SMASH white supremacy

Howdy there ladies and fellas! Happy Iranian Day for Doctors, and welcome to the latest installment of Wednesdays With Andrew. This marks the first full write up in a couple weeks, so let me formally welcome you back to the mix. And what a mix it is. This week we got Rancid. We got Ramones. We got Big B, T.S.O.L., This is a Standoff and much more. So, without further ado, GO FUCKING LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST



Oh, and the web player link for all you webels.


Oh. Hellz. Yes. Spotify just added my favorite album from (DC-born) French punk rockers Uncommonmenfrommars, 2001's Vote For Me. We'll go ahead and kick off the week with this piece of sliced gold...Tatoo is a hard-hitting (yet cheery sounding) rebuke of all things intolerant and evil. I would also rank it as being in the Top 5 Ringtones of All Time list. If you haven't had the chance to listen to this album in its entirety, go check it out, NOW. My buds and I would go see these guys play every time they came to our town on tour; they killed it live, and they are super chill dudes to boot.

Track Fast is a fast track off Rancid's Trouble Maker, released earlier this summer. The opening song off what marks the seminal punk band's 9th studio album, to me it's reminiscent of the Life Won't Wait/2000 era for the group. It's the sonic equivalent of a train that's gone off the rails, incorporating pounding rhythms and affronting, twangy guitar licks. Since the song clocks in at under a minute (and that is NOT enough Rancid for one sitting), I am throwing in Junkie Man, which is off one of my personal favorite albums, ...And Out Come the Wolves.

This next one goes out to my own little Cuban hottie. Havana Affair is a glazed donut of a song from trailblazing punk band Ramones. Off their debut self-titled album (released all the way back in 1976!), the song features everything you'd expect from these Queens rockers: simple song structure built around 4 power chords, punctuated by sharp syncopated breaks, and sugary melodies courtesy of Joey Ramone. Although all four original members of the band have died, its hard to imagine that their music or impact will ever be forgotten.

Graveyards is a melodic shotgun blast from Canadian outfit This Is A Standoff. Blending complex guitar lines and rhythms, borrowed from 80s thrash metal bands like Megadeth and Slayer, with the raw energy and speed of the 90s skate punk movement, This Is A Standoff provides an aural smorgsaborg, rife with interesting things to listen out for. Do those pop-laden yet piercing vocals sound familiar at all? The band was formed in 2007 by Steve Rawles, founding guitarist/vocalist of cult favorite, melodic skate band Belvedere. Speaking of fucking Belvedere, DID YOU KNOW - that band is still very much active, having released a new album last year (The Revenge of the Fifth) on Bird Attack Records, and still actively touring. See them next time they swing by your local watering hole!

OK I think it's time to inject some zen vibes on this week's journey. Next up is a chill track from Las Vegas-based wordsmith Big B. Part of the original line-up of OPM, Big B struck out on a solo career in the early 2000s. Here Comes the Lightning is off his 2013 LP, Fool's Gold...this album features a lot of cool collaborations, including songs that feature Slightly Stoopid and Dirty Heads.

People! Places! OK, for this next track I gotta give a big ups to dude man Yvann. He showed me this song Monolith last week, and I am really digging the moody, neo-post-punk vibes. This was the cardinal track off the self-titled, debut studio album released in 2012 by Stockholm-based noise act Holograms. The whole album has an oppressive timbre, featuring synth-heavy hooks, straightforward four-on-flour bass drum and distorted amelodic vocals. If you dig this track, go check out their brand spankin' new latest full-length release, Surrender, out now!

Goonies-loving band Slick Shoes, hailing from the deserts of southern California, have been playing fast skate punk since their inception in 1994. Father Son Picnic is off their first EP Rusty, and the band uses it to show some teeth, focusing less on a single pop hook and more on the overall rock n roll feel of the song. Side note: some things simply don't change...when I checked Slick Shoes' Facebook page this week, looks like they're still touring with MxPx!

Our penultimate selection for this week is T.S.O.L.'s soothing ode, Flowers By the Door. This song was part of their 1984 album Change Today?; aptly titled, as the record was released after founding vocalist Jack Grisham left the band. Indeed, Change Today? marked the first album with Danzig-sounding motherfucker Joe Wood on singing duties, while the band's sound also drifted away from their early hardcore influences and more into the realm or art and goth rock sounds. Jack is back at the helm, and the reunited gang released a new record, The Trigger Complex, earlier this year. 

We'll close out the week's playlist with a punch to the head, PEARS' combative track Victim To Be. Off their first studio album, Go To Prison, the song encapsulates these Louisianians' brake-and-go style of speedy, catchy hardcore. Speaking of victims and punches to heads, here's a quick concussion update: I am still showing symptoms, like concentration difficulties, headaches, dizziness...but all in all, things are going pretty well and I have been able to avoid being attacked since!


Okie dokie, annie oakley, that is a wrap. Thanks for tuning in, warriors, and be sure to come back next Wednesday for your weekly fill of good, punk(ish) rock.

Portez-vous bien et comportez-vous mal!

Keep the change, ya filthy animal

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a SPECIAL FUCKING XXXMAS EPISODE. Just so happens our 20^th playlist falls on this exceptional time of the year, where we show the people closest to us exactly how many dollars worth we love them.  Regardless of race, creed, color, sexual orientation or situation…we are all joined together through this annual giving of gifts to celebrate the gods of materialism and consumption.

Annd of course here is the web player link: https://play.spotify.com/user/agood1no/playlist/7xeUI2pFExQEpJgd1x7xIP

I am not throwing together the usual write-up, but a couple notes…

This playlist reflects my efforts to resist the urge to simply throw on the Vandals’ Oi to the World! in its entirety. It wasn’t easy, but I did it! YOU’RE WELCOME. 

My apologies for including My Chemical Romance on this list…I really wanted a cover of ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’, and couldn’t find any better version. Anyone out there know of a better cover?

You may notice that these are almost entirely all Christmas-inspired tunes. BUT, in the spirit of barely trying to spread the love across holidays, I have managed to find at least (read: only) one song that’s about Hanukkah. Sorry for being a terrible human.

Alright, time to sign off and get ready for the annual Festivus celebration. Mentally preparing for the airing of grievances and the acceptance of Festivus miracles, not to mention picking out the perfect Festivus Pole, is not an easy task. I wish all of you the most intense happiest of holidays, and I hope you’re all able to spend some fun times hanging with family and friends. Here’s to hoping 2017 is less of a dumpster fire than this year was!

Wild in the Streets

Happy Pakistani Air Force Day! I hope you enjoy this week’s tunes; listen to the playlist below and feel free to read along as you stumble through it. Shout out to my bro, Evan MCGEE, for pointing out that 3 out of my 4 last posts contained songs off soundtracks from Guy Ritchie movies; “I Wanna be your Dog” and “Police and Thieves” from Lock Stock, and “Ghost Town” from Snatch! To keep the trend, I threw in a lil’ last-minute bonus track, an obvious easter egg of sorts – medium ups to you if you recognize which one!

Web player link – https://play.spotify.com/user/agood1no/playlist/2mkCaTGinAmM9hpOnS31eY

Ramones – Warthog

We kick off this week with a track from ubiquitous 70s icons the Ramones. Forged on the gritty suburban streets of Queens, the Ramones are arguably the band that spearheaded the punk movement in the United States. Warthog is off one of their later releases, Too Tough to Die, but exemplifies a return to their roots, less glazey and more teeth. Sad fact of the week – all 4 original members, Joey, Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee, have passed away.

Deviates – Come With Me

Come with Me is the opening song off the Deviates’ much-anticipated second album, Time Is The Distance. Melodic hardhitters and part of the early 90s punk revival on the west coast, the Deviates preferred to focus on heavy touring and honing their live sound, and so they took 7 years between their first studio release and this one. Unfortunately, the band will break up soon after the release of Time Is The Distance, and we haven’t been graced with their youthful and introspective sound since.

Catch 22 – Keasbey Nights

The title track from their debut album, Keasbey Nights, incorporates all the distinctive sounds that coalesce to make Catch 22 the unique ska band it is. From the speedy tenor parts to the chorus anthems to a rocksteady rhythm section, Keasbey Nights shows us why these Jersey boys enjoy such widespread popularity. Although band leader and founder Tomas Kalnoky bailed to start a new outfit, Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22 still plays shows here and there.

Misfits – Horror Business

Speaking of New Jersey…up next we have the crown prince of horror punk, Misfits. Before lead ghoul Glenn Danzig left the group to pursue a Freudian solo career, he recorded a number of singles, EPs and full lengths with Misfits. Horror Business is their third single, released in 1979 off Danzig’s label Plan 9 Records. This track highlights the trademark sound of Misfits, a driving, melodic pop force interlaced with themes and imagery from horror movies.  Oh, and who can forget the mighty Danzig’s appearance in Aqua Teen Hunger Force??

Demond Dekker & the Aces – 007 (Shanty Town)

Now we head to the Caribbean for some early ska from widely influential Jamaican artist Desmond Dekker. 007 (Shanty Town) was the title track and first single off Desmond Dekker & the Aces’ 1967 debut studio album. The song makes allusions to spy and cat-and-mouse films, like James Bond and Ocean’s 11, which was a very popular pop culture phenomenon at the time in the rude boy scene. This song went on to be very influential in later reggae and ska circles, and was consistently covered by big acts, including versions by The Specials and Musical Youth.

Frenzal Rhomb – Let’s Drink a Beer

Since we’re globe hopping, may as well take a trip down under to hang with our Aussie friends, Frenzal Rhomb, and their mouth-watering track Let’s Drink a Beer. This song is off their commercially successful 1999 album A Man’s Not a Camel, and showcases their frenzied and melodic, lead guitar-driven flavor of music.  By the way, what the hell is a Frenzal Rhomb? Well apparently the name is derived from a Fresnel rhomb. What the hell is a Fresnal rhomb? I’d explain it but physics isn’t my forte – read about it here.

Scissor Sisters – Tits on the Radio

Next up is a track from fuzzy glam rock /nu-disco pop sensations, Scissor Sisters.  Fronted by lead singers Ana Matronic and Jake Shears, Scissor Sisters are well known for their outlandish live performances and quickly gained a cult following, first in Europe before they got big in their native United States.  Tits on the Radio is a track off their debut studio album, and some have speculated that it may serve as a vague homage to the Bugles’ Video Killed the Radio Star.

                                          

Slick Shoes – Lucky

Lucky is off pop punk Slick Shoes’ third album, Wake Up Screaming, released under the Tooth & Nail banner. They gained a following by touring extensively with other bands on the Christian label, most notably MxPx. The band name is an homage to cult movie The Goonies; ‘slick shoes’ is one of the character Data’s many homemade gadgets.

Circle Jerks – Wild in the Streets

Possibly the best name for a band ever, and our second sexual band name so far in this week’s playlist, Circle Jerks were a huge part of the late 70s/80s hardcore scene.  Formed in Los Angeles by former members of Black Flag and Red Kross, Circle Jerks embodied the energy and anarchistic counter culture that was becoming increasingly popular, especially in skate and surf scenes. Wild in the Streets is their cover of Garland Jeffreys’ original tune, and is the opening track and namesake for Circle Jerks’ sophomore studio album.

Pennywise - Bro Hymn

We end today’s playlist with the super catchy anthem Bro Hymn, off of Pennywise’s fourth full-length album Full Circle. Named after the monster clown from Stephen King’s It, Pennywise is (and continues to be) a leading force of the 90s punk revival sound, while guitarist Fletcher Dragge is consistently recognized as one of the great guitarists in the scene. Bro Hymn was originally released on Pennywise’s first album, as a tribute to bassist Jason Thirsk’s friends. After Thirsk took his own life in 1996, the band re-recorded the song (this version) as a dedication to him. “Jason Matthew Thirsk, this one's for you!” Random knowledge knugget - This song is (or has been) the ‘goal song’ for at least 3 different NHL teams.

Alrighty folks, that’s a wrap. Hope you enjoyed every last minute of it, and please share, follow, like, and all that.