Rock Star Journalist

Oh, man, I totally slept on this. The Accelerators‘ debut full-length came out last month on Stardumb, and I totally flaked on getting it. Now, granted, the label is based out of Rotterdam, so it’s not like your average record store is going to carrying their releases. Although, really - they should. Some of the best pop-punk in the world - kind of like a Dutch version of Lookout! before they went downhill.

The Accelerators’ve got that Ramones look that every good pop-punk act seems to sport: leather jackets, jeans, Converse, and with that Joe Queer twist of a ball cap - they are carrying that pop-punk banner and flying it high.
Anyhow, the Accelerators’ My Baby Is An Undertaker that came out on Squinty Joe is one of my favorite 7″s of the past few years, and I probably overplayed the songs of it in the weeks after it showed up. All the songs are snotty, awesome, and “1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4″ pogo crazy. The full-length also features “The Rain,” which was the jam from the 7″.

So, I will be dropping large amounts of money on music from overseas, it seems. On the bright side, Stardumb has a lot of other really great releases (Groovie Ghoulies, the Apers), and when the mail comes, it’ll have a postmark from the Netherlands, which is kind of a bonus, if you think about it.

In the words of Lavar Burton, you don’t have to take my word for it. Here are some reviews:
* Punk Rock Reviews
* Asice

“I’m Not Sorry”
“Go Get Your Brain Checked”
“The Rain“

Hey, for once a decent press release found its way into my inbox! Usually, I look at the subject line, and most stuff ends up in the trash. But when the subject read “Submission: Atom and His Package tribute album,” I am down like a sonofabitch.

Atom & His Package were one of those artists that popped up on a bunch of comps (when comps were still worth a damn), and I went absolutely batshit for him. Crazy Jewish dude with a synthesizer playing songs about the metric system? Helllllllllll, yes. Then I bought a bunch of his stuff, and wondered why one-man synth covers of Fugazi and Geto Boys songs didn’t make other people flip out. Maybe it was songs about Enya? Maybe the voice? Who knows? All I know is that Atom & His Package is one of those artists that I loved and never got to see play live.

Anyhow, Atom & His Package ended, he did Armalite, and I haven’t really heard anything about him since. I guess he had to retire because of Type 1 diabetes. Hartless Hind Records has put together a tribute record called Up End Atom (nice Simpsons reference), and four bucks from each disc goes to the American Diabetes Association.

The tribute features acts like Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, MC Lars, hockey-core outfit the Zambonis, and - in what has to be the most perfect cover song / artist pairing ever, mcchris doing “Punk Rock Academy.”

I’m going to be watching the mail until this sucker shows. Seriously, that song alone is worth the purchase.

Steinbeck “Possessions (Not the One By Danzig)”
the Emotron - “Me and My Black Metal Friends“

My copy of the Ergs! Ben Kweller EP repress showed up in the mail yesterday. I pre-ordered the sucker from Freedom School Records, and it ran me something like $15.

Now, like it says on the Ergs! website, “the vinyl record itself, whether it has 3 songs on it or 20, costs the same amount of money to make.” I don’t care about the actual cost. I do care about the fact that, in the age of Internet, vinyl should always - and I mean fucking always - come with a download card / coupon / slip / whatever. The guy who runs Seven Ten Twelve has a company called Transmit Vinyl, and they have “an introductory rate of $25 for 500 unique codes for 192K Mp3s.” That’s a goddamn nickel per record.

Now, I’ve got to get back to searching Shareminer for a decent download of a record for which I paid fifteen fucking dollars, and still can’t listen to on my iPod. Although - to be fair, I’m really frustrated because this is a seven-year-old record, and it’s flippin’ great. Plus, Thrash Compactor and their split with the Measure [sa] come out this year, and I’d really like to not have to run everything I buy on vinyl through my computer and Audacity.

Also, can “Pool Pass” be the summer jam for 2009 if it was released in 2002? Catchy as hell, about trying to get into the pool to meet a girl… is there anything more summer jam than that? The tune’s a little rougher than what I’m familiar with from Upstairs/Downstairs and Dorkrockcorkrod, but it’s not like the Ergs! have ever been polished. Case in point:

“Xerox Your Genitals, Not the Ramones”

You! You fuckers who (kinda / sorta) regularly read this blog!

Rarely do I ever issue edicts in the form of direct orders, but I would like to make one of those rare exceptions. Kelly over at Love Garden gave me the hard sell on the Shitty Limits when I was in there earlier this week. The usual “this is right up your alley” speech you hear from your pusher record store guy.

Still, I get them home, throw ‘em on the turntable, and “Espionage” comes blasting out of the speakers. Blows my fucking mind. Seriously, that track sounds an awful lot like Mudhoney’s “Touch Me I’m Sick.” It’s that same perfect mix of dirty garage and punk. Seriously, this -fucking this right here - is what “garage punk” is all about. “Garage” modifies “punk,” meaning that it’s snotty punk with some garage fuzz, as opposed to the usual “garage rock with lo-fi production that Goner puts out.”

Sorry State Records released the “Espionage” single, along with Here Are the Limits. Sorry State put out the Cross Laws‘ Ancient Rites, too - which is also a smashing slab of hardcore. Shitty Limits’ve got a couple other singles out (some of which are out-of-print), as well as a forthcoming LP entitled Beware The Limits. The singles are pretty cheap to grab, and ought to be harder to get your hands on than they are.

And even if you’re too much of a cheap fuck to get the records (and you should, because they slay with great (somewhat intelligible) lyrics, guitar riffs that work their way into your brain like a tapeworm into your digestive tract, and a rhythm section that attacks your central nervous system), you can go to their MySpace page above and download ‘em all for free.

The new Stand Out Riot album, Carnival Militia, showed up in the mail yesterday and is one of the best ska-punk CDs I’ve ever heard. It’s like the kids in the band went to their producer, played him “The Final Countdown” by Europe, and said “we want to sound that fucking big.” Seriously - epic. I’ve never heard a ska-punk album that had this much range. It’s an absolutely dynamic recording, as opposed to flattening everything to one level and sterilizing the sound.

This right here is a prime example of how you can use the studio to accomplish something amazing. I loved their last EP, Stand Out Riot Vs. the Oxbridge Mafia, and this is leaps and bounds beyond that. I was only able to make it through the first two songs before I went to class last night, but they sounded so great coming through my truck’s speakers, I felt the need to share it with everyone today. Shell out the cash to get it, deal with the insane shipping charges and conversion rates to get it from the UK, and you’ll appreciate it and can thank me later.

Compared to the disappointment that is the new Reel Big Fish album, I’m glad something good showed up in the mail yesterday. That RBF album, Fame, Fortune, and Fornication is a collection of covers, which would normally have me jumping for joy, especially since RBF’s done some great covers over the years (”Take On Me,” “Unity,” “Gigantic,” et al), but this just disappoints. They cover one of my most favorite ska songs ever, “Veronica Sawyer” by Edna’s Goldfish, and slow the tempo down just enough to suck all the energy out. The guitar isn’t nearly as rocking, and pretty much every song on the album ends up sounding exactly the fucking same. It’s fun and all, and the punked up version of “Authority Song” only strengthens my long-held opinion that a snotty punk band still needs to cover it properly, but for the most part, I’m really glad I didn’t have to pay for this.

the Born Again Floozies - “Street Music: 13 Rebellions and a Song of Consolation”
(Triple R Records)

I’ve enjoyed the Born Again Floozies‘ last two albums. Their debut EP Novelties, Addenda, and Ephemera, and their last full-length, 7 Deadly Sinners were capable and enjoyable bursts of weirdness. Mixing the tapdancing percussion of Tilly & the Wall with the off-the-wall political ranting and volatile cabaret of the World/Inferno Friendship Society, both those records were energetic and frenetic fun.

Street Music, however, is pretty dull. It’s lethargic, and completely lacks the “rebellions” mentioned in the album’s subtitle. The band plays at such a slow pace, it’s as if they’re trying to soundtrack The Saddest Music In the World. There’s not a song on this record that hits the energy previously displayed by the Floozies. It’s so laid-back, I have difficulty believing this is the same band that put out the other two releases.

The horns are there (the tuba still up-front) and the tap-dancing still click-clacks the beat, but every song plays out like a funeral march. The band seems to be in the grips of an unspeakable sadness, and the mood infects the listener to such and extent that making it through the last couple songs is an arduous journey.

Let us hope that this is an unburdening of sorts, and the Floozies are back to their old tricks by their next album. I don’t think I could take something like this again.

“We Got the Power (Love Letter From America)” (from Street Music)

Lawrence’s reigning garage combo, the Spook Lights, recently completed recording their debut slab o’ hot wax with engineer Chubby Smith at his studio.

The recording, entitled Live From The Planet Sleazetopia, is expected out on 7″ via the band’s own Scarum Harum label sometime this October. The track listing (in no particular order) is “Night of the Queerwolf,” “Nudie Watusi,” KJHK favorite “Teenage Maniac,” and “Sinister Urge.”

“Sinister Urge” makes its official downloadable preview debut here on Rock Star Journalist. I hope you enjoy it. It’s a rocker, as are the rest of the songs on the 7″. It’s somewhat weird reviewing this as a vinyl release, being as how I don’t have the actual thing in my hands, not does one exist at all. The only way I’ve heard it is via the mp3s that arrived in my inbox courtesy Scary Manilow.

Still, even in mp3, the sound quality comes through. Chubby Smith did an amazing job of capturing the Spook Lights’ raw energy, keeping the whole affair lo-fi without sounding as if it was recorded in someone’s basement. “Teenage Maniac” is in its third form here, with there being extant versions of a basement demo, as well as the Jackpot-recrecorded version found on KJHK’s Farm Fresh Sounds 2007 compilation. This version is slowed down a touch, and is crisper and creepier, with Jet Boy and Curvacia’s guitars actually playing off one another, rather than one burying another.

The whole appeal of Live From The Planet Sleazaetopia is that it sounds distorted and fuzzy, rather than cheap and shitty. The effects are added to enhance the songs, rather than being the result of unfortunate mixing and cheap equipment. Really, the only thing needed to make these songs sparkle is that crackle I know I’m going to hear the first time I drop the needle down.

The Spook Lights have made a lo-fi record that captures the energy inherent in their live show, and adds a touch of what the studio can add - things like the organ on “Night of the Queerwolf” make this record a so much more than the usual “we need music to sell” toss-off in which many local acts engage. This is a record that’s going to grab ears and turn heads.

the Spook Lights - “Sinister Urge” (from Live From The Planet Sleazaetopia)

Kansas City’s Sister Mary Rotten Crotch was one of my favorite bands back in my El Torreon days. Hell, Alison, their primary songwriter and guitarist, bought me my first legal drink - McCormick whiskey, if I remember right. There was a show I saw them play at Gee Coffee in Olathe that featured them, Kosher, Tanka Ray, and Terminus City from Atlanta. It currently ranks up there as one of the best punk shows I’ve ever seen, national or local.

It was the first time I saw either Kosher or Tanka Ray, and both bands became immediate favorites. Terminus City I had heard of, because they’d been talked up by Brian Bomb numerous times when I’d talked with him regarding what shows were worth seeing at El Torreon. The SMRC ladies ponied up the dough to fly Frank and co. in from Atlanta to play the Gee show, and it was worth every penny. Every band was firing on all cylinders, and Terminus City ended up being one of those bands that I saw once and lamented not ever seeing again.

Happily, SMRC and Terminus City teamed up to record a split for Hooligan Empire, Brian Bomb’s label. It was pretty limited, and three of the songs never saw the light on any other record. Both Terminus City tracks are exclusive to this split, as is Sister Mary’s “Holier Than Thou” (”Fuck You…” ended up on their Fuckload o’ Pretty LP on Moo Cow Records). Terminus City would go on to record another split with another Kansas City band when they put out a split with the Main Street Saints the following year on Flat Records out of Boston (notable for being a TKO subisdiary started by the Dropkick Murphys‘ Ken Casey). Terminus City also has a readily available full-length on TKO, entitled Justice Isn’t Always Fair.

Anyhow, this is a fine slab o’ clear blue wax that you probably can’t track down anywhere. The debut from Sister Mary Rotten Crotch, Hell Hath No Fury, was pressed on clear red wax, and that seven-song live set currently sits on eBay for twenty bucks. I do not even want to guess as to what this happy bit o’ tuneage would run for. Punk rock as all-hell, with a lovely bit of contrast between the female vocals of Sister Mary and the gruffness of Terminus City.

Terminus City / Sister Mary Rotten Crotch - Skirts ‘n’ Skins
01. Terminus City - “Morris County”
02. Terminus City - “Never Make Me Fall”
03. Sister Mary Rotten Crotch - “Fuck You and Your Neighborhood”
04. Sister Mary Rotten Crotch - “Holier Than Thou“

Much as I’d like to go into amazingly geeky detail about this record, it’s nigh-impossible to find any sort of information about Oink! at all. All I can find out is that Oink! was a skinhead ‘zine that came out of New Jersey in the mid-to-late ’90s, and each issue came with a 7″ of some sort, featuring oi, punk, and ska bands. This split we have here is between American oi stalwarts the Templars and New York’s Bottom of the Barrel. Both tracks are strong examples of how oi actually used to have some serious low-end ass kicking qualities, as opposed to today’s “steetpunk.”

Don’t get me wrong… I love bands like the Briggs. But I miss what the Dropkick Murphys sounded like on those first few singles, before Mike Mccolgan left and they developed their Pogues fetish. Even Street Dogs only lasted an album before they started getting all Billy Bragg on me. I just like my punk rock with some rock to it, not tin whistles all the fucking time.

Anyhow, this 7″ is insanely hard to track down. It came out in 1997, and came with Oink! Skinzine #4. It’s on grey vinyl, and my copy didn’t have a cover, which you can see above, courtesy of Templar Fanatic. No clue as to pressing numbers.

the Templars / Bottom of the Barrel - Oink! split 7″

Perhaps best known for Self Control, their full-length on BYO Records, Kosher hailed from Warrensburg, Missouri. In the early years of this decade, they were stalwarts in the Kansas City punk scene that swirled around the all-ages El Torreon. Along with bands like Tanka Ray, Annie On My Mind, the Revolvers, and Sister Mary Rotten Crotch, Kosher was one of those bands that gigged regularly around the KC area, blasting the roof off of venues everywhere they went, be it all ages clubs like El Torreon or beer soaked dens of inquity like Davey’s Uptown.

Back in late 1999, I was host of the local music program, and I had Kosher play live on the air. It was a Sunday night, raining like crazy, and these kids drove all the way from Warrensburg to play twenty minutes of poorly produced music to a very small listening audience. Honestly - the radio station has a wattage of 2600, and doesn’t have a radius much over 50 miles. Still, they played their hearts out, and brought my girlfriend at the time and I copies of this 7″, their Death to Drama EP and stickers. I still have that recording, and I still kick myself for not doing a better job.

Bored In America was released in late 1999 / early 2000 on the Skull-Duggery label out of Massachusetts. It was limited to something like 300 copies, and if you didn’t get one, you’re pretty much fucked for finding a copy now. I refound this in the stacks of the college radio station where I work, with my handwriting scrawled all over it. The band had a full-length recorded before this EP, and it was simply entitled The Record, in what can only be described as a touching rip off tribute to Fear. The band on that album is astonishingly young, with liner notes requesting no one call the contact numbers listed inside too late because the band members still live with their parents.

This is probably Kosher at their most raw. It’s before they polished their sound into the focused attack it’d be on Self Control, but past the kiddie punk of The Record. This and Death to Drama feature a lot of the songs that would eventually make up Self Control, but in a far more lo-fi form. If you’re curious as to how the band sounded live, you can track down the Streetpunk ‘99 compilation on DSS Records. It features the band playing live the song “Punk Rock Pretty Boy,” which is only available on that comp.

Kosher - Bored In America 7″ EP