another Walkmen album. another record to get me through the winter. the most consistent band of the early 2000s New York indie boom has put out Lisbon today, probably their best album since Bows & Arrows (although to be honest i love all of them about the same). how these guys haven’t been more successful has always been of one of the great mysteries of the last decade. the Walkmen have done nothing to fuck up their young Dylan fronting a british post-punk band sound because smart bands don’t fuck with what works. if you are a fan then you will like it. if you aren’t a fan...well what the fuck is wrong with you?
Cliff Richard- The Young Ones The Replacements- Can’t Hardly Wait Archers of Loaf- Wrong Bruce Springsteen- I’m Going Down Joe Walsh- In The City The Clash- I’m Not Down Creedence Clearwater Revival- Lodi The Plimsouls- How Long Will It Take? Surf City- Headin’ Inside The Skids- Into The Valley John Lennon- Bring On The Lucie Thin Lizzy- Running Back Beaver Brown- On The Dark Side The Pretenders- Back On The Chain Gang The Soft Pack- Answer To Yourself The Black Lips- Bad Kids The Soft Boys- I Wanna Destroy You McGuinness Flint- When I’m Dead and Gone The Bobby Fuller Four- Never To Be Forgotten The Ramones- Life’s A Gas The Saints- Messin’ With The Kid Guided By Voices- Motor Away Turf War- For The Last Time INXS- Don’t Change
not a football post, just something relevant in the world of pop culture. i saw Avatar on christmas with my family...holy shit! what a boring, trite, madlibs of a movie. the whole time i thought it was just a ripoff of Dances With Wolves....then i found this amazing piece of internet gold and thought i'd share.
this is the video for Mark Mallman's new jam "Invincible Criminal"...currently it is my job to pimp said video out to the internets...also i happen to think it's a pretty awesome pop song that sounds like what it would be like if Elton John and that band The Darkness had a baby together...or something. so yeah, watch it...love it...repost it elsewhere. thanks.
London Calling and Nevermind the Bollocks are both great, don't get me wrong, but for me...these are the true greatest punk albums of all time.
1. Black Flag- The First Four Years this album is what it says...a collection of all Black Flag's singles/eps/etc. from their first four years as a band. all of it is pre-Henry Rollins. the band went through several different vocalists (their 1st one Keith Morris does a pretty fucking good Johnny Rotten impression). every song on this is a hardcore punk classic with "Nervous Breakdown", "Wasted", & "Six Pack" being some of my favorite songs ever written. this is the sound of Hardcore being born. nihilism, paranoia, depression, isolation, despair, the sound of the city of LA closing in around you. whenever i put this on i just wish i was a 15 year old skater who could go out and vandalize something.
2. The Stooges- Fun House recorded in May of 1970, Fun House was the Stooges 2nd album. the band recorded everything live in the studio with no overdubs, so it's the closest thing to capturing their live fury of any of their other records. after their debut's basic garage/psych approach (if you could really call it basic) the band decided to indulge in their love of free jazz. most of the songs are basically just a riff with the rest of the band and Iggy just doing whatever they want. this is the sound of the apocalypse and next to the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat is one of the first truly punk records ever recorded. "Tv Eye", "Loose", & "1970" are the highlights...but honestly every fucking song on this album is a chaotic masterpiece.
3. Gang Of Four- Entertainment! okay, so this is more of a post-punk record to be honest, but there's enough punk rock attitude on this album to let that slide. equal parts political manifesto and dance record, Gang of Four took the sound of 70s punk and mashed it together with funk to create a sound totally original. they influenced the likes of the Minutemen, REM, & Fugazi and basically spawned an entire genre of music (Dance Punk) that exists today. "Anthrax", "Damaged Goods", & "At Home He's a Tourist" are some of the highlights...but every song is memorable.
4. Suicide- Suicide has there ever been an electronic record that sounded darker, scarier, and more punk rock? Ministry and Nine Inch Nails can go fuck themselves. Suicide pre-dated the New York Punk scene by a number of years and their live shows were the thing of legend. singer Alan Vega is like an Elvis on bad cocaine and Martin Rev just keeps the drone going. they influenced EVERYONE. the Jesus & Mary Chain, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Cabaret Voltaire, Spacemen 3, Chrome, Big Black, The Screamers, Bruce Springsteen (yeah the Boss credits them for the inspiration to Nebraska), and every single band that ever decided to make music with just a singer and a drum machine. "Ghost Rider", "Rocket USA", and "Girl" are among the best tracks on this album and the 10 minute plus "Frankie Teardrop" is one of, if not THE, most fucking harrowing songs put to record.
5. Wire- Pink Flag easily one of the most original bands of the UK punk explosion, Wire are part art project, part lesson in minimalism (in both sound and song length), and part fucking awesome. this record is the beginning of indie rock as it's pretty obvious that Pavement were fans of this. intelligent, strange, catchy, sometimes abrasive...a true classic. "three girl rhumba", "strange", and "ex lion tamer" are my favorite tracks...but honestly there isn't a single song of the 21 on here that aren't awesome.
6. The Clash- The Clash the Clash's debut record combines the band's love of reggae, 50's rock and roll, and British pup-rock and delivers one of the greatest records of all time. London's Calling gets all the press, but THE CLASH is the album that defines who the band are and what they've got to say. both the US and UK versions of this album are both chock full of classic hits. the US version has a couple of UK singles added and a few album tracks missing from the UK version. honestly it's just better to buy the US one and download all the missing tracks from the British version.
7. The Birthday Party- Prayers On Fire take the Stooges noisey freakouts...add an even darker and crazier frontman (a young Nick Cave), stick it in a meatgrinder, crank the murder/sex/death/rock up to 11 and then you've got the Birthday Party. this is as punk as goth ever got.
8. The Misfits- Static Age sounding like a scary version of the Undertones and Ramones...Static Age is the ultimate Misfits album. horror cartoon punk. the soundtrack for any high school kid worth a shit's night on the town. EVERY SONG IS A CLASSIC. "attitude", "hybrid moments", "last caress", etc....
9. The Gun Club- Fire Of Love swamped out hill billy punk...like of Creedence Clearwater Revival had grown up Black Flag fans. this is LA roots punk at it's finest. better than anything X ever recorded by a mile. this album had a huge influence on the coming Alt.country scene as well as The Meat Puppets, The Flaming Lips, & the Pixies....plus the White Stripes owe them a dept as well. "sex beat" (which has maybe the best line ever: "we can fuck forever but you'll never get my soul."), "she's like heroin to me", and "for the love of ivy" are the choice cuts.
10. Bad Brains- Bad Brains the holy grail of hardcore punk was created by four black kids from Washinton DC who decided to take their jazz chops and play the fastest punk rock music ever at the time...and with some little reggae numbers thrown in to change things up a bit. Bad Brains moved to New York and basically changed the punk scene to hardcore overnight. LA metal and thrash owe a huge dept to Bad Brains as well. "attitude", "banned in DC" & "pay to cum" are the hits.
11. The Damned- Damned Damned Damned the first UK punk band to hit the airwaves and easily one of the best. thrashy rock and roll and Stooges influenced garage rock. "Neat Neat Neat", "New Rose", and "Stab Your Back" are classics. they also do a Stooges cover for good measure.
12. The Nation Of Ulysses- Plays Pretty For Baby! teenage rebellion as a political manifesto. the band's 2nd album took their love of the MC5, free jazz, artrock, and hardcore punk and then just took the whole thing up about 20 notches. angry, witty, and full of passion. Image isn't everything...it's the only thing. listen to "shakedown"...if you don't get it after that then you never will.
13. New York Dolls- New York Dolls predating the punk scene by a few years, this American glam band took what T.Rex and Bowie were doing in England and made it seem dangerous. Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry riffs being played over songs about sex, decadence, drugs all done sloppy and violent. THIS IS THE MOST ROCK AND ROLL ALBUM EVER. The Dolls were New York's first and their finest. "personality crisis", "lookin' for a kiss", "trash", "jet boy"...every single song is perfection.
14. Ramones- Rocket To Russia the 3rd and the best of all the Ramones albums. cleaner production and more hooks plus the best songwriting to date. iot's the perfect combo of their love of 60s girl group pop, surf rock, and chuck berry. "rockaway beach", "sheena is a punk rocker", and "teenage lobotomy" standout...but every single song is a classic.
15. Black Flag- Damaged the band's debut album with Henry Rollins as it's full time vocalists. their sound now was perfected after years of writing and touring. the strongest lineup the group ever had with 2 guitarists and a killer rhythm section. every song is like an angry man balling up his fist and then fighting in a blind rage anything that comes near it. "gimmie gimmie gimmie", "tv party", & "rise above" can peel paint off the wall and "depression" is the birth of noise rock.
16. The Wipers- Is This Real? mostly unheralded Oregon punks whose first 3 albums are basically the sound of Grunge being invented. Seattle was paying attention. this album is their first and best. tons of great songs, "Return of the Rat" and "D-7" (both covered by Nirvana) are the best known, and "Mystery" is a perfect little power pop love song that clocks in under 2 minutes.
17. Stiff Little Fingers- Inflammable Material Belfast punks who took the Sex Pistols sound and cranked up the political unrest 20 notches with their debut record. probably the angriest UK punk record of the 70s. "Suspect Device" and "Alternative Ulster" are the hits, but every song is a classic. "Barbed Wire Love" being my personal favorite.
18. Mudhoney- SuperFuzz BigMuff combining Mudhoney's first EP with their early singles, Sub Pop released the definitive grunge record of all time. Mudhoney combined their love of the Stooges, Northwestern garage (the Sonics), and hardcore punk into a fuzzed out, primitive, feedback drenched sound. 12 songs of perfect rock and roll...with "Touch Me I'm Sick", "In and Out of Grace", and "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More" being the most well known. this is the album that made me fall in love with garage punk.
19. The Saints- Eternally Yours the Saints 1st record is a classic of punk rock/garage energy, but it's the follow up that shows off that they could do equal parts oldschool rhythm & blues and even shameless power pop. the song "This Perfect Day" may very well be the greatest punk anthem ever written. "Lost & Found" is a pure garage burner and "Know Your Product" sounds like a soul record on speed with big horns and mighty hooks. Nevermind the Sex Pistols...it's the Saints who showed punks how to rock and roll.
20. The Cramps- Bad Music For Bad People most people would probably pick their debut album as the place to start but for me this collection of singles and b-sides released in 1984 is the perfect intro to the kings of garage trash punk....it probably has something to do with me hearing this first. it's just 31 minutes and full of debauchery and everything is a fucking gem. the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valetnine, The Dwarves, the Horrors, and every band who ever played garage trash afterwards owes this band a lot. classic cuts "human fly", "garbage man", and "new kind of kick" all fucking rule.
Bonus Pick:
21. The Zeros- Don't Push Me Around i hate to put a compilation cd on this list but for The Mexican Ramones i will make an exception. Bomp records collected this comp of Zeros recordings from 1978-1980. if this isn't the best pop punk of all time then it's right up there with anything the Undertones, Buzzcocks, or Ramones ever committed to tape. includes the classic cuts "Don't Push Me Around", "Wild Weekend", and my personal favorite..."She's Just A Girl On The Block"
Football is dead, the Braves suck, and there's no basketball tonight...a great time for a useless list.
So I just watched season 1 of True Blood over the weekend...which I didn't think was nearly as awesome as everyone says it is, but still thought it was pretty entertaining...I mean it does have the winning combo of vampires and tits, so what's not to love?
I also read the horrifying news that some jerkoffs that own the rights to the original Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie are going to do a Buffy "reboot" (fuck you Hollywood buzzword!) despite the fact that you know, there was a super awesome television show that was far more popular than the movie that lasted for 7 fucking seasons! Even worse is that they are doing it without Joss Whedon the movie/show's creator or Sara Michelle Geller. What the fuck ever! Ain't no Buffy nerds gonna go see some piece of shit remake of a Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry movie (trivia note: Ben Afleck is an extra during the basketball game scene). I blame that fucking Twighlight bullshit...which I realized after watching the MTV movie awards last night (no I don't know why I was watching it) has become the new Titanic...if Titanic wasn't a highly successful Oscar movie and was instead some lameass shit about pussy vampires who shimmer in the sun and don't eat people cuz eating people is bad! What?!? this is what you get when some nerdy Mormon girl writes a book about vampires that is really just a metaphor for abstinence.
Anyways here are my top 20 favorite vampire movies of all time.
1. Let the Right One In
A beautifully made film about a little boy who befriends a vampire trapped inside the body of a little girl. The first ever swedish coming of age child romance vampire movie...my 2nd favorite movie of 2008. Sadly an american remake is in the works...but JJ Abrams is behind it so hopefully it won't suck (lame ass pun def not intended).
2. Lost Boys The greatest teenage vampire action comedy of all time starring Keifer's awesome mullet. NEVER watch the straight to video sequel!
3. 30 Days Of Night This is a totally underrated vampire flick. A small Alaskan town gets overrun by a group of vampires during a month of total darkness as the towns people must try and hide and survive until the sun comes up and saves them.
4. Fright Night
a teenager realizes his new neighbor is actually a vampire and noone believes him so he takes it upon himself (with the help of the star of his favorite vampire movie) to kill the vampire.
5. Martin
Romero's film about a teenage boy who claims to be an 80 year old creature of the night living with his uncle in Pittsburgh. One of the better/more realistic takes on the genre.
6. Bram Stroker's Dracula
Frances Ford Coppola's visually stunning version of the classic Dracula story with Gary Oldman as the Count.
7. From Dusk Till Dawn
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez put together this over the top road movie crime thriller that morphs into ultra gory shoot out at a vampire strip club. Totally awesome!
8. Blade
Wesley Snipes kicks a lot of vampire ass in this movie based of the Marvel comic book character who is a half vampire half human "Daywalker".
9. Underworld Vampires vs Werewolves with Kate Beckinsale in a hotass tight rubber suit...what's not to love?
10. The Addiction
Black and white indie film the compares being a vampire to drug addiction. Christoper Walken as a vampire...nuff said.
11. Vampire Hunter D
My favorite anime of all time. Set in the distant future where vampires rule the earth a mysterious vampire slayer shows up and must save a beautiful girl from the evil count who is attempting to enslave her.
12. Near Dark The darkly comic and gory vampire road movie about a "family" of vampires cruising around the American west in a RV killing everything in site...not nearly as awesome as I remembered it being, but Bill Pulman is totally rad as a sadistic vampire, plus the bar scene still rules pretty hard.
13. Nosferatu the Vampyre
Werner Herzog's remake of the classic silent film with Klaus Kinski as the count.
14. The Monster Squad
One of my favorite kids movies ever. a group of young teens must battle Dracula an his horde of classic monsters. Kinda like if the Goonies fought Vampires.
15. Shadow Of the Vampire
A movie about the original Nosferatu movie the imagines that the film's star actually WAS a real vampire.
16. Dracula
Bela Lugosi in the black and white classic as the legendary count.
17. The Hunger David Bowie as a vampire who suddenly begins aging rapidly...plus it's got a pretty hot sex scene.
18. Salem's Lot
Miniseries based on the Stephen King story. This movie scared the fuck out of me as a kid. Another film that id fully support a more gruesome and hard edged remake...cuz that shitty 2004 version tv movie ain't cutting it. On a side note, is their an author who understands less what it takes to turn his horror stories into good horror movies than Stephen King? I mean he hates the Kubrick version of The Shining and prefers the crappy made for tv miniseries he did?! Whatever dude. Unless the miniseries is being made for HBO of Showtime then I don't wanna have anything to do with it.
19. Interview With a Vampire
This is a movie that hasn't aged the well...but I can't lie, I enjoyed it when it came out. The movie version of Anne Rice's novel with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in the leads. It asks the question what if being turned into a vampire turned you gay? Kidding of course.
20. Buffy The Vampire Slayer Yeah this movie kinda sucks but it'll always have a special place in my heart because it eventually lead to the creation of one of my all time favorite tv shows...plus Kristy Swanson is totally hot, Pee Wee Herman is hilarious as Rutger Hauer's 1 armed lackey, Donald Sutherland is rad, and actually this is a pretty enjoyable teen horror comedy.
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