Rekkids
Ed: Due to Kevin's obscure record reviews, cover art and/or record
labels are not available.
OF THINGS TO COME
As if there weren't enough things to buy just because they say
"Burton" on them, here's a music album specifically marketed for that
young hip population known as "snow boarders." In the words of Austin
Powers, "Yeah, capitalism!"
It's a soundtrack to the snowboard flick of the same name, put out
by strength magazine and B.Y.O. records. It might be the first cd you
ever see with snowboard sequences as cover art. Maybe not. And for those
of you who don't buy it just for that reason, you might want to take into
account that at least this album is put out by a first rate independent
label and has some darned good music on it. For those of you who bought
the ESPN presents "X-games" cd last year, SHAME ON YOU!, and this might be
your last chance to redeem yourself.
Think Voodoo Glow Skulls, think Anti-Flag, think Peg Boy and
Bouncing Souls. I get giddy and it's not from sniffing glue. I have been
a big fan of these bands for a long time, and just because they use your
trendy sport to sell records shouldn't make you sad, it should make you
feel guilty. Guilty for the love you never gave your sister. Guilty
because you masturbate too much and God hates you. Ah, yes, there was a
time when teen angst was enough to sell records, now it requires teen
angst and gimmicks.
About the only non snowboarding oriented graphic on the whole
album is the cover shot of a teenager with a gun to his head. Darn it if
that doesn't make you nostalgic for a simpler era of music marketing:
Good, old-fashioned, pointless and irrelevant, violence.
The Twits- "The Twits"
I'm not even going to bother listening to this cd before I give it
a good review. In fact I've never even heard of them. I don't care. A friend
of mine recommended it as solid hardcore punk with female shouting.
Dammit if that doesn't sound good. "The Twits," hey, that's a great name.
And of course then there's the cover art: obligatory mean-looking scribble
drawing, neat black and red background, and on the back a black and white
picture of a live show with angry looking punk kids in the audience. What
more could I say after listening to it? Should you buy it? Of course,
you will seem ultra-cool, and all-knowing among your music snob friends.
Should you every listen to it? Who knows? It could be good, it could be
bad. It's a choose-your-own-adventure book and I'm not about to give away
the ending. I'm going to keep mine as a coaster, and break it open later
when I get my Karaoke machine.
The Assmen
"Enema Nation"
Okay, if you don't buy this one for the name alone, you will probably
never buy it. Unless, of course, the cover art catches your eye as you
browse through the bargain bin of the used cd store. Apparently "Ass Man"
is a guy on the back of the cd with two legs sticking out of his ass-
shaped head. By far the best thing about this album is the song titles.
With hits like, "Adusting My Nuts," "Beer is Good Food,"
"Picking up the Soap," and my personal favorite, "Hot Pearl Necklace,"
how
you can resist buying it for your little sister's next birthday? Sure,
she asked for N'sync, but you know she really meant "The Assmen." The
biggest surprise about this album is that it is decent punk rock - not too
stupid- not too serious- and just dirty enough to make you feel guilty
about being human.
The Avengers
"died for your sins"
I'm telling you this as your friend. Whenever someone mentions
"The Avengers" you nod your head knowingly and say "fuck yeah!" This
will
get you by those tough moments when people are testing you to see if you
are cool enough to ride in their modified firebird, or to carry their
skateboard. Now, if you actually want to know what they are talking about
check out this album. Its what punk should be- "lo-fi assholes with loud
guitars, sexy chick singer who could kick your ass, and good fucking
lyrics."
But, before you log on to the ticket master web site looking to score
some
tickets for their next gig, or before the next time you make up a story
about the last time you saw them live, you might want to remember that the
last time they played together was in June of 1979. That's probably
before you were really into music. Or you could just say it like I do,
"Yeah, I was two years old at the time but I just remember it was a really
good show." And what better way to revive those toddler memories than to
experience this collection of live performances freshly released by Look
Out Records?
Sick of it All "Call to Arms"
Fat Wreck Chords/Caroline
It's been a long time since an album has made me feel truly
unstable. How do I reconcile my inherent pacifism with my love for
violent, kick-ass, hard core punk music? Hippies. If there's one thing I
can always agree with punks about: its an honest dislike of petchuli
fragrance and dirty birkenstocks. You won't catch Phish covering a "Sick
of it All" tune. You won't catch a flower child in the pit at your local
hardcore club. Alive. Hard-core fans are the anti-thesis of hippies. It
is a muscial movement that fundamentally rejects media,
drugs, and pointless sex, as pacifying mechanisms that function only to
maintain the status-quo of an inherently diseased society. Instead
hard-core music feeds itself on its own frustrations and spends its energy
pointing out what is wrong with world, that it might be righted.
And neither is this just loud, blah, blah, blah, kill the man
music. This is intelligent, focused, anger, on top of angry, well-played,
distorted, power chords. This is music to make your grandma careen
through the city in her oversized chevrolet running red lights and
shouting revolutionary anthems. Tis is music to make your mom shave her
head. This is music to tattoo yourself by. In a genre where so much music
is crap, and so many lyrics are angsty or just plain stupid incantations
for violence, "Sick of it All," stands out as smart and strong. And for a
hard core band that is the best compliment that can ever be given. That is
the difference between the hippy and the punk. After all, what would you
rather be: smart and strong, or dirty and burnt-out?
-Kevin Peckham
