Been really busy lately.....posting will resume soon (ish).

I've been away too long..........

(Joe Cool and) the Killers - Killer (1978)

DO NOT be put off by the silly name...this is a classic punk album.

Formed in May 1977 in Brighton Joe Cool & the Killers released 1 7'' and this album and both are fucking great; the 7'' went for a small fortune a few years back, probably rightly so tbh. If you like the old UK 77 punk, or high energy punk, then is a must for you. It's truely great.

They were picked up by the same guy who spotted, and took to fame, Leo Sayer. That fact alone would be enough to put anyone off, and once you throw in the name most people would put their trainers on and start running for the hills. What a mistake that would be.

They lasted until late '78 and split up. I have no idea what happened to any of the band with the exception of Tony Mayberry who joined The Depressions.

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Uploaded as a request from Raul....hope you enjoy it.

Emma Peel - Avenging Punk Rock Godfathers 7'' (1993)

Now here's a band that I wish had continued to produce more as this is such a great 7''.

I have no clue as to how they formed, but I'm thankful they did and left this gem behind in their wake. A band who comprised the following personnel: -

John (Stabb) Schroeder - Vocals
Rob Frankel - Guitar
Steve Hansgen - Bass
Danny Ingram - Drums

This long out of print 7'' was released on Tragic Life records in 1993.

The sound isn't too dissimilar to latter day Government Issue, so you know it has to be good. I've rambled on about the members of this band at various times before and they should be pretty well known to most fans of hardcore. A, possibly, little known fact is that Steve Hansgen joined Boyd Farrell and Mike Dolfi. both ex Black Market Baby, in Rustbuckit a while ago.... a band who's record is soooooooooo song overdue that I've almost worn out my demo copy!!!!

I have a live set of Emmapeel somewhere....I'll upload it one day.

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Honey Bane

No download...just pointing out that this is a good album released last year. A cool mix of punk, dub and alternative. Listen to the album at the bottom...or buy it... only 7 bucks!

Violence (grows) Grew off the album.

Dot Dash - Winter Garden Light (2012)

What a lovely way to start a miserable wet and rainy Saturday morning. I check my various e-mail accounts and in the one for this blog I find a link to a band called Dot Dash who grab my attention with the header of "dc band". I click a link and I'm immediately hit by the power of the drumming, the opening track is instantly impressive and hooks me straight in.

Reading further through the e-mail Dot Dash have a real heritage and consist of: -

Terry Banks - Vocals/Guitar (Glo-Worm, The Saturday People, Tree Fort Angst, Julie Ocean)
Bill Crandall - Guitar (Modest Proposal, Adam West)
Hunter Bennett - Bass (Weatherhead, Julie Ocean)
Danny Ingram - Drums (Youth Brigade (dc), Social Suicide, Madhouse, Emmapeel, Strange Boutique, Swervedriver and a few more that I can't think of)

So Danny explains the powerful drumming and with Terry, Hunter and Bill it explains the hook laden songs.

Dot Dash are a very accomplished powerpop/punk pop band, and this album speeds past you at a million miles an hour, not due to it's velocity, but due to the seamless sequence of flawless songs that take you on the musical equivalent of the perfect speed date.

The album starts with Faraway, full of atmosphere, Byrds like guitars and Buzzcocks trade mark "ooohs and ahhhs" and slips into track two, Countdown, equally hook laden and captivating. Before you realise it they've spun your head though a plethora of perfect pop songs and the album is finishing with The Devil's Road. All the intervening songs flow effortlessly into each other and are beautifully constructed with a clear/sharp production. This is a refreshingly uplifting album that I know will sit with me for years to come.

Thanks to the Bandcamp website you can hear the album here. You can also buy the album, for as little as, $7, which is a pittence for such a stunning piece of work.

Their Facebook page can be found here

Condemned to Death - 7'' (1984)

Back to these guys and their self titled 7'' from '84'  Two words...simply, fucking, brilliant.

If you want to know more look here.

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Thumbs up!!!

The Proletariat - Marketplace 7'' (1985)

I bought this on one of my regular trips to London to buy records from Rough Trade, Plastic Passion etc. I picked this up new from Tower records.

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Sheep Farming

I've had a Crass logo on this site/blog for ages , but I've never posted anything by them...time to change that.

I remember this time so clearly as I'd popped into town and into Volume records (home of the Toy Dolls) to see what new releases they'd had in. I spoke to the regular shop assistants and one of them alerted me to a flexi-disc they'd received. The flexi had been used to pack records that were shipped to the shop. Some were in perfect condition, others were ruined and bent. He said he thought it might be Crass; I asked him to throw one on the turntable and, sure enough, it was clearly Crass.

I asked for one, and he passed me a hand full of them. I loved this flexi, as I did early Crass. However they always presented me wtih an real dichotomy; on the one hand I adored their early work and they helped open my mind, yet on the other hand I kinda blamed them for the rapid downfall of UK punk, unfairly. 83/84 were strange times in the UK as many people were moving over to the peace/anarchist ethic espoused by Crass and were ditching leather jackets and DM's for canvas.

Even more strangely at the time of this flexi release I recall one person in particular wearing a Fuck Argentina t-shirt as they'd invaded the falklands....6 months later he was a peace loving anarchist who, when you spoke to him, would recite Crass rhetoric almost verbatim, conveniently he forgot about the T-shirt. This kind of assimilation into a Crassite mindset would narrow punk so badly that invention died and with it punk......for a few years.

The first two Crass albums and all of their 7'', except merry Crassmas, were borderline genius in my book; feeding the 5000 is such a great record. This 7'' is one of my favorite Crass 7'', only being beaten by Big A Little A and Bloody Revolutions which is simply astounding...still!!!!

Crass were far more than the overly political group they're portrayed to be these days...I recall a time when they were a hugely important, and influential, punk band.

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You talk about your revolution, well, that's fine
But what are you going to be doing come the time?
Are you going to be the big man with the tommy-gun?
Will you talk of freedom when the blood begins to run?
Well, freedom has no value if violence is the price
Don't want your revolution, I want anarchy and peace

You talk of overthrowing power with violence as your tool
You speak of liberation and when the people rule
Well ain't it people rule right now, what difference would there be?
Just another set of bigots with their rifle-sights on me

But what about those people who don't want your new restrictions?
Those that disagree with you and have their own convictions?
You say they've got it wrong because they don't agree with you
So when the revolution comes you'll have to run them through
You say that revolution will bring freedom for us all
Well freedom just ain't freedom when your back's against the wall

You talk of overthrowing power with violence as your tool
You speak of liberation and when the people rule
Well ain't it people rule right now, what difference would there be?
Just another set of bigots with their rifle-sights on me

Will you indoctrinate the masses to serve your new regime?
And simply do away with those whose views are too extreme?
Transportation details could be left to British rail
Where Zyklon B succeeded, North Sea Gas will fail
It's just the same old story of man destroying man
We've got to look for other answers to the problems of this land

You talk of overthrowing power with violence as your tool
You speak of liberation and when the people rule
Well ain't it people rule right now, what difference would there be?
Just another set of bigots with their rifle-sights on me

Vive la revolution, people of the world unite
Stand up men of courage, it's your job to fight

It all seems very easy, this revolution game
But when you start to really play things won't be quite the same
Your intellectual theories on how it's going to be
Don't seem to take into account the true reality
Cos the truth of what you're saying, as you sit there sipping beer
Is pain and death and suffering, but of course you wouldn't care

You're far too much of a man for that, if Mao did it so can you
What's the freedom of us all against the suffering of the few?
That's the kind of self-deception that killed ten million jews
Just the same false logic that all power-mongers use
So don't think you can fool me with your political tricks
Political right, political left, you can keep your politics
Government is government and all government is force
Left or right, right or left, it takes the same old course
Oppression and restriction, regulation, rule and law
The seizure of that power is all your revolution's for
You romanticise your heroes, quote from Marx and Mao
Well their ideas of freedom are just oppression now

Nothing changed for all the death, that their ideas created
It's just the same fascistic games, but the rules aren't clearly stated
Nothing's really different cos all government's the same
They can call it freedom, but slavery is the game

Nothing changed for all the death, that their ideas created
It's just the same fascistic games, but the rules aren't clearly stated
Nothing's really different cos all government's the same
They can call it freedom, but slavery is the game
There's nothing that you offer but a dream of last years hero
The truth of revolution, brother................... is year zero.

Las Mordidas - Demo (1994)

I've mentioned them in a number of posts before, so thought it was time to let this demo see the light of day. As mentioned this band was started by Chris Thompson after Circus Lupus disbanded. The band also included Dug E Bird (Rain Like the sound of Trains, Fidelity Jones, Underground Soldier, Beefeater etc etc), Jerry Busher (Fideliey Jones, Chris Bald 96 etc) & Jon Kirschten (Rain, Chris Bald 96).

Chris Thompson is another of the artists I follow religiously and I'm so glad I do as he NEVER disappoints. So.....as demo tapes go, this one is in the premier league; totally outstanding imo; I love it.

If I could be granted one wish it would be to be born in DC on the same birth date....man I'd have pogo'd so hard I'd be three feet shorter. Anyway...enjoy this Demo; two of the songs were, much, later released by Dischord as a 7''.

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The Monorchid - When the Mutes Begin to Root 7'' (1996)

Oh D.C. how I love thee.

Another great Washington band with a real heritage, The band consisted of: -

Chris Thompson - Vocals
Andy Cone - Guitar
Chris Hamley - Guitar
Andy Coronado -Bass
Tom Allnutt - Drums

While this band may not be a household name, Chris Thompson should be as he's been in, Lunch Meat, Soul Side, Ignition, Circus Lupus, Fury, Las Moridas, Skull Kontrol, Red Eyed Legends and a couple more besides.

The Monorchid offer really good angular hardcore punk n roll. If you like any of the bands above, you'll like this...if you've never heard any of the bands above, why not give this a shot and see what you think. The band released 3 7'' and 2 albums, all are worth tracking down.Chris' vocals on this 7'' always reminded me of Mark E Smith.

This is a vinyl rip, so it comes with free pops and hisses; just like the old days.

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How can you be lonely when your house is haunted?

America's Youth.

Algy Ward for Prime Minister

Yes, that's Algy Ward from the Damned playing bass with the shades and denim...how cool does he look!!!

 Know your product from a few years ago.

 Which part of fuck off?

RF7 - Fall in 12'' (1982)

Back to these guys after a loooooong time and a really deserving 12''. Released in 1982 on Smoke Seven records, this 12'' is a seamless continuation from the album released the previous year.

Compilation albums were so important back then and I heard these guys via the Public Service comp and thought they were canny. I added them to my wants list and quickly got their first few releases and I've followed the band ever since. I LOVE this 12'' - it never gets old; it might take a few listens to appreciate it as Felix's vocals are aren't instant hit with some.

I truly believe this band are sadly overlooked when it comes to documenting hardcore; they deserve so much better.

Anyway, download and decide for yourself.

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ISM - I Think I Love You (1983)

The early days of hardcore were sometimes confusing for a guy based 1000's of miles from the center. This band were categorized as hardcore, as comicbook and lumped in with the Berts by some, but make no mistake they're really important and were at the epicenter; as soon I got this 7'' I was hooked.

In my opinion, this a great New York band who came my way via a compilation tape and quickly made their way onto my "wants list". They are really chaotic, yet can clearly play their instruments and manage to make a discordant racket sound like the best thing since sliced bread.

This 7'' needs to be heard. A really good band who lasted for far too few years, but they managed to release a couple of albums, and 7'' along with a 12''. I'd suggest getting them all.

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This 7'' is pure genius.

High Back Chairs

As I've said before, I loved following certain artists to see just where they can take their art/craft, call it what you will. Jeff Nelson was a guy I watched from afar and was totally gob-smacked at just how fast he could play drums yet he'd never miss a beat, ever; the guy was a human metronome. When he was in Minor Threat he was just amazing, what a fucking drummer!!!

I followed him, and Ian, from band to band to see where they went, but I lost touch with Jeff, primarily because I stopped buying Flipside around 93(ish), so I had a few lean years where I had to go back to square one and write letters to people to find out, what was what and, where it was happening.

Fast forward to '96 and I get myself on the interweb and things become easier to follow. I did some digging and found out that Jeff had joined a new band called High Back Chairs; this is after Wonderama. This band ARE NOT punk, however, they could be slotted in with latter day Asexuals, but they're as about as far from Minor Threat as you could get.I really liked these and have no issues from switching from MT, to Void to these in a heartbeat.

It appears that their releases are still available on Dischord, so I've grouped 4 songs together as a taster to get a feel for the band. If you like them then plod on over to Dischord where you can buy the real thing online for a very small fee.....go on, they deserve it; so do Dischord.

Of Two Minds = Buy it here
Curiosity and Relief = BUY IT here (this is the best one and it only costs $4 digitally)

The band consisted of

Pater Hynes - Vocals/Guiter
Jim Spellman - Guitar
Charles Steck - Bass/Vocals
Jeff Nelson - Drumming god like person

This is another band who epitomise why I love DC...so many artists so many, many, many bands. You could spend months trying to plan a family tree around this city. Jim was also in Velocity Girl and Julie Ocean, Charles was in Rambling Shadows, Colo(u)r School etc.

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"Dream of a Day" reminds me of sitting outside the "Free Trade" pub in Newcastle with a freezing cold pint of Stella in my hand on a boiling hot summers day, listening to this album on my walkman waiting for friends to turn up so we could get royally drunk. Ah...those were the days.

Sold my Fortune

A very good band, who released two very good albums.

The drummer in this video is Joey Castillo who started out in Wasted Youth before moving onto Sugartooth, Danzig and Queens of the stone age.

Damned if you do, Damned if you don't......

This is the Damned live at the 02 academy in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on 17th November 2011.

I was humming and harring about going to this gig and almost did, but in the end decided not to as I'm not keen on how Dave sings the old songs these days. This is a really good recording, but on this evidence I still think I made the right decision..... ...you might disagree. However, there's no denying that this contains the worst version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ever.

You need both music links below to get the full gig.

Music part1
Music part2

Some nice chap on youtube has a very good quality video of this gig, his channel is.... here

P.S. Thanks to John for this recording.

Major Conflict - How do ya Feel 7'' (1983)

Soon after Urban Waste folded a couple of ex members formed this band, and boy, am I glad they did. I was offered this 7'', but had no clue who it was and then the seller said "it's some ex Urban Waste members" and I tore his hand off; £3 including import fees and I was laughing. I got home, threw in on the turn table and it's never stopped spinning ever since. I still have this piece of plastic sitting in a storage facility somewhere.
 
My love, some might say obsession with American Hardcore is no secret, but I never really had an affinity with New York. I've often thought why it was that I didn't click with NYC, but I still can't put my finger on it and there are far more bands from there that I didn't like than I did. This band are a huge exception.

This isn't Urban Waste, and if you weren't told the bands shared members you'd never know. This is a huge, powerful wall of noise that will knock you off your feet proving that when New York kicked hard it really kicked; the riffs are brilliant. This 7'' should only be played at one volume, and that's full!

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BoB Mould

Thanks to Days of our Youth for alerting me to this.

The Freeze- Celebration 7'' (1980)

The Freeze were a late 70's/early 80's punk band who gigged extensively and supported many a band during their time, but never achieved the success that could/should have been heaped upon them based upon their two releases. They also recorded a peel session, or two, and then fractured.

Gordon Sharp (vocals) relocated to London in '82 and formed Cindytalk who have a very devout and fanatical following. Cindytalk were not punk, but were classed in that catch all genre of "post-punk".

I have to be honest and say that Cindytalk seldom set a spark alight in my world, let alone set anything on fire, but Gordon did gain many kudos points for recording with the Cocteau Twins in their early days. Anything associated with the Cocteau Twins earns respect from me. If you've never heard them I highly recommend Stars & Topsoil as a jump off point........BUT, it's about as far from punk as you can get so be warned.

Anyway...here's the Freeze's 2nd 7'', not as punk as the first, but still worthy of many a turntable spin.

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Punk World Cup

 

Who would you pick?      (Taken from the Damned's website.)

Some tough choices here for me, but here goes: -

Crass Vs The Ramones. Crass were pretty big in my early days and despite the fact that I partially blame them for the downfall of UK punk it doesn't detract from the fact that ALL their 7'' and first two albums are classics.

It's so easy to forget just how threatening Crass were back then; when had we heard the likes of Asylum? .......We hadn't! The way that track feeds into Do they owe us a living still sends shivers down my spine. I fucking love Feeding of the 5000. It's a hard album to get into, but once it clicks it sits forever rewarding you with great, great punk. However, having said all that, it simply has to be the Ramones, hands down, no argument, no explanation required. The Ramones win.

Siouxsie & the Banshees Vs the Clash. The second hardest fight in the chart but as much as I love them both, and the Banshees made some great albums, with the Scream being almost untouchable the Clash produced the Clash and London Calling which top trumps the Banshees one true bona-fide classic. So the Clash progress.

The Ruts Vs X-Ray Spex. Toughest choice for me as I adore both bands. The Ruts were simply stunning in their musicianship. Listen to any Ruts track and you'll hear four people contributing to a track as individuals, no bass player following the bass drum as often happens but contributing on it's own merits.

X-Ray Spex were one of the sound tracks of my school daze...and I love a good saxophone mixed in with punk so a really hard choice. ....BUT it has to be the Ruts, if only for Westone shine on me which would be in my top ten punk songs ever.

Sex Pistols Vs The Damned. Again I love both bands, but the Pistols late career was muddied with commerciality and sub-standard releases. McLaren ruined their reputation...and let's not mention filthy lucre eh!?

On the other hand we have The Damned who were one of the bands that kept punk alive during its lean period; mid '78 - '79. They were the band that remained closest to the ideals, no matter how ridiculous they might look nowadays, of punk and produced a higher calibre of classic albums than any punk band. Please move the Damned.

Subhumans Vs Stiff Little Fingers. This is the easiest one for me to decide and it's SLF to go forward. Nothing more to say really, just stack up the 7'' and albums and this is a total mis-match....it's Mike Tyson vs Barry McGuigan.

Killing Joke Vs The Stranglers. Sadly another David and Goliath event. Love KJ, but faced with the Stranglers, who produced five, arguably 7 classics. The Stranglers pass go and collect 200 pounds.

999 Vs The Buzzcocks. I thought this one would have been harder than it was, but on reflection it was pretty simple. Both great singles bands, but on albums, for me and possibly controversially, it's 999. They remind me so much of school and raving about their latest release.

UK Subs Vs Dead Kennedys. Again another hard one. I saw the Subs so many times and they never failed to impress. The most memorable being  in '80 at the Mayfair in Newcastle when Charlie Harper called people to get on the stage and dance along with them, there were so many people on the stage that the left side collapsed under the weight.

I saw the Dead Kennedys once and had a chat to Jello. They still remain one of the most incendiary bands I've ever seen. NOTHING comes close to a Jello on fire on stage; the guy was in a class of his own. Throw Klaus, Easy Bay and DH into the mix and we have to say goodbye to the the Subs.

Quarter Finals
Ramones Vs The Clash. Pass forward the Clash.
The Ruts Vs The Damned. The Damned win.
SLF Vs The Stranglers. JJ and Co continue.
999 Vs Dead Kennedys.The Kennedys win by technical KO.

Semi Finals
The Clash Vs The Damned. Any day of the week it's the Damned.
The Stranglers Vs The DK's. Sorry Jello, but the Stranglers win. ... just.

Final
The Stanglers Vs The Damned. No contest......it's the Damned each and every time.

All hail The Damned.

The Clash live in JFK stadium (1982)

Can you believe it's almost ten years.... :(

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The Freeze - In Colour (1979)

Speaking of obscure records; here's one. This is the Freeze from Scotland and it's a "must have" record. I'm being lazy and watching the Olympics (go Team GB) so I'll post more about them when I upload their second 7''.

Enjoy.

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Fallout - Salami Tactics 7'' (1982)

When I bumped into a new group of friends in late '80 one of them was a guy who was mad on collecting foreign punk whilst I was after obscure Brit punk. One thing we had in common was a love for Six Minute War. We both loved their trashy DIY ethic and their three 7'' (and cassette...anyone remember them?) have been favourites ever since.

As Six Minute War began to disintegrate a new band was forming out of the ashes. Fallout lasted a few years releasing 3 7'', 1 album and a 10''. Not unsurprisingly, they shared the same trashy DIY ethic as Six Minute War, and all their releases are well worth grabbing. This 7'' is the best, imho, as it includes the epics Slice it Up and Spice and Fly the Flag, which you might recognise. I remember buying this so clearly and wishing the bus home would hurry up so I could play it....those were the days.

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Mo-Dettes - Dark Park Creeping 7'' (1980)

I remember hearing this for the first time on the Richard Skinner radio show, sitting with my ear pressed against my hissing transistor radio; I instantly fell in love with it. I thought white mice was a good 7'', but, to me, this is the Mo-Dettes crowning glory. I still can't work out why they weren't huge. How can the Belle Stars still, today, be a name that people of a certain age know, yet the same people answer "who" when you mention the Mo-Dettes.

I owned all the Mo-Dettes releases and remember standing outside volume records having a conversation with a mate about how good they were and another lad saying, but they're a Mod band. Mod/Punk/New Wave...who cares to me they were just a great band and I was in love with their music and their singer Ramona Carlier.

Enjoy.

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Bloody Mannequin Orchestra - Roadmap to Relolution (1984)

BMO came onto my radar via a compilation tape I copied from a mate, tbh, as often happened in those days when discovering certain hardcore bands, I had no idea what to make of them. At first I was perplexed at the chaotic noise, it seemed to have no melody or real structure, but after a few listens it clicked. When I got the chance to own this I snapped the sellers hand off. If you've not heard these before then prepare yourself as they are as about as far from an instant hit as it's possible to get....BUT they have a saxophone player and that's worth 90 points in my book.

They sprung into life in 1982 and over the coming months replaced a few people until getting a stable lineup. Names you might know from the band were Sharon Cheslow (guitar) who'd previously been in Chalk Circle, Colin Sears (drums) and Roger Marbury (bass). Sears and Marbury both later formed Dag Nasty with Brian Baker & Shawn Brown. Colin Sears was also in Alloy and the early incarnation of Fugazi. The band were completed by Alex Mahoney  (vocals) and Charles Bennington (Saxophone).

BMO sound nothing like any of those bands, so enjoy or hate whichever it is you feel after getting it. I would strongly advise that you don't give it one listen as it takes a few to sink in. I still love this record.

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Don't let the bastards grind you down!

Fortified with some nice comments and supportive mails I'm going to plod on and see what occurs.

Another one bites the dust

Mediafire have locked my account after receiving two violations. Both the violations refer to TINY bands that most people on the planet won't have heard about and who sold so few records it's unreal.

When these small bands are released it's in a "limited" run of 1000, so the other 2-3k people in the world who might like the music don't get to hear it. One of the violations I received was for a band who are NOT in print...so what's the point of reporting me? Either make the music available or fuck off.

Both the infringements raised against me came from "Contact Email: herve.lemaire@leakid.com " so feel free to tell this guy he's a cock. 

I started this blog coz I'd been online since '96 and had still not seen a few gems appear and wanted to help people become aware of those bands. However, having said that, since I started I've always struggled with the moral issue of posting music. The artists who produced this music are the ones who put in the work and are the talented ones, so naturally they deserve to earn money of the back of their hard work. I genuinely tried to avoid posting things that were still in print by searching a few places before pressing the post button. I can't lie and pretend that I didn't knowingly post some that I knew were available, but I either tried to post a taster or just wanted people to get to know the band as they were still too obscure.

I don't like sites that post new music and still spend alot of money buying music; around £1000.00 last year. To post new music, to me, is like killing the golden goose; you're helping to kill the thing you supposedly love. If artists can't make money to live then why bother, they may as well go get a "real" job like the rest of us. I know this to be true as a couple of bands I featured have been in contact and told me that's why they stopped. Real talent destined to tread the same 9-5 path as most of us.

I still struggle with the moral aspect of music blogs, but can't help feeling the music industry is missing out. All we have now is an industry obsessed with boy/girl bands who dominate the charts; or stupid fucking rap music - the worst genre ever, oh, and least talented. The labels don't invest anymore, they just want instant results and instant returns. Then when the artist no longer brings in the cash they're disposed of. Exposure to punk, metal, rock bands is so hard to get and I'm not talking about utter pop shite like 30 seconds to mars, I mean real music. I'm not a 12-20 year old so I'm not going to like the throw away music that's fed on Sky TV, so for people like me blogs offer a way to keep up-to-date with obscure music that isn't on Tv or in the few mags that cater for adults.

So where do I go from here?

To be honest I think, sadly, 13th floor is dead. I really cba to find somewhere else to post the old links and mediafire was so user friendly.

A huge thanks to all the people who sent mails of support, you really made me feel like I was doing something worth while. Also a HUGE thanks to all the artists who contacted me, allowed me to continue posting, give me extra info on the band, but most importantly for creating the music in the first place. All the bands I've featured have become the road map of my life. I play their music and I'm instantly transported back in time and place; that's priceless.

cya

Neil

P.S. Buy music and support the bands.

Personality Crisis - Take a Drunk to Dinner (live)

It's Personality Crisis, it's live, it's great quality and it's still Personality Crisis.

Love this band. More here.

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The Chris Bald 96 - Uglified 7'' (1990)

I've always had a soft spot for Chris so it was a shame he seemed to have stopped producing music so early on. This predates the album listed here. Again this isn't hardcore, but is interesting music that does hook you in and keeps you interested.

This recording, and the album, had Julian Weber  on drums and Ralf N on bass,

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Punk at the Beeb

For the none UK residents it might come as news that the BBC has been running a Punk Britannia series on BBC4 recently. On the one hand this is really interesting and encouraging; on the other it’s same shit, different day. This is due to the beeb rolling out the same old faces to talk about music/life 35 years ago. I won't dwell on this too much as I could go into full rant mode, which is never pleasant, but safe to say that so far we've heard most of it before.

This is a three part series where the beeb have, so far, done a "pre punk" episode and a "punk" episode. Charlie Harper has so far made the most relevant quote in that "the first wave was art school students, the second were punks" and I paraphrase there, but the gist is accurate. I'm hopeful that the 3rd episode, due tonight, will go beyond '78 as it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring to hear from the same people that punk died in '78. It didn't; FACT! (I kinda doubt it’ll go past ’78 though).

Alongside these three episodes they have been throwing in documentaries on various people and programme made up of live performances or a collection of appearances on the BBC.

The files below are a recording of TV Smith and encompasses his entire career from his pre Adverts band, Sleaze, through the Explorers and Cheap to his current solo/acoustic career. It has some great footage of the adverts and covers their lifespan from the band we all know to the, very, short lived 1979 incarnation.

Now here comes the apology.

I'm not that up on technology and I have no idea how to compress the recordings I've made of some of these programs, so the links below are large. ….4 gig so it’s best to start this before you go to bed if you want it.

I intend to post all the punk Britannia series along with a couple of the other programs, such as a Poly Styrene documentary and a couple of live progs/compilations. However, as they're so large they have the chance of pushing me over my mediafire limit they will only be available for a limited period of time; probably 3 months. So if you want it, download and enjoy as they will be taken down.

You need both of these to unzip and watch.

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Songs for Snakes - Charcoal Heather (2012)

Songs for Snakes come out of San Francisco (Kenny why haven't you told me about these?) and make music that just blows the cob webs out of my head. When I listen to this I hear Husker Du, Moving Targets, Asexuals, Jawbreaker, The Replacements...... so it can't be bad!

The band comprise: -

Bill Taylor - Guitar/Vocals
Nick Waters - Bass
Paul Furusho - Drums

Undoubtedly the major comparison that will be made here is with Husker Du; Bill's guitar playing is full of the distortion and melodies that Bob used to spit out in the 80's.

That decades alternative college radio would have gone mad for Songs for Snakes had they been around at the time. The blend they concoct with hooks dripping off the guitar, the beautifully rumbling bass and thundering drums is as close to perfection as I've heard in some time. They are exciting, captivating and wholly satisfying. I love this; it's amazingly good. There isn't a bad track on this album and they've been switching place as to which is my favourite constantly.

To me this is pure punk; classic, melodious, catchy as hell and one that I can sing along with to my hearts content.

Two of the bands releases are available here and you get to choose how much you pay for them. I've bought both of them. If you like this then support the band and buy one of the best releases of the year in Charcoal Heather. Sleep through this is also very good btw.

Have a listen if you don't believe me how good this is. My favourite tracks at the moment are:  Charcoal Heather, The Most Documented Man and FEAR

Adam Yauch - 8/5/1964 - 4/5/2012

I awoke this morning to the sad news that Adam Yauch died yesterday due to cancer.

The Beastie Boys first came to my attention via their the NY compilation and then the Polly Wog Stew 7''; which was great. After that time they were a band a followed sporadically, but each time I dipped my toe into their catalogue it produced results. Rap isn't a genre I have a lot of time for, but the Beastie Boys managed to mix it up into something different and enjoyable each time. Such a shame and he was only 47 as well.

TV is already calling it the end of the BB's, I hope not as they always made me smile. However, to me, the Beastie Boys will always a that crazy hardcore band I discovered 30+ years ago.

RIP.

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The internet's not always for porn.

Crackles aside, this is pretty gob smacking.

The Detours- Live

You know, hearing "Hang Ten in East Berlin" by the Detours was a total WTF moment; this is unreal!....people make music like this?...where do I sign up? Forget Discharge, forget the Exploited, forget all that...this is where I'm at.

I "borrowed" a great book from Virgin records in early '81 that listed all the Punk and New Wave records to date and from here me and a mate would compile wants lists. I read about a mythical Detours 7'' that, to this day, I still can't be sure actually exists. I've chased that so many times since...it's never materialised.

About ten years ago I managed to get a few live mp3's of the Detours and I've hunted stuff ever since. Tonight on the off chance I threw the detours and the name of a bootleg album into google and found the following live gig......free to download!!!! Does it get any better than this?

For those that don't know the Detours predated the Adolescents and DI, both of who used songs from the Detours repertoire in their live sets and on vinyl.

Go here to read some great stuff and to see who the band consists of these days....it's a who's who of SoCal.

The Detours

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Finding this has made my-fucking-night......enjoy!

Dead Boys - All the Way Down 12'' (1987)

Here's a 12'', long since deleted and not currently available

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The Doomed - Live (1978)

The Damned (as the Doomed) with Henry Badowski in '78.

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Pic unashamedly lifted from the great second time around website. Lifted as I couldn't find a pic with Badowski playing live and also 'coz I was working for the Damned when this picture was taken. Boy, oh boy, I wish I could relive those few months.

2nd time around

Public Image Limited - One Drop (2012)

I just bought this after waiting days for it to be available digitally; I'm too lazy/busy to go into town to buy a physical copy.

Based upon the title track I had HUGE high hopes for this, but sadly it's failed to live up to expectations. Four tracks One Drop (brilliant), I Must be Dreaming (hmmm none distinct), The Room I am In ( I can't decide if he's trying to relive the brilliance of religion, but whatever it is, it falls a long way short), and Lillipop Opera...which is interesting, kinda infectious and also kinda funny.

Oh well, maybe the album will deliver the goods, but I have to be honest, on the evidence of this four track I'm not gonna hold my breath as I may keel over all blue in the face and stuff.

On the bright side, 4 tracks for £2:40 and I'd have paid that for the title track alone!

Killing Joke - Live Toulouse 15/04/12

I never thought I'd ever be able to say I like a Killing Joke album more than their first, but with 2012 I think they've done it. Pure perfection.

Here is a live gig from a couple of weeks ago. Cheers to John G for finding this for me, as always, much appreciated mate.

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Rip Your Knickers Off ! !! !!!

What a great film, or fil-um as we say in my neck of the woods. My thoughts on what I just watched: -

Eric Hall = Tosser.
Danny Baker = Diamond geezer.

Generation X - Tony James is so posh & Gen X were so good.
Marc Bolan = !!!!!!!
Poly Styrene = A true original.
X-Ray Spex = The sound track of my school daze.
Viv Albertine = Still in love with you as much as I was as a teenager.

Quotes of the fil-um:-

This is it; this is the next trend in music. This is the next big thing. Everyone was looking for the next big act, rather than total clearout time which is what's happened.

1970's become a land mark in history.

(btw the title of this post is a line from the film....made me laugh so I thought I'd use it)

The Living Deadbeats - Evil Hearted Blues 7'' (2012)

Every once in a while things happen that remind me why I do this blog, or things happen to reinvigorate me. A weekend or two ago I received a link out of the blue from The Living Deadbeats giving me the opportunity to get an advance copy of their album and their new single, with permission to share the 7''.

Track 1 from the album.

They manage to stand out from the crowd as they're more in the old style punk mode as oppossed to a million miles an hour thrash; some of which is good, but a lot just melds together. I think they could have been dropped into SoCal in 78/79 and no one would have been suprised. I've lifted the following text directly from their site as I couldn't have put it any better: -

In the spring of 2010, vocalist Lindsay Kasting, bassist Pete Fiend (lead singer of legendary 80s powerpoppers The Finks), guitarist Dirty Swagger (Dirty and the Derelicts) and drummer Nadja (Joyce Collingwood, East Vamps), teamed up with  with the intention of doing something fresh and exciting. 

With eyes wide open, they built an original sound that drew on varied musical influences, yet remained faithful to late-70s LA punk. Finally, having scavenged the best parts of the Stooges and the Detroit Cobras to create a rock n' roll Frankenstein all their own, The Living Deadbeats were ready to take on the world. Or at least the West Coast.

The album is REALLY good; it's one of those that you play and immediately hit repeat. They're on tour now across Canada, so if you're in that neck of the woods I'd suggest a few bucks for a good night out watching these folks. Once again I damn myself for being born in the wrong country...oh well until the time they play the UK I'll just play this album to death....which I have been doing since I got it.

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Their website can be found here -> The Living Deadbeats

Track 3 from the new album.

The Damned

A few Damned pdf's kicking off with the Damned Disciples Songbook.

A history of their first year.

Damned Diaries 76 -78.

All 3 here

Brian James - Why? Why? Why? 7'' (1982)

Recorded at the same time, and session, as the 7'' a post or two below. This was in 1979 and included Stewart Copeland from the Police on drums. The others were Alan Lee Shaw, who would be in the Damned 17 years later, and Chris Sol playing bass.

Whilst not quite as brilliant, or insrtant, as the earlier 7'', it's still worth a spin very often.

Link removed thanks to : herve.lemaire over @leakid.com.

If you're after this drop me an e-mail.

Government Issue - Live Series

I've been chatting to Tom Lyle and he told the news that GI will be releasing a series of live shows. He sent me a couple of songs as a sneak preview of a bootleg live series that will eventually amount to 100 live shows. This live series will span the entire bands career.

They'll probably be released in one or two large sections and will be available from a variety of sources in varying kbps, possibly full res. I have around 50 live GI recordings and, quite frankly, most are pants; tinny, distorted or too much crowd noise. The clarity of these, judging by the two songs below, is excellent. I'm gonna have to bang some overtime in work to pay for all these, but I can't wait.

 

Both these songs are from Minneapolis MN, 3rd August 1983 and the line up at the time was: -

John Stabb - Voice
Tom Lyle - Guitar
Rob Moss - Bass
Mark Alblerstadt - Drums

Partyline

Sheer Terror

Sadly it looks like I'll have to wait a long time to see GI live again as the show last year doesn't appear to be leading to anything other than a one-off. Meh! I'd still love to hear GI record new stuff even if they never toured again. Great, great band.

Thanks to Tom Lyle for these files and for something huge to look forward to.

Blondie

I've been reminiscing about the 80’s recently and I had some rare videos back then, not like now-a-days when everything is at your fingertips. This video had John Stabb bouncing all over the place when I put it on. It still does that to me.

Debbie Harry still makes me go weak at the knees.....