Reviews from Blank Generation originally published in March of 2000 Note: Images added to certain reviews for cosmetic purposes in 2013
Crimson Sweet "Foil Beach" CDEP
"The glistening foil beach"
Like an alien, an unknown armada on the radar screen, fast approaching. Unknown hostiles. It's ALWAYS the 'hostiles' isn’t it? Fighting for piece. Fighting for PEACE.... This vector is teeming up with attack formations. All-around.
So you got The Crimson Sweet. A band I am close to. Allies in the coming battle.
I will admit right from the start. I like them. I believe in them. I take every chance I get to write something good about them. They deserve it. They could have pulled off some Lou Reed Metal "Machine Music" shit on me and I would gobble it right up like the fucking Crimson Trooper I am. Talking biased opinions.... I’m totally biased toward the ‘Sweet. Like I said, I believe in them.
---------- !
I have been hooked on them right from the start too. Since that fateful day when their first self-titled 7" arrived in the mail to the Neus Subjex... I liked what I heard and I soon got to witness The ‘Sweet live. That’s when Crimson Sweet ceased JUST being a band and became fucking legends. Became warriors. Became friends... Later, in the formation periods of my neoteric Punk/Wave movement, Crimson Sweet would fit right in. Truth be known; Crimson Sweet played a VERY pivotal role in the recognition of the Neoteric Punk/Wave. Fitting in nowhere and somewhere at the same time…
Crimson Sweet would inspire. Crimson Sweet would influence. Crimson Sweet would make me want to do better as a musician. As a writer and as a music enthusiast…
It was fate that brought them to me. To my mailbox. To my attention.
I was in such close proximity’s to performances like The Sweaty Weapons and Kill The Hippies that it would propel me to go home and bust out the first draft of My Neoteric Manifesto JUST AFTER seeing Crimson Sweet LIVE for the first time on a hot and humid night under a sky that was full of heat-lightning due to the harsh humidity of the southwestern parcels of The Ohio Empire. Electricity filled the air. Electricity gave birth to Frankenstein and my new way of looking at things, with thanks to Crimson Sweet of course.
Just like Kent Ohio's KILL THE HIPPIES, anything Kenny "RockAction" as he is being called nowadays, does; be it The Sweaty Weapons, be it the Cock Spaniels, so be it The Detox Police... The Crimson Sweet is right there! Setting the scores. Turning the tides. Making the difference when nothing was asked short of just play. Laugh. Good to see you. Nice to meet you.
"I Want To keep You Awake."
After their first 7" and the follow-up, "Robot Bus Driver" I can’t help but to feel that this EP is a sort of turning point for this band. "Foil beach" seems to wrap up a certain era but at the same time unlocking the door to a new period.
>From warriors to kings. From kings to gods.
On this disc, The Crimson Sweet shows much maturity in their song writing ability. From "Size of My Thighs" to "Robot Bus Driver" to "Queen City"…they aren’t afraid to do a song like "Lost Planet", and they pull it off with precision. I hang on every note, every lyric. Together as a unit. Crimson Sweet are scary that way. One accents the other, which accents the other… Finally, this EP accompanies the darkness, accompanying the violence, accompanying the rawness. The Rasp. Beauty. Neoteric. And now, something I just noticed. It’s kill or be killed when you listen to Crimson Sweet.
Desperation.
It’s kill or be killed. Them or you and I walk away after every listen of "Foil Beach" killed and reborn.
Capturing what they will from Glam, rock and roll, indy-pop, punk or whatever, The Crimson Sweet are much more than any old band. They are the Crimson Sweet. Beware and behold.
"Open Your Hands and Let the Bullets Fly." (SAB)
(www.crimsonsweet.com)
($6ppd. Slow Gold Zebra Records POB 20506 Tompkins Square Station, NY, NY 10009)
Dry Heaves "Shoot Yourself" LP
Windsor Canadian Punk-rockers! It wasn’t just for the Viletones. It wasn’t just for The Ugly.... The Dry Heaves were there too. What OPM passed up on or fizzled out on Rave-up picks it up for a save.
This is a better than average volume of Rave Up’s lost nugget series. Fast punk. Dirty, keyboards... snotty vocals... Windsor, Canada is just across a patch of water from Detroit, Michigan United States of Rock and Roll America, and you can hear it. This is the sort of punk where you nod yer head from side to side while you jump up and down. When they finish each song I’m sure the crowd would raise both fisted arms into the air and yell something to the effects of "You guys rock"...
The Dry Heaves remind me of a mix between DETENTION and THE NERVOUS EATERS, with a touch of keys... Most of the tracks appear to be studio and, although it sez nothing to the effects, are mostly unreleased because Mark Murrmann said so in his column. When it comes to Rave Up and this series they usually tend to be pretty good after a listen or to two, but after a while it seems the test of time really brings out the worth of the records... That said, it’s been near 20 years since this music was originally made and it still sounds fresh.
Why is modern punk so lame? It’s the whole ups with the downs philosophy. Records like this and labels like Rave Up are just carrying the torch until the revival. (SAB)
(Rave-Up Records)
Nervous Eaters "No More Idols" b/w "Today And Tomorrow" 7"
Its 6:16 PM. I’m waiting for Miami Vice to come on. Crockett, Tubbs.... I like the show even more now since I’m older and can understand the intricate story lines and intertwining plots.
Dear Penniman Records,
I was impressed when I heard the 'Eaters "Just Head" b/w "Get Stuffed" 7", especially "Get Stuffed." It is the kinda shit you listen to and listen to and if yer in a band you wanna cover either one of the tunes in yer set. If yer like me you would go for "Get Stuffed" because as if "Just Head" isn’t odd and unknown ENOUGH, "Get Stuffed" is even more obscure.
Dear Penniman Records,
I was stoked to see ANOTHER 'Eaters single repress and bought it. I found that the "Loretta"/"Rock With Me" 7 wasn’t as good though. My Buddy Liam warned me. I mean fuck, if I want to listen to The Real Kids; who do the Real Kids better than any Real Kids rip offs I have yet to hear, go figure! Well, If I want some Real Kids I’M GOING TO GET OUT MY REAL KIDS RECORDS!
Dear Penniman Records,
I got that new 'Eaters 7"... it was pretty fancy how you made it look better than it actually is. I mean, the cover is a photo from '79. I was thinking this was possibly the single that would vindicate the downward motion that the Nervous Eaters were taking with me. But no. It didn’t. These songs are at best wanna be Turbonegro tunes.... They aren’t bad, don’t get me wrong. This 7" is better than that Loretta one... There’s as much punch in being a minimal, unlearned musician than being the most learned musician on the planet. That’s my problem really, and it isn’t with just these new Nervous Eaters, it has other PROBLEMS too. I mean fuck, all those killed By Death bands were GREAT. Maybe they were great BECAUSE they were doing what they were thought. LESSON BE DAMMED! RULES BE DAMMED! What’s a chord progression? No style is a style and it worked. Hell, it still works but KBD type bands are just as rare nowadays as they were back then...
This 7" is polished. It’s slick. Its Death Punk, Glucifer style. It’s Turbonegro style and I don’t hear the Urban Prince Death Song. Music store gurus doing the punk thing because the hair metal thing hasn’t come back yet... Pray it doesn’t with me…
It’s 6:37 PM and I’m still waiting for Miami Vice to come on. (SAB)
(Penniman Records)
Nikki Sudden "The Last Bandit: The Best of Nikki Sudden" CD
Now here you got the frontman of The Swell Maps... I didn’t even know he had a solo career. Sometimes its like I’m on my own planet. I think back to my Le Tigre review... Some should create nations and not islands.... Still yet, some create planets. Some, in fact, I would say, create all new dimensions with all new sets of natural laws. New laws of physics. New math systems. Unimaginable life systems man! Dimensions!
Uh... let me get back here. The stuff on this disc is a collection of his best shit it sez... a few songs have the similar spark that The Swell Maps had, like "Back to the Coast", "Back to the Start" (Hmmm, sounds like Brian Eno with Wire),"Behind the Lines" (reminds me of THEM WRANCH; rockin!), "Bethlehem Castle", "Countess" isn’t a bad tune and I actually like that disco bass line..."Curfew Island" could have stepped right off of that "Sweep the Desert" CD.... The rest of the CD and even the bonus disc, with all acoustical stuff, just isn’t my thing.
I don’t mean to be disrespectful in any way... I at least respect this disc, whereas that Sylvain Sylvain LP still has me pissed off. It’s just that right now, as the person I am, I’m going to draw a line and place each of Mr. Suddens songs one the side I like or the side I don’t. Nasally. Country-like. If you like Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson AND the Swell Maps, well damn, you should come and hang out with me sometime.... I’m just having a hard time with this. You see, I like a lot of Willis stuff... I mean fuck, "Red Haired Stranger" is a downright creepy era for Willie, BUT one I can respect. Year of 01... burrr.... I like Dylan too.... Don’t own any of his stuff, but what I hear I like.... Just don’t come into a disc like this expecting a continuation of The Swell Maps. Some good tunes, but no Maps. In a place like Blank Generation that’s the best I can do....
I bet when I’m 40 I will really like shit like this too. Just by sort of not being turned on by it right now is setting myself up for being nuts over something like this. I say that because when I was 12 I said I would never quit playing with my GI Joe's.... Believe it or not but I did eventually become interested in other things (like... Ah, never mind let’s not go there). I’m still growing musically. Give me a while. Be patient with me Doo (that’s a Loretta Lynn reference from Coal Miners Daughter by the way which makes me seem much gayer than I really am. I mean FUCK, I’m an artist and all, but not Lewis and Clark about it and shit). (SAB)
(Alive Records)
Offs "Live at the Mabuhay Gardens Nov. 7, 1980; in San Francisco California as it was...when it began" CD
Now I have ran across mentions of The Offs and pictures of Don Vinil in just about every punk book I have came across but it was this disc that introduced me to their sound.
The Offs are working with allot of different shit in their bag... including straight up punk-rock (with the dash) but expanding to reggae, art-punk ala Wire and I suppose most importantly, Ska-Punk. But this was ska-punk before there was ska-punk. I don’t even mind it either. I’m not calling it skay-punk or anything. I listen to this disc and appreciate what I hear.
To be honest, the Offs sound like they were trying to rip off Black Randy and The Metrosquad, but with less funk and more ska. Take it or leave it. Fuck you.
The Offs also appear to be one of the few bands that utilized Saxomophones to their fullest extent. Once again, fuck you.
You got your raging punk rockers with tracks like "Black Sun", the minimal set topper "624803", "100 Dollar Limo", "The Pusher" (it’s downright scary when he sez: " I wanna go out and get me a gun") and "A Million to One"...
You got your Black Randy type punk-funk, once again BEFORE there was punk-funk with their 'hit'; "Everyone’s a Bigot", "You Fascinate Me" and "Funk It Honey"
You got your Reggae-punk explosions like "Die Babylon", which I played three times in a row after listening to it the first time because it was a fucking rager!
You got your Ska-punk pick'em up pick'em ups (except they say that a total of ZERO times in their performance) that make Operation Ivy look like the wanna be's they were like "My World."
The Offs also manage to pull off several covers like "Heroin", "Sweet Jane", and "I Got the Handle" to mention a few… They add a twist to the originals and make them sound like originals, which is what a band covering songs is supposed to do. They take James Brown’s "Think" and really make it sound unique.
Since this is all live, let me dispel any preconceived notions of poor sound quality. It’s not bad. On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 8 which is very suitable for me...
So you got this Vampir Records, which this disc is released on.... Its some guy named Terry Hammer who was apart of the Mob scene back in the day but now lives in the Empire of Ohio and is finding a use for all those tapes he made of bands BACK IN THE DAY… He’s done something by the Lewd and now the Offs. I like what I’m hearing. More, more, (more)! (SAB)
(emailvampirrecs@hotmail.com)
(Vampir Records POB 1098 Mansfield, OH 44901-1096)
Sick Pleasure "Destroy the Human Race" 7"
Where’s the jelly stain on the cover? Oh yeah, this is a re-issue... no Jelly stains. No labels on the records... Re-issue MADNESS. The cows have Mad Cow Disease. I’m mad about cows too. Mad Vinyl disease. I’m MAD about vinyl! When I went to Maximum Rock and Roll headquarters a while back, when they were thinking about making me a zine coordinator, there I saw the original records this 7" came from. Four songs from a split with Code of Honor and three more from a full 7" (that’s what I call a 7" with just one band; nifty eh? Full 7!) Tim Yo Mama put that green tape shit on because he was an obsessive about records deteriorating.
Nah, I just made up that shit about going to MRR HQ to be a zine coordinator... Pshaw. Whereas all that Tim Yo stuff apparently has some truth behind it (because I read about it in a MRR column, George Tabbs or Rev. Norbs- I can’t remember) I really don’t know that for a fact. Its just like this is one of those types of records you COULD see there.
I know absolutely NOTHING about this band. I felt compelled to go to my handy-dandy (dandy - handy = ART; I found my red sunglasses today. Dangerous) blood-splattered COMPhellATION compendium BUT I ran across the chicks with dicks double LP by Flux of Pink Indians LP I recently acquired and decided to cease the trip to my FILES where CompHELLation is kept. I have begun the upkeep of a filing system for my various projects, art and even zines I appreciate and like. I have a Dewey like numbering system also in the works to further my file organization but it will be awhile for that... Well, when I saw that Flux record I decided to spin that instead of getting the compendium out to see if sick pleasure was OFFICIALLY a Killed By Death band.
I mean FUCK. Nowhere on the record is "77-82" or anything. So what am I to assume? Well, what I assume, by looking at the picture of the band on the cover and listening to the music, I would put The Sick Pleasure at about 1981 or maybe 82. I could even possibly see a 1983 with them. Their music is fast thrash-hardcore/punk, definite nods to the LA Black Flag sound. I don’t know it for sure but if you play a Pist record right behind this one you could hear some definite similarities. Grovelly vocals. Lyrics full of angst. Disgust. Distorted guitars. Sloppy Black Flag type leads. Chains. Bandanas. The Lewd had the look that kids like these emulated. Song titles like 'I Wanna Burn My Parents" Cover art with weird distorted skeletons moshing, or slamming or whatever the kids are calling it these days in a distorted war-torn post apocalyptic cityscape showing a deep, well-hidden FEAR of Nuclear War (we all had one right? I was sure when I was a kid "1999" by Prince would be the song playing on the radio when I would hear the warning klaxons ring through my neighborhood. And I would turn on the radio to await the Russian missiles that would soon be raining down on the United States of Rock and Roll America. "The sky was all purple and people running everywhere" Prince would sing as I would see the warheads streak across the sky only to explode about 1500 feet above the General Electric Plant where they made aircraft engines, which was located only about 4 Nautical miles away from my childhood home. "1999" would be playing when I would see the initial blast that would blind me and "1999" would be still be playing when I would combust into fire and burn to death. How many 12-year-olds do you know who read books about nuclear annihilation? I know only one. Me. > The Day After>
You get it? The well is continuing to run dryer and dryer for "classic" KBD punk and moving more toward mid-eighties gems and the sound that they all spout out. Not to say that some real treasures have yet to be found in the KBD... "Era" or after but I have my fucking doubts. The Sick Pleasure hit it. They don’t hit it hard like punching me in the face or anything... This is a good record and I’m not disappointed I bought it... It’s just like "hmmm… Sigh."
Going back to my KBD era thing, just fucking bare with me here... Could we possibly divide the eras of punk in some sort of AD/BC type time frame? AKBD or AFTER KILLED BY DEATH) could be from 1983 and on.... The 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, and 82 could have KBD (which stands for KILLED BY DEATH before it: duh!). IE The Sick Pleasures is probably not KBD77 or even KBD82 but probably more like AKBD83... See? Like the Ramones first LP. BKBD76... Get it? As with any new SYSTEM OF TIME (this may take some work or refining) but hey, I barely sat through one side of that Flux of Pink Indians LP and put on a Pylon LP. I had a surge of creativity. Doing my part to make things more complicated!
So, there you have it. The Sick Pleasure. Black leather jackets. Black Flag. Lewd Emulateers. Thrash-punk. AKBD83 mayhap...
Faulty Wiring.
Working is no problem. (SAB)
Swell Maps "Sweep the Desert" CD
The follow up to the International Rescue that came out last yer or so... The Swell Maps sound like a mix between ART ATTACKS and THE FALL... maybe throw in some "154" era WIRE too.
No Shit! Good Shit!!!
Art-punk. 77-80. Don’t you dare call it post-punk.... That sounds like a fucking fruit pie. Post punk is for pussies. Art-punk is for the rebels. Whereas International Rescue was more of what I would say was "in your face", or better yet; STRUCTURED. "Sweep the Desert" is more avant-garde. More OUT-THERE. More DIFF'RENT. At times it sounds like impromptu jamming or improvisational jamming. There is a difference and where better a place to share my thoughts with you than one of my reviews. If you haven’t caught on to the fact yet let me clue you in; when I write reviews you not only get some banter about the band or whatever BUT you also get a lil slice of Shawn Abnoxious in written form. I’m not rock critic, just a music lover.... Oh yeah, I’m an artist too but lets get re-focused on the Swell Maps.
Impromptu jamming is like something that just happens. Imagine a band practicing and while someone goes to take a piss the rest of the band start fucking around. Well, now imagine if the tape was still running... Improvisational, or 'Improv' jamming as the "pros" sometimes call it, is planned. The band smokes their reefer, drinks their Steel Reserve, drops their acid or whatever the kids are into nowadays, and sets out to see what they come up with... of course with the tape rolling.
You see, that shit up there, please feel free to re-read that 1st paragraph--- in fact I demand it at this time... Doubting you will show gumption enough to do that, and knowing that your probably a lazy American and demand to do the direct opposite of whatever is expected of you, let me just re-print that last paragraph for you because the paragraph after that one won’t make no fucking sense if you don’t re-read this part coming up... and to speak quite frankly, I have my doubts in you.
IMPROMPTU jamming is like something that just happens. Imagine a band practicing and while someone goes to take a shit the rest of the band start fucking around. Well, now imagine if the tape was still running... IMPROVISATIONAL, or 'Improv' jamming (as Joe "#3" Domino sometimes calls it) is planned. The band smokes their reefer, drinks their WINE, drops their acid or whatever the kids are into nowadays, and sets out to see what they come up with... of course with the tape rolling.
Now see, I made all that Impromptu/Improv shit up. I’m no fucking musician. Yeah, I play bass and shit, but I’m FAR from being a musician. I’m no fucking music scholar; I ain’t been to No Music School.... I’m an artist. Like The Swell Maps are ARTISTS with INSTRUMENTS!!!!
Are you getting it yet? I still have my doubts you know. My doubts in YOU. Or as Kenny would sing in the Detox Police " My doubts in youuuuuuuu-ewwwww-ewwwwww"
"Sweep the Desert" may sound like unused Tom & Jerry scores at times, but hey man, its not that bad. If yer looking for a repeat of International Rescue well, this ain’t it. It’s sort of not even comparable. Mostly instrumental. VERY avant-garde. You must understand the concepts of art-punk before you even consider buying this. If art-punk is something not new to you then start off with some easier introductory material... Wires "Pink Flag", The Fall "Palace of Swords Reversed".... Maybe go with some Mission to Burma.
This is not a Photograph.
I mean fuck man, "Full Moon in My Pocket" is pretty inspiring..."BLAM" is downright frightening. Minimal. Primal. Sounds as fresh as if the kid who plays guitar in his backyard behind my house wrote it... But that kid just plays Blink 182 and shit so nevermind. Dinosaurs still live. All ages, shapes and sizes. We need a meteor. (SAB)
(Alive Records)
(No Address, be creative and make one up)
V/A "Punk at La Scala; Milan 1978-1981: The Drama" LP
The weekly bath scene in Xena: Warrior Princess occurred in the first five minutes of this week’s episode. This fact is important because after each weeks bath scene I turn on the computer and sit down to begin writing reviews for the Generation of Blank, or as you call it, The Blank Generation.
This weeks bath scene was exceptionally good. It even showed the naked asses of Xena and Gabrielle and even showed then naked from afar. You couldn’t make out any naked characteristics of a naked woman, be it the nipples or "the ball field"; it was almost like they were wearing skin colored body suits. None the less it showed their ass, but its all good. Since Xena peeked so early it was time to sit down for a spell and INFORM you of some recent releases.....
Punk at la Scala was a real treat. When it seems Killed By Death Volumes are coming out less frequently with the well sort of running dry, Here comes a new re-issue full of bands that are up to par and better yet, new to my ears.
Since the record was released by one of my new favorite labels, Hate Records which is based in Italy with the LP's main language being Italian. A big ol' zine type book which also comes with the LP that is also in Italian. But here’s the kicker, of the seventeen tracks, at least sixteen are English pronounced band names with titles in English. I feel sort of cheated because of the Italian book, but fuck...its really no big deal.
What you got is performances by MITTAGEISEN, T.V. VAMPIRE, X-RATED, 198X, with most tracks being provided by THE GAGS, which are a pretty tough fucking band. All the bands seemed really influenced by Adam and The Ants, Wire, Siouxie and The Banshees and The Sex Pistols. Arty, dark and even remotely gothic at times.
This LP was a real treat to buy and listen to, and if yer a Killed By Deather like me then you will probably be pleased too. All hail Hate!!!! (SAB)
(haters@tiscalinet.it)
(Hate Records, Circ.Ne Gianicolense 112. 00152, Roma. Italy)
Vomit Pigs "Useless Eaters" LP
Think Electric Eels... Now... Imagine them on more speed. They find some reds underneath the couch cushions and drop those later on in the night.... It brings them down to tolerable, yet visibly agitated levels. I have awakened from my latest glue slumber and put on the Useless Eaters themselves.... It’s time for the Vomit Pigs!!!!
Art damaged. Punk-rock.
This band is from Texas and is one of the most prolific ones too.... The Legionaires Disease, The Bobby Soxx, The Huns, The Mystery Dates, The Nerve Breakers... The Vomit Pigs maybe the most outrageous of them all. Really though with all the attention that the VP's have been getting lately, one listen to songs like "Karen Ann Quinlan" and "Baby’s Playing Games", and you can see why. This band WAS amazing; this band is amazing!
Once again, this is what I would consider one of the better Rave Up Nuggets. The 1978 "Take One" EP is included in its entirety along with two tracks from the "Are We too Late for the Trend" LP, several unreleased studio tracks and a few live recordings including one titled "Halloween" that really shows the avant-nature of the band in all its glory. You back a rat into a corner and that rat will fight. The Vomit Pigs is what you get when the rat wins. (SAB)
(Rave-Up Records)
