MetaFilter posts tagged with Punk

The Hanoi that Rocks will rock the world

Free word order! — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:36:12 -0800

Hanoi Rocks, Helsinki 1981. A year when they played 102 gigs, almost all in small dance halls deep in Finland. They were ready, even if their audience wasn't.[1] For british drummer Razzle, they looked like a band which he wanted to belong to.[2] In next few years they caused chaos in Bombay, got spitted upon at Wailing Wall in Jerusalem because of indecent make up and hair, went big in Japan and had good gigs in London.[3] November 1984, they were ready to conquer America. After Mike twisted his ankle on a bottle broken by Andy on stage in Syracuse, a few gigs got cancelled and instead the band accepted invitation from L.A. scene to party with Mötley Crüe. In December 9th, 1984, the party ran out of alcohol, so Vince Neil from Mötley Crüe and the drummer Razzle went to get more. The car crashed, immediatly killing Razzle. He was Dead by Christmas, and the band broke in May 1985.[4][5] The band was revived in 2001 and again 2007. At April 2009 they played 8 sold out farewell gigs at Tavastia (the same avenue as in the first link). Happy independence days, Finnish rockers!

Wesley Willis's Joy Rides

kid ichorous — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:17:16 -0800

Wesley Willis's Joy Rides, one week only at Pitchfork TV. Dual-wielding a Technics KN and a microphone, breaking Chicago down to a vector space of magic marker; homeless busker, Napster celebrity, punk headliner and hellraiser: take your pick. The late Wesley Willis as remembered in Joy Rides.

He was a friend of mine

escabeche — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:43:04 -0800

Jim Carroll has died. Avant-garde writer, punk rocker, doped-up downtown scenester, never-made-it schoolyard hoop-dreamer. He couldn't have expected to live to see a master's thesis in English at San Diego State written about his journal/novel The Basketball Diaries, or to be interviewed by Jon Stewart about being played by Leo DiCaprio in the movie of his (early) life. Jim Carroll interviewed in Cleveland in 1991, hiding behind a big hat, a big cup of coffee, and a big accent. Obligatory (but follow it if you haven't heard it!) "People Who Died" link. catholicboy.com, as thorough a collection of Carrolliana as you're going to find.

Pogue Mahone, ya Nipple Erectors

filthy light thief — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:51:20 -0800

Shane MacGowan is the face and name most often associated with The Pogues. Unraveling Shane's psyche would require a book-length study but the crux of his identity lies somewhere in that conflict between English experience and Irish heritage. The abbreviated story of his life starts with his birth in England, but he was raised in Ireland, and moved back to England some years later. He won a scholarship to the renowned Westminster School, where he was possibly enrolled alongside Thomas Dolby and other notable people. MacGowan was involved with drugs and publicized hooliganery before being in a band, the first of which was The Nipple Erectors in 1977. In the short life of the band, the line-up shifted a number of times, the name was changed to The Nips, and their sound ranged from rockabilly to a punkish R&B, and softer pop. The band in one form or another released four singles, and got as far as to send a demo to Polydor Records in 1980, but the band broke up before the end of that year. MacGowan joined up with another group, The Millwall Chainsaws, who formed in 1979 with Spider Stacy, where Stacy sang and MacGowan played guitar. Inspired by The Dubliners (previously), they renamed themselves The New Republicans, with Shane as the lead singer. "Singing Irish rebel songs was a really good way of sticking up two fingers at the establishment," says Spider. The band shifted a bit, changed their name, and coined their own battle cry: "We are the Pogue Mahone/Fuck The Clash and The Rolling Stones", and began to blaze a trail across the bars and venues of north London. "We just wanted to do something that nobody else had ever done and take it as far as it would go," says MacGowan. "We, knew that people didn't want retro-punk. They wanted fast dance music with good tunes, something they could whoop and scream and cry to. And what fits the bill better than Irish music?" The Pogues had begun. Pogue Mahone initially playing old Irish folk tunes like Waxie's Dargle and Poor Paddy, alongside new compositions like Streams Of Whiskey (here on Old Grey Whistle Test) and The Old Main Drag (BBC Radio Session). In 1984, the band released their first single, Dark Streets of London, and received serious airplay until a Gaelic-speaking producer on BBC Radio Scotland heard the band's name and realized what was being said, and it was banned in Scotland and frozen by Radio 1. The band changed their name to The Pogues, and in October 1984 they released their next single and their first studio album, Red Roses for Me. Their view of The Clash changed enough that they opened from the band's 1984 tour, and Joe Strummer became a friend and accomplice to the band. The band continuing to gain renown, opening for Stiff Records label-mate Elvis Costello in 1985. That same year, Costello produced their second studio album, Rum Sodomy & The Lash, which has been included in a number of "greatest albums" lists. In 1986, band released Poguetry In Motion, a four-track EP that was also produced by Costello, though it was considered "hardly a collection of leftovers." There were strains on the band in this time. The long-time bassist, Cait O'Riordan, left the band and married Elvis Costello, leading to the first major change in the band's line-up, and Shane MacGowan was increasingly erratic and unreliable. The group survived to make their third studio album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, which came out in January 1988. This effort included more than the Irish folk/punk sound of the past, including middle-eastern influences, a Spanish-inspired party song, and a Christmas ballad (previously, twice), featuring vocal accompaniment from album producer Steve Lillywhite's wife, Kirsty MacColl. The band's fourth album, Peace and Love, is the first to be without a single cover of a traditional Irish song, and includes songs of London, more Spanish influences, even opening with some instrumental jazz of a sort. Unfortunately, Shane MacGowan's drinking and drug abuse worsened, and he failed to turn up for opening dates for the band's 1988 tour, and hindered the band's effort to promote their fifth studio album, Hell's Ditch. This album shifted farther from the Irish folk roots of the past, and included Asian themes and more Spanish influences that were gained in part from the band's time in Spain while shooting Straight To Hell, an action-comedy homage to Spaghetti Westerns (clip). (Director Alex Cox wanted to put on a tour to raise money for Nicaragua, but instead shot this film in Spain and made what one critic called "A Fist Full of Nothing".) The soundtrack includes covers and exclusive tracks. Finally the band dropping MacGowan in 1991, and two Pogues compilations were issued that same year: Essential Pogues and The Best of The Pogues. Another compilation was issued in 1992, The Rest of The Best, as if to mark the end of the band. But The Pogues lived on, with Joe Strummer filling in for vocals until Spider Stacy took over and returned to his old role of lead vocalist, and giving other band members a chance to write songs for the group. In 1993 they released Waiting for Herb, their second album without a traditional cover. Even though the band was without their iconic frontman, they still had their first top 20 single since Fairytale of New York, with Tuesday Morning (YouTube). The band line-up changed dramatically between their 6th and 7th album, Pogue Mahone, which even the band members considered "a less ambitious, rather conservative Pogues album, all in a well-established Pogues style." Reviewers were less forgiving: "No angst. No identity. Nothing memorable." In 1996, the remainder of the band called it quits, but this wasn't the end. Various members of the band went on to their own side projects or to form new groups. In October 1995, Jem Finer (one of the original Pogues) started to work on Longplayer, the one thousand year long musical composition (previously). Spider Stacy, Darryl Hunt and Andrew Ranken formed The Vendetta (initially named The Wisemen, not Stacy's idea), and had half an album written before The Pogues reunited. Ranken also performed with Nigel Burch and the Flea-Pit Orchestra. James McNally released a solo album and joined Afro-Celt Sound System. Jamie Clarke formed Perfect in 1997. Shane MacGowan formed The Popes in 1994 after parting ways with The Pogues, releasing two studio albums in the 1990s, only to reunite the band in 2001 and again in 2004, then in 2006 and 2008, though no new studio material has been recorded. The Popes live on, without MacGowan. They released a studio album from the new line-up in 2000, then released a 2-disc Best-Of compilation and a live album in 2002 from their time being fronted by MacGowan. The Popes released another studio album in May 2009, featuring a more orderly Shane MacGowan. More Pogues Media BBC Radio 2 documentary - Pogue Mahone: The Story of the Pogues Written summary and and streaming in Real Media The Story of Fairytale of New York (2005), from BBC Three 6 parts on YouTube: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6 The Pogues: Live at the Town and Country on St. Patrick's Day in 1988, one of the official live video recordings (also available via unofficial media, as listed on the highly detailed database of live audio and video recordings of The Pogues and related bands) and YouTube, from the Japanese LaserDisc:

Intro 1. The Broad Majestic Shannon 2. If I Should Fall From Grace With God 3. A Rainy Night In Soho 4. Thousands Are Sailing 5. Fairytale Of New York (with Kirsty MacColl) 6. Lullaby Of London 7. Dirty Old Town 8. London Calling (Joe Strummer vocals) 9. Turkish Song Of The Damned 10. Fiesta 11. The Irish Rover 12. Worms 13. A Message To You, Rudi (Lynval Golding vocals) 14. The Wild Rover and end credits

Demos on YouTube Dark Streets of London (1983 demo version) Fairytale of New York (2nd demo of the song, with Cait O'Riordian dueting with Shane) Playlist with another 10 or so Straight to Hell, the movie, as a 9-part YouTube playlist. Viewable in scaled up HQ, but with a wonky display ratio either way.

ART/new york

vronsky — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:48:44 -0800

Paul Tschinkel is the producer and director of the series called ART/new york. -- After showing video pieces in New York galleries, he turned to the fledgling New York cable system (Manhattan Cable downtown and Warner Cable uptown), producing a half hour weekly arts program - a gallery on television. From 1974 to 1979 Paul Tschinkel's Inner- Tube was devoted to conceptual and narrative video art pieces. In 1979, Tschinkel turned from taping in his studio in Soho to recording and producing live Punk/New Wave music from New York clubs. This program, which ran from 1979 to 1984, presaged MTV and was the seminal Rock& Roll show that featured music from CBGB's, The Mudd Club, Max's Kansas City and many other venues in New York. It presented many young bands like the Ramones, Mink de Ville, The Cramps, The Heartbreakers, The Dead Kennedy's among many others. Johnny Thunders, Klaus Nomi, Jayne County ll Julian Schnabel, Lee Krasner, Malcolm Morley ll JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT Interview ll The Dead Boys ll Mink DeVille and Paul Shapiro ll Klaus Nomi (1982) ll Robert Mapplethorpe ll more here ll full dvd's available at ART/new york

They’re back! Dinosaurs! In a band! Oh shiiiiiiiit!

filthy light thief — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:06:31 -0800

Made in the image of 1980s "low-brow sleeze punk" public access TV shows like T.V. Party, Rappin with The Rickster, The Richard Bey Show, the more mainstream (or at least widely available) U.S.A. Up All Night, as well as elements of Cinema of Transgression, Мишка brings forth The Creepy Touch. Not safe for work, the squeamish, or squares. (Videos inside) Episode 1 (4:19) delved into the world of Nobunny, the man who stole the face of a jackrabbit, amongst other things. Episode 2 (4:36) stars a guy in a dinosaur mask from Uzi Rash. He is not a dinosaur, nor do dinosaurs exist in current times (except chickens). Episode 3 (5:21) is all about music made with a Nintendo by Yatagarasu, and half-Jewish hair-styles. Proper old stuff: TV Party N.Y., featuring Blondie + Klaus Nomi + more. Mick Jones on TV Party: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 Beastie Boys Rappin' with The Rickster (Youtube playlist in 7 parts), and more clips of the Beasties with thee Rickster The Richard Bey Show clip featuring Mr Punyverse & Miss Thunderthighs USA UP All Night playlist, featuring bumpers, commercials, and odd clips Nick Zedd - No Plague Like Home (Zedd coined the Cinema of Transgression manifesto)

1983 Ilsington Squatter Punk Documentary

KoobieKitten — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:40:30 -0800

1983 Ilsington Squatter Punk Documentary

Now I Wanna Be Your Insightful, Respectable Rock Icon

Jon_Evil — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:57:42 -0800

You wouldn't expect Iggy Pop to be the poster boy for rock stars who age gracefully, but he seems to be doing a pretty good job of it. At the age of 62, he's released Preliminaires, an album steeped in French Literature and containing jazz standards, hardscrabble blues, and the Louis-Armstrong-meets-Tom-Waits hit, King of the Dogs. NPR's Fresh Air has this interview with a thoughtful, avuncular Iggy Pop

Its called Wipeout...WHY DON'T YOU SHUTUP ?

celerystick — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:22:05 -0800

Alan Vega live... It's not Billy Idol, Elvis, or Springsteen, its just Alan Vega and "Its called Wipeout...why don't you shut up"

CBGB's

peewinkle — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:42:48 -0800

We all know of the importance and impact that CBGB's had on the early East Coast punk scene. I could go and link to a bunch you tube videos, obituaries, and other assorted blogs about my favorite acts that had played there over the years. And while CBGB's is gone, why I don't I just let you take a virtual tour of the place.

black punk punks your punk

artof.mulata — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:44:33 -0800

mid-70s proto-punk band, Death, have finally gotten a real disc out. unearthed in crates lost for decades, their founder dead before seeing it happen, their children never knowing the shadowy past of their forebears, the sound of black pop-punk-politi-metal-wave is finally here. dig the stodgy new york times on this matter! see what was said on metafilter before (not nec' so stodgy, naturally...)! {big ups to stinkycheese for letting me have this}

Waiting for the CTA

wcfields — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:15:40 -0800

It's harder to be more obscure and unheralded than John Henry Timmis IV. He barely even tried to sell his own music, almost always giving copies away of his impossibly rare loner-punk 45's. Dieing in 2002, almost 15 years after his last single, from complications resulting from alcoholism, after suffering from the degenerative ear/skull disease mastoiditis-- his potential hardly tapped... until now. Film buffs may know him as the director/producer of the longest movie ever made, The Cure for Insomnia staring Lee Groban reading his same titled 4,080 page poem spliced with porn and heavy metal, clocking in at 87 hours. Virtually unknown until the song "Death Trip" appeared on an obscure bootleg punk compilation Staring Down the Barrel. Interest peaked enough for Plastic Crimewave's Secret History of Chicago Music article to have a write up on him and Drag City/Galactic Zoo to reissue his forgotten masterpiece, Cosmic Lighting. Medallion-wearing, twin-neck-guitar-sporting JT IV served himself up as a lightning rod of glam-punk eccentricity, seesawing in these archived recordings between ugly basement rock and lost-mind cosmic acoustic wanderings. Timmis liked to act as though he were already a star: he’d videotape himself singing along to his own songs and hire musicians to play live shows with him and film them for concert movies. But he never seems to have made a sustained attempt to win an audience larger than a few friends, and even when he recorded in a proper studio his music had a rough-around-the-edges DIY feel.

This should suffice to drive the snakes out

jtron — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:17:29 -0800

"Two hours of Irish punk rock, new wave, underground and just plain rock-n-roll THUNDER" courtesy of Last Days of Man on Earth 2.0

No Need to Atone for Your Synths

jonp72 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:59:03 -0800

Not all groups with synthesizers in the 1970s and 1980s were lame Top 40 acts with keytars. Some groups of the era used synths for spastic keyboard bleeps, herky-jerky tempos, and angst-ridden aggression in a style now classified by record collector geeks as synthpunk, minimal synth, or minimal wave. Several famous New Wave acts dabbled in the style before providing soundtracks for Molly Ringwald movies (OMD, Electricty) or singing about waitresses in cocktail bars (the Human League, Being Boiled), but vintage videos from synth punk acts all over the world can be found all over YouTube. New York City Suicide, Ghost Rider Suicide, Frankie Teardrop Dark Day, Arp's Carpet Los Angeles Catholic Discipline, Underground Babylon The Screamers, Vertigo The Screamers, 122 Hours of Fear Nervous Gender, Miscarriage San Francisco The Units, Unit Training Film: Warm Moving Bodies Tulsa, Oklahoma Los Reactors, It's A Wonderful Life Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Billy Synth & the Turnups, I'm So Sick of It South Florida Futurisk, Meteoright Futurisk, Army Now France Metal Urbain, Panik Australia The Primitive Calculators, I Can't Stop It The United Kingdom The Normal, T.V.O.D. Fad Gadget, Collapsing New People Spain Aviador Dro, La TV Es Nutritiva Los Iniciados, Marca de Anubis Japan P-Model, ArtMania P-Model, Health Angel

Butthole Surfers were one hell of a live band

Kattullus — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:10:44 -0800

Mickey Ween: A security guard came onstage and Gibby threw the alcohol on him. The dude just started backing away, it was clear that Gibby probably would set him on fire. And now, knowing Gibby like I do, it was definitely within the realm of possibility.
Mark Pesetsky: And Gibby just gave me that psycho look with the Charles Manson eyes. He grabs a bottle of the rubbing alcohol and throws it on me and then starts walking towards me with a lighter. And John, the other bouncer, just jumps offstage. It was every man for himself at that point.
Gibby Haynes: Oh yeah, I do remember that. I mean, I've lit kids' heads on fire and they were smiling!

An Oral History of May 3, 1987: The Day The Butthole Surfers Came to Trenton, New Jersey. Butthole Surfers interviewed in bed, parts 1 and 2, playing The Scott & Gary Show on their first run through New York, parts 1 and 2, playing live in 1985 [low quality], live footage from the 80s. The Butthole Surfers' (in)famous Bar-B-Que Movie, made by Alex Winters of Bill & Ted fame, has been featured previously on MetaFilter. First two links via Coilhouse.

Japanese voice actresses cover legendary punk songs

MegoSteve — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:56:34 -0800

Japanese voice actresses cover legendary punk songs (SLYT)

"To me, Pylon was the best band to ever come out of Athens. It still is."

joseph conrad is fully awesome — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:41:42 -0800

Pylon guitarist and co-founder Randall Bewley died yesterday of a heart attack at age 53. From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I'm in complete shock," B-52's frontman Fred Schneider told the AJC Wednesday night from Seattle, where his band is touring. "To me, Pylon was the best band to ever come out of Athens. It still is." The Athens-Banner Herald writes: "Pylon's music was distinct - a punk aesthetic that couldn't be categorized. It earned members the respect of their peers and many Athens bands that followed them and, according to the All-Music Guide, repeated plugs from R.E.M. that Pylon was a major influence on its alternative pop music." Via Athens Music Junkie's post, Randy Bewley: "This hurts so much to write. It has been a very hard day for us all in Athens. We have lost one of our dearest friends. A critical part of our community has been taken from us and he will be missed sorely." Crazy, which was covered by R.E.M. on Dead Letter Office From 2007: Danger, Feast on my Heart Pylon footage from the 1987 documentary Athens, Ga.

Cruella de Ville [NOT VILLAINESS-IST]

not_on_display — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:02:08 -0800

Cruella de Ville, the band, were formed by fraternal twins (with identical voices) Philomena and Colum Muinzer. They were probably best known for their single, "Those Two Dreadful Children", which appeared on Dr. Demento's show a number of times. CdV were only around for a short time (1982-1984) before dropping off the map [citation needed], but thanks to the internets and youtubeses, we can revisit their tiny catalogue: pop nuggets in a manic, cheeky, theatrical punk vein. But just when you thought you'd pegged their sound...

Chumbawamba

finite — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:12:28 -0800

Her majesty's a pretty nice girl but she never did a thing for me Mouthful of shit is a seven-minute documentary about Chumbawamba. Here are some more of their songs:

Add me (2008)
You can (2007)
Invasion (1986)
Smashing of the Van (2003)
Farewell to the Crown (1997)
That's How Grateful We Are (1990)
Give the Anarchist a Cigaratte (1995)
Revolution (Liberation / Stagnation) (1985)

And here is a Slovak duo's cover of Tubthumping.

Klezmer and selling out

muggsy1079 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:03:14 -0800

David Goo and the Variety Band have been gigging in London for a few years, but a recent appearance as a soundtrack to an advert could be what propels them to the big time. Merging ska, punk, indie and klezmer influences, read an interview with them here as they speculate on the concept of 'selling out'

Ron Asheton, R.I.P.

Dr-Baa — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:17:02 -0800

Ron Asheton, influential guitarist and bassist for The Stooges and Destroy All Monsters, has passed away at age 60.

i bought some crappy lights and started calling people up

Potomac Avenue — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:16:20 -0800

Live from the Pink Couch: Punks, Girls, Boys, Warriors, Witches, Kids, Comptrollers, and your new favorite band Best Friends Forever! (boyzone comment flamewar included) If You Make It also has oodles of live concert footage (like more BFFs!) and a (well intentioned) series of 31 films in 31 days. Similar to Daytrotter's Live Sessions or VPRO 3VOOR12's Elevator Sessions or Blogotheque's Concerts A Emporter but with no corporate sponsorship or fixed agenda, it's just a guy and a "crappy Ikea couch" documenting folks who like to Dream It Yourself.

Punkcast

Kattullus — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:00:52 -0800

Punkcast is a long running series of videos of live underground music in NYC shot by Joly MacFie. Each video is usually one song. The Internet Archive hosts its videos and offers downloads in a variety of formats. MacFie also has a YouTube channel with 480 videos and a video podcast [iTunes link, feedburner link]. Here are a few bands that caught my fancy: The Icicles and The Besties, The Slits (1, 2 ), Andrew W. K., Oneida (1, 2), The Long Blondes, The Gossip, Acid Mothers Temple & Cosmic Inferno, Art Brut, Be Your Own Pet, Cansei de Ser Sexy, Lesbians on Ecstasy, The Fall, Fred Frith, Rose Melberg and Jennifer O'Connor, The Horrors, The Homosexuals, Bat for Lashes, Radio 4 and Teddybears, Kimya Dawson and Tiny Masters of Today, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Nikki Sudden.

FUN FUN FUN

nola — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:22:59 -0800

30 seconds over Tokyo is a song that is both unpretentious and epic at the same time. Anticipation mixed up with fear, flying, crashing, burning. Nevermind just give it a listen 30 seconds over Tokyo. Rocket from the Tombs, a nasty bit of rock history. Get out a shovel and exhume it's remains. Ain't if fun? I can only imagine what it would have been like to see these guys live.

Lead singer of seminal Canadian punk band Teenage Head dies

mathewi — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:46:37 -0800

Frank Kerr died on Wednesday, October 15th of throat cancer. The 51-year-old was better known as Frankie Venom, the lead singer of Teenage Head, a punk band from Hamilton, Ontario that some have called Canada's version of The Ramones. The Glasgow native formed the band in 1975 with some high-school friends and they released several popular albums and played at least two shows that ended in riots. After splitting with the group in 1985 due in part to lifestyle issues, Venom later rejoined and began touring again. In 2003, Teenage Head recorded a special cover album with Ramones drummer Marky Ramone that was just released earlier this year. One fan got some video of one of Frankie's last shows in Hamilton.