Category: Punk

AULD LANG SYNE

12/31/2018

Just a quick reminder that you've got a week left to get "A Stubby's House Christmas 2018" before it melts away forever. And it does contain a pair of great New Year's tracks...Sofia Talvik's "Poem At Year's End" and Emma Rowley's rendition of the classic "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?". Now on to some songs for New Year's.

Everything else in this post will be new (or newly discovered) and free, but we open with a nice bit of Funk that you may have missed which is neither. Recorded for the Sounds of Memphis label by Kannon somewhere between 1975 and 1985, "New Lang Syne" was unreleased until 2015, when this collection, "Groove With A Feeling" came out. If you want your New Year to be funky, this one's a good start. You can find it on Amazon.

One song available for free download that I didn't get to before Christmas (and even forgot to include in our Boxing Day post) is "Leaving The Party" from the Synth Folk group from Glasgow, The Paperback Throne. But, you know, it almost feels more appropriate for New Years. We remember The Paperback Throne from their lovely 2015 Christmas set "All Best Intentions" (which, by the way, includes the track "Resolution"). "No Mean Christmas" is still one of the best tracks I've heard since opening shop at Stubby's; if I ever did a "Best of", that would be on it. So it's good to see The Paperback Throne back in the seasonal music game. "Leaving The Party" is name-you-price at Bandcamp.

Every year since 2007, DJ Earworm (Jordan Roseman) has condensed the most popular music of the year into one bright and glorious Mash-Up. This year's mix is "Turnin' It Up" and features Ariana Grande, Drake, Cardi B., Post Malone, Maroon 5, Halsey and a whole bunch more. To tell you the truth, the Mash-up, itself, is pretty amazing, but I can't imagine the skills necessary to Mash-up a video of the same. Cool stuff, as always. And you'll find a free download at Soundcloud.

Speaking of Mashups, I went looking for some good new New Year's Mashups and didn't really find any. But I did find this one, which more than works, "I Love Celebrations" produced by Don Hector and included on the latest "Best of Bootie" collection. You can get this one at Soundcloud or Sowndhaus, or just download the entire "Best of Bootie" collection (assuming you don't mind non-holiday Mashups, and why would you?).

Christmas A Go Go found some of this year's best free New Year's songs, including The Greyhound Factory's "New Year's Eve" and this Sugarbabes' cover of "New Year" from Darling Buds, which is only available until January 2 at Bandcamp.

Gotta have at least one Folk tune included, even if Tim Marrison's "New Year" is a bit Emo for my taste. Marrison recalls that the song reflects a New Year's Eve where, rather than going out to celebrate, he elected to stay home and get drunk. "A lot of good songs come out of being morbidly drunk," Tim says. "The trick is to remember them in the morning!" "New Year" by Tim Morrison is free at Soundcloud.

New York Punk band Cash Registers found the proper New Year's spirit in 2016, but I can't recall having heard "60 Seconds to Midnight" before now. It's true. We make a big deal out of New Year's, in spite of the fact that most of us don't really give a crap. Meet the New Year, same as the old year. "60 seconds to Midnight. No one even cares. Goodbye old New Year." Name-your-price at Bandcamp.

And, now, back where we started...with assorted versions of "Auld Lang Syne".

Katherine Etzel is best known as a member of the Americana group Bobtown, but when she does something solo, she goes by The Existential Bell. There are no instruments on this version of "Auld Lang Syne"--every sound you hear is being made by Katherine's voice. The result is a very Ambient, somewhat Dream Pop version of the song which seems to carry with it much of the sadness of the year gone by (or maybe that's just me). It's free at Soundcloud.

How 'bout a Jazz version, this one from Wisconsin's Reegan Van Camp. It's just one song on a "name your price" EP of "Holiday Sketches" at Bandcamp.

Here's an excellent instrumental version of "Auld Lang Syne" from members of the Minnesota Indie Rock band Breakthrough, led by brothers PJ & Drew Medin. It starts with a single guitar before breaking into a Rock anthem that's somewhere between TSO and Boston (excellent guitar work on this). Also free from Soundcloud.

The Australian group Paisley Sky take the old song even further, going all Jimi Hendrix on "Auld Lang Psych". Also free on Soundcloud.

Of course, you might prefer your "Auld Lang Syne" more traditional. And it doesn't get more traditional than bagpipes. Jimmy Armstrong's cover starts with the bagpipes, then switches over to a full orchestral arrangement (with a few words from Jimmy) before closing with the bagpipes again. Quite dramatic and quite affecting...and free for the download at Soundcloud. Happy New Year, everybody.

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SINGLES IRREVERENT

11/27/2018

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The last week of November tends to be very busy as many artists choose this week to release their singles and albums. Oh, most of the major label stuff comes earlier, but a lot of independents and self-releasing artists wait until after Thanksgiving (which appears to be the point at which even the hardest hearted Grinch will find Christmas music acceptable). And people who create annual mixtapes are looking for those final touches. So let's see what we can find in Santa's sack of goodies, shall we? Today's category is "irreverent". That's not the same as "novelty". Not at all. But these songs aren't exactly "Winter Wonderland" either. More singles coming up this week. Got a batch of Indie Pop and Rock singles I hope to get to tomorrow.

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be. Take a beautiful melody, a Pop beat, three beautiful voices blending in harmony, and pair them up with thoroughly contemporary life and what you get is one unforgettable song that you can nod knowingly to while it sails completely over the heads of your parents. "As I fly into town/People calling their loved ones/As the plane touches down/I hope that you're waiting and I'm anticipating the moment we meet again." Sounds like a normal Christmas song, right? Well, it isn't an old beau she's waiting to see again. It's her pot dealer. Otherwise, although irreverent, it is a recognizable story. She wants to recapture her youth, too--specifically high school days, when responsibilities were few and there was sex and drugs and (one presumes) rock n roll.

JEMS are three Californians who write songs and make gorgeous music. The name is drawn from their names--Jessica Rotter, Emily Colombier, and Sarah Margaret Huff. There are four different versions of "High For The Holidays" by JEMS. The one on Amazon is the version with the Rap break from Harry Mack and the brief use of the "F" word towards the end of the song. There's also a clean version with Harry Mack and both explicit and clean versions without him. We've used the clean version without Harry. Why? Because Bandcamp's stupid preview embeds go automatically into the next song unless you use the last song. I really don't get that. Seems completely unnecessary and fixable. Anyway, buy the track that suits your taste or need or get the whole bunch on Bandcamp (psst, buy the tracks individually and save...unless you're high, in which case go ahead and pay nearly $2 per track). You know I'm not big on the goof. But when the goof is legitimately funny and wrapped in a beautiful package...why, yes, thank you, I'll take a hit. "We don't need reindeer to get to the sky/We know why Santa has a twinkle in his eye/Come fill my stocking with the good stuff, big guy/Merry Christmas to all and to all a good high".

The Cooter Boys are a California Country duo with a lot of crossover appeal. Their attitude could be described as a bit irreverent but, on them, it works. "Crazy For Christmas" dropped the day after Thanksgiving and, for assorted reasons (what's the deal with the hat covering your eyes, dude?), I wish I didn't like it as much as I do. But I can't help it. "Crazy For Christmas" is crazy awesome. When we talk about a perfect Christmas, we envision some quiet night with softly falling snow, brightly colored twinkling lights and happy children building a snowman. That's right, we picture the Hallmark movie version of Christmas. But, instead of a break from the madness, Christmas is the maddest of all. Traffic, crowded stores, decorating, cooking, unruly relatives, bratty kids with high expectations. What Christmas really is is about a year's worth of high pressure work crammed into a single month--all in addition to our regular work. Most wonderful time of the year? It's the most insane. And "Crazy For Christmas" by The Cooter Boys captures just a little of that insanity in an irresistible upbeat tune that says out loud what at least a part of us is thinking. Grab "Crazy For Christmas" at Amazon and iTunes.

Worldwide Welshman is the UK World-Rock-Pop-Folk band of Liam Rickard, who draws upon the absurdities of life for his multi-lingual songs. "Christmas In Yiwu" is a song that celebrates Santa's real workshop...in the city of Yiwu in China. Don't worry, it's not an angry "burn Christmas to the ground" folk anthem decrying exploitation of people in distant lands. It's a happy little song that acknowledges the reality--you get your plastic crap and they get a little money for their families. It does make you stop and think, though. "Christmas In Yiwu" was a YouTube stream last year but has only been released for purchase this year as part of the "Jingle Bells, Christmas Sells" digital single. You'll find it on Amazon and Bandcamp.

You knew I wouldn't rest until I found a Blues tune. "My Christmas Wish" is a slide guitar gem (think Hound Dog Taylor) from Ted Drozdowski's Scissormen. Ted's been doing the Blues thing for about 30 years and the Scissormen have been together for about ten. Ted also used to be a writer for Rolling Stone, which is a neat little tidbit. "My Christmas Wish" is about spending Christmas with your friends when you have no friends. See, when you have no friends, your friends are down at the liquor store. Like Clyde Lasley in "Santa Came Home Drunk", Ted namechecks a few of these friends of his. "Jimmy Beam in aisle 3, Jameson boys in aisle 5. I can't stand that old Jack Daniels. I'm tired of all his gyp and jive." "My Christmas Wish" by Ted Drozdowski's Scissormen won't be found in aisle 3, 4, or 5, but you can find it at CD Baby and Amazon.

Yeah, I know. But it's French, so I'm letting it pass.

French Punk meets American Pop Rock in Quebec. No clue what they're saying, though I gather its about how expensive the holidays are. But, hey, I dig the sound and there's a cat in the video. So there you go. And, also, it's free! Well, it is right now. "Noel C'est Poche" by Abdominable shows an official release date of December 1, so might be it's only free until then. Since (even after two years of French in school) I don't speak the language, I can't honestly be certain that "Noel C'est Poche" is irreverent, but it's Punk...so it's bound to be. Right? Pick up Abdominable's Christmas single free (technically Donne-moi ton prix) from Bandcamp.

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OPENING THE VAULT OF TERRORS

8/31/2018

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Gotta be honest....had a hard time trying to come up with a title for this. Oh well, better luck next year. Anyway...

Sure, Christmas is coming. But, well before Christmas comes....Halloween. Bwaaahahaha! And you'd better be ready because Halloween isn't about a fat man in red bringing toys (well, there is Krampus, but let's not go there just now).

There are bound to be some Spooky singles as we get closer to All Hallows Eve, but let's get an early look at a few of the full lengths that might be worthy of your attention.

Every year, there seems to be one collection of forgotten slabs that tops our trick or treat list. This year's is "The Shadow Knows" from Bear Family. The album boasts 34 tracks, though four of those are radio trailers for horror movies (which I dig very much). Some of the tracks are fairly available--like "The Monster Hop" by Bert Convy and Jackie Morningstar's "Rockin' In The Graveyard". But several of the tracks are super rare. If you thought George Romero invented zombies, you'll swing and swoon to the Gene Kardos Orchestra's "Zombie" from 1934. More ghoulish fun can be had on rocking instrumentals by Lord Dent & His Invaders and the frighteningly fast and furious "Ghost Train" by The Swanks. Or how bout this long forgotten slice from The Poets. Aren't you just dying to hear it?

There's more, of course. Kay Starr's "Headless Horseman", Bobby Bare's "Vampira", Sceamin' Jay Hawkins, Screamin' Lord Sutch, The Coasters and The Cadillacs. Check the track list for yourself.

1: Monster Gonzales - Tommy Bruce & The Bruisers
2: Murder In The Graveyard - Screamin' Lord Sutch
3: Graveyard - The Phantom Five
4: Frenzy - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
5: Midnight Monsters Hop - Jack & Jim
6: The Ghost Hop - The Surfmen
7: The Monsters Hop - Bert Convy
8: I Was A Teenage Werewolf - Movie Trailer
9: Wolf Call - Lord Dent & The Invaders
10: Rockin' In The Graveyard - Jackie Morningstar
11: Goofy Dry Bones - The Goofers
12: Black Sunday - Movie Trailer
13: Zombie - Gene Kardos & His Orchestra
14: Strollin' Spooks - Ken Nordine & His Kinsmen
15: Dragonfly - Tommy Dee & The Mellotones
16: Ghost Satellite - Bob & Jerry
17: Plan 9 From Outer Space - Movie Trailer
18: Creature From Outer Space - Sonny Day & The Tony Ray Combo
19: Ghost Train - The Swanks
20: Tennessee Hillbilly Ghost - George Morgan
21: The Headless Horseman - Kay Starr with The Billy Butterfield Quintet
22: Ghost Trains - Hank Snow
23: Ghost Riders In The Sky - The Chantays
24: The Boogie Man - The Cadillacs
25: Horror Of Dracula - Movie Trailer
26: Vampira - Bobby Bare
27: The Cat - Rod Willis
28: The Shadow Knows - The Coasters
29: Dead - The Poets
30: Goo Goo Muck - Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads
31: Demon Lover - Lynn Cornell
32: The Rockin' Ghost - Archie Bleyer
33: Spooky - George Barnes
34: The Shadow Knows - Link Wray & His Raymen

The scary thing about "The Shadow Knows" is that it's an import. And, as such, Amazon and other domestic vendors won't have it until November 9. So, if this is the droid you've been searching for, we'd recommend you purchase direct from Bear Family (European release date is September 21).

Back in 1964, "The Munsters" was a huge television hit. No fools, the executives at Decca Records pounced on the opportunity to turn green (as in Herman) to green (as in money). They rushed an unknown group known as The Go-Go's (no, not them...Belinda Carlisle was just 6 years old at the time) into the studio with some quickly slapped together tunes and unleashed "The Munsters" on an unsuspecting public. Note that the cover doesn't give The Go-Go's any billing (just mentioning that the record was "inspired by" television's oddest family). As you might suspect, the album wasn't a big hit. But, as time went by, it developed a cult following. Who doesn't love campy horror rock and roll, after all? Original copies go for big bucks, so Real Gone has swooped in to rescue us all. Never before re-issued in any format, they've re-mastered this monster, added rare photos and behind-the-scenes liner notes on the recording and, on September 7, they will free "The Munsters" from their laboratory for all to enjoy. What's more, it can be yours on CD or vinyl. Scary, isn't it? (Vinyl has been selling out fast, so don't sleep on that.)

1. Munster Creep
2. Frankenstein Had a Hot-Rod Car
3. $1.98 King Size Voodoo Kit
4. Vampire Vamp
5. Herman's Place
6. (Here Comes the) Munster Coach
7. T.V. Monster Show
8. Eerie Beach
9. Make It Go Away
10. You Created a Monster
11. Ride the Midnight Special
12. Down in the Basement

After "A Charlie Brown Christmas" performed beyond everyone's expectations, the same executives who had predicted disaster now wanted more. The second Peanuts special was "The Charlie Brown All Stars". Gotta be honest, I don't even remember that one. But the third Peanuts special, airing in 1966, is generally considered by all to be the true masterpiece of all the Peanuts specials...from animation to music. Who among us can forget Snoopy's epic battle with the Red Baron? And, aside from "Good Grief", has there ever been a more memorable line than "I got a rock!"

As hard as it is to believe, there has never been an official soundtrack album for "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". Why is that? At the time the special was made, Vince Guaraldi was involved in a law suit with his record label. Whether they were purposely or accidentally destroyed, no master tapes of any of the music from the show have ever been found (aside from "The Great Pumpkin Waltz").

A storybook record was issued in 1978, but that was essentially just the entire special on record, complete with dialog. A brief mono minute of the Pumpkin version of "Linus and Lucy" also turned up on the soundtrack for "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", for some reason.

Craft Recordings, a division of the highly respected Concord label, has played this one pretty close to the vest--which isn't encouraging, in and of itself. But, as bits and pieces of info have been gleaned, it would appear that the source material for this release is a production piece from the special itself--the mono cue stems. That means the tracks will be brief and will contain the sound effects (the latter is far from a deal breaker; sound effects on a Halloween record are usually a plus) but, theoretically, no dialog. The whole thing runs about 20 minutes. No extended Vince Guaraldi magic, but still...there has never been an official soundtrack for "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" in any format.

So what one feels about this CD, coming October 5, is largely in the ear of the beholder. Pick your Peanuts metaphor. Is this the Great Pumpkin finally come, or did you get a rock? Did Lucy pull the football away one more time, or maybe it's not such a bad little tree (it just needs a little love).

Concord's a solid label, so expect top-notch re-mastering. And "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" might be worth buying for the liner notes alone (from Peanuts historian Derrick Bang), as those will likely explain a lot. A vinyl version is planned, as well, though the release date for that is not certain (may not even be this year). I'll list the track lengths with the titles to give you a better idea of what this is and isn't.

ORDER CD FROM CRAFT RECORDINGS
ORDER CD FROM AMAZON
VINYL VERSION AT ACOUSTIC SOUNDS
VINYL VERSION AT AMAZON

1. Linus And Lucy 2:01
2. Graveyard Theme :59
3. Snoopy And The Leaf / Frieda (With The Naturally Curly Hair) :38
4. The Great Pumpkin Waltz 3:30
5. Linus And Lucy :36
6. Charlie Brown Theme / Happy Linus :32
7. The Great Pumpkin Waltz 1:24
8. The Red Baron / Military Drum March :30
9. The Great Pumpkin Waltz 1:58
10. Trick Or Treat 1:17
11. Fanfare / Breathless / Trick Or Treat (Reprise) :46
12. Charlie Brown Theme :42
13. Breathless :49
14. It's A Long Way To Tipperary / There's A Long, Long Trail A-Winding / Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag / Roses Of Picardy 1:53
15. Trick Or Treat :32
16. Linus And Lucy :52
17. Charlie Brown Theme 1:18

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is getting a vinyl re-issue on October 26. If you missed it last year, Cleopatra's "Punk Rock Halloween" is back, including the brilliant "Evil Approaches" by Reel Big Fish. And I think it's also worth mentioning last year's Surf Guitar EP from The Primitive Finks, "Horror Party Stomp", in case you missed that one.

But I wanna close with the new/upcoming release from Hugh Cornwell who, if you didn't know, was the vocalist for The Stranglers until he split from the band in 1990. His forthcoming album is "Monster". The CD and vinyl are slated to drop on October 5 and the album, as a whole, is unlikely to be the stuff Halloween mixtapes are made of. But the lead single, available now, is perfect for the occasion. The "A" side is the album's title track, "Monster", while the "B" side is "Pure Evel". If you want something new in the mix, this one's worth checking out.

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AULD LANG SYNE

SINGLES IRREVERENT

OPENING THE VAULT OF TERRORS

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