Land mines don't lie

Well heyo there, Wednesday waffles, and welcome to another rootin' tootin' WWA. Fire up your listening device, crack open your beverage of choice, turn the volume up JUST loud enough to annoy people around you but not loud enough that they feel like they can ask you to turn it down, and let's get started. This week features some great songs from bands like Good Riddance, Joy Division, NOFX, Rites of Spring and more.



Annnnnnd here is the link for the web player, for all you webheads.



Let's start the ball rolling on this punkrock potluck with a good ole horrorbilly track. Not From Heaven is a rollin', rollickin' song courtesy of spooky scary LA outfit Rezurex. Rife with dazzling lead guitar riffs and solos and reverb effects, rooted by a driving rhythm section, Not From Heaven checks all the boxes for what you want in your psychobilly. It is the closing track on their 2013 album Psycho Radio....action figures sold separately!

Don't Lie is an anti-war (audio) treatise from the rockin' lads of Dead to Me. Written in 2006, three years after the US invaded Iraq, again, the song serves a biting critique to the dumb-dumb aggression of our cowboy president and sears a mental image of some of the ugliest aspects of armed conflict. Dead to Me is a super group (well, at the very least a marginally-above-average group) of veteran San Francisco musicians, featuring members from a wide array of bands including Western Addiction, Swingin' Utters and New Mexican Disaster Squad.

Alright, I am jonesing hard for some punk rock covers from our buddies Good Riddance. In 2002 GR released Cover Ups, a compilation album of all the covers they had done over the years, spanning the decades from 60s doo-wop, 70s proto-punk and classic rock to 80s hardcore. For this week's listening enjoyment, I decided to include their versions of KISS' I Stole Your Love and Government Issue's Hall of Fame.

I cannot get the taste of DC hardcore out of my ears, so may as well keep it going with the short-lived band Rites of Spring. One of the mainstay acts during the District' infamous Revolution Summer of 1985, which was less of a movement and more a reaction to violent and sexist behaviors in the scene as well as a rejection of how mainstream media portrayed punk rock, Rites of Spring was also one of the early pioneering 'emo' bands; a term used to mock them, although they did focus more on personal and introspective concepts than broader political or social issues. Members of the band would go on to form Fugazi with the seemingly omnipotent Ian MacKaye.

Up next we have the opening track off NOFX's The Longest Line 12" record. Released in 1992, this EP signified the first original content to be produced and distributed through frontman Fat Mike's newly-founded Fat Wreck Chords label. To me, The Death of John Smith really signifies a maturation, or at least turning point, in NOFX's sound; blending some of that mid-tempo, rockabilly sentiment from previous works like White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean with the speed and pop polish heard in future albums like Punk in Drublic or So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes.

After the illustrious Howard Devoto left his first band Buzzcocks, he started post-punk project Magazine. Formed in Manchester (mental thought-out to all the victims of bullshit violence there recently) in 1977, Magazine was a very progressive and influential band, keeping slightly grounded in its punk roots while exploring more avant garde and new wave sounds. Shot by Both Sides was the group's debut single, and was co-written with the help of Devoto's old bandmate, and master (buzz)cock, Pete Shelley.

This next sonic explosion, Golden Eagle, is made possible by folky noise band AJJ. Originally monikered Andrew Jackson Jihad (love that name), the guys bit the PC bullet last year and shortened to just AJJ. Regardless, the dudes in the band will not be stopped in their tireless pursuit to make cool, fresh-sounding tunes - Golden Eagle is off their 6th studio album, 2016's The Bible 2, which was released through SideOneDummy Records.

Louisville Slugger is about what you'd probably expect it to be about, based on the title. Hailing from snow-plagued Boston (that city is really fucking white, in more than one way), the Have Nots continue Beantown's fine tradition of pumping out worthy ska punk bands (see: Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Big D and the Kids Table, etc.) Louisville Slugger is from their sophomore full-length, Proud. Although the song ends on an ambiguous note, I like to think that she took the bat and beat the shit out of him.

We'll close out our weekly masquerade with a spunky (lol) little track from Louisville garage rock band, White Reaper. Little Silver Cross is off the group's latest studio album, The World's Best American Band which just dropped last month. While past works reflected more of a under-produced garage rock sound, this album displays a much more confident and power pop-infused vibe. Go check out more of  World's Best American Band here! They're gonna be playing at DC9 next Tuesday - go to the show!


Alrighty, that's it for this week's merry melodies. Make sure to tune in next Wednesday for your weekly fill of punk rock. As always, keep in touch, send over your requests, dirty laundry, etc. Still haven't gotten any skittles...where are the skittles guys?