Grave Mistake Records rules.

The Ergs- Thrash Compactor
Well, I wasn't really sure what to expect here but my train of thought was along the lines of "I like The Ergs, and I like thrashy hardcore, so I must like this.".I was half right. The EP is short enough that even if the songs were boring as hell, I would be able to make it through without really caring too much. But Society Hill is a ripper of a song, and Sneak Attack is a great little ditty about shooting up your high school, what's not to like? Also includes three other songs (one of which is an anti-George Bush tune called I Shot The Devil's Son, a little late for that, although the Ergs apologize for that in the liner notes). This is worth it if you're like me and really like both The Ergs as well as bands like J.F.A. or D.R.I.. Nicely packaged as well, if I may say so.
Matrix Etching: "Who gave this nonsense the green light?"

Cloak/Dagger- Don't Need A
With the A side containing a single off of their full length Lost Art, Don't Need A features a total of three frantic, twangy punk songs that Cloak/Dagger have become known for. Great songwriting here, but I've always felt that the real talent in this band comes from the lyrics. All three songs are nothing new in terms of subject matter, but are written in a way that makes them entirely enjoyable. This band has always reminded me of a more aggressive Husker Du, and other than that I find it hard to describe them, so there you have it. Really like this EP and since I put off picking up the full-length, I guess this gives me reason to do so. Another little thing about these guys are that they put out absolutely great looking records. From cover design to insert design, a couple dudes in the band put all that stuff together according to the insert, and man do they do it well.

No Tolerance- Boston Straight Edge
A vinyl repress of a demo tape that quickly became big collectible material, I'm glad they decided to reissue it like this instead. Clearly the oddball of this bunch of records, No Tolerance is one of the million pies DFJ has his straight edge fingers in, and one of two (that I can think of) where he handles vocal duties. Musically, this is awesome. Totally punishing while maintaining a good a number of catchy riffs and "mosh parts" if you're into calling them that. But lyrically... 3/4 of the songs are about straight edge and there are certainly nods to it in the 4th song. Gimmicky but not terrible enough that it detracts from the record. Hopefully when they put more stuff out the subject matter varies a little.

Southside Stranglers- Strangle You
Now we're talking. This band is fucking nuts. Taking the best elements of so many different bands and combining them all into what I'm slightly reluctant to call a perfect band. So far, anyway. Apparently a taste of their upcoming LP, and if that is anything like this it's going to be one of the best albums of whatever year it actually comes out in. More on this record, this is a traditional single (A Side/B Side), both with that distinctive Virginia sound. Not that that is surprising, considering these guys share members with the likes of Government Warning. The real highlight here is the B Side, Daddy's Worst Nightmare. Total powerhouse, reminds me of what I imagine the Stooges would sound like if they had the constant energy and intensity of Black Flag. Snotty vocals, cool vocal tricks towards the end of the song, this is the sort of song good enough to give someone goosebumps if they're blasting it through headphones. Hits the nail right on the head.

Night Birds- S/T
Spacing out the Southside Stranglers excitement a little, here is a band in a similar vein except these guys contain two things Southside Stranglers don't. The first being an ex-Ergs member, and the second being a really strong and really wicked surf influence. Five killer tunes on this one, starting and ending with two great surfy tunes (Prognosis: Negative and the instrumental Harbor Rats, respectively). Crammed between these are great fast snotty surf influenced punk songs, think Adolescents at twice the speed. Song topics range from hospitals to wanting to beat up strangers in the street to simply being bad ass. Great record. Also, despite sounding like they are from SoCal, these guys are from the polar opposite area of the country, New Jersey. Hopefully this means I actually get to catch them live. Great record, grab it while they last.
Matrix Etching:The omelet...damn./I'd rather make my own suit.

Southside Stranglers- Too Much TV
I'm tempted to copy and past the previous Southside Stranglers review for this record as well, but despite it being just as good, there are some differences so I'll get into that a little. The biggest difference is that this is a full EP, six songs that should make anyone want to tear up their entire block. From the opening "Owwwwww!" of Too Much TV to the final "Ahwooooo!" of Wired, this EP totally kills it. It occured to me while listening that this band sort of reminds me of 86 Mentality, but with a snotty skatepunk aesthetic rather than a skinhead one. Other than vocals, they would be nearly dead ringers. Fucking amazing, that's really all there is to it. If you don't pick this up (along with the Strangle You single, you needs your ears checked and then cut-the-fuck-off.

Folded Shirt-S/T
I'll be entirely honest here, I picked this up because I thought the band's name was hilarious and I really liked the minimal packaging. Sue me. That being said, this is great weirdo punk and something that I can't say I have much experience with, but I like this a lot. Starts out with weird plodding bass and shimmering noises in 15 Year Old Kids (along with lyrics about just wanting to find drugs), they call themselves "mongoloid punk" and despite being apprehensive at first, I can now see why. Lots of moaning vocals and focus on keeping everything really simple, Jungle Music and Crazy Eyes are a pair of tunes that I can see some kid listening to mid-acid trip and jumping out of his window. I think this record is pretty good, but if taking psychedelics was my thing, I have a feeling it would be even better.

Great batches of records like this are what get me stoked on punk and music and life in general. I can't listen to the Southside Stranglers records without either jumping around my room air guitaring, or at least jonesing to start a similar band. Its nice to get packages like this and despite never hearing all but one of the full releases (The X-ception being No Tolerance's Boston Straight Edge)and being thoroughly impressed with each and every one of them. Up the punx, etc etc.

Veggie Caldo Verde. (Or in this case, Kaledo Verde, ha ha ha).

I was at the comic store the other day, primarily to pick up Jeff Lemire's massive Essex County collection to tide me over for a couple days (I'll get to that one in a future post), and as I usually do when buying books or records, for every one or two items I go in with the intention of picking up I always try to grab something I wouldn't normally read or listen to and resign myself to either being really impressed or really let down.

And that's how I ended up with a copy of Canadian cartoonist Hope Larson's Mercury. It had a lot going for it, despite the fact that it was in a sealed bag, preventing a quick flip through, I knew three things: Canadian cartoonist/writer, awesome; Story takes place in Canadian setting (Nova Scotia), more awesome; and it had a cover price of only $10, the trifecta was complete.

I also noticed was the book kept saying things like "Great for Young Readers" and "Ages 12 and up", which I discounted because so long as a comic (and graphic novel) doesn't have sex,gore or swearing, it's generally assumed to be a kids book. Cause it's basically a picture book, right?

But for once the back cover doesn't lie, it is definitely geared towards a younger audience who are into teen romance with a touch of history and magic thrown in. Not a horrible book by any stretch, but not what I was expecting. Larson is still an incredible cartoonist, I enjoy her simple polished black and white style, and the shifting focus on either black or white heavy pages to signify the time periods was a great idea. I'll just go ahead and say it, from an entirely aesthetic viewpoint, the sections of the story set in the 1800s are head and shoulders above the rest of the book, the cartooning is that good.

That's not to knock the rest of the book however, there is a humour that ends up being relied on in most teen romance stories of any medium that has always amused me, and it's in no shortage here, including a running gag that the main character, grade ten student Tara Fraser bears a distinct resemblance to a male classmate. This is a nice way to balance out the two stories that run parallel to one another throughout the entire novel, while the 1800s are much nicer looking, the present day section has more engrossing content.

Reading this has made me feel the need to track down some of Larson's work that hasn't been marketed to middle school-aged teens, if she managed to keep my attention well enough that I tore through this book in one sitting, I have high hopes for some of her work that I can sink my teeth (and eyes) into.

So was the ten-dollar mystery purchase worth the money? I would say so.

I may be closed at times
But I'm fine
It's just the way that I am.

Beans N' Kale

Since summer is (almost) here, and I'll have even more spare time, I'm just going to blog about books that I've read, as I read them.

We are unfair, and unfair
We are black magicians, black art
s we make in black labs of the heart

The fair are
fair and death
ly white

The day will not save them
and we own
the night

Best known as a poet, this is a collection of essays Amiri Baraka had written between 1960 and 1965 (Originally published in 1966) primarily regarding the issues of black identity and commentary on the nature of the civil rights struggle.

With a heavy focus on more radical approaches (For example, Baraka's views that there is indeed a place for physical violence in any sort of large movement) and emphasis on the necessity of participatory action in creating effective change (In his urging of black people to make the changes they want on their own watch, not on that of the white men). Baraka hits the nail on the head over and over again, for me at least.

"Something else I can Aspire to is the craziness of all honest men. That is, the craziness that will make a man keep talking long after everyone else says he shouldn't."
-Amiri Baraka

Intertwined with these ideas are evaluations on black art and literature, subjects which are met with mixed reactions, and no matter which way they are examined, it makes an incredibly interesting read.

I have always felt that first hand accounts of struggles from a single point of view allow for an understanding of the environment at the time that no mass produced documentary or third hand retelling in a lecture hall could ever reproduce. And in the case of Home, there is nothing that could compare to reading the frustration of a black artist of the time as he reacts to the murders of Martin Luther King as well as Malcolm X. As his frustration reaches a breaking point in the essay The Legacy of Malcolm X and the Coming of the Black Nation.

As a short aside, I really do wish that they went with the same cover as the original printing (seen below).I feel that the photo was a good representation of the messages of frustration and helplessness at the time of first print, especially when compared to this new piece of graphic design. However, I do understand that this is part of a series of reprints being published by Akashi Classics, so I guess they wanted to go with some sort of visual consistency. Such is life.

I didn't think I would ever sink to the low of copy/pasting a post I made on a message board on to here, but since no one reads this anyay, I'll just leave it here.

am i still ill? wrote:

i don't assume to have all the answers and to understand every facet of every issue, but the worldview possessed by most people in hardcore is pitifully small compared to the actual real big picture, even if their intentions are essentially good, but still ill-informed.

I feel like statements like these are what are stopping any tangible change from happening in society as a whole.

Society has turned radicalism of any sort into something that has its place only in academia, where we all know it will not make any lasting impact. With this comes the problem that people who share the same fundamentally true views will disagree with each other by means of intellectual elitism, as opposed to any sort of actual action.

I realize that this is opening a new can of worms here, but I feel that many people who share the same views (Veganism or Straight Edge, if we're discussing this in a punk/hardcore realm) will argue for the sake of superiority. I used to be like this in terms of vegwhateverism, and I still am self-admittedly elitist about straight edge (not in the sense that I think I'm better than non-edge people, but rather that I feel that my reasons for being edge are far more legitimate than other people who choose that sort of thing).

But when it comes down to it, why do I care if someone is vegan just because they love animals while I'm vegan as a way to symbolically reject the exploitative nature of large corporations? In both of our choices we benefit each other, I'm saving animals by default and they are helping me by not supporting many of these corporations.

The same is true of Anarchism, the left are FAR too divided to have chance of actually impacting anything in a serious manner. Marxists traditionally hate Anarchists, and vice versa. Not to mention that within Marxism and Anarchism there are too many divides to even take account of. If everyone shares at least a couple common goals (In this case, the removal of Capitalism), why should they not unite to accomplish that goal, and then figure out where to go from there when the time comes?

Did every member of labour organizations at the turn of the century own and memorize the Communist Manifesto? of course not. These organizations were formed out of necessity, people realized they were being fucked and they did something about it.

The same is true of hardcore kids. Do I care if people have deep philosophical or intellectual roots for their decisions? not at all. If they serve as being complimentary to my own, why should I oppose it?

I can't help myself
I'm next in line for a nervous breakdown
I can't stop myself
They're setting me up for a physical shakedown.

No secret's too safe
And how you can't stay
Higher than the stars

Under the boot
Its how we get things done
Under the boot
It's a way of life

Youth Attack eat your heart out.



Gotta stick together
Like Glue
Like Crew

Can't find any decent videos of these guys, and they are good enough for me to abandon the blog format for them.

Check out iceage and listen to their entire EP here
http://escho.net/esc16/



This is what happens with teenage black metal fans from Denmark want to play music like Joy Division. It needs to happen more often.

Soul of washrag,show no sadness
Face of poker,show no fears
Overwhelming,you show no mercy
Mediocre,you show no tears

I don't care about you
Oh no
I don't care about you
Fuck you.

If I can judge the quality of summer by sweet record scores, this summer is going to be "2 AWSUM 2 HANDL".

Edit: I forgot that I was supposed to write quick reviews of this stuff too. WHOOPSIE.

Wasted Youth- Get Out of My Yard
Total surprise seeing this at the record store, but man was I excited. I generally think that every band has the potential to write one and only one absolutely perfect song, and this album holds that single hit from these LA punks. Young and Bored is an excellent example of the sort of catchy punk songs that Adolescents popularized. The rest of the album is real good as well, but it just cant compete with such a strong first track.

RKL- The Best Of
Essentially a collection of Keep Laughing, Beautiful Feeling and their cover of The Ramones' Chinese Rocks, this is a great collection of all their best stuff. But in the end I would much rather listen to each recording separately, especially considering the Beautiful Feeling EP is placed square in the middle of the Keep Laughing tracks, who's brainchild was that?

Superseven Sampler
Again, cool compilation of tracks from various Superseven EPs, but as with the RKL comp, individual EPs reign supreme.

Nardcore Compilation
Now this is what I'm talking about, a reissue of the excellent Mystic Records Nardcore compilation, featuring bands from Oxnard, CA and the surrounding area, with a fairly distinct regional sound. Sweet comp all around, full of tracks that as far as I know were never released on any of the individual band's releases. If you've never heard this, pick it up or download it or something, just get it as soon as you can. And then resist the urge to start skateboarding and shred the gnar.

Crumbsuckers- Life of Dreams
An often forgotten band of the NYHC/Metal crossover era, especially compared to bands like Leeway. But I've always had a soft spot for this band, even moreso than their Sutton-fronted compadres. This is an album full of sweet thrash riffs without being too metal, NYHC without being too NYHC and clear punk influences without being too punk. Perfect combo, this band is a hidden gem, too bad this was their only good album.

Blitz- All Out Attack
Seriously, I dont know why I have to even review this. Blitz is one of my top 3 bands, and the opportunity to pick up a copy of their very first EP was too good to pass up. If you have even a passing interest in Oi, Punk, New Wave, Hardcore, Britain, Skinheads, Punks, Music in general and haven't heard this band, you've been doing something wrong.

The Slobs-Demo
Great band, and they played a Poison Idea cover which is what really pushed me into picking up this EP. Great punk in the vein of a slightly fast Adolescents and slightly slower Poison idea. I wish the songs had more hooks but it's just a demo and I have a feeling they'll get a lot better by the time they put out a real recording.

School Jerks-Nothing Else
First off I'll point out the obvious, the art on this EP fucking rules. I think it's probably a prerequisite of punk to at one time be a snot-nosed kid drawing swastikas on their desk at school with no clue what they meant, so good. The music itself is great too, 3 short frantic punk songs with ultra snotty vocals there is no time to get bored of anything to do with this band. Highlight is easily the last track Passed Out, great catchy riff and the perfect length. My only bone to pick here is that I wish it came with a lyrics insert or something because despite the good qualities the vocals hold, clarity is not one of them.