A blog combining all Frank FOE's endeavors (FOE zine and records, LVA, DJing)!
Music Fix of the Day begins 09/10/16. I was battling with my desire to share all the amazing music I come across with wanting to write these huge reviews/ articles and my limited time. I have come to the conclusion that a deadline of a daily music fix will force me to keep it simple. Which is the way it should be, but is sometimes not so obvious to me.
Cheers!
Frank FOE
MUSIC FIX OF THE DAY: Hate To Say It SEPTEMBER 23, 2016
Hate To Say It
"Hate To Say It"
Spine Punch Music
Released: 2016
Berks County Pennsylvania punk rock that rips. I've seen this band live a few times over the last year. They keep impressing me more and more. They blew me away at the Duffy's Cut gig at Mothers in Easton on September 16. So much so, I am actually looking forward to seeing them on September 30, 2016 at the Menace gig at Jabber Jaws.
They actually have physical copies of the CD in person as well.
Check the song "Problems 101". Demonstrates the ripping guitar work and how well Hate To Say It constructs their songs. Punk with a hardcore edge that isn't afraid to rock it out in the two minutes or so they are allotted! The disc is 6 songs fly by in 15 minutes. Smooth.
The Clap formed in the fall of 1978 in Catasauqua Pennsylvania. Johnny Loftus (vocals and bass) is the only original member of the band to last the entire career. Their first 7", "Don't Say No" / "Killed by Kindness" is a legitimate punk classic. Evidence? "Killed by Kindness" ended up on the "Killed By Death Vol 22" album. In case you don't have all the Killed By Death albums, you should. You should also track down a copy of this 7" for your Lehigh Valley and Punk Rock collection!
The two tracks from the first 7" can also be found on the "Clean Living and Penicillin" CD. Give the songs a listen at these links:
Looking forward to seeing the Clap as they open for Menace on their current Fall 2016 tour!
U.S.A. Tour Dates Supporting Menace!
Sept 29, 2016 Sunnyvale,1031 Grand St. Brooklyn Ny.11211 Sept 30, 2016 Jabber Jaws 1327 Chew St Allentown PA. 18102 Oct 1, 2016 Half Times Music Venue 618 plaza Drive, Newark, De.19702 Oct 2, 2016 Slash Run, 201 Upshur St. NW. Washington DC. 20011 Oct 5, 2016 Cherry St Station 491 N. Cherry St Wallingford CT.06492 Oct 6, 2016 Fire house 13 41 central St. Providence, RI. 02907 Oct 7, 2016 Kung Fu Neck Tie 1250 N. Front St Philadelphia, PA.19122
Menace released two of my favorite punk songs on their fist 7". The songs spoke to a disillusioned teenager. They still speak to me now. Looking forward to seeing Menace for the first time in 2016.
"Screwed Up"
Screwed up eyes in your screwed up head
I bet you don't know what I just said
Your so Screwed Up- Everybody knows your so Screwed Up
Screwed up in the road and your Screwed Up in the street
You think my eyes are painted on you think I can't see
Your so Screwed Up- Everybody knows your so Screwed Up
Is what I'm seeing really real
Or just reflections of the way I feel
Your so Screwed Up- Don't you know I feel so Screwed up
Can this really be happening to me
Turn out the light I don't wanna see you screwed Up
Screwed up girl from your head to your feet
your so screwed up you screwed up everyone you meet
Your so Screwed Up- Oh you make me blow my fuse
Your so Screwed Up- I get used to abuse
Is what I'm seeing really real
Or just reflections of the way I feel
Your so Screwed Up- Don't you know I feel so Screwed up
Can this really be happening to me
Turn out the light I don't wanna see you screwed Up
Screwed up crowds come and you don't know who's who
Your so screwed up you don't know who your trying to pull
Your so screwed up, ain't got a hope in hell your so screwed up
Screwed up lost in your screwed up head
They stab you in the back while wishing you well
your so screwed up ain't no fun your so screwed up
Screwed up everyone
Consider Menace wrote "Insane Society" 40 years ago. Different year, still insane.
U.S.A. Tour Dates
Sept 29, 2016 Sunnyvale,1031 Grand St. Brooklyn Ny.11211 Sept 30, 2016 Jabber Jaws 1327 Chew St Allentown PA. 18102 Oct 1, 2016 Half Times Music Venue 618 plaza Drive, Newark, De.19702 Oct 2, 2016 Slash Run, 201 Upshur St. NW. Washington DC. 20011 Oct 5, 2016 Cherry St Station 491 N. Cherry St Wallingford CT.06492 Oct 6, 2016 Fire house 13 41 central St. Providence, RI. 02907 Oct 7, 2016 Kung Fu Neck Tie 1250 N. Front St Philadelphia, PA.19122 Oct 8, 2016 Jewel 61 canal St Manchester NH. 03101 Cheers, Frank FOE http://www.menace77.co.uk/
I spent many years tracking down Menace's early records. Before CDs and before compilation albums conveniently pulled their material together, before the internet made just about every song available.
We are lucky to be able to now experience Menace's second 7" "GLC/I'm Civilised" with the click of a button.
Menace always had a way of creating memorable and exciting songs that you wanted to singalong with, even if you didn't know what the GLC was or why they were full of sh%t!
"GLC"
Gotta get outa this rat race
Gonna kicka my cage to f*ck
Political Man and your smilin’ lies
You’re all covered in smut
GLC, GLC
GLC, GLC
You’re full of sh*t, sh*t
Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t
Waitin’ for a cell in a block of rock
Get me down, get me down, name and number
Get hitched dirty bitch ditch with the baby talk
Oh no! You won’t get lumbered
Court room six, dirty fix
Down a cell, live in hell
What’s your name, what’s your game
Masturbate, magistrate
How do you do it, divide and rule?
Split ‘em up, split ‘em up, keep ‘em out of sight
End up in the factory instead of in a school
Left right, left right, right right, wrong!
If you wanted to look up what the GLC was when I first heard the band, you had to go to the library and read a book. Now you just search for it: The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities. A new legislative body, known as the Greater London Authority (GLA), was established in the year 2000.
Absolutely get the "Punk Singles Collection for Menace" if you can find it!
The one thing the internet can't provide, is the up close and personal vantage point of being in a neighborhood bar, with the bands drums and amps shaking your soul. Luckily the band is coming to the Lehigh Valley (see rest of tour dates below) on Friday night, September 30, 2016.
Menace formed in London in 1976. So you know, I've been a fan forever and this will be my first time getting a chance to see them!
Punk legends. Don't miss this opportunity.
U.S.A. Tour Dates
Sept 29, 2016 Sunnyvale,1031 Grand St. Brooklyn Ny.11211
Thank you for the birthday present Nails and Nuclear Blast. I turned 50 the day this was released.
I love everything Nails has ever released.
If you enjoy hardcore, noise, powerviolence, metal and anything extreme, I'd recommend all of Nails releases Give the title track a listen, if you dig it, seek out all Nails. Check the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGGGh03jN4w
"You Will Never Be One Of Us" pushes everything to the limit.
Nails is the musical equivalent of driving way too fast.... trying to get a car to move through the gears as quickly as possible to obtain top speed, and then slamming on the breaks and then going fast again... Anything that introduces adrenaline and chaos is comparable to the music of Nails.
Nails sounds sort of like the engine, tires and wheels in this automobile torture video. "What Happens if you Press Your Gas and Brake Pedals at the Same Time".
Nails "You Will Never Be One Of Us" completely reminds me of an engine. Main part of the song is full throttle. The bridges in the songs are short. Like shifting gears short. Just enough to let you know they are on to the next part. Then more full on punishment.
As this guy burns out these tires, I can't help but think of a Nails song as the engine rages then shifts tone...
Wanna try something cool? Hopefully your computer type device will allow you to enjoy this as I have... Play all four of the videos in this blog post at the same time at a really loud volume. Just saying. I love chaos.
"You Will Never Be One Of Us" is 21 minutes. Almost 40% of this album is one song. "They Come Crawling Back" is is just over 8 minutes long. The other seven songs are accomplished in 13 minutes. "Violence Is Forever" is three and a half minutes. So more than half of the album is two songs. I love math. This is not a complaint. Just fact.
Bootblacks are from Brooklyn NY. I have listened to this album a few dozen times this year already. It is out of my expertise comfort zone, but I love this album. Check out the video for "Southpole".
Sure, I can tell you that I consider Joy Division, New Order and Depeche Mode among my all time favorite bands. I have listened to Bauhaus, but didn't quite grasp all of their material. There might be some other bands that can fit into some sort of post-punk, post-romantic, electronic deathrock, goth something or other in my listening experience, but I don't want this to sound like a generic review. I want to get my point across: "Veins" is a majestic, great album. "Veins" is definitely not generic and is one of my favorite records of the year. I love this ghoul-disco, dark wave goth originality. "Veins" sounds like it was released in the late 70s early 80s. The ten tracks take me back in time and out of my mind.
Bootblacks name is derived from novelist William Burroughs’ description of the dark underbelly of glitzy New York City. Here's hoping you love the Bootblacks as much as I do!
Mental Coma are from Denmark. I'm kinda bummed about that as I probably will never get to see them live. Kind of wish they were from Philly or something. Reason I am bummed, is that "Fragments of Democracy" is one of the best thrash albums I've heard in a long time. Mental Coma kill.
There are a ton of bands out there playing old school thrash metal. Most is generic and at best listenable. A lot of people love thrash, a lot of people try to play it, but to excel at it, you have to have to possess a few things:
talented musicians including guitarists who shred and a tight drummer
a "sound"
know how to actually write a thrash song (not just play fast)
have a great vocalist
and... be able to capture the recording so it doesn't sacrifice power just to get the speed.
Mental Coma are successful on all levels on "Fragments of Democracy". They've got it all. This album makes me nuts, which is the final bullet point I forgot to mention above... If my legs wouldn't be bouncing up and down and my head banging as much as possible while still trying to focus on my computer screen to type this, it would fall into the generic and OK category of thrash. Yeah, "Fragments of Democracy" makes me nuts!
"Fragments of Democracy" tracklist: 1. Mental Enslavement 2. Grotesque Reality 3. Civilized Abuse 4. Profitable Killings 5. Mass Media Manipulation 6. The Forgotten Ones 7. Scars Of Loyalty 8. Awake 9. Global Suicide 10. Ashes Of Humanity Lose it to "Profitable Killings": https://youtu.be/rsMwbgOZ7fQ
