On final approach to writing this bit I am faced with a dilemma just as I sit down to type these very words. Am I going to include the ‘*’ in the CD’s title, as it appears in a verily shallow attempt to cover up the word FUCK? Or am I going to uncover and expose the word, as the commoners know it? Fuck it. Now you don’t wanna offend someone with a last name like American… It sounds as if he may have a large army and be itching for a fight… With a name last name like ‘America’ you expect a fucking energy drinking in one hand gun in the other gun nut sporting a Russian made firearm previously boxed up for storage that hasn’t been fired in years, but asking for ‘release’ all the same. So, I will be true to Randy America, and myself…I will do both.
Review Prelude #2
This prelude was included for no outright reason than to just include something that could be here, making two preludes, which would be much like a double cheeseburger, except with words about music… So there! I never found more satisfaction from firing any weapon like I have an AK-47, one of the finest weapons ever made. I just want everyone to know that I have friends with lots of guns with verily large magazines that can kill a motherfucker dead.
Now. Let the review begin.
RANDY AMERICA “F*UCK VISION” CD
Self-proclaimed shut-in, Randy America lashes out on F*UCK VISION in a target rich environment. Lots of opportunities, lots of bullets. The battle is never over. The war has just begun. The production featured on F*UCK VISION have is amazing. Taking matters into his own hands, Randy gave …THWART! The lowdown willingly “So I bought some bad ass software, learned how to use it somewhat and recorded the whole thing in my basement. I did all of the instruments and vox, mixed it etc. I used this super cool drum software on all of the tunes except 2,3,4,5. And on those tracks I had the drummers e-mail them, so that I didn't have to leave the house.” Me? I listen to a majority of music with ear buds these gloriously pitiful days. That way I can play music as loud as I can and drown the ‘real world’ away. Right off the bat from the start I’m instantly reminded of earlier times driving around in a blue two-door cavalier filling my ears with whatever I could. Much of F*UCK VISION sounds remind me of when I initially discovered SCREECHING WEASEL with Randy America nodding heavily toward 80’s refined power-pop new wav-ish edge mixed with slight tinges of jean jacket heavy metal… F*UCK VISION is ripe with muscular hooks (I stole ‘muscular’ from Rolling Stone Magazine who stole it from some unknown, undisclosed Blogger) and commercialized bitter-sweetness (there Rolling Stone, take ‘‘commercialized’ in exchange). F*UCK VISION is verily punchy; head-noddy and solitary ‘Fuck yeah’ fist-in-the-air. I will admit, I had no idea who exactly this Randy America was… I suspected that he was ALSO a re-emerging 90’s punk native. From some band that did some records that I proly end up having somewhere. Sure, with time, google and other nosy inquiries I could ‘discover the truth’ but that’s no fun! I decided that I would take Randy America for Randy America, not Randy America EX-WHATEVER... Randy’s songs titles scream themes to me. I think there is a bigger picture with F*UCK VISION than originally thought. Is this a documentation of something, a moment in time ala X Ray Spexs' Germ Free Adolescents? It could be... Right now I don’t know. You get barely fist deep in this fucker and early on you begin seeing a bigger picture… In here… Somewhere… I hate feeling like there’s a message and I’m not 'getting it'. Maybe its one of my personal character flaws coming out... The bigger picture of F*UCK VISION and how it relates to 2012 punk-rock (whatever they will call this era in the coming years) is out there. You just gotta get deep. F*UCK VISION isn’t just another something for me to listen to, its an assignment, a message to decipher, decode and figure out. On some ditties like the theatrical "Cronat Gold" I’m reminded of Queen or Iron Maiden (jean jacket metal). On other tracks you can see Screeching Weasel type sing along choruses like on "Too Many Times", “Sunrise Song” and personal favorite, an ode of drowning in waves of nostalgia (?) “Brickfield Nights" I don’t even know what, or where "Brickfield Nights" is or were or maybe still are, but by songs end, I’m even missing them. Its on the ballad "American Gypsy" where you can hear the perfect amalgamation of the slight metal and Weasel influences and everything seems to click even if you cant put it in words, trust me, it ‘clicks.’ Stepping into a scenery and time that never existed and devouring a Bastard DC (two Burger King Whopper Sandwiches made into one gigantic bastard of a meal with an extra slice of ‘grease’ bread as an extra treat), Randy eagerly expands on the meaning behind what F*UCK VISION truly means. “It's a nod to this guy Jay Reatard who put out a record called Blood Visions, combine that with my absolute disdain for anything PC and how everyone gets offended these days so easily, and then add in the fact that it is a totally confusing title. You get Fuck Vision! Swearing, confusion, perfect!” There is life beyond… No, I’m not talking all ‘religion’ on you or anything but you just can’t be satisfied with the end. The end is just a beginning for something new. F*UCK VISION, like it or not does tell a story. It documents and acts like a soundtrack to the last several years of Randy’s life. Things move forward. There’s only and end if you want it to end. Wherever Randy is from, or whatever he did (I still choose not to research his name and get the skinny) it all doesn’t matter. On F*UCK VISION Randy is moving forward. You, loyal …THWART! Reader and avid music listener can go with or die against. I’m not the only guy that has friends with firearms ya know…
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