Tag: punk

285. Bad Brains

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2020) Episode 285 is BAD BRAINS.  Ground-breaking and iconic, a D.C. original.  Who would think of combining punk and reggae?  Not surprisingly, I like the early punk material best, and the reggae is good, but the metal phase is a mixed affair (for which I find H.R.’s voice ill-fitting, not unlike Dave Mustaine with Megadeth). 

Favorite album: Bad Brains (Black Dots, the collection of early singles, is the best, but I can’t count it as it’s a compilation)

Favorite song: Don’t Bother Me

Compared to expectations: same

267. Sleater-Kinney

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2020) Episode 267 is SLEATER-KINNEY. If your 90s playlist doesn’t have S-K in it, it sucks. Or your general rock playlist for that matter. They are notable for emerging within the riot grrrl movement with its feminist and social consciousness. But at its core it’s aggressive guitar rock with an aggressive attitude — and isn’t what great rock is all about?  Tucker’s high warble can get tedious, but I can overlook it.

Favorite album: Call the Doctor

Favorite song: Entertain

Compared to expectations: same

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253. Buzzcocks

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(February 2020) Episode 253 of the “opus project” is BUZZCOCKS.  WOW! those first three late-70s punk pop albums kick ass!  Buzzcocks near the top of my “regret” list: bands I should have been listening to at the time instead of the crap I was listening to. Their later output (90s-10s) is decent but unremarkable guitar-driven rock.

Favourite album: Another Music In A Different Kitchen

Favourite song: No Reply

Special sauce: Pete Shelley’s guitar hooks

Compared to expectations: ↑

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242. Hüsker Dü

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(December 2019) Episode 242 is HÜSKER DÜ. This is what I should have been listening to in the 1980s instead of what I was listening to.  Well, at least the first two kick-ass punk-ish albums; the rest were rather meh.  Highlight is drummer Grant Hart until he let the gated reverb ruin it.  IMHO Hüsker Dü is America’s The Jam.

Favorite album: Zen Arcade

Favorite song: I’ll Never Forget

Compared to expectations: same

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234. The Cramps

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(October 2019) Episode 234 is THE CRAMPS.  Eventually, someone had to fuse a punk attitude onto a rockabilly sound, and Lux and Ivy get the credit.  But the concept of psychobilly is better than the execution, IMHO; it can get redundant.  The Cramps is, however, one of the greatest band names of all time.  Don’t recall if they were every included on a Tarantino soundtrack, but the growl and reverb would make it a natural fit.

Favorite album: Songs the Lord Taught Us

Favorite song: Human Fly

Compared to expectations: ↓

Songsthelordtaughtus

208. Minutemen

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(March 2019) I have completed episode 208 of my “opus project.” This edition: MINUTEMEN. I did not follow them in real time, but listening in retrospect, their influence is clearly recognizable, especially in funk-punk. Notable is their sense of adventurism. I particularly like the echoes of Captain Beefheart. It’s apt that Minutemen’s early songs clocked in at about one minute each, although I don’t think that’s where their name comes from.

Favorite album: Double Nickels On The Dime

Favorite song: The Glory of Man

Favorite EP: Minuteflag

Best approximation of a Captain Beefheart song: Power Failure

Compared to expectations: ↓

Doublenickels

205. Green Day

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(March 2019) I have completed episode 205 of my “opus project.” This edition: GREEN DAY. Based on their radio play, I had dismissed them as safe-space punk for the masses. But with this review, I was selling them far short. The rhythm section is *chef’s kiss* and the guitars are hooky and loud. Early on, the over-production was unsuited to the genre, but as they grew the songwriting caught up and broadened into power pop and guitar rock. Billy Joe’s affected vocals, once irritating and dominating, got better integrated. Green Day is a model for how a band matures and adds dynamism without letting go of their foundational tone.

Favorite album: Insomniac

Favorite song: American Idiot

Favorite power ballad: Redundant

Favorite rock opera: 21st Century Breakdown (better than American Idiot)

Special sauce: Tré Cool

Compared to expectations: ⇑

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195. Ian MacKaye suite of bands

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(December 2018) I have completed episode 195 of my “opus project.” This edition: the IAN MacKAYE suite of bands (MINOR THREAT, FUGAZI and THE EVENS, as well as Teen Idles, Skewbald/Grand Union, Egg Hunt, Embrace, and Pailhead). Minor Threat was my intro to hardcore punk through my college roommate; not really my thing but I grew to appreciate it. Same with Fugazi, although as a local D.C. institution I greatly regret not attending a show. The spare The Evens is a pleasant, and more approachable, surprise.

Favorite Minor Threat song: In My Eyes

Favorite Fugazi album: Red Medicine

Favorite Fugazi song: Arpeggiator

Favorite The Evens album: The Odds

Favorite The Evens song: Timothy Wright

Compared to expectations: same

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148. X

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(November 2017) I have completed episode 148 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: X. LA punk! They kinda wore down as the 1980s wore on, but the early stuff is fantastic.

Favorite album: Los Angeles

Favorite song: Soul Kitchen

Favorite non-cover song: The Hungry Wolf

Compared to expectations: same

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