Let's Go On An Adventure with The Cosmic Psychos

 I could say there is a deep meaning to this but that would be a lie. Pop a cold one and enjoy. 

Yet Another Bandcamp Friday - Celebrate With South Korean Hardcore

 If I say music from South Korea, you might think KPop. And oh Lord is it awful. Sugary and mind numbing, like every boy band ever. But last night, I stumbled upon something completely different. 

I was cooking dinner and letting Bandcamp's "Album of the Day" playlist go through when my tiny Bluetooth speaker started belching a ferocious noise. I about tripped trying to get to my phone to mash the "heart" button. Wait, they are from South Korea. File under: Things I Didn't Expect.

I give you Slant.

Not all hardcore is created equal; sometimes it's just people screaming unintelligibly. It is not music born of privilege. It is music that comes from being somewhere under society's boot, mentally or economically. Perhaps it's telling that the best hardcore bands I've heard recently are from Mexico or feature a black man who grew up being told he was weird for liking metal and punk. I don't know Slant's background but they get the hardcore ethos, can play their instruments, and make me want to run into people.(Even though I'm too old to be getting into the pit.)

If punk played even faster is your thing. If music that builds tempo before ripping your head off is your thing, check this out and throw Slant some cash this Bandcamp Friday. They'll get more of the money so they can do more of this. Please. 

I'll leave you with the ripper that is "Violent Minds". I can see the pit for this song in my mind. The first fifteen seconds of the song build into an eruption of vocals and music that would send bodies flying. 

"Am I Wrong" or Have I Heard This Before?

Cover songs can come from unexpected places. Like Ten Foot Pole offering a version of Tesla's "Love Song" or NOFX playing a Fleetwood Mac song. This morning's surprise was courtesy of Off With Their Heads.

Ryan Young and the band have released a 7" with two new recordings. The 7", if you are collector, comes with some extra goodies or you can get a digital version. I cued it up on bandcamp and while listening to the first song thought, "This is a little different for them." 

But when I got to the second song "Am I Wrong", I knew I had heard it before.

I started banging around google, and found one song that was definitely not the song I was listening to, and enjoying, before hitting upon the original. It turns out I'm not nearly the student of 80s and 90s punk/post-punk/new wave/whatever, that I thought I was.

"Am I Wrong" was originally recorded by Love Spit Love, a side project for Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs. Not only that, but the first track "Wrong Train" is a Psychedelic Furs' song. The song was featured in the opening scene of the movie "Angus". If you listen to the track and can't place where you've heard it before either. 

I may not be the smartest music listener alive but "getting learnt!" about music isn't such a bad thing. Now I have four tracks to enjoy this morning rather than two.  The OWTH's version are in my bandcamp wishlist waiting for my next shopping trip. Here's Love Spit Love's version.

Happy Weird Covid Weekend!

A Little Public Enemy for MLK Jr. Day - "By The Time I Get To Arizona"

 Yes, this song is about this holiday. 

From Wikipedia on AZ and SC: 

"In 1986, Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, created a paid state MLK holiday in Arizona by executive order just before he left office, but in 1987, his Republican successor Evan Mecham, citing an attorney general's opinion that Babbitt's order was illegal, reversed Babbitt's decision days after taking office.^[18] Later that year, Mecham proclaimed the third Sunday in January to be "Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day" in Arizona, albeit as an unpaid holiday.^[19] In 1990, Arizona voters were given the opportunity to vote on giving state employees a paid MLK holiday. That same year, the National Football League threatened to move Super Bowl XXVII, which was planned for Arizona in 1993, if the MLK holiday was voted down.^[20] In the November election, the voters were offered two King Day options: Proposition 301, which replaced Columbus Day on the list of paid state holidays, and Proposition 302, which merged Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays into one paid holiday to make room for MLK Day. Both measures failed to pass, with only 49% of voters approving Prop 302, the more popular of the two options; although some who voted "no" on 302 voted "yes" on Prop 301.^[21] Consequently, the state lost the chance to host Super Bowl XXVII, which was subsequently held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.^[20] In a 1992 referendum, the voters, this time given only one option for a paid King Day, approved state-level recognition of the holiday.^[22]

On May 2, 2000, South Carolina governor Jim Hodges signed a bill to make King's birthday an official state holiday. South Carolina was the last state to recognize the day as a paid holiday for all state employees. Before the bill, employees could choose between celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day or one of three Confederate holidays."

The Descendents - "That's The Breaks"

 The message on this one is pretty transparent as well as whom it is directed towards. 

Mikey Erg - "Bon Voyage" (Hey, isn't he in that band, and that band, and that band...?)

Mikey Erg(Yannich) is a skinny, bespectacled guy from NJ who pops up in bands from NJ to MN. His list of associated acts includes The Ergs!(duh), Dirt Bike Annie, The Slow Death, and Star Fucking Hipsters amongst others. 

My only experience seeing Mikey live playing solo was a few years ago at Blind Bob's Bar in Dayton, OH. He was the first act on a four band bill that included Raging Nathans, The Slow Death(Mikey was playing drums that night.), and Dopamines. Mikey got up on stage by himself, plugged in his guitar, and proceeded to play his ass off for 20 minutes. His glasses kept sliding down his face as he contorted himself throwing his whole body into singing and playing. 

"Take a listen to the words sometime / And then you'll know that you're not alone here..." That's how Mikey launches into "Colleen". If that isn't an emo-punk anthem, I don't know what is. On this track, Mikey plays all the instruments but is backed up by Lydia Loveless on vocals. The music drives while the lyrics remind us that nothing is new but we can move on. I found myself bouncing in my chair while listening to this track.

On the track "Bon Voyage", we hear a story of the aftermath of a break up. If you haven't lived this song, you're lucky. This is a punk rock break up song if I ever heard one. Sometimes punk songs are like old country songs just played a breakneck speed. "Bon Voyage" is one of those songs.

This 4 song EP is a quick listen at under 10 minutes and a bargain at $4. Give Mikey some of your money and listen to some pretty songs.

 

MANTAR - Grungetown Hooligans II (This thing isn't dead yet.)

I spent the end of 2020 in quiet reflection(Which means playing video games, drinking too much, and occasionally going for a walk.) "Refreshed", I'm back to doing something...    

In the middle of last year, MANTAR, a two piece from Hamburg, Germany released a collection of covers of songs by 90's grunge and alt stalwarts such as L7, Sonic Youth, and Mudhoney. I learned of this band prior to one of my trips to FL FEST. They shared a stage on "Metal/Hardcore Sunday" with Whores and Melvins. The former I will review, if they ever release their new album. Regardless, I was pretty impressed by their performance and have been following them since. Their releases "Death By Burning" and "Ode To The Flame" are worth grabbing for any metal head. 

The first track to jump out at me was this excellent cover of The Jesus Lizard's "Puss". While the lyrics are more clear than David Yow's screaming, the music is darker and befitting of the topic of the song. I'll leave that to you to figure out. This one is a total banger. 

Next we have their take on L7's "Can I Run". In this video, we see the drummer first making himself pretty and then gorging himself over the lost love seen in the picture of the guitar player/singer. It gets darker from there. (I suppose this video needs a trigger warning for something, well a bunch of things.) The song is about a woman's fear of walking the streets alone. But in the environment L7 is talking about, a man loving another man would live in fear as well. This one ain't happy but I like it. 

Finally, we have a cover by one of my favorite bands, Mudhoney. "Who You Drivin' Now" is one to light up the pit. I can see the arms in the air, people singing back to the band while bodies flail about. Rip. 

All in this is a solid batch of covers. It was tough to pick which ones to feature. Plop it into your bandcamp cart and let the nostalgia wash over you with a heavy dose of metal.