Photo: Steve Hanner
thinking of the Bad Brains got me thinking of “I Against I”, how awesome that record is and how epic the lyric sheet photo is. I know, “epic” is a big word and one that people tend to throw around rather loosely, but f*** it, that photo really is epic.
BJ Papas may be the most legendary photographer of NYHC. Pretty cool considering the bad rap hardcore has always gotten for the lack of female involvement. Seemingly elusive and interview-shy despite still photographing bands and being connected to the scene which she grew up in, we were psyched as hell to be able to chat with her.
Check it out here.
So he was there and Joe Crucial gets on the mic and says “We’re happy to be here, we hear Ian’s in the crowd tonight. You’re so great and wonderful, but, why do you have to use the F-word so often?! That’s not very positive! This song goes out to you! Those Who Curse Are the Worst!” The thing was, I hadn’t talked to Ian yet that evening, but I looked over at him and he just thought it was hysterical, because he’s never taken it that seriously. It’s not this Rah! Rah! thing for Ian, at all. He pretty much said “This is no set of rules.” I don’t know if he’s, exactly still like that. The drummer for Uniform Choice got so upset, he went running to Bill the sound guy, who only occasionally drank, but at that time he wasn’t doing anything, and started yelling “Shut off the PA! These guys can’t play anymore! They’ve just blasphemed my God!”
Check it out here.
Brewce Martin began building Skatopia in 1996. Skatopia sits on 88 acres of hilly, forested land in Rutland, Ohio, an Appalachian town with a population of approximately 420, about 20 minutes from the West Virginia state line. Martin has been a skateboarding fanatic since he was a kid. That was in the Seventies; he is 42 now. Martin and his girlfriend, Amber Cavender, revel in the chaos of this year’s Bowl Bash, the annual summertime festival that’s Skatopia’s answer to Woodstock.
Check it out here.
First came the Chechens, then ethnic Georgians, and then maverick journalists. But now Russia’s cracking down on a different social group, a demographic they see threatening the very future of their country. These rebels have pierced lips, ridiculous haircuts and too much eyeshadow. They’re barbarians in bowler hats, leather jackets and torn-up tights. Yes, emo has come to Russia – and its leaders want no part of it.
Last month the State Duma held a hearing on “Government Strategy in the Sphere of Spiritual and Ethical Education”, a piece of legislation aimed at curbing “dangerous teen trends”. There, without a clue in the world, social conservatives lumped “emos” together with skinheads, pushing for heavy regulation of emo websites and the banning of emo and goth fashion from schools and government buildings.
Check it out here.
When the Warped Tour launched in 1994, nearly all the featured acts played really fast, got profanely angry about politics, and said funny s* on stage. Also, unwatched by most, “extreme athletes” performed. The heavy corporate presence, amphitheater settings and lofty concession prices bristled some Mohawks. Other than that, it wasn’t the worst possible way to spend a day, if you were 14 or so. Scattered decent acts participated, and you’d leave not much dumber than you entered.
By contrast, attending Warped 2008 is like having someone attach sand to your skin with liquid cement, blowtorch that sand into a form-fitting glass shell, then forcibly shatter that encasing, driving shards into every inch of your naked flesh.
Check it out here.
For today, Amazon is selling the digital version of the Ramones’ classic Rocket to Russia for just $1.99.
Check it out here.
As far as first-wave HC goes, Negative Approach were among the most vicious feedback-pummel units going. Songs careened by in seconds, were pretty much politics-free, focusing on sheer vocal/instrumental destruction. They were inspired by not only their American peers, but UK groundbreakers like Discharge (who, like, NA, were big Stooges fans). In 2006 they returned to the stage at the Touch and Go label anniversary, with Brannon and original drummer Chris Moore augmented by Ron Sakowski on bass and Harold Richardson on guitar, reportedly wiped the place down. On the day of their recent Southpaw show, they amazingly agreed in a day’s notice to come down to my show on FMU, plugged in and turned us to mush with 16 songs in 25 minutes
Check it out here.
Are you ready for some nostalgic “ha-ha’s” at my expense? Embarrassing ones? Good. Way back in 1980/81, my 9th grade friend Curtis and I made a Xeroxed cut-and-paste “New Wave” magazine called Propaganda, and gave it away to all of our friends at Clark High School in Plano, Texas (click below to see each page). I had forgotten about it until a few years ago when somebody sent me copies of some of the pages they’d stashed away (which were already copies of copies of copies). The pages were washed out, gritty and hard to decipher, but I definitely remembered the whole thing. Then I forgot about it again. But recently, someone sent me crisp scans from some of the original “master” pages, which look even better than the original photocopies probably did (what is it about Xerox paper that doesn’t ever yellow, even after a quarter of a century?) Now, kick and scream as I click and drag you through my cut and paste past…
Check it out here.
On the day it was announced that Sen. Ted Kennedy had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, nationally syndicated radio host Michael Savage opened his show by interspersing audio of Kennedy singing “Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes” with clips of news reporters discussing Kennedy’s diagnosis and audio from Kindergarten Cop in which Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character says, “It’s not a tumor.” Later, Savage played the Dead Kennedys song “California Über Alles” after stating: “The poor guy’s been suffering for years, you know? Unfairly he’s been accused of alcoholism, but we see now that it was something much more deep-seated. And so, to cut this out in some respect for Ted Kennedy, here’s a tune coming at you from the Dead Kennedys. Go ahead and play it, please.”
Check it out here.
With their proper full length due out tomorow, Foxboro Hot Tubs have launched a full album stream of their new 12-song full length, Stop Drop and Roll.
Check it out here.
Youth can be a minefield: drugs, sex, violence, and peer pressure. One group has an extreme way of dealing with it. They call themselves Straight Edge, and while they are being classified as a violent gang in areas such as Salt Lake City and Reno, they aren’t like any other gang you know: they reject drugs, drinking, smoking, and even casual sex. They’re rebels against a society in which everything goes. National Geographic goes inside this growing youth movement caught between being a refuge for Americas kids and a dangerous gang wanted by authorities.
Check it out here.
Alkaline Trio have posted the first song from their upcoming Epic debut. The record is due out July 01, 2008 follows 2005’s Crimson.
Check it out here.
NOFX has announced the details for their long-promised documentary covering their recent world tour. The show will be aired on Fuse and includes their visits to o Singapore, Peru, Israel, South Africa, Turkey and South Korea.
Check it out here.
Los Angeles, California’s Flogging Molly have posted a full stream of their new album Float which is due out March 4, 2008 via Side One Dummy. It is the follow-up to Whiskey on a Sunday [CD/DVD] which was released in 2006.
Check it out here.
