PUNK Listening Party 10

PUNK Magazine Listening Party #10 (10/12/01)
by Jolly Prochnik, John Holmstrom, and Maureen

Notes by John Holmstrom

Interested in having your band's CD reviewed at the next PUNK Listening Party? Then don't delay - send your CD to:

PUNK Magazine Listening Party
PMB 675
200 East 10th Street
New York, NY 10003

This is the first Listening Party after the terror bombing. The party itself was very low key. None of the regulars except for Jolly showed up. A bunch of people promised to stop by but didn't except for Maureen W, who is putting together the campaign to name a street sign after Joey Ramone. Frank (from postcard500.com) stopped by but ended up leaving early. As you know, the PUNK Penthouse is just two blocks away from Ground Zero, so it's not an easy place to throw a party.

Toys That Kill | Cripple Kid | Makeshift 3 | The Terrorists | Anthrax

Toys That Kill
The City Abortion
Recess Records
www.toysthatkill.com
www.recessrecords.com

JOLLY:
"Through my head like a bullet from the sky/What goes up must haveta get us high." Words to live by, as always, not just now AKA nothin's changed. Boredom leads to terrorism. Terrorism leads to fascism. Fascism leads to boredom. Or you could get loaded instead.

"Cities on fire/Have another sip of wine."

"Bombs destroy my neighborhood."

"I want to serve the state... Please... Please... No!"

And there you have it.

Oh, and "Hell's our ashtray lost in our nightmare too cool too cool."

"Two billion bastards they're on their knees now my shitlist is endless again."

Right. Send in the Marines.

"We are the diaper service because we want to save the planet"

See? And big business will always be all right. So get loaded instead.

MAUREEN:
Track #3 "Bullet From the Sky"
Sounds too prophetic as to what's been going around us. I'm assuming this record came out before Sept. 11th. It's really creepy.

Track #7 "Keep Caroline"
Sounds like Goldfinger.

Track #9 "Available 476-2061"
This is the strangest thing I've ever heard. Sounds like the kind of thing you'd hear on AM radio if you randomly switched stations.

Track #13 "Hare Ruya"
Sounds like a Public Service Announcement put to music.

HOLMSTROM:
Punk rock. Good music, but their lyrics... Will this stuff still survive after 9/11? I am sick of hearing all the "uplifting" music on TV and radio, but I wonder if people still want to listen to this particular type of noise after thousands of people were killed in the terror attack (unlike the fantasy terror attacks that take place on every other track on this CD). Hmmm. They're from Austin, Texas. You know, I can't wait to hear angry stuff about blowing up stuff written about killing those sick terrorist fuckers, instead of stuff about blowing up middle class suburban neighborhoods by spoiled middle class brats whose parents pay for their punk rock careers. Lots of little production tricks on this CD, which you rarely hear on punk rock records. I like this CD. If only their anger were directed at something... more... useful...

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Cripple Kid b/w Little Dipper Cripple Kid b/w Little Dipper
6 Songs
Microscosm Records

JOLLY:
You can tell it's loud. 'Cause it's slow. If this band was playing and I was there I'd leave.

MAUREEN:
The songs are too long, their second song sounds just like the first song. In fact all the songs sound the same. Would originality kill them? This band sucks.

HOLMSTROM:
I guess this stuff is emo? It sure sounds like Weezer. Whiny vocals... Out of tune guitars... Ponderous... "Meaningful"... LONG SONGS... Ooooh... I don't like this. Not at all. This might be the worst record I ever played at a Listening Party. And are they ever full of themselves! "Give credit where credit is due: The beautiful music was performed at Break Even Studios in lovely downtown Euclid... Dear customer, Thanks for buying this. I have this addiction to putting out records that I could not afford to do without you..." How pretentious can you get? Self important, overbearing, pointless... NEXT!

NOTE: It wasn't until I started scanning the CD covers in that I noticed that this is a split CD with two different bands. Since it wasn't sent in a jewel box and the CD notes are a mess it was difficult to tell. Also, their URL didn't work, and there's another label called Microcosm that appears to have nothing at all to do with these bands. Oddly enough the CD's copyright was dated 1998. I have no idea why this was sent in for a review.

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Makeshift 3 Makeshift 3
Gameday
Micah Records
www.makeshift3.com

JOLLY:
I quote: "Although the group considers itself a Christian band, not all of the songs pertain to religion." So, if you want that, here it is. I ain't wastin' ink. It's expensive. But I will say this: Religion is just the very best way of not questioning authority + not thinking. Good luck to yez, you're gonna need it since you don't do either of the two (very important) things. Oh I forgot, you don't need luck since you have GOD. Or Buddha. Or whatever it is. Again, good luck. (Damn, that's a lot of ink wasted. Oh well.) The last track is about, apparently, sex, which is another area where not making Q's and not thinking are de rigueur.

MAUREEN:
Should be the soundtrack to the Kenneth Copeland Hour. Even though it is Bible thumper music it is good. This band is a lot better than Cripple Kid.

Track #6 "Bumble Bug"
Sounds like something my therapist told me once when I got mad at my parents.

Track #9 "Angel's Wings"
Very Bible Thumper.

Track #11 "Rising Sin"
Why do all these songs sound the same?

Track #15 "Twinkle Fingermuffin"
The most fucked up thing I've ever heard.

HOLMSTROM:
These guys are high school Christian punks. Christian punk is like straight edge taken to the extreme, right? I wonder what Osama Bin Laden would think of these guys? Would he think this is better, worse or the same as satanic heavy metal?

One problem with most Christian rock IMHO is there's no anger. These guys seem too satisfied with themselves. Like they have the answer to everyone else's problems. They never question authority. The lyrics are as boring and pointless as too much - well... as too much stuff that passes for punk nowadays. But there's a smugness about them. They're looking down on us from above. This sure isn't punk rock to me.

I have nothing against the Christian philosophy/religion - well, actually I do. In the current political climate I am burned out with religious fanatics of all types. But this record would suck whether it was by Christian punk or Satanic metalheads. The song lyrics are God-awful. They remind me of Joni Mitchell or CSN&Y. This is not punk rock. It's a travesty, and imitation, or a satire of punk. These guys wouldn't know punk if it kicked them in the ass.

Their last song, "Twinkle Fingermuffins," is a disco song. And it's a good one! So do us all a favor, Makeshift 3, drop the punk rock pose and switch to disco. It's what you're best at. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

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The Terrorists The Terrorists
Forces (1977-1982)
ROIR Records
www.roir-usa.com

JOLLY:
"It won't do any good to pray"

Ah, come on. It can't hurt. Anyway terrorism also relies on not askin' questions of your terror boss + not thinking as you blow yourself sky high for the greater good of Allah or Christ or Jah or Whatever. Somebody other than you, you little loser. "Lookin' round gettin' down/gonna find my way."

Good luck.

MAUREEN:
Too perfect. I agree with the Talking Toilet. If their "forces" were between 1977-82 why hasn't anyone heard of them?

HOLMSTROM:
These guys claim to be the original punk/dub band. But I don't hear any punk in it. It's just bad, white reggae rock. Yeah, they hired the great Lee Scratch Perry to produce them, but they're just not very good. It's just four white guys dressed in new wave costumes playing reggae. There was nothing all that interesting about white guys playing reggae back then, either. Eric Clapton, Patti Smith and The Clash had done it years before already. And don't they have the all-time stupid band name?

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Anthrax Anthrax
Attack of the Killer B Sides
Megaforce Records
www.megaforcerecords.com

JOLLY:
I heard these guys are changing their name. COME ON! What's next? People are hypnotized by words. Hey, I gotta solution: Just change every word into some other word. That way no one will know (who you are or what you're saying). Bring your special spy decoder ring to every gathering of people. Also letters: Change them! A=M. Now you're ready. Go out and mingle. Remember how nobody ever cared who you were or what you were doing? Right - well, now they'll know and they'll care but - it won't make a damn. Go for it!

MAUREEN:
So far this is the only good thing I've heard all night. I'm really tired of this whole rock/rap thing but if it were a good combination it would be a different story.

Track #4 "Startin' Up a Posse"
Sounds like the music for a cartoon at four in the morning on Cinemax.

Track #5 "Protest and Survive"
What Rage Against the Machine were originally supposed to sound like.

Track #7 "I'm the Man '91"
The Beastie Boys were probably desperate to get their name out. Beastie Boys are good, but I don't know how this song happened.

HOLMSTROM:
I pulled this out of my personal collection in honor of the terror attacks that took place one month and one day ago, and because of the rumors that they might change their name (see article below). This CD has a great version of "Bring The Noise" with a guest appearance by Chuck D himself. "Startin' Up a Posse" is a great goof song - lots of curse words with the Bonanza TV theme thrown in. "I'm The Man" features the Beastie Boys. And they cover KISS's "Parasite" and the surf song "Pipeline." SURF RULES!

This is a great CD. Yeah, Anthrax is not really "punk," they're metal, but so what. They're a good rock 'n' roll band.

- - -
Rock Band Anthrax Bemoans 'Not So Cool' Name
October 12, 2001 7:54 am EST

MIAMI (Reuters) - Thrash metal rock band Anthrax admit their name is "not so cool" in light of the outbreak of the disease in Florida but said they do not want to change it.

The band, whose multi-selling albums include "Spreading the Disease" and "The Threat is Real," said that when they chose the name 20 year ago it sounded "cool, aggressive and nobody knew what it was."

Now it symbolizes fear, paranoia and death, they said in a statement posted on their official web site.

"Before the tragedy of Sept. 11 the only scary thing about Anthrax was our bad hair in the 1980s and the Fistful of Metal album cover," it said. "Suddenly our name is not so cool."

"We don't want to change the name of the band, not because it would be a pain the ass but because we hope no further negative events will happen and it won't be necessary," it said.

One person died of anthrax contamination and two other people have been exposed to the disease in Florida in an outbreak this month which authorities are investigating as a criminal action. Following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, the incident has sent a wave of concern through a nervous public.

The band said they will post links on their site on how fans could help Florida victims and protect themselves from the disease.

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