Tag: Punk Rock

Donald Trump: Make Punk Rock Great Again

Let me preface this by saying that in no way would I ever consider voting for Donald Trump, unless he were to start his GOP Convention speech by speaking of Hillary Clinton, saying “I made that bitch famous”. Then I would only briefly consider it, and subsequently slap myself back into reality.

I’m usually never one to get political, and frankly, I don’t care who you’re voting for in the upcoming general election (but you should vote!). However, with the impending announcement of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president, the punk rock world should be licking their collective chops. Why? Because Trump could make punk “yuuuuge!”. Seriously. Let me play devil’s advocate.

Think about it this way; punk rock is a music that was created out of frustration and rebellion. The Ramones ditched the glam rock and pop of the mid 70s for four chords, leather jackets, and songs about being a cretin. UK punks made it political, using punk as a means of worldwide awareness for conditions in their home countries. The presidency of Ronald Reagan was a golden era for punks, and gave bands everywhere a person of interest to rally against. It’s clear that when punk rock actually stands for (or against) something, the genre puts out it’s strongest material.

Let’s look at the last Republican president, George W. Bush. Conveniently coinciding with the rise of “safer” pop punk bands that would fill up the Warped Tour lineups and the MTV airwaves, Bush was in office from 2001-2009. During this time, punk rock thrived, with Fat Wreck Chords leading the charge. Flagship band NOFX put out “The War On Errorism”, which to this day is my favorite record from the band, and one that they’ve considered some of their best work. The label also put out two volumes of the “Rock Against Bush” compilations, which featured bands from all over the punk rock gamut, coming together around one central figure. Bands also wore shirts with Bush’s image, declaring “Not My Fucking President” onstage. Punk rock overall felt very alive again.

It should be noted, however, that great punk music isn’t a direct correlation to a Republican president of the United States. In fact, the internet age has created enough awareness to world injustices that could fill decades of solid albums, if people were charged up enough to write songs about them. But if by some virtue, somehow, Donald Trump were to be elected president in November, there’s at the very minimum a central figure for punk rock to rebel against once more. During the eras of Reagan and both Bushs, the punk world put out arguably some of it’s highest quality material. With a figure as polarizing as Trump, it would only be fitting if Fat Wreck Chords were putting the preparations on “Rock Against Trump, Volume One” into motion.

AUDIO: Songs from “Home Street Home”, written by Fat Mike of NOFX

Punk rock, musical? Punk rock musical. That’s what Fat Mike has been up to lately. “Home Street Home” is a musical written by NOFX’s Fat Mike and his girlfriend, Soma Snakeoil. The musical looks at the lives of homeless, gutterpunk kids, but it’s not too far away from sounding like the playwright’s work. Essentially, it’s like having a new NOFX concept album, sung by nobody in the band. But it definitely sounds like NOFX at times. And then again, it sounds like showtunes at times because, really, they’re… showtunes.

The musical opens in San Francisco on February 20th.

AUDIO: Rancid – “Honor Is All We Know”

“Honor Is All We Know” is classic Rancid. If you’ve listened to at least one Rancid song, from the start of this album, you know what you’re getting into. If you’ve ever liked a Rancid song, you’re in luck! Because this album is more of the same, in the best way possible. It’s uncompromising, take-no-prisoners punk rock from the moment you press play, and that’s what you should want from the get-go. 14 songs, with only two topping the three minute mark, and barely doing so at that. That’s Rancid. That’s who they’ve always been, and from the sound of things, that’s not changing anytime soon. And it’s awesome.

Milwaukee Artist of the Week – 11/29/13 – Appleseeds

Are you a Milwaukee musician/band? You can submit your music to be the Milwaukee Artist of the Week by emailing links to info@BreakingAndEntering.net. We’ll check out every submission we get!

This week’s Milwaukee Artist of the Week is Appleseeds, a punk rock quartet with enough aggression and energy to knock you down in under four minutes. They’re everything that you could ever love about riot grrl punk; lo-fi guitars distorted to a listenable tone, breakneck speed, and just enough melody to keep you singing along. Led by frontwoman Flannery Steffens, their latest self-titled album is a garage rock thing of beauty. Rather than some of the wonderfully crafted recordings coming out of great studios in Milwaukee like Howl Street Recordings, the band opted to record their entire album in their basement on a Zoom portable recorder. I didn’t know that was an actual thing, but there was obviously the right amount of gear plugged into it to give the record a great sound with an overall gritty feel. Loaded with buzzy guitars and a surprisingly clean drum sound, Appleseeds manages to put together an 11 song party, which leaves nothing to the imagination.

Let’s be clear, this album isn’t a sonic masterpiece, but they don’t want it to be, and quite frankly, it’s better that way. This is the essence of what has always made punk rock records so great; the wall of sound is everything from a guitar to a cymbal to every other hissing, buzzing noise in the background. In fact, this album is reminiscent of the great punk albums (or homemade cassettes) that shaped the early days of legends like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks. Appleseeds add an increasingly addictive component to their sound, as well. There is a good deal of catchy melodies throughout the album, which is the product of great songwriting no matter what genre you’re talking about. Their first release, August 2012’s “BOOM!”, is more of the same, and it’s all great. This is what you’d expect to hear come out of a basement party show, and with the energy in Appleseeds’ songs, that high speed atmosphere has to carry over to their live show. This is DIY, punk rock, the way it really was meant to be. Stream Appleseeds’ self-titled album below:

For more Appleseeds, check out their Facebook and Bandcamp.

Milwaukee Artist of the Week – 5/31/13 – The Jones Island Flood

Are you a Milwaukee musician/band? You can submit your music to be the Milwaukee Artist of the Week by emailing links to info@BreakingAndEntering.net. We’ll check out every submission we get!

Last week, I got a package in the mail from this week’s Milwaukee Artist of the Week, The Jones Island Flood. I opened it up to find a copy of their new album, and had to do a big double take when I saw the name. I thought to myself “Wait… Did they really name their album ‘4 A.M. Inside The Fuckfurnace’?” Low and behold, that is in fact the name of their album. My next thought, naturally, was “Well, now I have to hear it.” Looks like the name worked. I immediately went to my stereo and popped it in. Not knowing the band, and based on band and album name alone, I expected death metal. (I even started the album with my stereo turned down, anticipating being screamed at)

From the opening track, “Radiation” on, I was delightfully surprised at what I heard. Not only was it not the loud, screaming album that I expected, but it was a surf-infused blues-rock album, and an incredibly well done one, at that. The Jones Island Flood blends a variety of styles, and a really well produced album like this one showcases it well. With a mix of a twangy, clean guitar, upbeat drums, and frontwoman Maria Law serenading you over the top of it all, The Jones Island Flood have developed a unique sound, and it definitely works. On my first listen, I was only planning to hear a couple tracks and come back to the full album later, but found myself staying around from track to track. “4 A.M. Inside The Fuckfurnace” is compelling to say the least. The name pulls you in, and the music keeps you around. It all just works with this album. Check it out:

For more of The Jones Island Flood, check them out on Facebook and Reverbnation.

Freak Out Dude Featuring Washington State Park – “NJ” (Video)

This is cool to me. Freak Out Dude are just two kids from New Jersey, trying to show you that there’s more to the city than guidos and whatever’s on Jersey Shore. They sent me their “NJ” video today, an ode to their home state. It’s not perfect, but it’s not supposed to be. This is just a flat out cool DIY video. I like the vintage look on everything. It fits with the song. Watch this, and enjoy it:

Agent Orange – “A Cry For Help In A World Gone Mad” (Video)

Here’s a piece of skateboarding/punk rock history for you. Growing up, I always saw clips of this video. I knew it was Agent Orange, and I knew that they were performing on the deck of a pool, but I never saw the full video. Thanks to the internet, though, I was able to find this classic piece of footage from the 1986 Vision Street Wear “Skatevisions” video. The footage after that is also wonderfully vintage, skating to another Agent Orange classic “Everything Turns Grey”. If you’re a fan of skateboarding, punk rock, or the 80s, watch this video. It is awesome:

Rise Against – Satellite (Live At Summerfest)

When I heard Rise Against was playing Summerfest on one of the busiest nights for fireworks, I have to admit I was bummed. They always kill every show they play, and the crowd matches the energy that the band puts in every night. I’m really glad that this video was posted on Youtube. If you’ve never seen Rise Against live, then go do that. Watch them play “Satellite” along with a really cool fireworks display:

Duane Peters

Some day, I hope to still be this awesome. For those of you that don’t know, this is Duane Peters, skateboarding and punk rock living legend. At 49 years old, Duane is still skating better than a lot of people out there, of any age. He’s also been in / continues to be in several bands, most famously the U.S. Bombs and Die Hunns. Watch footage from the “Master of Disaster” that was shot earlier this year:

Duane is a personal hero of mine. He’s never compromised for anyone, and that is awesome.

Dee Dee King (Dee Dee Ramone)

Here’s the backstory: I am a huge Ramones fan. They’re the greatest punk band, and the original punk band, despite what my co-host, Steve (@Tellemsteve) tries to tell me. (The Sex Pistols? really?) Anyway. This is the product of Dee Dee, the original bassist from The Ramones, taking a shot at a hip hop career (that several people told him not to do) in 1987. Somewhere I read that he was in the hospital passing time by writing rhymes, which started this whole idea. Dee Dee did a lot of drugs. I should mention that. If you’re looking for a funny way to spend some morning, try to get through his album “Standing In The Spotlight“. The lyrics are… well… lyrics. Music critic Matt Carlson once wrote that the album “will go down in the annals of pop culture as one of the worst recordings of all time.” But the cool part about the album is that it features Debbie Harry and Chris Stein from Blondie, and Marky Ramone on drums. Here’s the best version of the video for Dee Dee King’s Single, “Funky Man”, which I own on vinyl… almost regrettably. The video came out in 1988:

For reference, Eric B. & Rakim’s “Paid In Full” also came out in 1987, the same year as Dee Dee’s album. Just to put things into context, here’s the classic “I Ain’t No Joke”: