I Spy were from Canada and remind one of Propagandhi a bit, both musically and politically. Not surprising that Todd Kowalski would go on and replace John Samson in Propagandhi.
...But Alive were from Germany and also played political punk rock, but have a cleaner sound than I Spy.
IS - You'll Never Smash The State
IS - Shamus' Nuts
IS - In 20 Years
BA - Es Sei Denn, Du Bist Snake Plisken
BA - Ich Möchte Ilona Christen Die Brille Von Der Nase Schlagen
Nobodys were one of my favorite snotty punk bands of the mid-90's. Their later stuff, it seemed like they were trying too hard to be obnoxious. But in their prime, that obnoxiousness flowed naturally.
Inside Radio reports that “While not exactly shopping the GOP’s 2008 vice presidential candidate, sources say Palin representatives have been quietly testing the waters to see how much interest radio syndicators have for her.”
In related news, I will now be testing the waters to see how much interest Chippendales has for me.
Fantastic Oakland garage punk. For whatever reason these guys (and gals) never quite git the exposure they deserved. Members have played in bands such as Rice, Bratmobile, The Pattern, Beehive and The Barracudas, among others.
The Masked Raiders were a UK rock band with a slight punk influence. At least that's my thought listening to this. But everything about them online seems to classify them as metal. When I listen again with that in mind, yeah, I can see that. "Dear Executioner" is definitely the more "metal" of the songs.
I already knew as much, but this New Yorker article confirms it as fact.
Not investigating violent crimes while you focus on immigration?
Having the Sheriff's Department conduct raids in city limits - at city hall, no less - without telling the chief of police?
Furthermore, just about all measurable statistics are worse under Arpaio. Yet he keeps getting re-elected, practically beatified, by 'Zonies.
Why? Basically, Sheriff Joe is a meglomanic tapping into the xenophobic underpinnings of white Arizona. You know, the state that voted against a state holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Imagine Bill O'Reilly as Sheriff. Egads.
The guy gets off on degradation and stripping people of any shred of dignity. I'm guessing him and his sick cadre of sycophants consider themselves fine upstanding Christians to boot.
In the midst of California's meltdown (thanks, Arnie), of course the first targets are programs for the poor. Republicans will always put programs for the poor on the chopping block before ever even considering any sort of tax increase, no matter what (cigs, liquor) or who, is affected (the richest among us). EVERY SINGLE TIME. That's who they are. And that's fine. It's their prerogative.
Naturally, it’s the party of Jesus – the champions of family values – that are leading the charge to kick poor kids off the health care rolls rather than raise taxes on the uber-wealthy/others. Perhaps we need another symposium on how God-less Democrats can better connect to faith voters. Is Amy Sullivan available? Greed sure is a bitch though. It’s as if the California GOP/voters are in a plane going down, and each would rather grasp their bag of gold than grab a parachute. Or rather, they’d use a parachute for themselves and then use one for their gold rather than give it to a poor kid. Like Jesus would do.
Cover songs! Part of the "Under The Influence" series on Suburban Home. OWTH do a Nobodys (feat Joe Queer) cover. While Lemuria take on the Pixies. I shouldn't have to mention that you should go and buy this. It's a limited run and comes on some pretty good looking colored vinyl (I have the pink/white). You also get a coupon code for the mp3's, so you don't have to rely on my shitty rips.
I first heard Wisconsin's The Droids back in '95 or '96 on a split with Boris The Sprinkler. I loved their side of the 7", but for whatever reason I never sought out anything else by them. Cut to 2009, I'm perusing used records at M-Theory, and lookie what I found. Took it home, listened to it, and my thoughts that The Droids may have been one of the more overlooked bands of the 90's punk scene was immediately confirmed. Kicking myself, as I could have been listening to this for the last 13 years if I wasn't such a lazy punk fan. Better late than never, I s'pose. They are to Poland what the Dropkick Murphy's are to Ireland. Except The Droids don't suck.
Turning away from the East Bay supergroups, we now have a San Diego supergroup. Kill Holiday was formed from the ashes of San Diego stalwarts Unbroken and and Amenity. Post-hardcore in a sort of Quicksand way (this was released before their turn towards a much more emo sound), with croon-ier vocals. Very good stuff. Side note: I used to work with Steve at an unnamed chain record store (hint: rhymes with "bare louse"), and can vouch that he is a goodfella and a true Padres fan. He now playes in Crushed On You.
Someone close to me lost someone close to her today. The whole thing is a big, fat downer. None of it makes any sense. That goes for this situation and for life in general. Some people have all the love a person can have, yet still feel all alone. Others have none, but seem to be fine.
life is the crummiest book I ever read,
there isn't a hook, just a lot of cheap shots,
pictures to shock and characters an amateur would never dream up
Positivety, as best I can muster, will return soon, so bear with me.
The Gr'ups (short for Grownups) were yet another East Bay supergroup. This time featuring Jesse Luscious (Blatz, The Criminals, The Frisk), Anna Joy (Blatz, Cypher In The Snow), Deb Disaster (Queen Mab), Kamala (Naked Aggression, Kamala and the Karnivores, Cringer), Matt Freeman (Operation Ivy, Rancid).
Got to see them play at a benefit at a coffee shop in Mount Shasta. Good times. Anna Joy apparently lives here in SD now. Cool beans.
Hate to use this space to shill, but here goes. Economy is hitting me like most everyone else, so it's time to depart with a significant portion of my CD collection. If you're into punk and hardcore, I've listed some pretty good stuff - all for under $5 each including shipping. The Los Crudos discography went unsold! Can you believe that?
So if you're looking for some sweet music, head on over here. 5 cd's added daily.
Grass Valley, CA's The Circus Tents are probably most famous because AFI did a cover of "Open Your Eyes". And musically CT have a lot in common with early AFI. That's a good thing.
What is it about Sarah Palin? Apparently, her offer last weekend to campaign for conservative Democrats after leaving office is falling on deaf ears.
Who would possibly expect a different result?
The Sarah Palin "phenonomenon" is not that complicated. 20% of hardcore Sean-Hannity-idolizing, conservatives love her. Worship her, even. That's it. 20%. That's where she tops out. Why people keep insisting there's some sort of widespread level of support for her, I have no idea. Can she draw crowds? Yeah, but from that die-hard 20%.
Democrats are not "scared" of her, contrary to what the McLaughlin types would have you believe. In fact, politically, nothing would make me happier than if she became the Republican nominee in 2012.
But it is not going to happen. The notion of it is ridiculous. Hear me now and believe me later. Sarah Palin will not be the Republican nominee in 2012. I gaurantee it.
Like that Transformers tie-in in cover? Complete with mohawk and Black Flag tattoo.
Yet another Chicago band. Sheesh, when will it end? This time it's female-fronted punk rock. I guess that means I should reference Discount, but a female-fronted Bollweevils is more apropos. Scott, who ran Harmless Records, was in this band.
01. Blackhole 02. Typical Song 03. Piece of Meat 04. Cindy 05. Vagrant
God, I have a weak spot for this sort of stuff. San Pedro's Second To Last doesn't do anything groundbreaking, they just play really good punk rock. Take early Pennywise, subtract the glossy production, add some Know Records and Recess Records influence, and you've got a great little record that got completely ignored.
The Padres scouting department should be extremely proud.
Y'all are brutalizing me.
It's easy to make fun of Matt Bush, but in all seriousness, he desperatley needs a mental health evaluation. He's been on a downward spiral for years, but it has really intensified of late. It's a fine line between comedy and tragedy.
Jay-Z is possibly the best rapperand the best music-industry strategist alive.
I love you, Spencer, but you have got to be joking. I'm not saying Jay-Z sucks, exactly, although he's not my cuppa tea. But it's not like all the great MC's have passed away or something, and "greatest...alive" is pretty all-inclusive. As long as Rakim still has a pulse, I think that title is in safe hands for a while.
One of the best pop-punk band's best pop-punk EP's. Insanely catchy, with Dr. Frank's simple yet brilliant lyrical wordplay. The CDEP of this adds a couple of songs, but we're keeping it real, yo.
A co-worker told me about Blue Water. It's a fresh fish market/grill. It was featured on Food Network. I don't know how busy it was before the TV appearance, but when we went, it was insanely busy. 10 minutes to order, 40 minutes to get your food. I ordered a swordfish taco and a Hawaiian wahoo taco, whatever that is. They were both really good, but I'm not sure they justified the wait. Also, there is plenty of excellent fish in the taco, so there is no need to bury it in so much cabbage. Bottom line, check it out, but avoid peak hours at all costs.
The first and only Isocracy release. East Bay punk rock at its very finest. A punk rock supergroup, but no one at the time knew it; Isocracy was Al Sobrante, who helped form Green Day, Jason Beebout & Martin Brohm, later of Samiam, and Lenny Johnson (aka Len Rokk), later of Filth. A truly great 7 inch, especially when you consider this came out at punk rock's nadir.
ii. The House of Representatives introduces a bill establishing a marker acknowledging the contribution of slaves in the building of the Capitol be placed in Emancipation Hall.
iii. The bill passes. 399 for. One against.
iv. That one? Rep Steve King (R-IA).
v. Steve King's excuse? "Last night I opposed yet another bill to erect another monument to slavery because it was used as a bargaining chip to allow for the actual depiction of 'In God We Trust' in the CVC. The Architect of the Capitol and liberal activists opposed every reference to America's Christian heritage, even to the extent of scrubbing 'In God We Trust' from the depiction of the actual Speaker's chair in the U.S. House of Representatives." blah blah blah "yet another effort to place guilt on future Americans for the sins of some of their ancestors" blah blah "Judeo-Cristian heritage" blah blah.
Texas had a lot of really good pop-punk bands in the mid-90's. Fourth Grade Nothing was one of them. Very Green Day-ish. As a testament to their greatness, they were actually in the Bio-Dome soundtrack. I'm not kidding.
I guess because I was such an avid listener of The Al Franken Show on Air America, I assumed that everybody already knew that Al Franken is an extremely intelligent guy who has a deep understanding of public policy issues. It appears that I was wrong - a lot of people seem to equate Franken with Jesse Ventura, believing that he got elected on solely because of his fame and not his knowledge of the issues. Even Democratic senators from Minnesota are guilty of this. (I am pretty certain that Klobuchar actually appeared on the show, so she really should know better)
The Al Franken Show was very funny. But it was also very smart. It was the most serious discussion of politics on the radio outside NPR. Yet he is eclipsed by the shadow of Stuart Smalley. Ridiculous.
Being the key architect of the Vietnam war will always eclipse all the positive influences that he had on this country. But he did have a lot of positive influence. You can't just ignore that.
Which is why you should absolutely add The Fog Of Warto your Netflix queue. The good and the bad, and a lot of regret.
Great little EP here. Vinyl companion to Pete Jordan'sDishwasherfanzine. 4 really good songs, including a fabulous stripped down version of "Born To Do DIshes" by The Queers. Stellar tracks by the always stellar Scared of Chaka and the Hi-Fives. Rounded out by a kick ass song by a band I never heard of outside this release, Ten-Four. Like I said, great EP.
This split way was recorded way before AFI morphed into whatever the hell they have been doing for the past decade. Heckle never acheived the fame AFI did, but they deserved it. On this particular split, they are by far the better band. The end of "Something Real" has had a skip since I first bought it in '95. I've fixed the best I could.
And yes, I have the white vinyl if anyone wants to back up the Brinks truck.
(An email from anyone associated with AFI will get this taken down stat. No harm is meant by my little bloggity blog)
Lucha mini wrestlers La Parkita and El Especrito (real names Alberto & Alejandro Jimenez) were found dead Monday inside a hotel room in Mexico City. According to local authorities, the two wrestlers had brought two prostitutes back to their hotel. The prostitutes drugged their drinks and then robbed them. The hotel clerk told police that he saw the four go into the room at around 6AM on Monday and that the two women left roughly 12 hours later. Due to their small size, the drugs ended up killing them. Both were 35.
I may not be a counter-terrorism expert, but it is my humble opinion that if Al Qaeda or any other terrorist group never attacks the United States again, then that would be a good thing.
But I guess that makes me your typical America-hating, latte-sipping Liberal. If I was a patriot who truly loved this country, I would be a-wishin' and a-hopin' that Al Qaeda would attack us, maybe even with nuclear weapons, because that would give us the motivation to stop them from attacking us.
That's insane talk, right? But what other conclusion can you deduce from this conversation between (sigh) Glenn Beck and Michael Scheuer?
Scheuer has tried to backtrack somewhat in the comments of an Ackerman post (where he feels comfortable throwing around the "Socialism" charge), but A) he said what he said, and he said it clearly: "The only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States." and B) he went on to Glenn Beck's show, a den of crazy to begin with, to make that point.
The 'Toot:
Seriously. His argument boils down to this: if America isn’t attacked again, we as a nation will never do what it takes to keep America safe from being…attacked again. I know I’m repeating myself here, but the argument is just so magnificent in its self-refuting circularity that I can’t help but stand in awe. Even Orwell would have left that scene on the cutting room floor, deeming it too much of a strain on the credulity of the audience. And yet, there is Glenn “Batshit Crazy” Beck nodding along as if these were the wisest words he’d ever heard. His retort is brilliant in its own right:
Which is why I was thinking, if I were [Osama] that is the last thing I would do right now.
So, Osama wouldn’t want to screw up his chances of setting off a WMD in America at some later date by…setting of a WMD in America now. I…but…the point is…he would…why is there blood coming out of my nose?
I mostly like Wavves - SD REPRESENT! Doesn't live up to all the hype, but who does? The guy certainly writes some pretty decent pop songs, though. It's not his fault Pitchfork jizzed in their collective jeans and triggered a tsunami of unrealistic expectations.
I'm 37 and way out of the loop when it comes to what the kids are listening to. But I occasionally try to keep track of what the cool kids listen to. And lately it's been one disappointment after another. Wavves is about the lone bright spot. But the rest, Fleet Foxes, Jay Reatard, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Grizzly Bear, etc - I simply cannot get into. It's probably because I'm old and jaded, but there wasn't a memorable song in the bunch. I'd be happy to hear examples of why I'm wrong.
And what the hell is with the overly distorted vocals? It's not exactly revolutionary. If one of these bands were to do it, fine. But when three of the most hyped bands I've been exposed to lately are doing it (Wavves, The Oh Sees, Ty Segall), well then I start to think that maybe that's what is getting the bands hyped in the first place. A style over substance type thing. But indie rock fans couldn't be that gullible, right? In any case, the distorted vocals thing is the indie rock version of AutoTune.
As for a unifying theory behind this post, there isn't one. /andyrooneyrant
My return to San Diego has been pretty Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton free. That has now changed. He was on 1090 all week, and now he pens a column for SDNN. It is predictably awful.
Brian Giles has become a popular whipping boy. His $9 million deal and the $2 million trade kicker has limited his ability to be shopped. So has his no trade clause. He did hit .309 last year, though he is batting in the .190s this year. Why beat him up?
Probably because he makes $9 million and is hitting in the .190's. And he (allegedly) beat his pregnant girlfriend. Why beat him up? Very sensitive, Hacksaw.
Darren Balsley is developing quite a reputation for curing pitchers woes. Kevin Correia, a bust with the Giants, has gone 4-1 with a 2.41 ERA (39 Ks, 3 walks) in 33 innings. Chad Gaudin is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA (28 Ks in 21 innings) in recent starts. Not a bad job by Padres pitching coach Balsley, a former gas station attendant in Poway. Wonder if other teams are taking notes.
Hmmm. I wonder. Let's see the Padres team ERA (4.63) ranks 25th in the league. Gaudin's "recent" ERA may be 2.14, but he is 4-6 with an actual ERA of 4.97. Correa's actual record is 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA. I'm sure other teams are beating a path to his door. FTR, I'm not saying Balsley sucks, it's just ridiculous to insinuate he's performing any miracles.
Phil Nevin, who resurrected his career with the Padres after failing as a first-round pick with the Angels, is managing the Orange County Flyers in the Golden League. He’s hoping to learn quickly to start a second career. He was a grinder with the Padres. Wonder if he grinds on his players?
Do you? Does the thought of Nevin grinding player's keep you up at night? Do you also wonder if Arci Cianfrocco gives lapdances?
LaDainian Tomlinson is no longer held in high regard by football people around the nation. Four different injuries in four Chargers seasons. He is not even rated in the top 50 players by CBS Sportsline. They had DeAngelo Williams (Carolina), with two good seasons and Michael Turner (Atlanta) with one good season, ranked ahead of Tomlinson at running back. Honorable mention status was given to Brian Westbrook (Eagles) and Steven Jackson (Rams), both productive. Are any of those guys mentioned as Hall of Fame candidates? Tomlinson has 17,000 all purpose yards and 141 TDs. How dare they diss him? What LT-BS. What garbage.
What does being a Hall of Fame player have to do with your value for the upcoming season? By Hacksaw's standard, if Brett Favre plays this year, he should be the number one quarterback.
Vincent Jackson may have a problem on his hands, a possible NFL suspension, for multiple DUI incidents. Commissioner Roger Goodell will deal with him once he is done with guys like Vick-Plaxico-Stallworth. VJ, good player, needs to grow up and not make any more mistakes. Sitting for two games would solve that. Right?
Of course it would. All the world's problems would be solved if we just benched more people I'm looking at you, Kim Jong Il. I'm shocked that they haven't considered this in prison. Shank someone, bam - benched from the prison softball team for not one, but TWO games.
The Chargers will bounce back this year.
Whew. It really sucked last year only making it to the AFC Championship game. What a nightmare.
Chuck Long is tied up in this struggle over money with San Diego State. If he leaves to go somewhere else, he loses the remaining $1.4M on his deal. State has given him a job at a desk but no one is quite sure what his project assignments are. Be a man of your word SDSU, and let him look, and split the salary difference. Of course there is this. Why didn’t Long have a typical partial pay clause, that would allow State to get a discount on remaining money if he left? He could coach, they would not be on the hook for all that cash. Everyone looks like a loser in this don’t they?
Um, if he leaves to go somewhere else, I'm pretty sure "somewhere else" will be paying him. If he wants to coach somewhere else, go do it, just don't expect the State of California, which is currently issuing IOU's, too keep throwing money at him. If he doesn't want to coach, he gets paid more than I'll ever make to do nothing. I'm not going to cry too hard for Chuck Long.
UFL, the new semi-pro league, held its first draft and five ex-Aztecs were picked.... Who is going to watch the United Football League?
Apparently you, since you tracked the draft pretty closely.
LPGA golf, PBA bowling, WTA-ITF tennis. Can someone explain to me in a market of 2.5M residents, why we are not regular stops on those tours too?
Are you fucking kidding me?
This trainwreck is gonna be a blast to follow. It's the perfect Larry King - Peter King love child.
One of the titans of 90's political punk. I'm one of those guys that prefers the poppier sound of early Propagandhi to the more serious, hardcore turn they took when John Sampson left to form The Weakerthans. I still like the new stuff, just not as much as the old stuff, although the new album Supporting Caste, does have a few nods towards the old sound.
The B side of this is a nice little patriotic ditty to play for you friends ansd family on the Fourth Of July.
Pigs Will Pay
Stick The Fucking Flag Up Your Goddamn Ass You Sonofabitch
I guess this would technically be called ska-punk, but make no mistake, you will never ever ever confuse Choking Victim with Reel Big Fish. This is ska-punk for da punx.
Choking Victim would pretty much evolve into Leftover Crack and INDK.