Weeeeeeeeeeee! Nothing gets me more pumped up than the opening of the local ski hill. Work just doesn’t seem to matter…life is on the upswing after a dreadful shoulder season in a mountain town…snow is falling.

For those of you out there who love ski season as much as me probably have similar routines that carry you through a typical day at the hill. What I have for you this week is a special little look into my ski day through the power of music.

The first is an uptempo playlist that will prep you all the way from coffee shop stop to the parking lot to the first few leg burners in the powder.  WARNING: It’s not for anyone with weak eardrums.

Click on the Picture to download FREE mp3!!!

The second one will bring you lower in the mountain and back into the public eye. After burning the calories in the morning those pants are a little more baggy, you have your poutine swagger on, and those jugs of beer at lunch time are kicking in. Go directly to the park and play around a bit with this playlist in your headphones. Enjoy and don’t be shy to leave me a comment with a few of your favorite ski hill tunes.

Click on the Picture to download FREE mp3!!!

Fest 8 Highlight – Youth Brigade

  I can’t help but think this pioneering 80’s hardcore band is underrated and isn’t as big of a deal as they should be. They’ve been playing the best anthemic, relevant-speaking punk tunes for almost three decades now, but didn’t headline Fest 6 or 8 at the Venue? What’s up with that? If you read the Fest guidebook this year, you’ll see Samiam had a biased account from Tony Weinbender, the fest organizer, so that’s why they were favorably the big guys on campus. But really, Youth Brigade was the best damn band I saw.

With only two Stern brothers showing up again, their bandmanship was not teetered at all. Everybody did their own sound check, no rock star shit about it. They opened with songs I’m not really sure off of what album (sorry, I’m a poser), but “Violence” was in there somewhere. And “What are You Fighting For?” Marcos Obesity from B.T.H. (or Larf, whatever) was drunkenly tearin’ it up in the pit. So proud of him. You know how everybody says “high fives and stage dives”? This is where they got it from. But because everybody was seeing No Friends at the Market Street Pub, the crowd was a fifth of what it should have been. There were not enough people to jump on and kick in the head.
  Regardless, this fist of mine stayed up. When the “I Hate my Life” dink, dink-uh-dink drum opening began, we all jumped the fuck into the air and sharply answered a “Woke up, hung like a ton of bricks…” Well, maybe just me. I was surprised Dave and Curtis, the bouncers up on stage, let me stand up there and blockade everyone with my 4’11” frame. Volunteering at the Venue the day before does have its benefits. As we all went “buck wild” (as Scott says), I couldn’t help but think how much I love this shit. It was like reliving 1985 but not really ‘cause I was never there. Kids were coming from all corners of the stage to get a piece of that energy and release their own by charging their bodies on top of the brave souls who keep them from toppling to the floor. “Sink with California” was the best final number I could’ve asked for. Linking arms and swaying, we were definitely a sight to see. There were even some losers at the end who were so stoked about Youth Brigade that they started singing “Man in Blue”. Oh wait… that was Marcos and I. Ha Ha Ha.
 
 
Bureaucracy at the Bar – How I got Kicked Out for the First Time

  People were complaining all day about the bouncers at Market Street Pub on Sunday during Fest 8. A friend of mine got singled out for underage drinking because the doorman was an old arch enemy. One guy I met got his wristband cut off because he might’ve been a tad wild in the pit. Even a dude I know said he was escorted to the door for stage diving. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have stories to tell. But this is just fucking ridiculous.
  It’s obvious that the workers and volunteers for the Pub had gotten only a select few in trouble, even if the reason was a common practice in the joint. I’m saying so because I was one of them who were stupidly ejected – and it was during Assholeparade (god damn!). All day the kids ripped the place up by walking down the ledges like a trapeze and diving into the crowd. This was no surprise, especially at a punk rock show. So when I innocently climbed up on somebody’s shoulder by way of holding onto the fence guard off to the right of the stage, I was dumbstruck when a bouncer beckoned me over and kicked me out. His hands firmly pressed on my back until we got to the door made me reconsider my relaxed nature. Ten minutes of Assholeparade and all I got to show for it was sitting my ass outside, humiliated. Nobody else joined me.
  Bet after the night he and his buddies were talking about it. “Yeah, I caught this girl stage diving. Thought she could fool me.” Wow, what a badass.

AMBIKA

This is the end of the first two parts of the big restock, just have the No Idea order to go. And that one is DEEP.

Maybe add something else with your Thrice pre-order, hmm?

Acid King – Busse Woods
Graves At Sea – Documents of Grief
Mudhoney – The Lucky Ones
Nada Surf – Let Go
Paramore – Riot
Waits, Tom – Mule Variations
Weasel, Ben – The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
Weasel, Ben – These Ones Are Bitter
Wednesday Night Heroes – Guilty Pleasure
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
Wilco – Summerteeth
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wisemen – Wisemen Approaching
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The – Show Your Bones
Young Jeezy – The Recession
Youth Brigade – Come Again
Youth Brigade – Sound and Fury
Youth Brigade – To Sell The Truth
Zion I – The Takeover

SIERRA BRAVO PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS:
YOUTH BRIGADE/ THE BROADSIDERS/ THE LASHOUTS/ UPTOWN BUMS

$12
18 and up

Henry Rollins est partout, tout le temps et ce depuis déjà longtemps ! !

Il a 18 ans lorsqu’il entend les Sex Pistols pour la première fois, ce fût, comme pour beaucoup d’autres jeunes de cette génération, une révélation… Il gravite alors dans la scène Punk-Hardcore de Washington, en tant que roadie mais aussi en tant que chanteur invité lors des concerts de ses amis et il est finalement invité à remplacer le chanteur de The Extorts qui deviendra à son arrivée State Of Alert. Après à peine 9 concerts et un EP, le groupe se sépare, mais Rollins aime la scène, que ce soit pour chanter sa rage ou pour se battre avec les membres du public…

Il devient proche des membres de Black Flag, les voit en concert le plus souvent possible et lorsque leur chanteur Dez Cadena décide de se consacrer uniquement à la guitare, ils invitent Rollins à se joindre à eux, c’est là que sa carrière démarre vraiment ! Il déménage à L.A. et se transforme en véritable bête de scène, se muscle, se fait tatouer le logo du groupe (entre autres..) sur le bras. Damaged sort en 1981, sa pochette est devenue culte car elle illustre le malaise que vivait une partie de la jeunesse américaine au début des 80’s. Au niveau musical on les sent déjà plus ouverts que les groupes avec lesquels ils partagent les scènes à l’époque, il en va de même pour  My War paru en 1983, le son s’alourdit quelque peu et on note que les trois derniers morceaux sont particulièrement lents, ce qui aurait influencé pas mal de groupes Grunge et Sludge. Le groupe se sépare après 6 ans d’existence.

En guise de transition, sortent Hot Animal Machine puis Drive By Shooting sur lesquels jouent déjà la plupart des futurs  membres du Rollins Band . Notons que la pochette d’ Hot Animal Machine est dessinée Mark Mothersbaugh qui n’est autre que le frontman de Devo ! Cet album comme le suivant contient pas mal de reprises dont “Ghost Rider” de Suicide, “Crazy Lover” de  Richard Berry et le “Move Right In” du Velvet Underground. Drive By Shooting quand à lui reprend un morceau de Wire et parodie le “We Will Rock You” de Queen avec le morceau “I Have Come To Kill You”!

Le Rollins Band nait la même année, sort son excellent premier album «Life Time», avec ses morceaux ultra secs et ses paroles désabusées…là aussi on s’écarte du format punk rock avec le morceau “Gun in Mouth Blues“  qui est une sorte de Blues dépressif de près de 9 minutes, ils incorporent également des éléments de Jazz, de Funk.  Entre 1987 et 1994, ils sortent 2 albums mémorables mais peinent à percer vers le grand public, c’est en 1994 que sort “Weight“, avec des compositions toujours aussi massives mais avec une touche bien funky grâce à la présence du bassiste Melvin Gibbs, bassiste funk ultra actif, entre autres avec Defunkt, Arto Lindsay et  Caetano Veloso. Et là, c’est la reconnaissance pour le groupe et ses singles “Liar” et “Disconnect” profitent d’une haute rotation sur MTV…

A partir de là, on a l’impression que Rollins ne dort plus, entre Rollins Band et ses albums, ses tournées et albums Spoken Word, les bouquins, sa maison de production, ses émissions de radio et de télévision ainsi que des petits rôles au cinéma font de lui une icône ultra-présente de la culture alternative !

Vers 1997, Rollins Band est en perte de vitesse et de popularité, le groupe se sépare et Rollins se consacre à ses projets personnels, dont des albums Spoken Word absolument géniaux, tels que Think Tank et Talk Is Cheap Vol.1 dans lesquels il partage ses mémoires, ses opinions sur la culture populaire américaine et bien sûr ses frustrations liées à son âge ou encore son statut de célibataire stakhanoviste. Il y en a des tonnes, Big Ugly Mouth, A Rollins in the Wry, Nights Behind the Tree Line, etc etc ..

Aujourd’hui il a 48 ans et n’est pas près de ralentir la cadence qu’il tient depuis toutes ces années… Sa principale activité est son émission de radio dont les playlists sont impressionnantes par leur éclectisme, il enchaine des artistes aussi variés que The Monks,  This Heat, Pascal Comelade,  Einstürzende Neubauten,  Miles Davis, Keiji Haino ou encore  Pan Sonic …

-

Donc, si vous voulez découvrir la longue et ‘exemplaire’ carrière de Rollins, voici par où je vous propose de commencer:

Damaged et My War de Black Flag, Life Time (selon moi leur meilleur album…) et Weight de Rollins Band. Au niveau spoken word, Think Tank et Talk Is Cheap Vol.1 sont de bonnes portes d’entrées, des dvd’s existent également mais n’étant pas sous-titrés il faut un peu s’accrocher vu le débit du bonhomme!

Et pour se mettre dans l’ambiance de la scène Punk – Hardcore de Washington vers la fin des 70’s, une excellente triple compilation: 20 Years Of Dischord avec entre autres: The Teen Idles, Youth Brigade, State Of alert et évidement Minor Threat qui sont  les fondateurs du label Dischord, dont les productions de l’époque sont de véritables pierres blanches!

Mais n’oublions pas ceux qui sont considérés par beaucoup comme les véritables  précurseurs de cette scène, les Bad Brains et leurs performances live à couper le souffle…Deux excellents albums et un DVD  Rock for Light,  I Against I et Live At CBGB 1982.

-

pth

Obama Youth: Homeland Security Wants To Recruit Girl Scouts
New program follows similar DHS initiative that trains Boy Scouts to kill disgruntled American citizens

Both programs will do nothing to quell concerns that President Barack Obama’s promised “national civilian security force” is gradually being formed from such groups in a wider effort to oppress political opposition to Obama’s domestic agenda by demonizing opponents, flames that were fanned further recently when Obama’s own website described its political adversaries as “right-wing domestic terrorists”.

LET THEM KNOW:
THE STORY OF YOUTH BRIGADE and BYO RECORDS (2009)

More info to come! Click here for trailer

also coming soon…

NYC’s Alex Ross Perry’s experimental cult film:

IMPOLEX (2009)

Florida Candidate For Mayor Wants 1,000-Strong Youth Spy Force
Falconer proposes swarms of citizen informers casing neighborhoods looking for suspicious behavior

You Tube user Austin White makes his feelings about Falconer’s proposal clear in the clip below.

Homeland Security Trains Boy Scouts To Take On ‘Disgruntled Iraq War Veterans’
Shocking New York Times article about Boy Scouts being trained to disarm and kill American citizens stokes fears of Hitler Youth

In the real world, however, government is not primarily concerned with drug dealers — after all, the government and Wall Street run most of the drugs — they are worried about growing opposition to the destruction of the Constitution and the imposition of world government by a cabal of international bankers and their corporate fascist partners in crime.

Essa é uma série americana sobre Punk Rock, de 1983, produzida pelo KTTV Channel, e exibida durante uma semana no jornalístico 11 News. Um olhar sobre o movimento vindo da Inglaterra, ganhando cada vez mais corpo em Los Angeles, que deve ter deixado os ianques se pelando de medo.

O âncora e seu bigode irado

Muito legal em todos os sentidos. Imagens raras, algumas informações interessante e entrevistas com integrantes de Exploited, Fear (acompanhado do baixista Flea, do Red Hot Chili Peppers), Circle Jerks, entre outros. Bacana também apreciar o estilo americanão clássico do programa, mix de anos 70 e 80.

Beleza, mas… e o Suicidal? Onde entra nessa parada? Não entra, não há menção nenhuma à banda nos cerca de 20 minutos do documentário. Porém, vocês verão uma aparição curiosa, justificativa para o post, a partir de 1:55 da primeira parte.

Muir, molecão, reclamando dos cops

Embora o ST já tivesse pelo menos um ano de estrada, Mike Muir surge como um anônimo entre alguns personagens da cena punk californiana. E aparece bem diferente do que nos acostumamos a ver.

A começar pelo cabelo, franjinha leve, nada de cabeça raspada. O óculos também é qualquer nota, espelhado, eighties total. Pelo menos no visual, de punk só um brinco tosco e a indignação marcada por um “run, run, run” enquanto soca a mão direita na palma da esquerda.

Saquem todo a série, nos links abaixo para o Youtube…

PARTE 1 PARTE 2 PARTE 3 PARTE 4 PARTE 5

Ok, Ok, Ok, I know I am a little sensitive to Nazism these days.  I have been preparing a lecture on Nazi Euthanasia and its implications for us which I am giving tonight at 6:30 at the government center in Shepherdsville.  So, I am a little sensitive about modern affinities with the Nazi past.

But I came upon what I think is a stunning piece of legislation.  I have not heard about it before; so, I am thinking that I must be missing something.  Is this just some fantastic internet scare tactic?  According to the Voice, Obama’s ridiculous youth brigade idea is also radically anti-faith, anti-Christian, and anti-constitutional.  In other words, Obama’s youth brigade is as radical as… well, I don’t even need to say it.  Why in the heck are we funding a youth brigade anyway?

Feel free to read the story here and do some follow up investigation. (There are links to pdf files in the comment section below the story). 

I cannot believe this is real.  Someone help us set the record straight.  Surely, Obama isn’t seriously restricting young people receiving government help from attending worship services or Christian schools.

‘Where is the love?’

As anyone who has encountered the content on this site before, the phrase ‘wild ill-founded criticisms and a complete lack of self awareness or subtlety’ is not something that can be applied. And as such, the following is completely in line with the fine content you have come to demand every few months from me.

Anyway, Theory of a Deadman. Jesus shitting Christ. Recently when I’ve been eating my lunch and flicking through the music channels- despite the fact that I rarely find something I genuinely like now, more stuff I liked when I was 14 (secretly 18 but its less cool that way) – nothing has been a blight upon my senses and a plague to my ears more so than ‘I Hate My Life’ by the aforementioned cocksuckers. I’m not entirely sure when whining like a little bitch about tiny problems became the ‘rock and roll’ thing to do, but if there’s one man who knows a lot about tiny problems its front-man Tyler Connolly.

Before I get into this too much, it might be beneficial for the lucky ones of you who have not yet seen this video, to share in my dismay. If you like the following video, fuck off.

If you managed to survive that barrage of crap, without succumbing to the overwhelming will to stab yourself in the ears then well done, and I hope you share my following appraisal. Ignoring for a moment the futility of criticising someone who clearly wishes he was Chad Kroeger (quite how anyone can physically manage that I’m not sure), any song that starts with the line ‘I’m so sick of the hobos, always asking for change, I don’t like how I’ve gotta work and they just sit around and get paid’… is almost certainly going to be the worst thing ever. I mean come on buddy, pick your targets. I would suggest that perhaps the author is using irony and hyperbole to demonstrate how his life isn’t actually all that bad, yet he is to preoccupied in being a little cry baby and general douchebag to realise this, and choose to whine, rather than seeing all the good things around him… thus making a salient point about how society is preoccupied with ‘me’. But I doubt this is the case, the guy got his break by handing a record to someone in Nickelback. On top of this, given how poorly written the lyrics are, attributing powers of intelligent satire to someone who uses the line ‘I hate my job, all of my rich friends
I hate everyone to the bitter end.Nothing turns out right, there’s no end in sight’ (The rest of the song is equally bad)  might be a bit silly. Even if this is so, it will do little to pacify the heaving load of utter cretins who hear the line and think ‘yeah, that’s right!’.

I’m sure 99% of ‘hobos’ given the chance would happily swap with anyone who is ’sick’ of their begging to survive, and they wouldn’t feel the need to moan about what an ugly, misogynistic piece of shit they are in an overblown piece of radio friendly crap rock. Anyone who really feels as though this is the language of the average person and he is talking to the common man really needs to not look the next time they cross the road. I mean its not like there’s any other injustices such as global poverty in the world for someone to really get worked about is there?

The pomposity of a ‘rock star’ sitting on an handsome and clearly unjustified record deal whinging about how he has got it so bad, or even trying to relate to the common man by pretending he has ‘real life’ problems, coupled with  idiots buying this and singing along, masturbating furiously along with the delusions of having it oh so bad, is pretty sickening. It’s similar in a way to the dirge of MySpace people saying ‘fuck my life’. I don’t care whether you mean it or not, be grateful for what you’ve got, and the fact that you can whinge about minor things. If you do have real worthwhile problems, it’s unlikely you would belittle them with a phrase which has become so widely used that it actually means next to nothing nowadays. Why is a song which celebrates whigning about trivial matters above the beauty of life so popular? Is it just a case that people like to whine about stuff that doesn’t matter?

Without wishing to go into much more detail about the lyrics, I am sure anyone with half a brain can work out that they are ridiculous and vile. At one point the protagonist/twat bemoans the fact that he can’t call an underage girl ‘a hot piece of ass’ without getting punched for it. Its funny how the kind of people that would nod along with this lyric are probably the first to call for the heads of paedophiles, but I guess that shows the level on which this song works. It’s enjoyed by idiots. The sexism is also present in the fact that he reduces his fictional wife (I refuse to believe anyone could love this scumbag) into a materialistic whore who only wants money for shopping. Aint that just the truth fellas? Then he goes onto talking about he is a nice guy, but girls always have an excuse such as a headache for not sleeping with him. The screaming irony in the above scenarios almost go as far as convincing me that this is a well constructed satire, but they have had three previous albums and I think the joke , if there were one, would have been found out by now. As it is, its just desperately sad.

The song also touches upon the insightful new ground of ‘hating your boss’ which given all the above goes some way to redeem it. Quite how he managed to channel the spirit of the working man so well is really a wonder. I suppose it would be contrite to expect more from an act on ‘roadrunner records’, but I refuse to lower my standards for ‘assholes’ like this.

And I haven’t even got onto the facial hair yet. What the fuck has he got on his chin? Combine that with the most ridiculous hair I think I have ever seen, and you’ve got even more reason to hate the cunt. He looks like V from ‘V for Vendetta’ only he’s a bellend, and V is a hero.

Bellend

Hero

A goatee beard of that nature is truly the worst thing a man can do. Either grow a fuck off beard, or shave, there’s no place for half beards, or 1/10^th beards like his. People like him are the same breed as those who deliberately wear sunglasses indoors. They think they look cool, but you know every single person in the room is thinking ‘Who is this bellend?’, or as Larry David puts it ‘You know who wear sunglasses inside? Blind people and assholes.’

It says a lot about society when a group of overfed rockstars can get rich off the back of whining about fictional, minor problems. I guess it’s the case that people can relate to it, but since when was that ever an excuse for writing truly awful music, and truly horrible lyrics? Every single thought here you could hear daily from one of your mates (depending on how scummy they were), combine that with a plodding predictable sequence of chord progressions, ‘cat sat on the mat’ lyrics and not a lot else… it just leaves me wondering why people would want to listen to this. Hate your job? So do a lot of people. Why wallow in the misery, with turgid boring derivative bollocks?

In the interests of fairness i have included a positive review, just to demonstate the kind of level they work on.

‘Tyler Connolly’s voice is not something to be snubbed either, as his croaky, almost country singer style voice delivers the lyrics in a way that just wouldn’t sound ‘quite right’ if sung in any other way. If you imagine Nickelback and Staind coming together to produce something new, fresh and exciting, but still with a rock attitude edge this is pretty much what you get from these kids. And they’re not bad to look at either.’

http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/reviews/Single+Review+Theory+Of+A+Deadman+I+Hate+My+Life-7487.html

Fuck.

For an example of how to say ‘I hate my life’ and not suck, take a leaf from the LA Youth Brigade’s book.

Disclaimer: I’m fully aware that it was not written with me in mind, it’s ‘just a song’ etc. etc. and there is the nauseating smell of pointlessness in the air. But when has that ever stopped people on the internet? And in the face of such odious injustice, I can’t help but stand up for my rights on what is equally, ‘just a music blog’. I mean if our forefathers hadn’t done the same, we might be talking German today.  If I offended you I’m sorry, but you equally shouldn’t be listening to such shit music.

That’s right, when the government comes and drags your children out of the house for a little mandatory service, guess who will be doing the nuts and bolts indoctrination?

The Senate laughed off an amendment by Sen. David Vitter, R-La. that would have excluded groups with government connections-such as ACORN from receiving any funds. That’s right, the frauds at ACORN are about to receive a truck load of money to use in indoctrinating your children. The money is bad enough, but these cretins will have your kid by the throat.

So no religion will be tolerated in this indoctrination program, but fraud and racism will not only be okay, it will be funded-by you.

If you care about your country-if you care about your kids, contact your Senator and urge them to kill this crazy legislation. They are afraid of you. If enough complaints come in, that bill will die.

They already have your money, now they’re coming for the kids. The house passed HR 1388, which would require any kid getting a loan (among others), to perform some kind of community service in return. The language is a little murky as to exactly what kind of service that might be.

There are some items that are very clear though. No religion in this outfit. It is banned and specifically banned in the legislation. Well, you could make an argument with all problems religion has caused over the course of history, but what will they replace it with? They’ll let you know.

One section of the bill is pretty clear on how abstract they are. They will come for your children though: [W]hether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed…. If they already have an idea of what they will do with your kids, they aren’t saying.

This bill doesn’t specifically say the “service” will mandatory right now, except under the aforementioned conditions, but remember, Barack Obama did say the service would be compulsory. That language has mysteriously disappeared from his website.

There are only two reasons why the Republicans in the house went along with this Hitlerian legislation: They either have no spine (a real possibility), or with the way Obama’s poll numbers are going, they feel they will be back in power soon, and they will have the power to dictate what this youth brigade is indoctrinated with. Either party dragging your kid out of the house is a disturbing prospect, and neither has a patent on goose-stepping…

Is this our new America?
Forced enlistment of our youth in civil or military service?
Obama has been promoting his YouthBuild organization and other youth groups promoting youth participation with educational and financial rewards, it all sounds good, kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity get a chance, can to work towards success. But…, in comes Rahm Emanual, first choice for Chief of Staff, his  proposal is to have mandatory enlistment of our youth in either civil service programs or military enlistment.

Don’t let this happen in America!
Think for Yourself!

Text blocks:
Rahm Emanuel:

“Here’s how it would work. Young people will know that between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service. They’ll be asked to report for three months of basic civil defense training in their state or community, where they will learn what to do in the event of biochemical, nuclear or conventional attack; how to assist others in an evacuation; how to respond when a levee breaks or we’re hit by a natural disaster. These young people will be available to address their communities’ most pressing needs.”

Emanuel and co-author Bruce Reed insist “this is not a draft,” but go on to write of young men and women, “the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service.” They also warn, “[s]ome Republicans will squeal about individual freedom,” ruling out any likelihood that they would let people opt out of universal citizen service.
As chief of staff, Emanuel will not be in a position to directly introduce public policy, but his enthusiasm for compulsory service, combined with Barack Obama’s own plan to require high school students to perform 50 hours of government-approved service, suggest an unfortunate direction for the new administration.
Barack Obama from his website:
•  Leadership from the Top: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will restore the ethic of public service to the agenda of today’s youth, whether it be serving their local communities in such roles as teachers or first responders, or serving in the military to keep our nation free and safe.
•  Lighten the Burdens on Our Brave Troops and Their Families: An Obama-Biden administration will create a Military Families Advisory Board to provide a conduit for military families’ concerns to be brought to the attention of senior policymakers and the public. Obama and Biden will end the Bush administration’s stop-loss policy and establish predictability in deployments so that active duty and reserves know what they can and must expect.

Research:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/service/

http://change.gov/agenda/defense_agenda/

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kerry-picket/2008/11/11/ben-smith-interview-rahm-emanuel-compulsory-service-plan-will-media-ig

http://www.examiner.com/x-536-Civil-Liberties-Examiner~y2008m11d6-Obamas-chief-of-staff-choice-favors-compulsory-universal-service

Tags:
Rahm Emanuel, Obama, youth brigade, Youthbuild, mandatory enlistment, civil service, draft

“That band said a lot of dumb shit,” Nick said.

“For example?” I pressed, curious because I had no complaints about the Youth Brigade show earlier that evening at the Triple Rock. They were a blast and got the crowd whipped into a pretty decent frenzy with their old school punk rock. I was smiling the whole show. Hell, I even liked a lot of the new songs they played.

“Like when the singer said something about how their parties are five times better than ours or something like that. That seemed kind of rude.”

The blue and reds of the police cars outside shined through the window. They were busting up the party that had been thrown by the dudes in the downstairs apartment, which had vomited dozens of “retarded MCAD freshman,” as Nick called them, onto the front yard.

With the men in blue so close, Nick and the upstairs folks weren’t in a hurry to get crazy.

“Yeah, but I think they were talking about their bowling tournament vs. this bowling tournament, and their’s has been around longer,” I argued.

“Don’t get me wrong, when they were playing music, they were cool. But when they opened their mouths between songs…” Nick’s rant about Youth Brigade’s stupidity slowly grew in intensity.

“Speaking of which,” I interrupted, as the band’s bass player walked through the door.

Oh Fuck, I thought. I hate interacting with people in bands that I like. For the most part, I don’t want to think of them as anything other than musical robots, existing for the sole purpose of entertaining me. I don’t want to find out if they have personalities, because then I will inevitably find out that some of them have personalities that suck.

Enter Youth Brigade.

As I chatted with my friends, I observed the actions of the band members. The drummer and the bass player pretty much kept to themselves. The singer/guitar player did the rounds, flirting awkwardly with the ladies.

Example: Darci danced around the middle of the living room for a few seconds. When she stopped, Youth Brigade Dude gave her the creepy stare and told her to keep dancing. Told her it was cute and he wanted to see more. Some gay dude – at least, I assumed he was gay by the way he later danced shirtless on a chair, but that may be ignorant of me – told Youth Brigade Dude that he should dance instead. Of course, Mr. Youth Brigade declined and scurried off to the corner.

I sat down for a minute to talk to Nikki. I pointed out one of the older tattooed punk ladies that had arrived with Youth Brigade. Her boobs were constantly on the verge of falling out as she bounced around and constantly took pictures of herself and her friend, all “look at me, I’m at a party with some band!”

I wondered how the boobs managed not to fall out.

“Do you think they look good?” Nikki asked.

“Not really.”

“But you still want to see them?”

“Well, yeah.” I made the comparison to explosions. There are no really bad explosions. Sure, a cheap fourth of July firecracker isn’t as cool as a car blowing up, but that doesn’t mean I’d miss it.

Someone mentioned the quantity of Wisconsin people in the house and, failing in his quest for ladies, Mr. Youth Brigade decided to attack the Pack. He made some very loud comment about how the Jets were going to use Brett Favre and come back to take the Packers down. I laughed at him and he stopped talking about it.

Youth Brigade Dude, boob chick and her friend, and a bunch of other party-goers that had appeared with them went outside to congregate in front of the house. By this point, the downstairs party had been completely reined in. Now, the upstairs party barfed out geriatric punkers.

Nick, knowing that the police had just left a little while earlier, went outside to clean up the puke. As he went to do so, he mentioned that he had a lot of violence in him at the moment, so I thought that maybe he was going to throw down. Nate and I stood at the top of the stairs to watch and also to talk about how Nate was excited at the chances of the apocalypse hitting on his birthday.

Nick sent everyone back inside in a very polite manner. Mr. Youth Brigade stomped back up the stairs and, all 5-year-old-being-punished-for-not-eating-his-vegetables-style, yelled “This party sucks!” as he walked back into the apartment.

Hmmm. I don’t know. This party had:

• Cute chicks (albeit cute chicks who paid no attention to the geriatric punkers in the house)
• Fat gay dude doing the splits without his shirt on
• A dude with a board tied onto his torso in place of a shirt (Robin, who was pissed that fucking Youth Brigade woke him up)
• A soundtrack by the Misfits and Anthrax
• Drugs and alcohol (hippies and drunks)
• Police intervention
• Me farting a lot (although I couldn’t smell my bombs over the BO in the room)
• Vomiting
• Old punk dudes standing in the corner looking sour

The obvious missing ingredients, and my favorite ingredients, violence and destruction, were a bummer, but I didn’t consider their absence to be tragic. If you can’t have fun with the list above, you’re a lost cause in my book. Of course, I say that even though I’ve acted like a dick at and stomped gloomily out of some fairly decent parties, but I like to think I did so much more gracefully than the Youth Brigade pricks. And shit, I’m still young. You’d think they’d have had enough time to really perfect the role of “assholes at the party.” Dickheads better get to work.

(Youth Brigade played at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on 8/30/08)

Some more stuff that should have been put up awhile ago, heh. ;P Also, Dave from Jailhouse Records let me know that our exclusive Pop Culture Assassins color came today and that he’ll be shipping them out to us today as well – woo!

Only Crime / Outbreak – Split

Perfect Circle, A – Emotive (2xLP – Orange)

Pettyfords, The / The Screwballs – From Neenah… (Clear)

Pettyfords, The / The Screwballs – From Neenah… (Black)

Phantom Witch – Phantom Witch

Primus – Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People

Ramones, The – The Ramones (180 Gram)

Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar & Jeremy Michael Ward – ORL + JMW

This Is Hell – Sundowning (Colored)

Thrice – The Illusion of Safety

Tokyo Police Club – In A Cave (UK)

Weakerthans, The – Reunion Tour (180 Gram)

Youth Brigade – To Sell The Truth

It is apparent that it is very difficult, in a country as big as the USA and as influential as far as contemporary mainstream music is concerned, to short out only ten albums from a music scene . The US are the place were punk was born. Some people disagree with that and do not admit the simple fact that the RAMONES started playing in 1974, and claim that the sex pistols were the first punk band ever. Maybe if they listen to songs like “looking for a kiss” from the first New York Dolls album, they may figure out where Rotten got its singing style. In anyway the sex pistol launched punk in the UK and killed it at the same time, by turning it into a comercial joke. I still cannot believe that even today there are some people who are offended by the slogan “Punk is Dead”. I mean it is ok for people like the exploited to utilise it back in early 80s, but come on, it was the exploited! The people did not even get what CRASS meant and they probably never will.

Lets get back to America. By saying north American punk I refer to all kinds of punk, may it be pop-punk (stupid title I never went along with it), skate-punk, hardcore-punk, anarcho-punk, and so on. There is also cookie-punk, or else turquise-punk or scoobie doo-punk which are titles we have come up with my friends in Greece to characterise bands like greenday, millencolin, nofx, blink 182 etc. So, from the oldest to the newest …

1. Ramones – Leave Home (1977)

The Ramones are for me the cornerstone of punk music. They have all the elements I am looking for in a punk band. Most importantly, I need the drums to sound like the Ramones. If they don’t, it’s not punk! The second Ramones album is my favourite because it is the album to which I have danced more than any other album in my life. It has a 100% rock n roll feeling but in a totally different context, with simplistic structures, drums, guitars and bass that can be played by absolute beginers. Yet, all the songs are so inspired and all the melodies will stick on the brain forever. Riffs like in the chorus of “commando”, were meant to be a guide for composing punk songs since. Favourites: “oh oh, I love her so“, “Commando“, “I remember you”, “Swallow my pride”. “Gimme gimme shock treatment”.

2. Circle Jerks – Group Sex (1980)

It is hard to comprehend that it came out in 1980! A record whose speed and intensity are unbelievable even today. I cannot remember how I reacted when first listened to “red tape” but I am sure I laughed a lot. “Operation” is indeed a statement of our times, funny but dead serius at the same time, “Live fast die young” is an all time classic ‘into the pit’ song, “I just want some skunk”, is furious. In spite of the fact that it is less than 20 minutes, it is varied and all inclusive and certainly provides with a sufficient dose of neck-breaking hardcore. However, the term hardcore is really not enough to describe the richness of this album. It is a shame the albums that followed were at least indifferent.

3. Adolescents – s/t (1981)

The combined geniuses of Rikk Agnew, Casey Royer, Steve Sotto et al. shine in this album which is the definition of O.C. punk. I consider Rikk Agnew as my all time favourite punk composer and overall one of the great personalities of punk music. His first personal album is a true gem, and the only reason I put this album here instead of his personal is…I do not know why…! Anyway, in here at least two of the best songs ever are included: “Kids of the Black Hole“, “No Friends”. Agnew’s melodies over the main riffs are ubiguitus and make the compositions special. Songs like “Amoeba” or “Creatures” are blueprints of the o.c. sound. The band proves in songs like “self destruct” or “word attack” that when it comes to faster more hardcore sound they are still capable of writing inspired songs.

4. Agent Orange – Living in Darkness (1981)

If I had to choose the most serious record the californian scene has produced, “living…” would have to be the one. So much a typical californian sound and at the same time so different from the rest of the scene. One thing fo sure, this band does not transmit the delinquency the other bands of their time and after transmit. Eight songs, each one an instant classic. Ok, I have to admit that if I listen one more time to “Misirlou” I will puke, but it is not their fault. A quite melancholic album in general, with songs like “A cry for help…”, being timeless testaments of the alienated contemporary society. Palm sounds jaded and saddened by the passing of years, loneliness and short-lived human relationships. All songs are perfect, but my two favourites are “cry for help…” and “everything turns grey“.

5. True Sounds Of Liberty – Dance with Me (1981)

Another album definition of californian punk. Hymns like “Abolish government” or “superficial love” are not included here, but other are. A dark record with perfect guitars and drums, some unbelievably good lyrics (e.g. “The triangle”, “80 Times”, “Peace through Power”) and some unbelievably bad lyrics (e.g. “Code blue”). Grisham (vocals) sounds a lot like Biafra sometimes but they started about the same period. Barnes is my personal favorite drummer and together with Tommy from the Ramones, the definition of punk drummer. The riffs and melodies are most of the time far from the typical punk. The frequently changing rythms are another interesting aspect of their music, obviously copied by bands like System of a Down (e.g. the ending of “I’m tired of life” is exactly like any system of a down song!). Favourites: “The triangle”, “80 times”, “Die for me”, “Peace through power”.

6. MDC -Millions of Dead Cops (1981)

An angry political hardcore album from the early 80s in which two or three songs were meant to become classic. The quitars are insane and the riffs are ahead of their time (just like the Bad Brains and DK). All songs are hyperfast and the singer is awesome, among the greater punk vocalists of all time. Openly gay, Dictor’s lyrics criticise in a clever way the fascist homophobic american society, with best example the chorus “…What makes america so straight and me so bent?”. The fury, the riff, the incredible lyrics of “John Wayne was a nazi” are beyond the imagination. The chorus of “Born to Die is a timeless slogan (“No War, No KKK, No Fascist USA”). My family is a little weird resembles “Sick Boy” by GBH but they came out around the same time… So I cannot tell who stole whom. Certainly a cornerstone of hardcore music. Fast, powerful, technical and political.

7. Minor Threat – s/t (1981)

Even though it is not a standard album but a compilation of the first two 7” ep’s it is a big part of hardcore history. Only MDC are equally furious, but in a more ‘metal’ way. Minor threat are furious in a 100% punk way. Clever riffs, frenetic drums and great vocals, on some of the greatest hardcore songs ever. Even though I am against the philosophy of “Guilty of being white” (as a criticism against violent black groups) I think it is the best song ever writen! In fact all songs are monuments of how hardcore-punk should sound. Again no one ever managed or attempted as far as I know to copy them because it is impossible (although Pantera’s song “strength beyond strength” starts exactly like “Guilty…“). Their “out of step” album is equally perfect and more coherent, though much slower.

8. Dead Kennedys – Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982)

Even though the first album is a masterpice and probably the most important album from that scene in America, “Plastic surgery…” is my personal favourite. When I first listened to it I was sure that I would never listen to another more complete album ever. I still don’t think I have. By far the best orchestration I have ever listened to in a punk album. The changes on “Forest fire” and the lead guitar when Biafra sings”….and hey, what about that cocaine…”, the fury with which it continuous with “…where’s your brand new pretty wife…”, the guitars on “dead end”, the riff of “Buzzbomb”, the lyrics of “Terminal prepie”!!! What about the boiling tension of “Riot” and that bass-line, maybe the most descriptive song ever written. Biafra, Ray, Peligro and Flouride give their best performance ever. Really a masterpiece of flawless compositions and variety.

9. Misfits – Walk Among Us (1982)

Misfits is a name with negative connotations in greece, because of its connection with football fans and their clubs (Misfits 7 is a club of violent olympiakos’ fans) and generally it is considered a band for brainless fans. It is certainly not the band with a serious punk ideology, and their lyrics are full of sexism and murder, and would easily fit into a heavy metal band. With the difference that they are written from a person (Danzig) who, writting music and lyrics is what he was meant for! This said, I think that aside some offensive ideas, which are not really present in this album but in the past like on “Last Caress”, “Bullet” or “Who killed Marilyn”, this album has the best melodies and some really fun lyrics. The key quality of this record is that it is enthousiastic and makes you wanna dance. It has incredibly intelligent choruses, every single song is a surprise and the BEST vocals EVER. Here’s a cool video of “I turned into a martian” and the incredible “All hell breaks loose“.

10. Bad Brains – Rock for Light (1983)

When it comes to punk, Bad Brains stick out from the rest bands. Their genious is admitted by most bands of that era (late 70s early 80s). However, their influence is not easily recognisable. This happens for the reason that they simply cannot be copied! The funny thing is that I cannot explain what they were listening in order to play the way they did. I don’t mean the reggae songs, but the punk ones. The riffs would remind me death or grind riffs, but the Bad Brains came first! So, what were they listening to play the riff of “FVK” or the riff in the middle of “We will not” just before the solo? The brutal vocals on “Riot Squad” surely had an effect on early death or grind bands. The tempo of “Big Takeover” is among the highlights of the album. Bass, drums, guitars and vocals are from another planet, not only at the time of its release but even in terms of contemporary music.

11. Youth Brigade – Sound and Fury (1983)

Stern brothers’ first album has everything one can ask for from California. Fun, speed, rage, attitude, thoughtful lyrics and melody blend together in the most beautiful way. When I first listened to the record I found traces of british Oi punk (in Men in blue, What are you fightin for) which made it even more interesting. This album contains the famous oozin ahs Bad Religion use, before Bad Religion! It also contains the punk hymn “Sink With California“. Favourites; “blown away” (the chorus-the ending are unique), “What are you fightin for”, “Sink with California”, “What will the revolution change?”.

12. Bad Religion – No Control (1989)

It is extremely difficult to pick one out of more than ten perfect albums B.R. have released since 1981. Even if someone would hold them responsible for all the bad taste and downfall of todays Mainstream american punk scene, that does not mean that they should not be among the greatest bands ever in music history. Suffer, No control and Against the Grain are my favourite B.R. albums but No control is the first one I listened to, so I choose this one. A 100% original band with Graffin borrowing elements from traditional american music, making the difference. The melodies are unrepeatable and the choruses are the best. A record to dance to forever! Highlights: “No control”, “Big Bang“, “Automatic man”, “I wanna conquer the world”, “you”, “It must look pretty appealing”.

13. Nomeansno – Wrong (1989)

A Nomeansno album should be in this list, not only because they are one of the most sophisticated and innovative punk bands, but because they continue releasing extremely perfect albums as well. Wrong is somehow a turn in the bands sound, employing a more punk attitude. In this album one can find songs with so intricate and clever orchestrations, that no matter how much technocratic bands can turn, will never top them. The chorus of “The Tower”, a majestic song that deserves to be among the best songs ever, “It’s catching up”, “brainless wonder”, are among these songs. Songs like “tired of waiting” or “the tower” are songs that every hardcore wannabe band would envy! Other uptempo songs like “Oh no Bruno” or “Two lips…” are more Ramones-like but still exciting and make you wanna dance. Overall, clever lyrics, great music but also technique, something not so common in punk bands, but definetely punk. I like to call it Zappunk or Punk Zappa!

14. Reagan Youth – Volume 1 (1989)

The first complete Reagan Youth album is huge (recorded in 1983-4). The guitars are twisted and the singer delivers some of the best vocals ever. “Anytown” is one of my favourite songs of all time and lyric-wise is a true gem. Music-wise the album in general has some of the most twisted riffs ever which create a stressful atmosphere. Best examples are “new aryans” and “in dog we trust” with that lead guitar on the latter imitating an ambulance siren and creating an unbearable tension! “Degenerated” and “Gonowhere” represent heavy critiques of punk lifestyle and yet are extremely enjoyable. All great songs with great lyrics and most importantly, original.

15. Propagandhi – Todays Empires, Tomorrow’s ashes (2001)

After much thought I decided to put one new record in this list. Even though there are huge bands that I have not chosen, Propagandhi are here because they are canadiaan and Canada is not represented adequately here, and because they are gods. I really don’t care if other bands are more underground or more anarchist or whatever. Propagandhi have it all. They are thinking individuals and perfect players. Further, they draw from different schools and create something very interesting and inspired. This album is unbelievably perfect. It is fast, sentimental, brutal and the lyrics are perfect. The songs “Fuck the border” and “bulshit politicians” are songs that just can’t be writen! They are huge! I am tired now, I think I ‘ll stop.

p.s. For bands that deserved to be here and are not like Subhumans (canada), Jerry’s Kids, D.I., Middle Class, Germs, Descendents, Tragedy, Brother Inferior, Ballast, Zeke I will make it up to them in the future!