtrack to my previous elementary school years in ORANGE COUNTY, having come out when i was in 4th grade. by the time IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE was released i was now in 7th grade and on another continent and at the time my interest in PUNK ROCK had largely shifted to METAL (i.e. SEPULTURA, TOOL and METALLICA) and ALTERNATIVE ROCK (ALICE IN CHAINS, FAITH NO MORE, SMASHING PUMPKINS and JANE'S ADDICTION). it would be a few years later that i would learn about all the great CALIFORNIA HARDCORE bands from the 1980s (DESCENDENTS, BLACK FLAG, THE VANDALS, DEAD KENNEDYS, T.S.O.L., CIRCLE JERKS) and their later in and out-of-state acolytes in the 1990s (NOFX, RANCID, PENNYWISE, LAGWAGON, PROPAGANDHI) and dive back into the genre permanently. what i remember about my exposure to IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE was that it was very similar to SMASH with tracks that were HIGH ENERGY, MEMORABLE and full of SOCIAL CRITIQUES about STONERS and SLACKER STEREOTYPES. STANDOUT songs include "COOL TO HATE," "MOTA," "I CHOOSE," "ALL I WANT," "THE MEANING OF LIFE" and the decidedly more subdued "GONE AWAY," which anecdotally they played at a BRITISH classmate of mine's memorial service in LAGOS after passing away after sustaining injuries from being hit by a car while on break in LONDON. i hear that song now and i snap right back to the complete shock of that moment, especially at such a tender age. i dont think i was even a teenager yet. such was life in NIGERIA. in retrospect this album represents the last in a lineage of recordings for THE OFFSPRING that goes back to their self-titled NEMESIS debut. singer and main songwriter DEXTER HOLLAND being a gifted student (much later earning a PHD in MOLECULAR BIOLOGY from USC) was always concerned with critiquing SOCIAL, POLITICAL and CULTURAL matters in a distinctly SOPHISTICATED and indirect manner through personal observation and the construction of composite characters in his lyrics. the tone of which was always based on the sonic template of the 80s HARDCORE PUNK he grew up on. somehow after IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE on the follow-up AMERICANA (COLUMBIA, 1998), those same instincts found a new home in consciously TRADITIONAL pop songs in the KNOWING and IRONIC style of "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC. which was UNFORTUNATE at the time and continues to be a reason THE OFFSPRING have diminished their REPUTATION in the years since. yes SMASH is the most commercially SUCCESSFUL independent release of all-time [11 million copies sold to date], but their peers in GREEN DAY and RANCID would never put out LAME POP drivel with SLICK music videos and no edge. it didnt have to be that way and IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE represents to me that last hoorah of a ONCE-PROMISING band that permanently later lost their way. i hear it now and i just think of what could have been. photo & text by nacrowe
thinking about a pre-TRAVIS BARKER line-up of BLINK-182 is always INTERESTING because the chemistry that lifted them above the POP PUNK fray to become veritable icons of the genre itself was due to that very specific MUSICAL ALCHEMY that came to fruition immediately after DUDE RANCH (MCA, 1997), their second album and major label debut. not that this recording effort is without GOOD SONGWRITING, as is the case with tracks like "DICK LIPS," "WAGGY," "PATHETIC," "APPLE SHAMPOO," and of course their breakout singles "JOSIE" and "DAMMIT." but rhythmically and stylistically, this album is pretty REPETITIVE and MYOPIC in terms of its SONGWRITING. in essence it is a band coming into its own both in terms of PRODUCTION and navigating the expectations that come with being on a major label.
when i first heard DUDE RANCH it was in the immediate aftermath of its more commercially and artistically SUCCESSFUL follow-up ENEMA OF THE STATE (MCA, 1999) that had both BARKER and LEGENDARY producer JERRY FINN added to the mix. BARKER being the MULTI-TALENTED drummer that he was, could elevate and transcend basic POP PUNK CHORD PROGRESSIONS with both an eye for SONG DYNAMICS and COMPOSITION as well as sheer TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY. listening to ENEMA OF THE STATE you can hear grooves that are based in both JAZZ and LATIN traditions that bring a sense of SWING and BOUNCE to several tracks. its entirely unfair to compare him to original drummer SCOTT RAYNOR who on DUDE RANCH and its predecessor CHESHIRE CAT (CARGO, 1995) provides a perfectly COMPETENT, if DERIVATIVE, sense of drive to his DRUMMING in the style of MELODIC HARDCORE bands like BAD RELIGION, NOFX and PENNYWISE. lyrically DUDE RANCH continues along the same lines of its predecessor by splitting the difference between SOPHOMORIC toilet humor and heartfelt odes to past relationships and teenage youth a la MILO AUKERMAN and the legendary 80s SOUTH BAY PUNK ROCK band DESCENDENTS. this lyrical perspective would continue on subsequent releases but seemed strategically aimed at both presenting the band as willing to laugh at their PUBLIC IMAGE and provided a critical distraction for genuine efforts at tracks that stretched their SONGWRITING ABILITIES and made them VULNERABLE. all the basic elements are their on DUDE RANCH, as well as CHESHIRE CAT, but the right mixture of TRADITIONAL and PROGRESSIVE MUSICAL ELEMENTS are not quite their yet. for me DUDE RANCH is all about my high school experience and hearing it makes me strangely NOSTALGIC for a time i would not in retrospect under any circumstances ever want to revisit again. what makes it an INTRIGUING listen years later is how foretells what was to come as well as provides a key look at an ICONIC band minus a VITAL ELEMENT in BARKER (or maybe two if you also count FINN, which you probably should). as much as i love this record, ENEMA OF THE STATE is the OBVIOUS starting point for anyone getting into BLINK-182 or POP PUNK in general. maybe after consuming GREEN DAY's DOOKIE (REPRISE, 1994), DESCENDENTS' MILO GOES TO COLLEGE (NEW ALLIANCE, 1982), MXPX's LIFE IN GENERAL (TOOTH & NAIL, 1996), FALL OUT BOY's TAKE THIS TO YOUR GRAVE (FUELED BY RAMEN, 2003) and NEW FOUND GLORY's STICKS AND STONES (DRIVE-THRU, 2002), you should revisit DUDE RANCH for comparison and context. NOT ESSENTIAL but definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
at the tale end of the 1990s NU METAL was very much in full swing. led by the likes of genre innovators like DEFTONES, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, KORN, INCUBUS and yes, LIMP BIZKIT, the lasting cultural impact was of an AGGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVE METAL DISSONANCE decorated with HIP HOP-derived production embellishments. this SOUND found its zenith with the more sonically SOPHISTICATED, structurally COHESIVE and seamlessly INTEGRATED SONGWRITING and PRODUCTION of LINKIN PARK's debut HYBRID THEORY (WARNER BROS, 2000) record, but when ZEBRAHEAD and their second record, and major label debut, WASTE OF MIND (COLUMBIA, 1998) arrived that was still a few years away.
this all to say that ZEBRAHEAD was very much a band of its time in terms of the sonic elements it was playing with, but it came from a distinctly different place. whereas those aforementioned bands (with the exception of INCUBUS) traded on ANGER and FRUSTRATION, ZEBRAHEAD had an AESTHETIC that incorporated the OPTIMISM and light HUMOR more associated with POP PUNK bands like THE VANDALS, LAGWAGON or BLINK-182. listening to WASTE OF MIND and their subsequent albums with original singer JUSTIN MAURIELLO, its apt to describe their SOUND as a cross between NU METAL and POP PUNK which were the culturally dominant rock genres of the period. i should also mention my bias at this point since ZEBRAHEAD is from LA HABRA which was literally the next town over from mine growing up in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. in fact, my father worked in LA HABRA and i spent much time there, so like other notable ORANGE COUNTY acts such as ATREYU, THE VANDALS, SOMETHING CORPORATE, ADOLESCENTS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, NO DOUBT, THE AQUABATS, SUBLIME and AGENT ORANGE, i always hold out a fondness for acts hailing from my childhood region. glad i got that out of the way. unfortunately, more then two decades on ZEBRAHEAD comes off as a bit of a CULTURAL ANACHRONISM. i contend that this is partly due to the rapping of ALI TABATABAEE, which often sounds FORCED, STILTED and a bit AWKWARD. this isnt helped at all by references that didnt age well, notably a boasting allusion to DONALD TRUMP which is beyond CRINGE-INDUCING in retrospect. what saves the album time and time again is the INVENTIVE GUITAR WORK a la GREG BERGDORF and MAURIELLO as well as the catchy chorus melodies sung by MAURIELLO, especially on tracks such as "MOVE ON," "GET BACK," "JAG OFF," "TIME," "CHECK" and "WASTE OF MIND." as a guitar tandem, BERGDORF and MAURIELLO very much created OFF-KILTER RIFFS and SONIC TEXTURES that seemed distinctly rooted in the CELEBRATED TOM MORELLO / WES BORLAND school of IDIOSYNCRATIC guitar heroics. and that dynamic of INSPIRED GUITAR TEXTURES with catchy choruses (and terrible rapping) very much continued on subsequent releases PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR (COLUMBIA, 2000) and MFZB (COLUMBIA, 2003) before MAURIELLO's departure and later efforts with DARLING THIEVES and his solo career. after that departure the band continued on to diminishing returns as the SONIC HOOKS and MEMORABLE MELODIES left with him. WASTE OF MIND is an INTRIGUING album as a cultural marker of the evolution and cross-pollination of NU METAL and POP PUNK at the dawn of the new millennium, but was quickly overshadowed by more HARDCORE purveyors of each separate genre, by everyone from SYSTEM OF A DOWN to NEW FOUND GLORY. i wouldnt recommend WASTE OF MIND, but the next album PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR is definitely worth checking out, despite its CRINGEY PLAYBOY co-branding. BOOK REVIEW | "SMASH!: GREEN DAY, THE OFFSPRING, NOFX AND THE '90s PUNK EXPLOSION" BY IAN WINWOOD8/14/2023 photo & text by nacrowe
in recent years there has been a deluge of memoirs and published histories of the PUNK ROCK movement and all of its sub-genres and related SCENES. what makes SMASH!: GREEN DAY, THE OFFSPRING, NOFX AND THE '90s PUNK EXPLOSION (DA CAPO, 2018) by VETERAN BRITISH music journalist IAN WINWOOD (NME, ROLLING STONE, REVOLVER, Q, THE GUARDIAN, MOJO) so FASCINATING is that fact that it effectively elaborates on the expanded trajectory of the WEST COAST expansion of PUNK ROCK and HARDCORE into the 1990s. from THE DAMNED and THE SEX PISTOLS LEGENDARY late 1970s performances to the advent of the early LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK SCENE in the late 70s/early 80s with THE GERMS, X, THE SCREAMERS, FEAR, THE WEIRDOS and THE BAGS to the HARDCORE BANDS from nearby counties infiltrating the SCENE throughout the 80s like BLACK FLAG, WASTED YOUTH, CIRCLE JERKS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, THE ADOLESCENTS, T.S.O.L. and DESCENDENTS to the 90s BANDS at focus throughout SMASH! and beyond. it is that very tension within that lineage of generations of PUNK BANDS that makes this book such a UNIQUE and COMPELLING read.
when AMERICAN HARDCORE was initiated in the 1980s, various BANDS started their own RECORD LABELS (DISCHORD, SST, ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES) out of necessity and begot a COTTAGE INDUSTRY of viable ALTERNATIVE options for artists. they also provided a lean BUSINESS MODEL and strong DIY ethic for the next generation of INDEPENDENT artists. such is the case with the BAY AREA's LOOKOUT! RECORDS which famously released early GREEN DAY offerings and the catalogue of OPERATION IVY. within the PUNK ROCK COMMUNITY, this effective FETISHIZING of what it means to be truly AUTHENTIC and INDEPENDENT had a huge effect on PUNK and PUNK-influenced BANDS of the 1990s. case in point, arguably at the center of SMASH!'s narrative is the melodic SAN FERNANDO MELODIC PUNK ROCK BAND BAD RELIGION and the INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL its guitarist BRETT GUREWITZ founded, EPITAPH RECORDS. unlike LOOKOUT!, EPITAPH found itself in 1994 with an UNEXPECTED diamond album [i.e. 10 million copies sold] in THE OFFSPRING's SMASH (EPITAPH, 1994) that effectively forced the LABEL to expand rapidly while defying continued efforts from most of the MAJORS to buyout their operation and/or poach their artists. in essence, the commercial success of this INDEPENDENT PRIVATE LABEL put them in the same stratosphere as publicly traded MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATE ENTITIES with larger checkbooks and a deeper well of resources. all PUNK and HARDCORE LABELS were never at that level and it was a situation GUREWITZ never anticipated. in the wake of such there was a new equilibrium and expectations game internally amongst the BANDS, their MANAGERS and the LABEL that took years to level off and resolve itself. in essence, the BANDS that stayed INDEPENDENT (NOFX, RANCID, PENNYWISE) by and large were critically rewarded long-term and with the exception of GREEN DAY (who didnt come off unscathed in terms of their reputation). even GUREWITZ own BAND BAD RELIGION signed during this period with ATLANTIC RECORDS for several releases and eventually successfully came back to EPITAPH at the beginning of the new millennium with new ENERGY and a return-to-form recorded offering. whereas EPITAPH RECORDS exemplified this dynamic from the BUSINESS and LABEL perspective, undoubtedly GREEN DAY are the poster boys for the pitfalls of working with the MAJORS during this pre-digital era (because currently nobody cares about this puritanical litmus test since no one is selling records at this scale anymore). they famously were effectively abandoned and ex-communicated by their SCENE and the ARTISTIC COMMUNITY from which they developed, the 924 GILMAN STREET venue in BERKELEY. all for signing to WARNER BROS. they were in a bind. touring nonstop throughout the states and EUROPE, LOOKOUT! couldnt keep up with demand. their fans couldnt locate product. GREEN DAY didnt believe that PUNK ROCK was about being ELITIST with hard-to-locate OBSCURE records in limited supply. the widespread DISTRIBUTION of a MAJOR would change all that. and it did. but it came at a high cost to their personal sense of IDENTITY, especially in the wake of DOOKIE (REPRISE, 1994) and its MASSIVE diamond-level commercial success. success only counterintuitively exacerbated that sense of ALIENATION and DISLOCATION from their small BAY AREA SCENE and even their FANBASE. eventually newcomers would replace that shedding of ORIGINAL SUPPORTS tenfold but that was the bargain back during this heady period. SMASH! really elucidates on an that INTERESTING convergence of PUNK ROCK ethics and all the GUILT, CONTRADICTION and seemingly socially enforced LACK OF AMBITION at the heart of it. when NIRVANA exploded, close behind it was the dismantling and/or renewed RECALCITRANCE of all that undercurrent of TRADITIONAL mores at the heart of the genre that separated it from other music sub-genres. it is still in retrospect a topic that is absolutely FASCINATING to consider almost three decades hence. i dont know if it has an analogue to today, which is more ECLECTIC, GENRE-LESS and far less TRIBAL musically than it was back then. politically today is a whole 'nother story entirely. definitely a INTRIGUING book well worth checking out. even if its BRITISH perspective on the CULTURAL PHENOMENA that was 90s PUNK ROCK does get a little weird at times. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
at the dawn of the new millennium MTV devised a new BRANDED LIVE PERFORMANCE series ostensibly to augment their played out LIVE MUSIC properties like UNPLUGGED and LIVE AND LOUD from the previous decade. the new concept was to honor a CULTURAL ICON with a series of prominent artists / bands covering their songs live right there in front of them, before they themselves closed the show promoting their latest release. MTV ICON only lasted four years and included episodes centered around JANET JACKSON, AEROSMITH, METALLICA and THE CURE(?!).
out of the four, THE CURE is the obvious OUTLIER but had INSPIRED PERFORMANCES by the likes of the DEFTONES, AFI and BLINK-182 that made the conceptually AWKWARD event quite MEMORABLE. i cant imagine what it must be like playing someone else's song right in front of them. feels like a high-stakes, lose-lose situation for both the band and THE CURE. in retrospect, it makes perfect sense that this was the swan song of the property itself, as the concept is pretty SELF-AGGRANDIZING and, lets face it, really LAME. but i cant complain about having these LIVE COVERS of CURE songs out in the ether two decades later. guess i have MTV to thank for that.
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
hindsight manipulates us all. a nearly universally CELEBRATED album like GREEN DAY's GEORGE W BUSH-era narrative paean to the domestic UNDERCLASS and UNDERREPRESENTED resistance, AMERICAN IDIOT (REPRISE, 2004), feels in retrospect almost INEVITABLE. at the time of its tracking back in 2003-2004, as depicted in the documentary HEART LIKE A HAND GRENADE (CRAZY COW PRODUCTIONS, 2015), this was hardly the case. the band had a rare mid-career miscue with WARNING (REPRISE, 2000) that saw them supposedly loosing a step with the POPULAR ZEITGEIST to a new crop of POP PUNK bands they essentially helped initiate (i.e. BLINK-182, NEW FOUND GLORY, SUM 41, GOOD CHARLOTTE, etc.).
not sure i wholly buy into that narrative, but that is the popular MYTHOLOGY surrounding the creation of AMERICAN IDIOT, which was REVOLUTIONARY and UNEXPECTED upon release and is arguably GREEN DAY's crowning achievement, even more so than their debut DOOKIE (REPRISE, 1994). part of such ACCLAIM was rooted in the fact that it was perceived to be a STRIDENT middle finger to the BUSH ADMINISTRATION and their REGRESSIVE political agenda. in the early 2000s SYSTEM OF A DOWN and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE were on the outs and ROCK music was in a weird place in that it was attempting to recreate the past a la the backward-looking INDIE ROCK REVIVAL bands such as THE STROKES, WHITE STRIPES, INTERPOL, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and the like. nobody, and i mean no one, thought that GREEN DAY would be the band to create something as AUDACIOUS and thematically COMPLEX as a ROCK OPERA that was likewise brazenly POLITICAL at a time of war. it really put everyone else to shame in retrospect and influenced the style and scope of their catalogue from their on out. whats compelling about HEART LIKE A HAND GRENADE is how DETERMINED, COMMITTED and CONFIDENT band leader and main songwriter BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG is in the studio. this was a major risk. GREEN DAY were considered relative LIGHT-WEIGHTS that in essence filled a psychic and industry VOID left by NIRVANA in the wake of their TRAGIC mid-90s implosion. in comparison to the SOMBER and POETIC directness of KURT COBAIN's lyrics and persona, ARMSTRONG was by comparison a more JOVIAL and UPBEAT character that wrote songs about the banality of everyday life. AMERICAN IDIOT changed all that in one swell swoop. its just incredible that this recording process was documented. i have no doubt itll be parsed over decades from now by musicians inspired by ARMSTRONG's GALVANIZED response to a fucked political inflection point in AMERICAN history. lord knows what we will face in the next few decades in the wake of proto-fascist DONALD TRUMP. here's hoping he never returns to power. photo & text by nacrowe
the thing that differentiated SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA POP PUNK band EVE 6 from the pack, especially with their self-titled debut EVE 6 (RCA, 1998), was their sense of lyrical SOPHISTICATION. at the time and in retrospect, the lyrical content with its SELF-REFERENTIAL, INWARD-CONTORTING phrasing seemed far more URBANE than need be in terms of genre expectations. its probably why leader bassist, lead singer and main songwriter MAX COLLINS has turned out to be such a great follow on TWITTER with his savage PITHY and often CAUSTIC putdowns of buffoonish conservative pundits and their ilk. god bless the man.
the single "INSIDE OUT" is worth examining. first heard this song a few months after it came out when i started attending a boarding school in MASSACHUSETTS after saying goodbye to my family that was still living in NIGERIA of all places. just a MONSTROUS transitional period in my life at a young age. originally i am from ORANGE COUNTY and have long had COMPLICATED relationship with that fact given how INSULAR, MYOPIC and naively SELF-IMPORTANT the people their were during my childhood. not to mention just how blatantly DISMISSIVE and brazenly RACIST they were to the hispanic population. so the lines "socal is where my mind states / but its not my state of mind / im not as ugly sad as you" meant quite a bit to me at that time. its that CONTRARIAN idea that, yes, i may in fact be one of them but at the same time im really not. i define myself, not my surroundings. for a CALIFORNIA teen being alone in an unfamiliar MASSACHUSETTS environment, having just spent his middle school years living in WEST AFRICA, that concept of self-determining one's identity was huge. im sure being fourteen also played into such as well. needless to say, i didnt get this sort of SELF-EXAMINATION listening to GREEN DAY, BLINK-182 or even the DESCENDENTS at this point. i almost hold EVE 6 as more akin and comparable to preceding, weightier-themed ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands like SOUNDGARDEN, RADIOHEAD or NIRVANA than their immediate POP PUNK peers at the time. this can be seen in other STANDOUT tracks like "TONGUE TIED," "HOW MUCH LONGER" and "SMALL TOWN TRAP" which all seem occupied with the struggle to extend beyond your limitations, be they geographical or imposed by oneself or authority figures. heady stuff indeed and EVE 6 has aged remarkably well. its themes regarding SELF-DISCOVERY are no doubt UNIVERSAL and arguably more RELEVANT in the social media age than they were upon its release in the late 90s. my slight preference is for subsequent EVE 6 albums like HORRORSCOPE (RCA, 2000) and IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD (RCA, 2003) but their debut is definitely well worth checking out and exploring sonically and lyrically. and definitely give COLLINS a follow. the man helped me laugh my way (while crying admittedly) through the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
in less than two short years itll be three decades since my family permanently left SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA for whats been an INSANE journey that has led me to live in several countries across five continents before resettling on the east coast of the UNITED STATES in recent years. ive been back out west a few times, enough to know that whatever ties i had to ORANGE COUNTY and the greater LOS ANGELES area are now pretty DISTANT and MINUSCULE, but one thing i still hold on to is the EXPERIENCE of listening to the radio while in early elementary school. specifically the nationally INFLUENTIAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK powerhouse that is 106.7FM KROQ.
i have a DISTINCT MEMORY of listening to KROQ and hearing bands like SOUNDGARDEN, LIVING COLOUR, MORRISSEY, THE B-52's, PEARL JAM, JANE'S ADDICTION, U2, TEARS FOR FEARS, NIRVANA, THE CURE, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, ELECTRONIC, 4 NON BLONDES, DURAN DURAN, R.E.M. and ALICE IN CHAINS on car trips to and from school and regional sporting events with my dad as a kid. at this point that MEMORY is like a security blanket and one reason i probably view radio as an almost SACROSANCT institution. embedded below are live performances of bands that have played the WEENIE ROAST, ALMOST ACOUSTIC CHRISTMAS or their recent SOUND SPACE events. all of it was recorded well after my time in LOS ANGELES but squarely showcases the continued influence of that station. it is all definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
its safe to say that SAN DIEGO POP PUNK icons BLINK-182 were the soundtrack to my high school years. even before their commercial breakthrough ENEMA OF THE STATE (MCA, 1999), burned copies of DUDE RANCH (MCA, 1999) had exchanged hands throughout the radio station at the NEW ENGLAND boarding school i was then attending. there was something about their sound, which seemed to take the arpeggiated melodies and concise single-line leads of BAD RELIGION and married them with the juvenile HUMOR sans politics of NOFX. on DUDE RANCH the band was kind of a lighter, less overtly controversial, more POLISHED and POP-FRIENDLY version of those two LEGENDARY LA PUNK bands. i feel strongly that what set them over the top was the addition of a new drummer they poached from THE AQUABATS, TRAVIS BARKER.
BARKER is a generationally TALENTED drummer both in terms of his TECHNICAL MUSICIANSHIP, as well as his COMPOSITIONAL PROWESS as a songwriter. on ENEMA OF THE STATE he elevates TRADITIONAL PUNK ROCK songs with his DEFT inclusion of LATIN, JAZZ and AFRO-CUBAN polyrhythms and a HIP HOP sense of dynamics. i remember reading guitar magazines in the early 1990s and there was always discussions of THE SMITHS' JOHNNY MARR and how even if you couldnt stand MORRISSEY, everyone respected and was in awe of the TECHNICAL ABILITY and supernatural COMPOSITIONAL CHOPS of MARR. same with BARKER. he is very much a drummer's drummer with seemingly UNLIMITED RANGE and PERSONAL STYLE to spare. it is not hyperbole to state that his inclusion in the trio was REVOLUTIONARY for their sound as well as their career trajectory. it turned them from a promising but derivative also-ran POP PUNK group to a POWERHOUSE cultural phenomenon that transcended that of their early influences (i.e. BAD RELIGION, NOFX, DESCENDENTS, THE VANDALS, PENNYWISE). standout tracks include the tracks like "DUMPWEED," "GOING AWAY TO COLLEGE," "ALIENS EXIST" "DYSENTARY GARY" and the singles "WHAT'S MY AGE AGAIN?" and "ADAM'S SONG." overall thematically the songs relate to GENERIC POP PUNK fair such as the COMBUSTIBILITY and CONFUSION related to relationships, being MISUNDERSTOOD by parents/adults/society and life after high school. in my opinion its not until their self-titled BLINK-182 (review linked HERE) album that songwriting duo guitarist TOM DELONGE and bassist MARK HOPPUS really branch out beyond such seemingly OBVIOUS standard themes. the lone exception on ENEMA OF THE STATE being "ADAM'S SONG," which despite being a reference to a MR. SHOW sketch promoting such, deftly touches on the topic of suicide and what motivates such an extreme action from an EMPATHETIC and THOUGHTFUL first-person narratorial perspective. the misguided but achingly desperate idea that people "will be sorry when i'm gone" despite the fact that the narrator is reluctantly counter-arguing that in "another six months i'll be unknown." the song gets into the psychology and VULNERABLE emotional state that pushes teens over the edge. unquestionably the song has probably helped millions of kids feel heard and understood, albeit from afar. is ENEMA OF THE STATE a perfect record that deserved pushing BLINK-182 to the upper echelon of POP PUNK royalty alongside GREEN DAY. probably not, but it isnt a bad record in the least. i think it served its purpose in generating interest in PUNK ROCK writ large and undoubtedly had a trickle down effect on the touring prospects for many older and newer bands BLINK-182 lionized and toured with such as PENNYWISE, NEW FOUND GLORY, FALL OUT BOY, THE VANDALS, PARAMORE, BAD RELIGION, GOOD CHARLOTTE, SCREECHING WEASEL, DESCENDENTS, A DAY TO REMEMBER and ALKALINE TRIO among countless others. and i cant fault them for that.
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the production catalogue of veteran record producer / engineer / mixer ERIC VALENTINE!
​ ​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! photo & text by nacrowe
SMASH (review linked HERE), as i wrote about before, was a CONSEQUENTIAL record during the elementary school years my FAMILY spent in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. when in sixth grade my family moved to NIGERIA, that record was something i held onto as a cultural artifact of what i viewed as my home in essence. that EMOTIONAL sense of IDENTITY would later shift over time as i lived and worked in different hemispheres and never returned to SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
what is interesting for me about IGNITION (EPITAPH, 1992), which was the preceding album to SMASH, is its INTENSITY and palpable sense of AGGRESSION. SMASH had some straight-up PUNK songs, but they also had some lighter more pop-friendly fare that was recorded with tongue firmly in cheek. unfortunately with subsequent releases they went down that road too far and in essence became a BONEHEADED, THIRD-RATE WEIRD AL YANKOVIC band. which was a pity. but on IGNITION, especially tracks like "NO HERO," "SESSION," "TAKE IT LIKE A MAN," "WE ARE ONE," "KICK HIM WHEN HE'S DOWN" and "L.A.P.D." there is sense of PSYCHIC and PHYSICAL VIOLENCE that DEHUMANIZES and DIMINISHES one's sense of IDENTITY and their relationship to SOCIETY. its a BRUTAL record and for my brother and i this is the DEFINITIVE OFFSPRING record. in retrospect i find it funny that i discovered this record through a LEBANESE classmate in NIGERIA. even the intro passage to "DIRTY MAGIC" was the first thing most of my classmates learned on guitar at the time. it just goes to show how big THE OFFSPRING were as an international force back in the mid-1990s, even in NIGERIA, and long before the internet. that still blows my mind. learning about this PUNK ROCK record by a local ORANGE COUNTY band from a few cities away (specifically GARDEN GROVE) halfway around the world was an experience that totally re-contextualized how i viewed my own relationship to AMERICAN CULTURE and that game of telephone would continue for years down the line. even this act of writing a blog is my way of exploring such a phenomena to a certain extent. if you are unfamiliar with IGNITION, definitely check it out. it has more to do with the HARDCORE PUNK of DEAD KENNEDYS and BLACK FLAG then the POP POP PUNK of GREEN DAY, NOFX or PENNYWISE. its pretty UNRELENTING affair with no comic relief whatsoever like much of their staggeringly disappointing later output. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
this POP PUNK band out of SOUTHERN ILLINOIS called THE COPYRIGHTS recently caught my ear. they have a HIGH ENERGY, HOOK-LADEN sound that is reminiscent of vintage LAGWAGON, MILLENCOLIN, GREEN DAY and MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK. its a tried and true formula going back to THE BUZZCOCKS, but when done well it slams, and THE COPYRIGHTS absolutely hit hard.
definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i remember being at (the sadly now defunct) independent record store VINTAGE VINYL in NEW JERSEY sometime in the mid-2010s, most likely back home on summer vacation from one of my overseas teaching assignments, and having this experience that hadnt happened before or since: i asked the clerk what band was currently being played. turns out it was a MISSOURIAN band i knew existed from reading magazines like ALTERNATIVE PRESS over the years but had never investigated until then. it was a group called THE GET UP KIDS and the song i later learned was "WHEN IT DIES" off of their comeback fifth album THERE ARE RULES (QUALITY HILL, 2011).
and it was like LOVE at first listen. i ADORE that band and especially that record, although SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT (VAGRANT, 1999) is also a key listen. i think what makes them so enchanting is their MELODIC SONG-CRAFT and singer MATHEW PRYOR's EARNEST yet-ever-so MELANCHOLY vocal delivery. this band deserves a longer write-up with their offshoot projects (REGGIE AND THE FULL EFFECT, THE NEW AMSTERDAMS) and extensive discography, but i just wanted to do my part to spread the gospel of THE GET UP KIDS. not that they need my help.
parodies by nacrowe
​check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the POP PUNK, POST HARDCORE and METALCORE producer and GOLDFINGER frontman JOHN FELDMANN!
​ ​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! photo & text by nacrowe
first time i remember hearing the landmark POP PUNK album DOOKIE (REPRISE, 1994) by GREEN DAY was at a cub scout meeting at a friend's house in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in late 1994. i was in fourth grade at the time and before the meeting someone brought over this compact disc he'd gotten for his birthday. my first impression was its INTENSITY, SPEED and UNDENIABLE CATCHINESS. given my naïveté at the time, most of the themes surrounding drug culture and relationships went well above my head at the time, but the out-front melodic lines of MIKE DIRNT that transformed his bass into a lead instrument (a la PETER HOOK of JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER or POUTINE from SCREECHING WEASEL), the rolling kinetic propulsion of TRE COOL's drum fills and BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG's apparent faux BRITISH singing accent made quite the impression on my young ears (and musical consciousness).
in retrospect the music industry doesnt not like a vacuum, and its to GREEN DAY's credit/misfortune that they stepped into the limelight not too long after the untimely demise of another powerhouse trio, NIRVANA. the two fairly or unfairly are inextricably linked in that regard even though they come from different ends of the PUNK ROCK universe. NIRVANA was more artier and introspective and took inspiration from both the INDIE ROCK (i.e. R.E.M., DINOSAUR JR, MEAT PUPPETS and SONIC YOUTH) and HARDCORE (i.e. BLACK FLAG, THE GERMS, FLIPPER, BIG BLACK) scenes of the 1980s while GREEN DAY was firmly within the MELODIC HARDCORE (i.e. BAD RELIGION, DESCENDENTS, DAG NASTY, HUSKER DU) end of the spectrum with more than a passing indebtedness to the CATCHIER, LESS ANGRY end of the PUNK ROCK spectrum (i.e. THE BUZZCOCKS and THE RAMONES). personally i dont think its fair to compare the two bands as BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG and KURT COBAIN are very different people with very different SONGWRITING SENSIBILITIES. but i would be remiss to not at least mention that such discussion is an inevitability given the success of both bands, who in tandem lifted PUNK ROCK from an underground commercial nonentity to an entirely mainstream concern that changed the cultural landscape of ROCK AND ROLL to date in its wake. for me the standout tracks off DOOKIE (and there are quite a few of them) are not just the iconic anthemic singles "WHEN I COME AROUND," "LONGVIEW," "BASKET CASE" and "WELCOME TO PARADISE" but also lesser celebrated tracks like "SHE," "BURNOUT," "PULLING TEETH" and my long-time personal favorite "F.O.D." which is short for "fuck off and die." lovely. i think that much as DOOKIE set the sonic template for what POP PUNK became over the next decade (i.e. concise, no frills song construction with impassioned melodic vocals) with bands like BLINK-182, SUM 41, NEW FOUND GLORY, FALL OUT BOY and GOOD CHARLOTTE among others, what is less celebrated are how influential ARMSTRONG's lyrical perspective has been. and for this i am again using COBAIN as an acknowledged unfair counterpoint. COBAIN was firmly confessional but in an oblique, frustrated and ultimately self-destructive manner. that sense of exposing one's brutal, unadulterated self-eviscerations is part of his legacy that less steadier hands and much less gifted musicians have mined with ever diminishing results (i.e. SEETHER, CREED, STAIND, BUSH, NICKELBACK and PUDDLE OF MUDD). ARMSTRONG on the other-hand seemed to coat his societal observations and self-evaluations within a context that seemed a bit more neutral. i dont believe the narrator in "LONGVIEW" is speaking about its subject (a listless, masturbatory stoner with no ambition) with any sense of enmity or pity. it just is what it is. i can't help but connect that song to later tracks like BLINK-182's "WHAT'S MY AGE AGAIN?" (about outmoded juvenile hijinks done well into someone's 20s) and FALL OUT BOY's "SUGAR, WE'RE GOIN DOWN" (about the lengths fought for a seemingly doomed relationship), which all seem to have a neutral storyteller at the heart not passing authorial judgement on the players in the narrative. personally i just dont see COBAIN having time for that technique of hiding behind a character. his work was more of a guided missile ultimately aimed at himself. whats interesting for me about GREEN DAY is how ARMSTRONG's songwriting seems over time to trend more towards COBAIN. case in point is the other most celebrated album in GREEN DAY's catalogue, AMERICAN IDIOT (REPRISE, 2004), which seems to marry the two perspectives. but i'll save that discussion for another day. DOOKIE is required listening for anyone interested in ROCK AND ROLL, end stop.
parodies by nacrowe
its funny, i literally just did a DEER GOD RADIO episode on SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA POP PUNK icons BLINK-182 and the group reforms with its original lineup shortly thereafter.
figures. im pretty ambivalent about it. it feels like TOM DELONGE only feels compelled to rejoin the band that made him able to pursue his LAME side projects when one of the other two core members survives a life-threatening situation. those being a PLANE CRASH with TRAVIS BARKER and CANCER with MARK HOPPUS. it seems like there is a reason this lineup split up twice and i really wonder what chemistry they still have at this point. it just smells like a cash-grab to be totally honest. and that neednt be the case since BLINK-182 had put out two stellar post-DELONGE albums with his more than competent replacement MATT SKIBA of the iconic CHICAGO PUNK ROCK band ALKALINE TRIO. id even argue that the band was on a creative hot streak with singles that matched if not surpassed the classic lineup at their peak. they managed to sound ENERGETIC, SNARKY and dare-i-say-it, MATURE. with DELONGE back in the fold its difficult to surmise a reason other than the fact that outside of GREEN DAY, BLINK-182 is arguably the most influential POP PUNK band of all-time. this line-up will no doubt allow for a cash-in unlike anything seen in recent memory. i just have my concerns of how long this will last. inevitably DELONGE will return to his yes-men in ANGELS & AIRWAVES and put out more unlistenable, D-grade U2 retread music from the profits of this coming go around. get the feeling sometimes that you're being used? i do. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
like a lot of people, i was pretty bummed when the INDEPENDENT NEW JERSEY record store VINTAGE VINYL closed abruptly seemingly without warning in the middle of the summer of 2021. i had been going there for years since the early 2000s when i effectively relocated to the area for college after randomly spending my senior year of high school in SACRAMENTO. in fact part of my yearly ritual during my years teaching abroad was a trip to VINTAGE VINYL during my brief stateside vacation. id even argue the experience made me feel connected to a sense of "home."
i remember learning about the FORDS, NEW JERSEY store through a plugged-in classmate and friend of my brother, who were both still in high school at the time. in the early 2000s there was an UNDERGROUND ROCK N ROLL scene that centered around RUTGERS UNIVERSITY in NEW BRUNSWICK that included bands of varying genres (POST-HARDCORE, POP PUNK, HARDCORE and METALCORE) from various relatively nearby northeast cities such as THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN (MORRIS PLAINS), THURSDAY (NEW BRUNSWICK), MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE (NEWARK), MIDTOWN (NEW BRUNSWICK), STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO (NEW BRUNSWICK) as well as more established acts like THE BOUNCING SOULS (BASKING RIDGE) and LIFETIME (NEW BRUNSWICK) among others. interestingly bands like THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM (NEW BRUNSWICK) and THE SCREAMING FEMALES (NEW BRUNSWICK) also came from the embers of this scene years later. VINTAGE VINYL was only a ten minute drive from the heavily congested streets of the NEW BRUNSWICK campus and proved to be quite the quiet respite during my years as an undergraduate there. i can only imagine what that store meant to musicians from the surrounding area. did i mention the place also put on in-store promotional shows for UNDERGROUND and established bands? i recently came across their YOUTUBE channel which has in-store live performances by the likes of everyone from BAD RELIGION, CAVE-IN, THE USED, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, JIMMY EAT WORLD, CIRCA SURVIVE, MXPX, THE GET UP KIDS, THURSDAY, NEW FOUND GLORY and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE (all embedded below) among many others. if you dig through their channel you will find in-store signings by the likes of OZZY OSBOURNE, DESCENDENTS, KERRY KING (of SLAYER), DARRYL "DMC" MCDANIELS (of RUN-DMC) and ROB ZOMBIE. its all unedited single shot tripod footage with unmixed in-camera audio. in essence its mostly uncompelling, shitty footage, except for the fact that as a cultural artifact these videos are invaluable as markers of a local and national musical culture at a certain place and time. whats sad is that the hurried manner in which the store closed, at the behest of the owner who wished to move on after 40+ years and had no interest in having it continue under new management, effectively meant that a community had no opportunity to celebrate it. there was no send-off or concert by the local musical community that no doubt had embraced this obscure INDEPENDENT establishment for many years. for me that is the unfortunate legacy of VINTAGE VINYL. it was a private, locally-owned business that was embraced by a culture and in the end the owner did not embrace them back. in the wake of VINTAGE VINYL there are several local and independently owned and operated record stores (some new, some long established) in NEW JERSEY that i frequent which have largely replaced it, including STATION 1 BOOKS & VINYL (POMPTON LAKES), REVILLA GROOVES & GEAR (MILLTOWN), LOFIDELIC RECORDS (BELMAR), VINYL ADDICTION RECORDS (NORTH ARLINGTON), FACTORY RECORDS SHOP (DOVER), SOUND EXCHANGE (WAYNE), GROOVY GRAVEYARD (ASBURY PARK), JACK'S MUSIC SHOPPE (RED BANK), THE RECORD COLLECTOR (BORDENTOWN) and yes, even the dreaded PRINCETON RECORD EXCHANGE (PRINCETON). id also include the NEW YORK record stores GENERATION RECORDS (GREENWICH VILLAGE), ACADEMY RECORD ANNEX (GREENPOINT) and LOONEY TUNES (WEST BABYLON) as well as the PHILADELPHIA store REPO RECORDS (SOUTH STREET) in the mix as well. unfortunately none of these stores have live in-store performances at the same level of impact as VINTAGE VINYL. a little over a year later it still feels like a loss. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
March 2024
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