photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
half a decade ago NOISEY had an INCREDIBLE series of interview videos moderated by THE QUIETUS founding editor JOHN DORAN (who also writes for THE GUARDIAN, THEWIRE , VICE and METAL HAMMER and creates programming for the BBC) called THE BRITISH MASTERS that got at the heart of what made a certain cadre of LEGENDARY ENGLISH musicians and songwriters of varying genres so IMPACTFUL and EFFECTIVE. included in the mix were participants like TRICKY (MASSIVE ATTACK), JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS), COSEY FANNI TUTTI (THROBBING GRISTLE), JOHN LYDON (SEX PISTOLS, PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED), MARK E SMITH (THE FALL), ROOTS MANUVA, PAUL SIMONON (THE CLASH), BRYAN FERRY (ROXY MUSIC), DAMON ALBARN (BLUR, GORILLAZ), NEIL TENNANT (PET SHOP BOYS), VIV ALBERTINE (THE SLITS), GARY NUMAN (TUBEWAY ARMY), LIAM GALLAGHER (OASIS), GOLDIE and BRETT ANDERSON (SUEDE) among others.
my sense is that there is a certain mix of PAROCHIALISM at play in BRITAIN whereby it is SMALL and DISCONNECTED enough from nearby EUROPE to cultivate an INDEPENDENT arts scene without much outside influence. conversely and completely counterintuitively ENGLAND's recent past as a colonial power allows it to have a DIVERSE cultural population that manifests in organically UNIQUE cultural products that reflect such. just a look at the guests chosen for this series one is confronted with a myriad of sub-genres including PUNK ROCK, HIP HOP, INDUSTRIAL MUSIC, SYNTH POP, POST PUNK, BRITPOP, DRUM & BASS and TRIP HOP. each represents a specific community, lifestyle with an attendant set of values that renders all of them uniquely BRITISH. the cultural references utilized are now a bit dated, but THE BRITISH MASTERS still very much holds up and is well worth investigation. definitely worth checking out.
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photo & text by nacrowe
SO REAL IT HURTS (SEVEN STORIES PRESS, 2019) is a compendium of CAUSTIC SCREEDS written by the VISIONARY NO WAVE musician and TRANSGRESSIVE author LYDIA LUNCH on everything ranging from WAR, CHILDHOOD, SLEEP, DEMOCRACY, MOTHERHOOD, DEATH, AIRPORT SECURITY, ADDICTION and writers HUBERT SELBY JR and HERBERT HUNCKE among other topics.
to state that these essays are well-written is a major understatement as LUNCH is HYPER-LITERATE in her ability to voice with pinpoint VERBAL AGGRESSION all the woes of society that beguile and assault her. in fact, her writing style is so unrelentingly ABRASIVE and AGGRIEVED that the experience of reading her work is one of CLAUSTROPHOBIA and SUFFOCATION. you are basically entering a BASE realm where all the MUCK of existence is analyzed for all of its HYPOCRISY and TRUE DEBASED NATURE. its not that she is necessarily wrong in her assessments of RETROGRADE VIEWS held by ORDINARY AMERICANS towards WOMEN, MINORITIES or anyone consider OUTSIDE OF SOCIETY, it is just that i dont want my face shoved in it. and forcing her readership to wallow, inhale and imbibe the FILTH OF OUR PRIVILEGED EXISTENCE is LUNCH's speciality. much like with her EXPERIMENTAL musical excursions with TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS, her writing is an OUTRIGHT CONFRONTATION. a PREMEDITATED ASSAULT even, meant to jolt us out of our SOLIPSISTIC DAYDREAMING and force us to acknowledge our COMPLICITY in the DEBAUCHED state of national and global affairs. at least that is what i think she is getting at. it doesnt appear to be UNADULTERATED NIHILISM, there does seem to be a purpose to the EXTREME BILE and VITRIOL being spit at the reader. im glad i read these essays, but im likewise relieved i dont have to do it again. im EXHAUSTED. photo & text by nacrowe
what makes PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR (HACHETTE, 2022) such a COMPELLING is how it voices the INHERENT CONTRADICTIONS, OPPORTUNITIES, LIMITATIONS, FREEDOMS, IN-GROUP/OUT-GROUP DYNAMICS and SOCIETAL EVOLUTIONS presented by the surprisingly ENDURING and AGILE CULTURAL INSTITUTION known as PUNK ROCK. as both a key member of 1980s HARDCORE icons BAD RELIGION as well as a TRAINED evolutionary biologist (with a CORNELL PHD to boot), GREG GRAFFIN is uniquely positioned to elucidate on such matters from a seemingly ELEVATED, macro-level perspective. i see this memoir as less focused on his personal narrative, albeit such details are included, and more as an EXTENDED meditation on the RISKS and BENEFITS of pursuing an INTELLECTUAL LIFE in a career [entertainment] whose format, supporting industry and audience expectations find such SUPERFLUOUS.
when i got into HARDCORE from LOS ANGELES through a childhood friend in ORANGE COUNTY, i was made privy to a whole host of bands from the neighboring area. places like the SOUTH BAY (BLACK FLAG, DESCENDENTS), VENTURA COUNTY (DR. KNOW, RICH KIDS ON LSD, ILL REPUTE), SAN DIEGO COUNTY (BATTALION OF SAINTS), LOS ANGELES COUNTY (THE BAGS, THE GERMS, X, THE WEIRDOS, WASTED YOUTH, FEAR) and even the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (THE DICKIES, BAD RELIGION). all of this in addition to several bands from nearby ORANGE COUNTY cities (AGENT ORANGE, THE VANDALS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, ADOLESCENTS, D.I., THE MIDDLE CLASS) near where i spent my first twelve years before moving to NIGERIA with my family. BAD RELIGION stuck out from their cohorts immediately due to the LYRICAL BENT and INTELLECTUAL ACUITY of GRAFFIN whose hyper-focus was on utilizing music as a vehicle for elevating the level of DISCOURSE with his audience. it felt like a contradiction in terms, as PUNK ROCK during this period generally was POLEMIC in nature, espousing CAUSTIC, ACCUSATORY VERBAL BOMBS at targets with machine-gun flurries of REPETITIOUS barbed statements that relayed a sense of urgency as well as a PSYCHIC LOSS of personal self-control and greater DISILLUSIONMENT with one's place in the world. HARDCORE in this sense was a FEELING, an ATTITUDE, an IDENTITY. GRAFFIN was the RARE wordsmith and intellectually ADEPT and CURIOUS songwriter that was able to take on heady CULTURAL and SOCIETAL ISSUES related to runaway MATERIALISM, ATHEISM, TRIBALISM, MISINFORMATION / DISINFORMATION, INSTITUTIONAL RACISM , JUDICIAL MALFEASANCE and POLITICAL CORRUPTION and construct COGENT points in SHORT, TIGHT, MELODICALLY SATISFYING outbursts. listening to BAD RELIGION felt like experiencing an oxymoron, a complete contradiction in terms, like the what-if test case of what THE RAMONES sounded like if they had genuinely INTELLIGENT lyrics. my big take from PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR is that all INSTITUTIONS are useful in and of how they interact with the population and if needs change over time, they likewise change course and evolve. PUNK ROCK as a PUBLIC INSTITUTION shares this dynamic and is not what it was back in the early 80s when BAD RELIGION started out in a SAN FERNANDO garage, much less than what it started out as back in the mid 80s on NEW YORK CITY's lower east side. it is a form that will continue evolve and maintain relevance. or it wont and die like RAGTIME or NU METAL before it. i wish this book would have been around when i was in high school and felt obligated to the tired arguments with SELF-APPOINTED "punk rock police" advocates who shunned some bands and lionized others for seemingly juvenile reasons. GRAFFIN does a great job of eviscerating the whole UNREALISTIC NOTION of the DIY ETHIC, as nothing related to being in a band is done on your own. in fact, it is the opposite as a band is the central organism that relies on a wider COOPERATIVE and INTERDEPENDENT NETWORK of ROADIES, MANAGERS, PROMOTERS and other INDUSTRY SPECIALISTS that make the whole mutually beneficial ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABLE. if anything i found this book to be one of the most HONEST, NO BULLSHIT reflections on what it actually means to be in a band since HENRY ROLLINS' CELEBRATED tour diary GET IN THE VAN: ON THE ROAD WITH BLACK FLAG (review linked HERE). does PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR become a little LOQUACIOUS at times, a bit overly SESQUIPEDALION? sure. but it never comes off is PEDANTIC in the least, more so that you are dealing with someone that put the time and thought into their memoir and likewise expect the same of the reader. much like what BAD RELIGION regularly expect from their audience. i thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in THOUGHTFUL deliberations about the meaning of art and the artist's responsibility to him/herself and their audience. it also touchingly showcases the GENERATIONAL DAMAGE caused by DIVORCE even under the best of circumstances and intensions on both sides. if you are looking for a more CONVENTIONAL history of BAD RELIGION, then definitely check out author JIM RULAND's recent book DO WHAT YOU WANT: THE STORY OF BAD RELIGION (review linked HERE) or maybe even history professor DEWAR MACLEOD's KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE: PUNK ROCK IN POSTSUBURBAN CALIFORNIA (review linked HERE), MY DAMAGE: THE STORY OF A PUNK ROCK SURVIVOR (review linked HERE) by KEITH MORRIS of BLACK FLAG ,CIRCLE JERKS and OFF!, VIOLENCE GIRL: A CHICANA PUNK STORY (review linked HERE) by ALICE BAG of THE BAGS or UNDER THE BLACK SUN: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF L.A. PUNK (review linked HERE) by JOHN DOE of X. 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 manipulation & text by nacrowe
not gonna lie, watching the recent documentary WHITE RIOT (SMOKING BEAR, 2019) about the inner-workings of the ROCK AGAINST RACISM movement in late 1970s BRITAIN, it echoed and reminded me quite a bit about the outright LUNACY of the modern day MALICIOUSLY MISINFORMED BREXIT crowd and even FLORIDA's culture war against education, specifically AFRICAN-AMERICAN history and GENDER / LGBTQ STUDIES. it all feels the same.
ROCK AGAINST RACISM was a group initiated as part of a DIY cultural reaction against growing widespread BRITISH ANTI-IMMIGRANT sentiment during that late 70s period (famously spearheaded by notorious bigot MP ENOCH POWELL of NORTHERN IRELAND) and the subsequent rise of the NATIONAL FRONT. much like TED NUGENT, LIL WAYNE, KID ROCK, LIL PUMP and KANYE WEST provided cultural air cover for DONALD TRUMP during his DISASTROUS regime, ERIC CLAPTON, ROD STEWART and even DAVID BOWIE did the same during this period with regards to POWELL and his RACIST public declarations advocating for the forcible repatriation of generations of immigrants (i.e. THE WINDRUSH GENERATION) and their defendants back to their ethnic nation of origin, irregardless of their visa or citizenship status. in recent years CLAPTON has been outed publicly for his history of VILE RACISM and ETHNO-NATIONALISM, which is truly BIZARRE given the effort and extent to which such was covered up and looked past for decades. i mean the dude literally was globally celebrated for being a SAVANT BLUES guitarist of the first order, a musical form with deep roots in the AFRICAN-AMERICAN struggle against slavery. for him to be a WHITE NATIONALIST is still head-scratching in terms of its sheer audacity. CLAPTON is always will be a phony to be ridiculed and pitied. the NATIONAL FRONT was essentially a REVANCHIST, FASCIST movement that preyed on the FEARS of the WORKING-CLASS WHITE men who felt emasculated in the wake of the fall of the empire and the perceived weakening of the UNITED KINGDOM's global standing. this movement sought to reimpose an ETHNIC PURITY to the nation and establish exclusive economic ties with the likes of APARTHEID regimes in RHODESIA and SOUTH AFRICA as well as other satellite nations in AFRICA and SOUTH EAST ASIA. much like modern PUTIN wishes to reimpose the territorial and economic claims of the fallen USSR, the NATIONAL FRONT sought to reimpose COLONIALISM at home and abroad. and in terms of growing WHITE membership and waging FEAR through VIOLENCE against minority groups, for a period they were successful. such is the backdrop to a famous concert in the heart of the NATIONAL FRONT's stronghold in EAST LONDON at VICTORIA PARK that included the likes of X-RAY SPECS, STEEL PULSE, the TOM ROBINSON BAND and THE CLASH. such a show was the capstone event after a day of protests through the streets that showcased the SILENT majority of BRITISH citizens from across the nation who showed up in droves to protest not only the NATIONAL FRONT, but the COMPLICITY of the police and political classes in tolerating such HATRED and ANTI-DEMOCRATIC SENTIMENT. the fact that the COUNTER-CULTURAL movement represented by ROCK AGAINST RACISM as well as the ANTI-NAZI LEAGUE, as well as the music press (NME, MELODY MAKER, etc) that adopted and actively promoted its political objectives, worked is an INCREDIBLE achievement. makes me wonder how such would work now in a world rife with digital platforms that perpetuate MISINFORMATION and state initiated DISINFORMATION campaigns at a PERVASIVE clip even GEORGE ORWELL could never have imagined. modern FASCISTS now like governor RON DESANTIS of FLORIDA are attacking the education architecture that underlies INDEPENDENT THOUGHT in his state. if voters keep reelecting him despite such ANTI-DEMOCRATIC tactics, where is the opposition going to come from with an equal and identifiably massive force. today feels different, but maybe it shouldnt. WHITE RIOT seems to be a clarion call for today's youth to get involved and push back, whatever the odds or sacrifice. it is a genuinely UPLIFTING film that i highly recommend. photo & text by nacrowe
whats always struck me about BAD RELIGION's debut album HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? (EPITAPH, 1982) is how MATURE it sounds for a band so YOUNG. during the recording of such in 1980 the band was still in their teens, some still in high school. yet even at that age, all the hallmarks of their storied career are on full display on tracks like "WE'RE ONLY GOING TO DIE," "VOICE OF GOD IS GOVERMENT," "AMERICAN DREAM," "OLIGARCHY," "LATCHKEY KIDS" and "FUCK ARMAGGEDON... THIS IS HELL".
take a song like the opening track "WE'RE ONLY GOING TO DIE" which neatly sums up mankind's FOLLY throughout history in conquering the world through VIOLENCE and SUBMISSION, only to redirect such VICIOUS intent on themselves. as the ending ANTHEMIC refrain repeats as a SOLEMN mantra, "we're only going to die from our own arrogance." it is pretty INCREDIBLE that a teenage GREG GRAFFIN had the PERSPECTIVE and CLARITY to construct such a POIGNANT statement that takes into account one's own COMPLICITY in the matter. its my belief that this ability to maintain a LYRICAL POSTURE that included THOUGHTFUL SELF-REFLECTION and SELF-ANALYSIS is what made their brand of MELODIC HARDCORE so different from what was being by their cohort of LOS ANGELES second-wave PUNK ROCK bands in the 1980s. likewise the track "FUCK ARMAGGEDON... THIS IS HELL" embeds this notion of one's own unknowing COLLUSION in supporting political and capitalist systems that lead to our collective DEBASEMENT and DESTRUCTION. makes perfect sense that a young ZACK DE LA ROCHA clamored onto and was influenced by the PRO-INDIVIDUAL and PRO-INDEPENDENT THOUGHT agenda of HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? in particular. though the follow-up record took a detour into PROG ROCK of all things, this debut served as a template of sort for subsequent releases up until the WATERSHED cultural moment that was SUFFER (EPITAPH, 1988) a few years later. is HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? the best BAD RELIGION album? no. but it is a PROMISING debut well-worth checking out and thinking about as the band evolved to further develop their identity around these STRIDENT POLITICAL THEMES amidst tightly constructed HARDCORE songs of the first order. BOOK REVIEW | "THE SPITBOY RULE: TALES OF A XICANA IN A FEMALE PUNK BAND" BY MICHELLE CRUZ GONZALES3/27/2023 photo & text by nacrowe
i remember when reading SARA MARCUS' GIRLS TO THE FRONT: THE TRUE STORY OF THE RIOT GRRRL REVOLUTION (review linked HERE) about the largely PACIFIC NORTHWEST-based RIOT GRRRL movement a few years back it was evident that there was much thought, intention and goodwill into initiating an arts scene that promoted and supported FEMALE MUSICANS by WOMEN and for WOMEN. specifically the scene at EVERGREEN COLLEGE STATE COLLEGE in OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON reminded me quite vividly of the people i met while attending a NEW ENGLAND boarding school during my high school years. these people were EDUCATED, EMPOWERED, SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS and on the whole EMPATHETIC, but they all were quite NAIVE and had limited experience living or understanding people that were outside of the social groups they inhabited and were raised around, i.e. WHITE PEOPLE.
the RIOT GRRRL scene of the early 1990s lacked an understanding of what is now understood to be INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM. in other word they treated womanhood as a monolithic identity and didnt consider how RACE, CLASS, LGBTQ and other MINORITY statuses influence such. that particular scene, though WELL-INTENTIONED, was largely BLIND to the complexities and differences in hardships facing WOMEN of various INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITIES by PATRIARCHAL STRUCTURES. this miscalculation was rooted in their unknowing assumption of taking their own experiences as WHITE WOMEN to stand for that of ALL WOMEN everywhere. all that being said, part of what makes THE SPITBOY RULE: TALES OF A XICANA IN A FEMALE PUNK BAND (PM PRESS, 2016) by MICHELLE CRUZ GONZALES (a.k.a TODD of SPITBOY) so interesting is how i knowingly provides a counter-narrative to the popular understanding of FEMALE bands of this period (undoubtedly influenced by the RIOT GRRRL scene). SPITBOY was an stridently political BAY AREA HARDCORE band from the same GILMAN STREET scene that brought about NEUROSIS, GREEN DAY, CRIMPSHINE and ECONOCHRIST among many others. being composed entirely of WOMEN, their music was AGGRESSIVELY CONFRONTATIONAL based on their experiences dealing with the bullshit brought on by AMERICAN PATRIARCHAL STRUCTURES. the band identified as a HARDCORE band and consciously did not associate SPITBOY with the CONCURRENT RIOT GRRRL scene. GONZALES is a UNIQUE and COMPELLING figure given her status as the only non-white member of SPITBOY, rendering her essentially an OUTSIDER in a band of OUTSIDERS. PUNK ROCK had a way of blanketing and superseding all other forms of one's previous IDENTITY, which suited her just fine as an OUTSIDER both ETHNICALLY and GEOGRAPHICALLY in the BAY AREA scene. unlike her band members, she also grew up POOR with a single mother. music, first with BITCH FIGHT, later with SPITBOY, was a means of ESCAPE, EXPRESSION and TRANSFORMATION. as her career moved forward and she became recognized with the scene, and even internationally, there was a sense of tension within herself about her IDENTITY as a WOMAN OF COLOR in a scene where such was a novelty. feeling like an OUTSIDER in a band that identified itself as an OUTSIDER is quite the feat and makes this complicated book entirely fascinating. even ALICE BAG of THE BAGS in a previous generation, as written about in her memoir VIOLENCE GIRL: A CHICANA PUNK STORY (review linked HERE), had others within and outside her band and that original late 1970s LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK scene that identified and were proud of their LATIN heritage. some even incorporated such into their music explicitly, like THE ZEROS and THE PLUGZ. its interesting that such was not the case with the more arguably more influential HARDCORE scene that followed by and large. just reading through GONZALES' experiences touring on the road really makes you consider how much being in a PUNK ROCK band requires an all-encompassing, OBJECTIVE-ORIENTED GROUP MENTALITY. its a machine that needs to work efficiently in order to function and survive in environments far from home. it makes total sense that one's sense of INDIVIDUALITY is COMPARTMENTALIZED and DISCARDED in such a seeming extreme situation. this memoir feels like a working through of such experiences and sheds light on the personal repercussions of such a complicated state of affairs, especially when there is an audience that projects so much of their sense of IDENTITY on to you. that is a veritable carnival house of mirrors level mindfuck to deal with that i cant imagine. THE SPITBOY RULE is one of the more FASCINATING memoirs by an artist or musician i have come across in recent years. it is most definitely worth checking out. BOOK REVIEW | "GABBA GABBA HEY!: THE GRAPHIC STORY OF THE RAMONES" BY JIM MCCARTHY & BRIAN WILLIAMS3/20/2023 photo & text by nacrowe
the unlikely story of PUNK ROCK originators THE RAMONES is one for the ages. coming out of the QUEENS cultural wasteland known as FOREST HILLS, the group was made up of three social outcasts that could not be more different in demeanor and personality, i.e. the FRANTIC speed freak bassist DEE DEE, the RECALCITRANT RIGHT-WINGER guitarist JOHNNY and the NERVOUS and SOCIALLY AWKWARD BIPOLAR singer JOEY. original drummer TOMMY was their initial manager and producer who took up the sticks as a means of necessity and made way for MARKY after a two albums. the fact that such a VOLATILE and IN-COHESIVE mix of clashing personalities managed to survive as a creative unit and have the LONG-LASTING impact on AMERICAN culture writ large as they did.
THE RAMONES did nothing less than revitalize a DEAD, BLOATED corpse and breathed AUTHENTICITY and confrontational INTENTION back into the form, paving the way not only for PUNK and HARDCORE, but virtually every major ROCK N ROLL variant and sub-genre thereafter, from ALTERNATIVE ROCK, POST HARDCORE and POP PUNK to STONER ROCK, METALCORE, INDIE ROCK and GRINDCORE. the graphic novel GABBA GABBA HEY!: THE GRAPHIC STORY OF THE RAMONES (OMNIBUS, 2013) very much gets at the heart of the DYSFUNCTIONAL inner-workings and INTIMATE inter-relational dynamics of the LEGENDARY band. most of which center around JOEY and JOHNNY who for decades didnt speak after the latter married the former's ex-girlfriend. that SCHISM was one which never got repaired. how the unit functioned was one of differentiated labor in which JOEY's sphere of influence was the lyrics and vocal melody and JOHNNY (with help from DEE DEE and drummer/producer TOMMY) as the de facto musical director. that is not to say that such a state of affairs is UNUSUAL in ROCK N ROLL history, where CELEBRATED songwriting tandems from ELTON JOHN and BERNIE TAUPIN, HENRY ROLLINS and GREG GINN to MORRISSEY and JOHNNY MARR had differentiated responsibilities in the process. there is a thread throughout of the FUTILITY of such a BROKEN MARRIAGE within the band. the fact that they never achieved the financial success that they felt they earned, despite decades of touring and creating consistent quality records. watching up-and-comers like NIRVANA, GREEN DAY and the like take their innovations to the bank was an ever-present FRUSTRATION, despite the EFFUSIVE and constant PRAISE of both for THE RAMONES in the press. the picture presented of their career almost feels analogous to that of NEW YORK YANKEE great MICKEY MANTLE, who in his rookie season he infamously tore his ACL on a drain pipe while deferring a pop up to JOE DIMAGGIO in centerfield at YANKEE STADIUM during the fifth inning of the second game of the 1951 WORLD SERIES. as hard as it is to believe, in essence MANTLE's whole HALL OF FAME career was conducted on one good leg, thus creating one of the biggest "what ifs" in sports history. it just makes you wonder how the career of THE RAMONES may have been DIFFERENT if the two leaders of the group actually spoke with one another for the majority of their career. maybe such would never happen given their INCONGRUOUS personalities, but one would think they may have been better able to take on new opportunities if there was a better meeting of the minds rather than kicking those decisions to outsiders like managers. feels like their whole career is HANDICAPPED in retrospect. and with that self-imposed limitation in place, they are still on a short list of the most INFLUENTIAL ROCK N ROLL bands of the 20th century, easily right up there with THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, LED ZEPPELIN and BLACK SABBATH. which is an INCREDIBLE accomplishment for a few glue-sniffing pinheads from the eternal cultural abyss known QUEENS. GABBA GABBA HEY is lovingly written by JIM MCCARTHY and illustrated by BRIAN WILLIAMSON and is most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
L7's BRICKS ARE HEAVY (SLASH, 1992) is one of the most NO BULLSHIT ROCK AND ROLL records of the 1990s and puts most of their PUNK ROCK and ALTERNATIVE ROCK cohorts, MALE or FEMALE, to total shame. the title sums it up PERFECT since PUMMELING tracks like "WARGASM," "SHIT LIST," "EVERGLADE," "SCRAP," "SLIDE" and "PRETEND WE'RE DEAD" are completely UNRELENTING and HEAVY beyond belief, both lyrically and sonically.
growing up in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA i was introduced unwittingly to the group in early elementary school via their single "PRETEND WE'RE DEAD" which was a staple on the local INFLUENTUAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK station 106.7FM KROQ in LOS ANGELES but wasn't really aware of the group until much later in high school. upon rediscovering them and becoming reacquainted with the absolute TORNADO of PUNK ROCK energy that is the MONSTROUS voice and persona of DONITA SPARKS just blew me away. this was a figure that was not looking for male acceptance and demanded RESPECT on her terms a la PJ HARVEY, PATTI SMITH, BJORK, etc. to tell you the truth i was actually pissed off that i hadnt heard BRICKS ARE HEAVY sooner since i was familiar with most of the other major players from the early 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement, or so i thought. L7 was basically a reeducation for me and a lesson in my own MYOPIA as a music listener, since i was unaware of the gaps in my own listening diet from that period. it makes you consider how many other similar bands didnt breakthrough for not succumbing to OUTMODED and RESTRICTIVE SOCIETAL DISTORTIONS regarding GENDER NORMS and what is considered FEMININE. L7 and SPARKS in particular didnt have time for that BULLSHIT on BRICKS ARE HEAVY, they were too busy showing their peers what actual PUNK ROCK looked and sounded like. much is made about BUTCH VIG's production on classic ALTERNATIVE ROCK staples like NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) and the SMASHING PUMPKINS' GISH (CAROLINE, 1991) and SIAMESE DREAM (VIRGIN, 1993), but id argue that BRICKS ARE HEAVY and its UNYIELDING aural onslaught is arguably his greatest moment as a producer. or at the very least on par with his more CELEBRATED efforts. lyrically BRICKS ARE HEAVY deals with everything from MALE CHAUVINISM, THE GULF WAR and REDNECKS to the multitude of pressures that come with being a stridently INDEPENDENT FEMALE in a society that wants you to go home to your supposed DOMESTIC SPHERE and remain QUIET and PASSIVE. the whole album comes off like a PRIMAL SCREAM and giant MIDDLE FINGER to MIDDLE AMERICAN values and a cultural malaise that renders WOMEN as UNWILLING second-class citizens. its interesting that much of L7's CAUSTIC response to MALE AGGRESSION aligns intimately with that of the concurrent RIOT GRRL movement of which they were not a part of. the difference i see is that the OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON and later WASHINGTON, DC-based RIOT GRRL movement was more of a CEREBRAL affair focused on fanzines and giving FEMALE audience members a voice both in and out of the club, whereas L7 was more CONFRONTATIONAL and sought to push the BOYS around in their own playground. the PRIME example of such is DONITA SPARKS ICONIC throwing of her used tampon at the UNRULY READING FESTIVAL crowd in 1992. i literally cannot think of any gesture being more PUNK ROCK than that, done anywhere, ever. BRICKS ARE HEAVY is a classic album that is worthy of all the hype its gotten in the wake of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion of the early 1990s. it is still EXCITING and absolutely eviscerates most ROCK AND ROLL music from any period in terms of its CATCHINESS, ENERGY, CONVICTION and sheer FEROCITY. most definitely worth check out. 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 & text by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK icons NOFX!
​ ​​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 manipulation & text by nacrowe
there is perhaps nobody more responsible for the visual aesthetics of PUNK ROCK than the late legendary ICONOCLASTIC BRITISH FASHION DESIGNER VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, who with her former partner MALCOLM MCLAREN helped initiate the notoriously CONFRONTATIONAL counterculture revolution in BRITAIN. but that known biography is not what makes the recent retrospective documentary WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST (FINISHED FILMS, 2018) such a COMPELLING artifact. it is what she was doing at the then-current cultural moment, taking on ARTISTIC and POLITICAL stands that made her life's creative work in FASHION such a TRANSCENDENT and INSPIRING narrative.
and what is she focused on at the time of this film: CLIMATE CHANGE. having visited the melting glaciers in the arctic via GREENPEACE, WESTWOOD is seen attempting to leverage her public profile and reputation as a FREE-THINKER to promote GREENER ENERGY ALTERNATIVES and better business practices. with the latter at front of mind, her business (note: film was shot pre-pandemic) for the first time has been witness to incredible growth on a global scale which means growing pains regarding less control and oversight relative to such an expanded operation. that such comes at a time when WESTWOOD is prominently voicing a more CONSCIOUS approach to objectively UNSUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY PRACTICES is the challenge of her late career. but her creative work has always served as an ALTERNATIVE to the predictable, so there is no doubt she'll figure it out. i believe words like IDIOSYNCRATIC and ECCENTRIC have a negative connotation about them, so i will utilize words like SINGULAR and UNCONVENTIONAL to describe her ECLECTIC and ever EVOLVING aesthetic style which seemingly borrows from all aspects of history and geography. there is a moment in the film where WESTWOOD showcases her latest collection on a BRITISH daytime talk show only to be laughed at in scorn by the geriatric audience. its the perfect visual metaphor for why her work is such a VIBRANT expression of being BRITISH, fuck the boring middle-class bourgeois sensibilities regarding respectability. relatedly, one of the key declarations in the film by WESTWOOD is how PUNK ROCK was not a revolutionary movement but a temporary distraction that was soon commodified and appropriated into the corporate structure for ripe exploitation of the youth. having remained INDEPENDENT and SELF-OPERATED her whole career, there is an argument that WESTWOOD is more PUNK than the actual musicians that popularized the movement. just that insight alone into owning your own future and gaining the benefits from your own hard work outside of the fiefdom of corporate overlords feels in keeping with the stridently DIY aesthetic of 80s HARDCORE bands, not a fashion label. its hard to watch WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST and not be INSPIRED to create and take real chances. most definitely a film worth watching irregardless of your interest in FASHION or PUNK ROCK. its a documentary about being a SELF-ACTUALIZED individual and wearing your freak flag no matter the consequences or public ridicule. those people will be forgotten. VIVIENNE WESTWOOD and her contributions to world culture, never mind the UNITED KINGDOM, will live on. RIP VIVIENNE WESTWOOD photo & text by nacrowe
the summer before my senior year of high school in 2001 i visited a childhood friend in ORANGE COUNTY who i learned upon arrival had very much taken the deep dive down into 1980s HARDCORE PUNK ROCK and never came out. specifically he turned me onto SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA bands from the surrounding area like THE ADOLESCENTS, TRUE SOUNDS OF LIBERTY, THE BAGS, YOUTH BRIGADE, CIRCLE JERKS, BLACK FLAG, CHANNEL 3, DESCENDENTS, BAD RELIGION, FEAR, THE VANDALS, RICH KIDS ON LSD, X, AGENT ORANGE, D.I., WASTED YOUTH and so on. it was during this period that i was introduced to SOCIAL DISTORTION who were literally from the next town over in FULLERTON. that whole summer was very much an education in HARDCORE and the recent musical and cultural history of the area i grew up in, which was beyond compelling for me at the time. nearly twenty years later, i did a radio show specifically on this PUNK ROCK scene on the LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK episode of DEER GOD RADIO.
i mention all this because SOCIAL DISTORTION has a unique trajectory relative to their cohort of bands and the scene they came from. as time moved forward some local bands, most famously SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, adopted aspects of the concurrent THRASH METAL movement and effectively creating a crossover hybrid. most others in true steadfast RAMONES style never evolved and stuck to their sound. as main songwriter MIKE NESS grew older and got clean from a devastating heroin addiction, his music showcased a wider palette of influences that included ROCKABILLY, FOLK and COUNTRY elements that came from his newfound appreciation for art and enjoying life. SOCIAL DISTORTION's debut MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER (13TH FLOOR, 1983) is quite the opposite of that later MULTI-FACETED creative output. these FASCINATING songs find a GIFTED songwriter early in the process of finding his initial bearings and seeking out his voice. on PROPULSIVE, now ICONIC tracks like "TELLING THEM," "ANTI-FASHION," "THE CREEPS," "ANOTHER STATE OF MIND" and "MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER" there is a palpable sense of INTENSE passion and FURIOUS intention with little in the way of FINESSE. that would come much later as NESS would mature and develop his voice as a songwriter along with his FEROCIOUS stage persona. the career trajectory and evolution of SOCIAL DISTORTION is what i find most INTERESTING. MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER doesnt sound dissimilar or any less accomplished from other recorded efforts of the period like THE ADOLESCENTS' ADOLESCENTS (FRONTIER, 1981), BAD RELIGION's HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? (EPITAPH, 1982) or THE VANDALS' PEACE THRU VANDALISM (EPITAPH, 1982). an INTRIGUING cultural artifact from this period is the ANOTHER STATE OF MIND (TIME BOMB, 1984) documentary that finds SOCIAL DISTORTION on an early tour with YOUTH BRIGADE as they make their way through house parties and VFW halls along the west coast. its a document that finds NESS establishing himself as an artist and taking chances both on and off stage during a time when HARDCORE and PUNK ROCK was DANGEROUS and could get you in a bruising scuffle with dumbshit local rednecks on sight. it would be years before NESS took to his guitar and develop his songwriting chops in earnest but the PASSION and INTENT is most obviously there from the start. its pretty cool to witness that spark. and for me MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER is a documentation of that initial creative spark that would later blossom into one of the most ACCOMPLISHED and SOULFUL ROCK N ROLL songwriters of his era, PUNK or otherwise. photo & text by nacrowe
as a paean to all things sonically BLOWN-OUT and DISTORTED to high hell, MUDHONEY's iconic debut EP SUPERFUZZ BIGMUFF (SUB POP, 1988) fittingly takes its name from the much celebrated and sought after UNIVOX SUPER FUZZ and ELECTRO-HARMONIX MIG MUFF guitar pedals. prominent users of both range from PETE TOWNSEND (THE WHO), ALEX LIFESON (RUSH), ROBERT FRIPP (KING CRIMSON), ACE FREHLEY (KISS), CARLOS SANTANA, DAN AUERBACH (THE BLACK KEYS) STEVE HOWE (YES) and DAVID GILMOUR (PINK FLORD) to J MASCIS (DINOSAUR JR), KEVIN SHIELDS (MY BLOODY VALENTINE), RIVERS CUOMO (WEEZER), JACK WHITE (THE WHITE STRIPES), BILLY CORGAN (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS), DIMEBAG DARREL (PANTERA) and KURT COBAIN (NIRVANA) among countless others over the years. with its CHAOTIC, barely controlled sonic DISSONANCE, it makes sense that this EP and its lead single "TOUCH ME I'M SICK" basically kicked off in the popular consciousness the SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion, otherwise known as GRUNGE, that was followed in quick succession by INFLUENTIAL releases the next year by peers in SOUNDGARDEN, TAD and NIRVANA and later ALICE IN CHAINS, MOTHER LOVE BONE and THE MELVINS among others. its not that MUDHONEY was the originator of this regional PACIFIC NORTHWEST sound (as such had percolating in various forms for years in acts like SKIN YARD, MALFUNKSHUN, GREEN RIVER, U-MEN among others), more they were among the first out of the gate to make a cultural impact outside of SEATTLE, it could be argued with SUPERFUZZ BIGMUFF.
listening to SUPERFUZZ BIGMUFF now it is hard to not be taken aback by how CONCISE the songwriting and ENERGETIC the performances are on tracks like "TWENTY FOUR," "CHAIN THAT DOOR" and "NEED." singer and main songwriter MARK ARM may seem a bit wavering and lackadaisical in his vocal delivery, but he is definitely on point when he provides forward momentum and SPARK to the songs with his interesting turns of phrase. it all feels intentional like a NOISY, FEEDBACK-LADEN hybrid of PUNK ROCK and POWER POP. same could probably be said for much of the scene that followed. SUPERFUZZ BIGMUFF is definitely worth check out irrespective of your interest or passion for ALTERNATIVE ROCK or its history. just a great ROCK N ROLL record. photo & text by nacrowe
in the summer of 2001 i visited a childhood friend in ORANGE COUNTY in what turned out to be an education in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK. it was the summer before my senior year of high school and in retrospect it was the calm before the storm that was 9/11 a few short months later. it was also my first trip back to my childhood home as i had permanently left CALIFORNIA when my family moved to NIGERIA in the fall of 1996. i went into the experience expecting things to have shifted only to be completely gobsmacked to the extent to which life had inevitably moved on without me. new buildings, new facilities and new communities had sprung up during that half decade apart. like i said, it was an education of sorts.
my childhood friend was deep into PUNK ROCK and specifically 80s HARDCORE from the area. im talking about local ORANGE / LOS ANGELES / VENTURA / SAN DIEGO COUNTY bands like D.I., FEAR, CHANNEL 3, THE GERMS, AGENT ORANGE, RICH KIDS ON LSD, DR. KNOW, CIRCLE JERKS, T.S.O.L., BLACK FLAG, BATTALION OF SAINTS, THE VANDALS, MINUTEMEN, BAD RELIGION, DESCENDENTS, THE MIDDLE CLASS, WASTED YOUTH and especially THE ADOLESCENTS. now some of these bands i was familiar with but most i was not. at this point in time i had been abroad in AFRICA and then more recently sequestered in a NEW ENGLAND boarding school. i was a fast learner though. whats crazy is that my childhood friend and i went to two consequential shows that summer, WARPED TOUR in VENTURA and THE ADOLESCENTS in SANTA ANA. at WARPED i was introduced to the standup comedy that was the anti-everything LEE VING fronting FEAR. i mean even FLEA showed up for that gig. but the more CONSEQUENTIAL event was the reunion of THE ADOLESCENTS for a show celebrating their self-titled ADOLESCENTS (FRONTIER, 1981) album. what struck me about that album was how WELL-CONSTRUCTED the songs were and how MELODIC and EXPANSIVE the musicianship was. tracks like "KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE" and "AMOEBA" were arguably ANTHEMIC pop songs in the best SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA tradition of non-PUNK bands. likewise "L.A. GIRL," "I HATE CHILDREN," "RIP IT UP" and "WHO IS WHO" were as spit-in-your-eye VENOMOUS and SNARLING as anything dreamed up by THE GERMS or their numerous later-day acolytes. hearing the album and then seeing it live was a unique experience, especially given how RAUCOUS and VIOLENT the crowd was at that reunion show. i had never seen concert-goes outright attacking security before. sure there were mosh pits id seen at OZZFEST back in NEW JERSEY, but this was another level of proximity and intent. i pretty much immediately got the sense of why people get caught up in this flavor of PUNK ROCK as it was almost freeing to see society's unspoken mandate of civility and mutual respect lifted for a few hours. ADOLESCENTS is a record that more than lives up to its reputation as a seminal HARDCORE album that inspired countless skate-punk and MELODIC HARDCORE bands that followed. learning about them made me rethink my association with ORANGE COUNTY, as previously i thought of that region as nothing more than a cultural abyss of which nothing seemed to emanate out of except for NO DOUBT and RICHARD NIXON. now there was a whole slew of local HARDCORE bands to enjoy like THE ADOLESCENTS (FULLERTON), THE VANDALS (HUNTINGTON BEACH), THE MIDDLE CLASS (SANTA ANA), AGENT ORANGE (PLACENTIA), CHANNEL 3 (CERRITOS), D.I. (FULLERTON), THE CROWD (HUNTINGTON BEACH), and SOCIAL DISTORTION (FULLERTON) to investigate. like i said, that summer was an education.
parodies by nacrowe
maybe its the generation im from or growing up in suburban SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in the early 1990s without MTV and only access to the radio and 106.7FM KROQ on constantly, but so much of what i understood to be modern music from an early age was produced by BUTCH VIG.
i remember being at a SHAKEY'S PIZZA in ORANGE COUNTY after what had to be a youth soccer game during my early elementary school years (maybe 1892?) and hearing "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT" for the first time as someone played it from the jukebox. had no clue who NIRVANA was or anything about INDIE ROCK, PUNK ROCK or the SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene at the time. i just knew that whatever that was, it sounded how i felt and i connected with it on first listen. i can only think of a rare few other times thats happened with bands like GLASSJAW and THE GET UP KIDS among others. i dont believe i even had a copy of NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) or the STEVE ALBINI-produced follow-up IN UTERO (DGC, 1993) until christmas of 1993. i was just too young. and NIRVANA is just the beginning. as i grew older and discovered more bands it was always a pleasure to learn this new discovery (to me) inevitably led back to BUTCH VIG, as was the case with L7, SONIC YOUTH, HELMET, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS and much later GARBAGE. whats compelling to me about his output is how eclectic his production catalogue has been, as AFI sound nothing like AGAINST ME! and sonically and aesthetically sit on a different planet from KILLDOZER, yet they all bear his fingerprint. the man does not pigeonhole himself, even within the greater ROCK N ROLL milieu. the versatility likely comes from his production chops and work ethic that kept the doors of his MADISON, WISCONSIN-based SMART STUDIOS open to all newcomers, but i also feel it comes from the lack of pretense that comes with his midwestern upbringing. with culture caught up with him he didnt seem to become fazed by the attention, instead maintaining a distance while taking advantage of the ability to be selective with upcoming exciting new projects. even his decision to initiate GARBAGE does not feel like an inevitability, but a genuine artistic choice to push the limits of technology and marry it with the songwriting prowess and sardonic yet earnest ethos of ALTERNATIVE ROCK. when i first heard "STUPID GIRL" on MTV at a relatives house, i had no idea BUTCH VIG was involved. which is likely the highest compliment i can offer. the dude is a chameleon and he is always someone whose latest project i look forward to consuming, just to see what latest madness he's help midwife into the world. ​below is a pandemic episode of DEER GOD RADIO from june of 2020 dedicated to the production work of BUTCH VIG. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
i remember years ago reading an interview with PUBLIC ENEMY's CHUCK D where he stated that "RAP is BLACK AMERICA's CNN." that was sort of the vibe when i first came across the DIE FOR THE GOVERNMENT (NEW RED ARCHIVES, 1996) album by PITTSBURGH's unapologetically politically PROGRESSIVE PUNK ROCK band ANTI-FLAG. it seemed like every other song was a report on the state of the PUNK community writ large. CATCHY songs like "DRINK DRANK PUNK," "RED WHITE AND BRAINWASH," "PUNK BY THE BOOK," "FUCK POLICE BRUTALITY," "POLICE STATE IN THE USA" and of course "DIE FOR THE GOVERNMENT" were all ECONOMICALLY CONSTRUCTED for maximum sonic and lyrical potency a la THE RAMONES.
getting into ANTI-FLAG was not that much of reach when i learned about them from a friend my junior year in high school while living in KUWAIT. i was literally surrounded by an alien culture that was AGGRESSIVELY UNWELCOMING to the point of antagonism and shared little in the way of common values. attending high school in KUWAIT was pretty miserable. the country disallowed anyone of JEWISH descent a visa so anti-semitism was pretty rampant as well as open racism against foreign workers from NEPAL, INDIA, SUDAN, INDONESIA and so on. and forget about any mention of homosexuality or recognition of religions outside of CHRISTIANITY and ISLAM. i quoted BUDDHA in a few of my term papers in english class and my teacher literally had to burn the paper after grading it, less she get found out by the authorities for allowing me to reference him on record and get her work visa revoked. for ANTI-FLAG, they were earnestly and passionately singing about the perils of AMERICAN democracy and the hypocrisy of its ECONOMIC, POLITICAL and CULTURAL HEGEMONY. i understood that. but i was living in a what actually felt like a police state, where going out with my friends came with actual risk because of who we were and what we represented to a society irrevocably warped by RELIGION, POWER and (lots of) MONEY. the DEBAUCHERY and DEBASEMENT i witnessed as an upperclassman is something i still think about to this day. i wont go into specifics in this forum. i guess what i am trying to say is that it felt like i was living through what ANTI-FLAG was only imagining. in retrospect i think they were limited in form and content by veering so hard towards TRADITIONAL PUNK ROCK REVIVALISM on those first few records and have been happy to see that they evolved out of such over the years, becoming more MELODIC and SONG-DRIVEN. my early sense was that frontman JUSTIN SANE was a talented songwriter, but being so fanatically beholden to a certain STRUCTURE and VIEWPOINT made them a little STALE and DERIVATIVE a la THE CLASH in later years. outside of its CAUSTIC and RIGHTEOUS energy, i dont know if DIE FOR THE GOVERMENT has aged well but it takes me right back to feeling ALIENATED and OSTRACIZED as a teenager living abroad in the MIDDLE EAST. even today i dont look back at that time fondly. literally just glad i survived. UPDATE as of APRIL 6, 2024: this review was written well before allegations of grooming and sexual abuse against ANTI-FLAG frontman JUSTIN SANE where levied by multiple women going back more than a decade came out in the summer of 2023. it is currently being alleged that SANE is seeking imminent refuge in EUROPE, being from an independently wealthy family of dual IRISH citizenship. much like the remaining former members of the now-disbanded group, we obviously stand with the victims. goes without saying that ANTI-FLAG's catalogue is now tainted. 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
i discovered the JUSTIN HAWKINS RIDES AGAIN channel a few months ago on YOUTUBE and was really taken aback by how INFORMATIVE it all was. if you are unfamiliar with JUSTIN HAWKINS, he is the frontman and main songwriter for BRITISH ALTERNATIVE glam metal band THE DARKNESS who first came to fame in the 2000s along with the wave of other INDIE ROCK REVIVAL groups. whereas other ENGLISH and SCOTTISH groups from the period (including BLOC PARTY, FRANZ FERDINAND, THE LIBERTINES, THE FUTUREHEADS and THE CRIBS) seemed heavily influenced by both the POST PUNK and INDIE ROCK movements, THE DARKNESS felt like a breath of fresh air with their stadium-sized AMBITION to be more in the vein AC/DC, MOTLEY CRUE, AEROSMITH, THE CULT or especially QUEEN. they definitely stood apart and where not afraid to look absolutely RIDICULOUS (which i appreciate)! personally i still rock DARKNESS singles like "GROWING ON ME," "OPEN FIRE," "NOTHIN'S GONNA STOP US," "BARBARIANS," "ROCK AND ROLL DESERVES TO DIE" and "LAST OF OUR KIND" on regular rotation while driving to work, i just have to watch my speed in the process.
the JUSTIN HAWKINS RIDES AGAIN channel is reminiscent of RICK BEATO's channel in that HAWKINS also dives into and EXPLAINS music theory and recording / production techniques on popular songs. what differentiates it though is his sense of self-effacing HUMOR that knowingly showcases the ABSURDITY of his life's work as well as his unbridled capacity to call out musicians and industry participants. and he does such from a place of EMPATHY. in other words, he has actual first-hard EXPERIENCE being a ROCK N ROLL star and its that kind of insider KNOWLEDGE that makes his YOUTUBE channel FASCINATING. HAWKINS' channel appears to be a way of BYPASSING a BRITISH press that has long abandoned and even mocked his musical efforts. its rather BEAUTIFUL that an artist in today's DIGITAL ecosystem has the ability to CULTIVATE and COMMUNICATE directly with an audience sans middlemen and gatekeepers. i feel its also great that he has used this new platform to promote artists he's discovered (sometimes even through his audience). it was through him that i became aware of two INCREDIBLE modern AUSTRALIAN PUNK bands, THE CHATS and AMYL & THE SNIFFERS. if anything, i tend to rely on HAWKINS through his channel as a vehicle for DISCOVERING new bands, which is always a fun thing. my hope is that HAWKINS continues to be PROLIFIC with his channel and further PROMOTE an INCLUSIVE community that follows his lead as a highly IDIOSYNCRATIC, but musically KNOWLEDGEABLE and stylistically OPEN-MINDED guide to new cultural ideas and sonic terrains. i look forward to seeing where HAWKINS takes this. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
May 2024
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