Various Artists
Punk History Vol. 03
2007
Liberula Barriguda Recordings

01 X – Los Angeles
02 The Avengers – We Are the One
03 Black Flag – Wasted
04 Discharge – Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
05 T.S.O.L. – Dance with Me
06 Agent Orange – Bloodstains
07 Vice Squad – Young Blood
08 Adolescents – Amoeba
09 Redd Kross – Annette’s Got the Hits
10 Toy Dolls – Stay Mellow
11 Chron Gen – Jet Boy, Jet Girl
12 Infa Riot – Catch 22
13 Bad Brains – Big Takeover
14 Fear – I Love Livin In the City
15 Government Issue – Understand
16 Social Distortion – The Creeps
17 Last Resort – King of the Jungle
18 Legal Weapon – Equalizer
19 Stepmothers – Don’t Kill the Beat
20 The Vandals – Pizza Tran
21 Bad Religion – Atomic Garden
22 Kraut – Getaway
23 Agnostic Front – Gotta Go
24 D.I. – Johnny’s Got a Problem
25 7 Seconds – Straight On
26 The Dead Milkmen – Punk Rock Girl
27 Youth of Today – Can’t Close My Eyes
28 Poison Idea – Desecrate
29 Murphy’s Law – Shut Up
30 Dag Nasty – Values Here
31 Operation Ivy – Yellin’ in My Ear
32 Jeff Dahl – I’m in Love with the Gto’s
33 Cadillac Tramps – Hoodoo Guru
34 Gorilla Biscuts – High Hopes

More than a dozen years ago, before marriage, before the birth of my son, etc., I found myself in some trouble, warrants, etc. And was sentenced to Camp Wayside, out by Magic Mountain, for approximately 1/3 of the year.

During this time I took a job as a barber, I cut everyone’s hair through high school, and enrolled in Barber College right after graduation. Years later I got into graphic design, and reserved hair cuts for friends and family only. My job as a Wayside barber paid me in the neighborhood of 25¢ a day. Once I had been cutting hair for a few weeks, quite a few of the “white” sheriffs started waking me up in the middle of the night to “request” haircuts. This was the best deal in the place, they would give me extra food, sometimes do favors – watch someone who was giving me a hard time, etc.

Wayside would always have three barbers, Black, Hispanic, and White. Each race would, usually, stay with a barber of their own race, unless you did something to annoy your race. Then, as in my case, the Whites would go to the Hispanic barber. The three barbers bunked in the same section together, and worked together, and were, basically, stuck together 24/7. Even if you hated races different than your own, it was hard not to get to be friends with the other barbers. The problem with this was the inmates were divided into four distinct camps: The Blacks, The Woods (Whites), The Paisans (Mexicans straight from Mexico), The South-Siders (Mexicans gangsters). If you talk too much to anyone from any of these other camps, someone would want to beat you down.

I made it through two race riots, first one was Mexicans versus the Whites, no one died but plenty were wounded, I came out of it without a scratch. Second riot was Blacks against Whites; I came out OK, punched in the back of the head, but stayed up. After these riots the Head of The Woods didn’t want me to talk to the other barbers, Hispanic or as they referred to the Blacks – Toads. They wanted to remain racist without saying the dreaded “n-word.” Well, unbeknownst to everyone I was tutoring the head of the “black-car.” Bull, as he was known, didn’t know how to read (he was the other barber) and he felt I could help him without me telling people. Also, when internal race issues came up with the Blacks he would ask my opinion, but I would swear not to let this come out, it would cause further riots and get him beat down.

So, when more and more pressure was being put on me by the Whites, Bull talked to the heads of the “white-cars,” and said that I was Italian and I had the full backing of the Blacks at Wayside, so if there was a problem with me the Blacks would riot on every White at Wayside, but me.

After that I was left alone, but warned as I left Wayside to “never come back.”

I never went back.

On with the review . . .

This has something for everybody, TSOL, Black Flag and the band that if you’re “punk” you’re supposed bow down to: Bad Brains. Great compilation!!

If you don’t own it, get it.

Rating: ***** five out of five stars.

Currently:
Reading: Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra
Listening: Agent Orange – Bloodstains (single)
Watching: Old Boy directed by Chan-wook Park

Pardon the lateness, here’s the show for this week.

Right Click To Download

Time: 65:51
File Size: 90.4MB

Tracks played:
01. China White – Addiction (China White)
02. Heart Attack – God Is Dead (Toxic Lullabies: 1980-1984)
03. Stalag 13 – The Choice Is Yours (In Control)
04. The Pedestrians – Endangering Public Safety (single)
05. Broken Bottles – Poor Me (Hospital)
06. D.Y.S. – More Than Fashion (Brotherhood)
07. Youth Brigade – Shoulda Stayed Home (Come Again)
08. N.O.T.A. – Frustration (None of the Above)
09. Direct Control – Fake (No Bullshit Volume 1 compilation)
10. Gang Green – Rabies (Preschool)
11. Fucked Up – Last Man Standing (Epics In Minutes)
12. Righteous Jams – Green Eyes (Rage of Discipline)
13. Double Negative – Stop Growing (The Wonderful and Frightening World Of…)
14. Scared Straight – Typical (Born To Be Wild)
15. State – No Illusions (Nixed Life)
16. M.D.C. – No More Cops (Magnus Dominus Corpus)
17. D.O.A. – Police Brutality (Northern Avenger)
18. AK47 – The Badge Means You Suck (single)
19. Disability – Battling Against The Police (Public Service compilation)
20. Hummungus – I Hate Motherfuckin’ Cops (Counter Attack compilation)
21. Shattered Faith – Victims of Society (Bootleg)
22. Government Issue – Snubbing (20 Years of Dischord compilation)
23. Hated Youth – Red Red Red (Hardcore Rules)
24. The Left – Stop (Jesus Loves The Left)
25. Dils – I Hate the Rich (Class War)
26. Alice Donut – Egg (Bucketfulls Of Sickness And Horror In An Otherwise Meaningless Life)
27. Victims Family – I’m Being Followed Around By The CIA (Apocalicious)
28. Big Boys – Fun, Fun, Fun (The Fat Elvis)
29. Derelicts – Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In (Going Out of Style)
30. Sodom – Surfin’ Bird (M-16)

The podcast will be here this week, it’s just a little late.

T.S.O.L.
Disappear
June 26, 2001
Nitro Records

Jack Grisham – Vocals
Ron Emory – Guitar
Mike Roche – Bass
Jay O’Brien – Drums

1. Motivate
2. Sodomy
3. Crybaby
4. Anticop
5. Terrible People
6. Pyro
7. In My Head
8. Renounce
9. Socialite
10. Wasted
11. Automatic
12. Paranoid
13. Disappear

Back in the early part of 1982, maybe late 1981, there was a woman making headlines. Her mug was on every talk show, and her quotes were splattered across pages of many a woman’s magazine. Her name was Serena Dank. She founded some exploitive group called Parents Against Punkers. Between Flipside, Maximum Rock and Roll, and We Got Power, Serena received tons of hate mail, rude cartoons and overall vile comments.

Her goal was to sort of re-program punk kids into law-abiding preppies. But her argument was that punks were absolutely everything that was wrong with society. What blew about this was, like every group there were some bad apples but, every punk I knew was trying to make something of themselves.

None of Serena Dank’s ranting bothered me much. I felt I was under the radar enough to be immune. And I was for a minute, then at the age of 15 or 16 my Mom and I would fight every time we would leave the house together. I wanted my leather jacket and 5 minutes to spike my hair. I was young, and Mom took it WAY too serious.

So, she signed the family up for therapy. I went for about three months, the shrink was always trying to get me to come with my hair spiked, but for some reason this embarrassed me and I wouldn’t do it.

After a few sessions with my Mom and I together the shrink told me she thought my Mom was “over-bearing,” I really didn’t know what this meant, so I said “Cool.” And thought nothing more about it. Then one day my Mom was after me about something or other and I blurted it something along the lines of “the shrink is right, you are over-bearing.” This flipped my Mom out a bit, and she accused me of making this up.

Within a day or so my Mom called and canceled all further therapy sessions. It was chalked up to me swaying the shrink to my way of thinking. Kind of using Hitler-like mind control. I was accused of this when I was much younger, if neighborhood kids liked me, but not my Mom so much, I was pulling a Hitler.

Anyway, having gone through this – I probably won’t care what my kids do with their hair, but then again I might turn into an old fart and bitch about hair length and color too. But the greatest thing to come out of the therapy was that my Brother went on to become a psychologist himself.

On with the review . . .

I have owned every TSOL album ever produced at one time or another, with the exception of the Joe Wood albums, and I have found something good in all of them, sometimes only a guitar riff; this one however I couldn’t find shit. Sorry, I’m a huge TSOL fan, but this one blew donkey pang.

If you don’t own it, don’t sweat it.

Rating: * **** one out of five stars.

Currently:
Reading: Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
Listening: Stepmothers – You Were Never My Age and More
Watching: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints directed by Dito Montiel

On a separate note, I have an old friend who has fallen on hard times, many of you L.A., S.F. and English punks remember Linda “Ziggy” Daniels. Anyway, about six months back Ziggy came to America after twenty years in England and none of her plans came together and her and her fiancée find themselves without food, shelter or money. If anyone has a connection for work or shelter, etc, please contact Linda at: lusciousanarchy@hotmail.com or me at punk.con@gmail.com. Thanks!

R.I.P. Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton. He was found dead today at the age of 60.

Read more at the Chicago Tribune and CNN

Back “live”. I trust everyone had a satisfactory holiday season and is now back in their normal grind. Here is the first show of 2009. Thanks to all of you who left a comment or sent me an email with condolences regarding the recent death in my family, it was much appreciated. The show’s a little longer than usual this week by about 10 minutes, so the file size may be larger than expected. Sorry about that!

Right Click To Download

Time: 69:00
File Size: 94.8MB

Tracks played:
01. Sham 69 – Borstal Breakout (Singles Collection)
02. Jon Cougar Concentration Camp – Reason For The Season (Hot Shit)
03. The Dickies – Banana Splits (single)
04. Zany Guys – Ballroom Blitz (More Coffee For The Politicians comp.)
05. Dee Dee Ramone – Beat On The Brat (Greatest and Latest)
06. Insane – Why Die (single)
07. Death Sentence – Die a Hero (Death and Pure Destruction)
08. Raw Power – State Oppression (You Are the Victim)
09. Rosemary’s Babies – Talking To the Dead (Blood Lust)
10. Fartz – Is This The Way? (Because This Fuckin’ World Still Stinks)
11. Bang Gang – Dickhead (Cottage Cheese From the Lips Of Death comp.)
12. Ill Repute – President (What Happened Then)
13. Saigon – Anti-Vogue (Annihilation)
14. Rude Kids – Charlie (single)
15. Sick Pleasure – Three Seconds Of Pleasure (Dolls Under Control)
16. Deep Sleep – Lost In Space (You’re Screwed)
17. Chronic Seizure – Sleepwalker (Brainsick)
18. Cloak/Dagger – J.C. Pays The Bills (We Are)
19. Shirkers – Drunk & Disorderly (single)
20. Graveyard Girl Scouts – Roach Motel Hell (Bat in the Box)
21. Rock Bottom And The Spys – Deathtrap (single)
22. The Not – Stop It (unreleased)
23. Cracked Actor – Nazi School (single)
24. Falsh Prophets – 7 Deadly Sins (Blind Roaches and Fat Vultures Phantasmagorical Beasts
of the Reagan Era)
25. Minutemen – Little Man With a Gun in His Hand (Buzz Or Howl Under the Influence Of Heat)
26. The Chumps – Fuck You, I’m Rich (Invent Rock ‘n’ Roll)
27. Angry Samoans – My Old Man’s a Fatso (Unboxed Set)
28. Electric Frankenstein – A Singers Blood (single)
29. Scurvy Dogs – Botoxicated (Relieve Yourself)
30. Virus Nine – Generation Hexed (What Are You Afraid Of?)

Mike E’s Top 10 Bassists

Number 10
Sid Vicious

Sid couldn’t play worth a shit, he could sing OK; but his claim to fame was his image as a bass player – which inspired a generation of bassists. Hell, I knew about him before I really had a grasp on punk.

Number 9
Jean Beauvoir

Most people only knew him as the black dude with the white Mohawk from The Plasmatics. He also played in Steve Van Zandt’s band, and wrote and produced for The Ramones, Kiss and many others, as well as a truck load of sound track work.

Number 8
Flea

From his early days with Fear to his current Chili Pepper status, Flea has always been a strong supporter of the “scene.” I remember seeing him pop up at all the old L.A. shows.

Number 7
Mike Watt

On some people’s list Mike would be at number one. His ex-wife Kyra would be at two. Though I not a huge fan of his musical output, I can’t deny his talent.

Number 6
Paul Simonon

What would the Clash be without Paul’s solid playing?

Number 5
Chuck Dukowski

What I always dug about Chuck D’s playing was it seemed like he played lead guitar on the bass, not a typical rhythm section. He was damn good.

Number 4
Mike Roche

From his hardcore playing on the early TSOL EP to his Death Rock playing, Roche’s bass work was always on the money.

Number 3
Glen Matlock

Even if you’re not a fan, you can’t dismiss the songs he wrote, all classics.

Number 2
Lemmy Kilmister

Next to Geezer Butler, nobody played a more punk style in the “heavy metal” world. The only minus in Lemmy’s career was his duet with Wendy O. Williams.

Number 1
Dee Dee Ramone

What can you say about Dee Dee? He set the standard for punk bass playing.

Honorable mentions: Jay Bentley, Billy Sheehan, Stuart Hamm.

Due to a death in the family there will be no show this week. Sorry all, see you next Sunday.

Mike E.’s Top 10 Pre-Punk Albums

Number 10
The Who – Who Are You

This album came out in 1978; I think I got it at that time. Pete Townshend said He wrote this album to bridge the gap between progressive rock and punk. The song I continually played was 905, a song written and sang by bassist John Entwistle. It was about a man who was cloned in a lab, and struggling with not having his own life. I think I identified with the feeling of isolation, I was 12, and what did I know.

Number 9
Billy Idol – Don’t Stop EP

This was a great pop album made by one of England’s original punks. I loved the song The Untouchables. I just listened to it last week for the first time in 20 years.

Number 8
Surf Punks – My Beach

I’m not sure why I bought this; maybe it had the word “punk” in it. I listened to it last week, and, sadly, it blows donkey dong. I vaguely remember liking it.

Number 7
Human Hands – Trains vs. Planes

I met David Wiley at Moby Disc in Sherman Oaks when I was a kid, and he was always real cool to me, so I became a fan. Saw them open for Romeo Void at the Country Club in Reseda. And Wiley came by and talked to me and my Dad for a while. Good single.

Number 6
Secret Affair – Glory Boys

Again with The Country Club, my Dad took me for my thirteenth birthday to see Edgar Winter (the albino keyboardist), but highlight was Secret Affair opening. I was probably one of five people who liked them. Actually, I loved them. The rest of the crowd yelled obscenities, and did the finger at these guys. I still play this album. Unlike the Jam, Secret Affair just played good, fun music. They weren’t trying to change the world.

Number 5
Joe Jackson – I’m the Man

Unfortunately, I never liked anything else he did after this. Lyrically, he reminded me a bit of Elvis Costello. A lot of fast tongue twisting phrasing. Tackling commercialism, extramarital affairs, stuff I had not heard in songs prior to this. Still a pretty good album.

Number 4
Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True

I loved the energy and the attitude. I bought about five or six concert bootlegs of his at the old Capitol Records swap meets back in the late 70’s, early 80’s. His stuff was a perfect gateway to punk for me.

Number 3
Times Square – OST

This soundtrack (I never saw the movie) has everybody you want to hear as a young pre-punk: Suzi Quatro, The Pretenders, Roxy Music, Gary Numan, Marcy Levy & Robin Gibb, Robin Johnson & Trini Alvarado, The Ruts, D.L. Byron, Lou Reed, Desmond Child & Rouge, Talking Heads, Joe Jackson, XTC, The Ramones, Garland Jeffreys, The Cure, Patti Smith Group, and David Johansen.

Number 2
Devo – Be Stiff EP

This was an eye-opening experience for me. My Uncle Rick played this for my Brother and me when I was 12 and my Brother was 8. I loved it, and it seemed like most adults hated it. Just like when we discovered Kiss, it was ours.

Number 1
David Bowie – Diamond Dogs

Besides Rebel, Rebel being a great rock song, the opening lines of Future Legend was enough for me to dig this album for the last 34 years:

And in the death
As the last few corpses lay rotting on the slimy thoroughfare
The shutters lifted in inches in Temperance Building
High on Poacher’s Hill
And red, mutant eyes gaze down on Hunger City
No more big wheels

Fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats
And ten thousand peoploids split into small tribes
Coverting the highest of the sterile skyscrapers
Like packs of dogs assaulting the glass fronts of Love-Me Avenue
Ripping and rewrapping mink and shiny silver fox, now legwarmers
Family badge of sapphire and cracked emerald
Any day now
The Year of the Diamond Dogs

“This ain’t Rock’n’Roll
This is Genocide”

This written and recited in a real cool William Burroughs style; I still love the album.

These were the albums I had as I was starting to get into punk, my gateway crap. You have had the same albums, hell, you may hate them all – that’s OK, I hate some of them now. Leave some comments; list your top ten pre-punk albums/singles/EP’s.

It’s Christmas yet again on this weeks podcast, and a longer show than usual to boot. Another 30 seasonal ditties, including the always popular Fear and Ramones tracks, plus a band with the charming name “Cuntsmacker”. What more could you want? Oh, a 31st bonus song as well.

Happy holidays and all that from Strange Reaction!

Right Click To Download

Time: 77:22
File Size: 70.8MB

Tracks played:
01. Fear – Fuck Xmas (single)
02. Impact – Punk Christmas (single)
03. The A-Team- Christmas Claws (Clusterfuck EP)
04. Maniax – Xmas Drones (The Lost Tapes)
05. Throwdown – Jingle Bell Rock (split with Good Clean Fun)
06. F – White Christmas (Mess You Up EP)
07. D.I. – Mr. Grinch (Punk Rock Xmas comp.)
08. Jingle Punx – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Discomfort and Joy)
09. The Dwarves – Drinking Up Christmas (www.thedwarves.com)
10. Dead Milkmen – Christmas Party (Someone Shot Sunshine)
11. 4 Skins – Merry Christmas Everybody (Bollocks to Christmas)
12. The Ravers – (It’s Gonna Be A) Punk Rock Christmas (single)
13. Barbed Wire – The Christmas Song (The Age That Didn’t Care)
14. Pennywise – Christmas In Hell (Rare and Unreleased)
15. Atom and His Package – What We Do on Christmas (Hair: Debatable)
16. Tiny Tim – Santa’s Got the Aids This Year (single)
17. Wesley Willis – Christmas
18. Yobs – We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Christmas Album)
19. Cuntsmacker – Jesus Christmas! (XXX Mas: Harvesting the Christmas Spirit)
20. Phantom Pregnancies – Gee Whizz It’s Xmas (The Compilation That Could Have Been)
21. Murphys Law – Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag (The Best of Times)
22. Wild Billy Childish And The Musicians Of The British Empire – Christmas Hell (Christmas 1979)
23. Stiff Little Fingers – White Christmas (Live) (Anthology)
24. MDC – Black christmas (Hey Cop, If I Had a Face Like Yours…)
25. Bantam Rooster – Let’s Just Fuck For Christmas (Surprise Package)
26. The Dickies – Silent Night (single)
27. Lemmy – Run Rudolph Run (We Wish you a Metal XMas and a Head Banging New Year)
28. Bad Religion – God Rest You Jerry Mentleman (Holiday Sampler)
29. Weston/The Bouncing Souls – Do They Know Its Christmas? (split single)
30. The Ramones – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight) (Brain Drain)
Xmas Bonus: Husker Du – Christmas Greetings 1986 (bootleg)