Top 25 Punk Albums (According to IGN)

Remember Kerrang's really really bad list of the top 50 punk albums ever? IGN made one too and it's actually quite decent, I would say. The omission of Rancid's ...and out come the wolves is somewhat unforgivable, but at least it gets an honourable mention...

IGN's top 25 punk albums:

25. Social Distortion - Social Distortion (1990)
24. NOFX - Punk in Drublic (1994)
23. Green Day - Dookie (1994)
22. The Misfits - Walk Among Us (1982)
21. The Descendents - Milo Goes to College (1982)
20. Plasmatics - Beyond the Valley of 1984 (1981)
19. Husker Du - New Day Rising (1985)
18. Generation X - Generation X (1979)
17. Big Black - Songs About F*cking (1987)
16. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
15. Bad Religion - Suffer (1988)
14. Richard Hell & The Voivoids - Blank Generation (1977)
13. Operation Ivy - Energy (1990)
12. Minor Threat - Out of Step (1984)
11. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams (1969)
10. X - Los Angeles (1980)
9. Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material (1979)
8. Black Flag - Damaged (1981)
7. New York Dolls - New York Dolls (1973)
6. Bad Brains - Bad Brains (1982)
5. The Stooges - Fun House (1970)
4. The Sex Pistols - Nevermind the Bollocks (1977)
3. Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (1980)
2. The Clash - The Clash (1977)
1. The Ramones - The Ramones (1976)

Watch Kid Dynamite's final show!

Kid Dynamite has to be one of the greatest melodic hardcorebands of all time. In 2005, they played a reunion show to help save CBGB's. In the end, CBGB's could not be saved, but here's the video...

Cover EP Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer and Reel Big Fish

Interesting synopsis: one of the cutest powerpop bands teams up with one of the biggest skapunk bands to play their favorite 80's songs. Okay...not really original, but when Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer is involved...I'm game!

"What happens when two of America’s best pop-rock bands collaborate on their love of 1980’s pop-rock? Answer: Duet All Night Long. This six- song split release by Reel Big Fish and Zolof The Rock & Roll Destroyer is comprised entirely of the two bands’ favorite 80’s gems. Each band croons three pop gems originally by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Human League, The Smiths, Fishbone, and more. The best part is that Zolof's Rachel Minton and Reel Big Fish's Aaron Barrett sing scorching duets on every track!"

The cd will be released february 20th on Reignition. For now you can listen to the entire album here. I'm liking the three Zolof ones!

Tralala

Could a bandname be any simpler than Tralala? In the case of Tralala, the music is pretty simple as well. Think Ramones, Ronettes and Beatles inspired poppunk with four female singers. They're somewhere between the dirtiness of (though not as dirty as) the Donnas and the poppiness of (though not as poppy as) the Pipettes. The vocal harmonies are the band's strength and gives them a certain retro sound. They say it best themselves: "Tralala are boys and girls who play rock songs without strings attached...and they believe it is OK to shake your hips to rock and roll." Their new album 'Is that the Tralala' was released last month.

Mp3:
Tralala - Yellow Taxi
Tralala - Boys of St. Mary

Website | MySpace | Buy@Insound

Free Christmas sampler Fat Wreck!

For the punkrockers out there Fat Wreck put up a free Christmas sampler. It features unreleased tracks by NOFX, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and the Loved Ones and other Fat Wreck bands. You can listen to it (and download it!) here! Don't worry..these are not christmas songs!

Love is All

I'm aware that a lot of bands I've talked about in this blog are Scandinavian. I'd like to state that this is not on purpose. It's just that this region is filled with so many great bands that George W Bush would probably refer to it as the axis of evilly good music that is a threat to the US indie scene (of course if he had good musical taste, which is more than doubtful. That's a good thing though cause if he did, he might invade Scandinavia to stop this bands from being better than their American counterparts...).
Sorry for drifting off...let me introduce you to Love is All from Sweden. I highly recommend their critically acclaimed debut 'Nine Times That Same Song' if you like pop songs with a little punk chaos added to it. This is catchy but weird, danceable but rocking. I like their old school sound, which remind me of X-ray Spex at times, although the singer's voice alone might account for this. Looking forward to their Amsterdam show december 14th!

Video: Busy Doing Nothing

mp3:
Love is All - Talk Talk Talk
Love is All - Spinning and Scratching

MySpace | Buy @ Insound

Songtelling...

Friday night on my bicycle, on my way home after a job interview I was rocking out to Say Anything's 2004 album 'Is a Real Boy'. This post is not about that album, but if you haven't heard it yet, you better get to it! It has been re-issued this year and on this e-card you can listen to three songs. This band shows that punkrock still can be energetic, exciting and original. Check out the video to ´Alive with the Glory Of love´, which is my favorite.

Anyways, there is this one song on it that made me wanna do this post. It's called 'Admit It' and it's a song with a narrated verse and a sung chorus. As you will notice when listening to it, it's a denounciation of the fake elititists and hipsters in the underground scene, as you´ll find out after these first lines: 'Despite your pseudo-bohemian appearance| And vaguely leftist doctrine of beliefs| You know nothing about art or sex| That you couldn’t read in any trendy New York underground fashion magazine| Prototypical non-conformist| You are a vacuous soldier of the thrift store Gestapo| You adhere to a set of standards and tastes| That appear to be determined by an unseen panel of hipster judges (bullshit)| Ouch! I've put the song up for download here (complete lyrics here).

It got me thinking. There are other narrative songs that are really good. Actually, the three songs that first came to mind are all pretty good to awesome even. Maybe songtelling is a recipe for succes? Check out the three songs that came to my mind first below. Now, I'm curious...can you think of some other ones?

Nada Surf 'Popular'

Eels 'Susan's House'

Suicidal Tendencies 'Institutionalized'

Way to go Dr. Frank

Remember The Mr. T Experience, one of the finest pop punk bands ever? I've lost touch with them (they still perform occasionally so I've heard), but their 90's records still get played regularly at FTC Headquarters. The band revolved around singer Frank Portman aka Dr. Frank. Let me tell you...this man is a genius in writing simple songs with beautifully funny cynical lyrics like "Nixon had his puppy, Charles Manson had his klan, but god forbid that I get a girlfriend" (from 'Even Hitler had a Girlfriend'). With Brilliant one-liners like 'The future ain't what it used to be', 'Thank you (for not being one of them)', 'Who needs happiness (I rather have you) and 'The weather is here, wish you were beautiful' he could also have pursued a career at Hallmark. Instead Dr, Frank wrote a book, named King Dork! A fresh addition to my 'to read' list...

"Tom Henderson (a.k.a. King Dork, Chi-mo, Hender-fag, and Sheepie) is a typical American high school loser until he discovers the book, The Catcher in the Rye, that will change the world as he knows it. When Tom discovers his deceased father’s copy of the Salinger classic, he finds himself in the middle of several interlocking conspiracies and at least half a dozen mysteries involving dead people, naked people, fake people, ESP, blood, a secret code, guitars, monks, witchcraft, the Bible, girls, the Crusades, a devil head, and rock and roll. And it all looks like it’s just the tip of a very odd iceberg of clues that may very well unravel the puzzle of his father’s death and–oddly–reveal the secret to attracting semihot girls.
Being in a band could possibly be the secret to the girl thing–but good luck finding a drummer who can count to four."

The book has been getting a lot of good reviews and this week I read on punknews.org that Will Ferrell and Adam McKay have grabbed the rights to the novel. It's not yet clear whether Ferrell will actually play in the movie. All I can say is: way to go Dr. Frank!

(if you're wondering who Will Ferrel is...click here)

Some MTX mp3's:

The Mr T Experience - Even Hitler had a Girlfriend
The Mr T Experience - I Fell For You
The Mr T Experience - She's Coming Over Tonight

Punk is dead?!...long live Latterman

I think I was 15 or 16 years old when I got into punk(rock) and hardcore. The raw energy and passion, the positive aggression, the obscurity, the melody and fastness of the music and the (do it yourself) mentality really spoke to me. Basically, these bands i fell in love with showed a lot of heart. For a lot of my favorite bands from that era the lyrics were just as important to me as the music. In my opinion, punk (and hardcore) should be about more than just music; it should be a counterculture. It should provide inspiration to young (and not so young) people to make a change in this world on an individual level. It's hard to name one band that stands out for me because it's the whole culture that was inspirational. It gave me the strength to make my own decisions instead of conforming to a certain standard. I'm not afraid to admit that I probably would still eat meat if it weren't for punkrock/hardcore to name an example.

These are still the things I look for in punkrock today and sadly, in my opinion, it is heart that is lacking in a lot of the more popular punkbands. Surprisingly, the bands that never used to be that outspoken on political, environmental and societal issues show the most heart (NOFX and Green Day are examples that first come to mind). Well, maybe I'm just getting old...but I'm losing touch with the 'scene'.

Every now and then however, you come across a band with the right spirit. When I heard Latterman's album 'No Matter Where We Go' last year it blew me away (listen to three songs from this album here). This band is't the most technical or original, but they play their music with such determination and passion that it's contagious. Add some inspirational lyrics and you've got a winner! The bands strong point is the vocalpart: it's hard not to sing along to these songs. The bands weak point might be the similarity of the songs. This is also the case for the new album '...We Are Still Alive'. Expect more of the same, which in one way is a dissappointment cause I was kind of curious what their next step would be. Sometimes however, it's nice to get more of what you already like.

"I hope that we'll be searchers pursuing solution but I hope I have the context right/so as we try to understand each other with the weight of the world on our shoulders/I'm sorting this out with another poppy song/I'm not feeling too young these days but this time I'll make it sound better". ('An Ode to Jon Contra, part 2)

Latterman - If Batman Was Real, He Would Have Beaten The Crap Out Of My friends
Latterman - This Basement Gives Me A Fuckin Headache
Latterman on MySpace

Show Review: Samiam/The Draft @ De Helling

Monday isn't the best night for a show...it's not as bad as lazy sunday evening shows, but still...it's monday... Though I was pretty excited to finally see one of the best poppunk bands around, this night might've just as well turned out to another dissappointing monday night show. Luckily I got my money's worth last night in Utrecht.

I haven't really listened to the debut album ('In a Million Pieces) of The Draft yet. With three members of the great Hot Water Music this is a band that definitely deserves more interest from my behalve. Last night they showed that there is life after HWM. They are blessed with one of the best singers in punkrock today, while musically I think they can be seen as a more accessible (not better though) version of HWM. They played a solid set and I'm listening to their album as we speak. However, singer Chris Wollard was so stoned that his between song speeches sounded more like the late Steve Irwin than anything else. I'm glad it didn't affect his singing voice (which really was great), but it was actually quite lame...

Up next: Samiam.
What I like about this band? They write good songs. There's no image. Just 5 guys playing good music and that's exactly what they did yesterday. Starting off with one of the best opening lines I've ever heard on a show ("Here's some songs we know") they came out strong, opening with some classic Samiam songs. They finished their set strong too and although some people might say that the middle part (with some new songs en some slower songs) was kind of dull...I loved every minute of it. This is the poppunk I love. Heartfelt, well written songs sung passionately by (again) a great vocalist. This band has the gift to make you sing along like these songs are a part of you.

Thus...a 'unmondaylike' show. Samiam's 'She found you' has been stuck in my head. Check out the video below.

Samiam on MySpace

The Thermals

Ok...the following scenario. There's this band. Their name sounds familiar and you're quite certain that you've checked some of their songs out, but you never really cared for this band. After reading some really positive reviews, you decide to check out this bands new album. The first listen is not enough to blow you away, but it touches some nerves. The singer has a voice that you either love or hate and you haven't decided yet which side your on. You do like the intensity, the energy and the music. Then you listen to the album again and there are a couple of songs that stand out. These are the songs that make you play this album over and over again and after a few listens you find other song that you love. All of a sudden...you 'get' this band and you can't wait to tell your friends about this band and you're excited because you find out that they're touring Europe in november.

Yeah...I'm talking about the Thermals and their new album 'The Body, The Blood, The Machine'. I am pretty certain that this album will make it to my yearlist. From the Subpop website: "The Body, The Blood, The Machine adds walls of guitars, organs, and even a few "ballads" (aka slightly pretty songs) to the mix, while still retaining the gritty post-pop-punk sound for which The Thermals are globally famous. The lyrics envision a United States governed by a fascist Christian state, and focus on the need (and means) to escape. While hardly a concept album, there is definitely a story told in the songs: a story about getting the fuck OUT while you still can."
Check out the single 'A Pillar Of Salt' to which I can't stop singing the opening lyrics to ("We were born to sin, we were born to sin / We don't think we're special, sir, we know everybody is /")


The Thermals - A Pillar of Salt
The Thermals - An Ear For Baby
The Thermals on MySpace

Ramones for Kids?!!!

My 2 1/2 year old nephew is the coolest kid in the world. Already he loves to play (hit might be a better description) the drums en guitars that are set up in my bedroom. He always wants me to put on this kids cd with classic children's songs on it. Needless to say, these kids songs have gotten way beyond old. Actually...they were already old to begin with.

As i just found out, Go Kart Records have found the perfect solution for dads, moms, uncles and aunts with good musical taste who want the kid to listen to something that is more enjoyable for both parties. What is this solution? Brats On The Beat: Ramones For Kids, to be released in november. 'We've taken Ramones classic songs and "kiddified" them. Combined with an all-star group of singers, Brats On The Beat is guaranteed to have kids and adults smiling and dancing the night away', Go Kart explains.

The following songs are featured on the album, of which some can be listened on the albums MySpace page:
Blitzkrieg Bop sung by Jim Lindberg (Pennywise)
Rock 'N' Roll High School sung by Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio)
California Sun sung by Brett Anderson (The Donnas)
Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio? sung by Greg Attonito (Bouncing Souls)
Suzy Is A Headbanger sung by Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator/Queens Of The Stone Age)
Rockaway Beach sung by Blag Dahlia (The Dwarves)
I Just Want To Have Something To Do sung by Emily Wynne-Hughes (Go Betty Go)
Spider-Man sung by Ash Guff (Guff)
We Want the Airwaves sung by Spooney (Gabba Gabba Heys)
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker sung by Josie Cotton
Cretin Hop sung by Tony Reflex (Adz and Adolescents)
Bop 'Til You Drop sung by Jack Grisham (TSOL)

I'm not really surprised they left out songs like 'Now I wanna Sniff Some Glue', 'Beat on the Brat (with a baseball bat') or 'Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment', but there are some songs left out who are just destined to become kids classics. What about: 'We're a happy family', 'Babysitter', 'Mama's Boy', 'I don't want to grow up' or 'It's not my place (in the 9 to 5 world)'? Well...maybe for the second installment? Who knows. I'm trying to come up with some other 'kiddifiable' bands. Can you think of some?

(The Tragedy of) Exploding Hearts

Sometimes you discover a band years after their break up and you wonder...how did a band THIS GOOD stay under my radar for all those years?! Exploding Hearts is the latest addition in a long line of (not so fashionably) late discoveries. Their 2003 album 'Guitar Romantic' is filled with songs the Beatles could have written if they only were a punkband: perfect popsongs brought with a punk attitude and lots of distorted guitars. This is the kind of music that sounds good the first time you hear it...the kind of music which makes you go up to the dj to ask him which band he's playing, because it's so freakin' AWESOME! I've put two songs up for download...it doesn't really matter which songs I've chosen, because actually every song on Guitar Romantic would have been good. Definitely one of my favorite albums!!!
Tragedy. When I discover a band I like, I like to find out more about them. I had already read that the band broke up after their first album, so I was hoping to find the members of Exploding Hearts branched out in other bands. It was then when I found out the band actually ended and how sad this story is... On July 20th, 2003, the band returned from a show in San Fransisco, where they were offered a record deal by Lookout! Records (previous home of The Donnas and Green Day). It was early morning, when their van veered out of control an flipped over twice, supposedly because the driver fell asleep. Sadly, three out of four members (only in their early twenties) died in the accident.

Now, I know rockstars die too (they only human, right?). Some musicians even become legends by dying. If they don't kill themselves a planecrash will do the trick. There is however one big difference between the death of icons like Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain and the death of Exploding Hearts. This band was only at a start of a very promising career...destined to become the next big thing. Some bands don't know when it's time to quit...Exploding hearts never even had that choice.

Dirtnap Records just announced that the label will release "'Shattered', a 16-song collection of Hearts demos, singles, unreleased material, and alternate takes from the GR sessions, in CD format" on Halloween (Oct. 31st). Watch this in memoriam below. It features their song 'I'm A Pretender'.


NOTE: you can find some articles about the accident here.

Exploding Hearts - Modern Kicks
Exploding Hearts - Throwaway style

Be Your Own Pet

Sometimes you just want to hear something that rocks hard, something to get you pumped up for a special occasion (a party, a match, an exam), sometimes you just want something you can play out loud to piss off your neighbours (I'm talking about you, not me here. I never fight with my neighbours...). When your in that mood, there is one band that will fulfill all your needs: Be Your Own Pet.

Put on their self titled debut album, turn up the volume, remove all dangerous object from your room and dance, scream, jump! This band rocks so hard. This album is filled with an amount of energy you rarely come across. What I like most about it though, is that from this album you get a feeling that this band isn't trying to be original or trying to write something the critics will love, they just wanna rock with loud music...and they succeed. I can't believe the average age in this band is only 18...then again, it might explain their raw, youthful sound. My favorite song is "Bicycle, Bicycle, you are my Bicycle, for which they just released an awesome video. The video for "Adventure" is also really worthwile/crazy.


Be Your Own Pet - Bicycle, Bicycle, you are my Bicycle
Be Your Own Pet on MySpace

The 101

Putting labels on music is always difficult. For instance, the term poppunk can be used to describe bands with a very thick production and instantly contagious songs, but with low staying power (think Fall Out Boy). Poppunk can also be used to describe bands that write excellent head boppin', rockin' pop songs with a punk feel to them that sound great no matter how many times you play these songs. Bands like Samiam and All are good examples. The 101 from NYC are a nice addition to this group.

Formed by singer Eric Richter (formerly of emo legends Christie Front Drive), the band recently released their 2nd full length album (Numbers). Keywords? Melody, hooks and most importantly plain good songwriting! This band is probably not fashionable enough to become popular with the kids, but I know there are lots of persons out there who will eat this up! If you're into bands like Samiam, Jawbreaker, Hey Mercedes, All and (the fast songs by) Jimmy Eat World, this band is for you! Check out 'Never In' (from the first album Green Street) and 'Dancing' from the new album. You can also download their complete (!) debut EP here.

The 101 - Never In
The 101 - Dancing

The 101 on MySpace

Gimme Gimmes love their country

Although the joke's wearing thinner and thinner with every album, I still get pretty excited what (everyone's favorite karaoke band?) Me First And The Gimme Gimmes will do as a next theme record. This time, they chose to do country songs and the new album will be released october, 17th.

The tracklist will be:
1: Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) (Originally performed by Garth Brooks)
2: (Ghost) Riders In The Sky (Originally performed by Johnny Cash/Gene Autry/others)
3: Desperado (Originally performed by The Eagles)
4: On The Road Again (Originally performed by Willie Nelson)
5: Annie’s Song (Originally performed by John Denver)
6: Jolene (Originally performed by Dolly Parton)
7: I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Originally performed by Hank Williams)
8: Lookin’ For Love (Originally performed by Johnny Lee, Urban Cowboy)
9: Goodbye Earl (Originally performed by the Dixie Chicks)
10: East Bound And Down (Originally performed by Jerry Reed, Smokey & The Bandit)
11: She Believes In Me (Originally performed by Kenny Rogers)
12: Sunday Morning Coming Down (Originally performed by Johnny Cash/Kris Kristofferson)

You can watch a pretty funny video of the photoshoot for the album here and you can download the song Goodbye Earl here.

No Trigger

After some indiepop flavoured posts, it's time to satisfy my friends with a knack for something a little more agressive, more energetic, something faster. Let me introduce you to Massachusetts melodic hardcorepunk outfit No Trigger. This five piece band has created a perfect blend of melodic hardcore and sing-a-longable punkrock on their debut full length Canyoneer.

Three bands that come to mind while listening to this band...? Good Riddance, Strike Anywhere, but also Comeback Kid . It's nothing groundbreaking or original, but it's done oh so well!!! Already one of my favourite hardcorepunk albums of this year.

No Trigger - The Honshu Underground
No Trigger - Neon National Park

More songs on the band's MySpace