12 posts tagged “punk”

How's Monday treating you? Mine presented me with 5:30am dogshit cleanup and a dead car battery. Then there was work...so here's a song about that.

You know Elvis Costello, right? Sort-of-but-not-really punkish icon of British rock/pop, revived the chunky Buddy Holly glasses look basically single handedly (and anyone who mentions Rivers Cuomo here gets bitch-slapped, OK?), thumbed his nose at SNL and their parent corporation on live television, produced the first Specials album, worked with everyone from Burt Bacharach to No Doubt...what hasn't he done?

So yeah, the debut track from his first album has one of the best masturbatory euphemisms I've ever heard ("Now that your picture's in the paper / Being rhythmically admired..."), and it should be mandatory listening every Monday morning.

Even their own liner notes can't resist making the inevitable Joy Division comparison. Well, the liner notes to the recent re-release of most of their catalog on Domino Records. At one point, Scottish post-punk band Josef K was a footnote in the history of independent music from the British Isles, and I guess they still kind of are. The Entomology disc that collects much of their music has brought some attention, and some well-placed press, but don't expect them to reunite for a million-selling comeback album and stadium tour anytime soon.

About that Joy Division comparison though...is it really that apt? Sure, there's a definite dark and gloomy edge, and the deep vocals of frontman Paul Haig are in the right ballpark, but I'd probably place them a little closer to Echo & the Bunnymen. Either way, that's good company to be in, I suppose. Though of course, both of those groups were together longer and released more material (and Echo & the Bunnymen are still releasing material these days). But neither holds the distinction of recording two albums in a single year (and discarding one of them, at that).

Two songs, since Minor Threat tracks are incredibly short, as a rule.

This isn't necessarily where it all started (that would arguably be Ian MacKaye's high school band, the Teen Idles), but it's definitely where it got interesting. Minor Threat embodied the ferocity, idealism, and awareness of the early 80s DC hardcore scene, with lyrics that spoke out not only against the injustice of the world they lived in, but also the unquestioned assumptions of their own scene. "Out of Step" sums up their ethos quite succinctly: "I don't smoke / don't drink / don't fuck / at least I can fucking think."

While their sound can mostly be described as loud, fast, and aggressive, their cover of Wire's "12XU," from that group's seminal Pink Flag album, shows that they had a wider range of influences than might be apparent. Though still a punk band at the time "12XU" was released, Wire was on the forefront of post-punk by the time Minor Threat formed, introducing electronic elements and skewed pop structures into their  music.

Rites of Spring take their name from Igor Stravinsky's 1913 ballet that famously caused a riot upon its premiere. The standard story in that case is that the music was too shocking, too unconventional, and too harsh a break with tradition for the listening public at the time. The uncompromising modernism of that piece was undoubtedly riot-worthy at the time, though it has since been given the stamp of approval from that most conventional of American institutions, the Walt Disney Corporation, in the animated film Fantasia (1940). A mere 27 years caused that much shift in opinion.

But I'm not here to talk about that piece today, just the group whose name it inspired. Parallels can be drawn, for sure. Rites of Spring (the band) broke from the traditions of their own community, the Washington DC hardcore scene of the early 80s, with an inward focused lyrical approach that eschewed the political posturing of their peers. That approach would lead to them being labeled the first emo band, though that scene wouldn't really begin to develop into a movement until years later. And of course, in a relatively quick succession, emo became the pop flavor du jour, evolving from a raw yet soft-edged splinter of hardcore punk to a paint-by-numbers, radio-friendly pop format with few vestiges of the original sound.

Meanwhile, the band had a typically (for DC hardcore) abbreviated lifespan, freeing Brendan Canty and Guy Picciotto to join Minor Threat founder Ian KacKaye in that most atypical of punk bands, Fugazi, in 1987.

Even though Fugazi is on indefinite hiatus (translation: finished), Ian MacKaye has to keep busy somehow. The Evens are a project he started with his partner, Amy Farina (a member of DC based band The Warmers) shortly after the Fugazi hiatus was announced. The baritone guitar, a relatively rare instrument voiced between a regular and bass guitar, features prominently in their work, and combined with Farina's skillful and precise drumming, makes for a unique and identifiable sound. The paired voices, often harmonizing and singing various duet patterns, round out their sonic template.

"All These Governors" comes from their first, self-titled album.

A restrained, instrumental moment from one of the all time greats, Fugazi. How many bands can you name that quit at the top of their game, without releasing a single bad album or compromising a single ideal, from creative and economic control to admission prices? I can't think of a single one, off the top of my head. Even if you don't like their music, you pretty much have to respect them as an example of what the music industry could be in a more idealistic world. (For further reading on that topic, see the chapter devoted to them in Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life).

This track from In On The Kill Taker is fittingly titled, with a bass-driven groove propelling a melody that's more tender than your typical Fugazi track. Though they excel at tight, razor sharp punk rock, their softer moments can be equally impressive, spotlighting musical influences beyond what their classification would normally bely.

I just saw this band for the third time last night (after an interval of probably about 2 years or so) and was reminded of exactly why they're one of the most amazing unheard bands around right now. Spastic, jazz-influenced drumming, dense layered guitar (courtesy of one guitar and one looping pedal), unpolished vocals that sometimes delve into screamo territory...It's complex and cathartic all at once, a mixture that very few bands can perfect.

The Americas hail from Chico, CA, and although their drummer plays for the moderately well known Santa Rosa band The Velvet Teen, they have nevertheless slipped under the radar for the past few years. Hopefully they won't stay there forever. Fans of bands like Battles, From Monument To Masses or Lightning Bolt should take note.

Here's an uncharacteristically mellow track from Les Savy Fav, who are better known as wild, careening art school post-punks. It's rare to find them dialing down for a moment, but when they do, the results are often great. "Hit By Car" is certainly no exception. In the catalogue of some other bands, this could be considered a total rocker, but Les Savy Fav set the bar high enough that this is practically a ballad by their standards.

The first half is driven by an ominous distorted bassline, with impressionistic guitar filling in the edges, before exloding into forceful, though wordless,  chorus with keyboard accents. Frontman Tim Harrington trades in his typical shouted style for a more restrained delivery, perfectly suited to the song and subject.


This track was released as a 7" single (with companion piece "Hit By Train" on the flip) by the Australian label Pop Frenzy, as a tour-only single in 2004. It appears to be out of print at this point. Pop Frenzy also released a second tour EP by the band in 2006, entitled Plagues & Snakes, which is still available.