GETTING SAVAGE WITH HÜSKER DÜ
At Chet's Last Call, June 1984
HÜSKER DÜ-
An exhaustive overview of Hüsker Dü's early years, spanning from 1979 to 1982 i.e. material up until their SST debut Metal Circus. There are different configurations--mine is the four LP version. There's also a vinyl version that came with a bonus 7" of Metal Circus outtakes called Extra Circus, but the vinyl version is currently out of print and you can only get it on CD or a digital download, so that kind of sucks. Pity because the songs are raw, visceral rage, save for the early version of "Standing By The Sea," which would show up on Zen Arcade and the somewhat more melodic "Won't Change" (which came out on a couple of compilations in the 80s). I hope they do a repress but I'm not holding my breath. There's also a 3 CD version and all come with a hardcover book filled with photos, flyers, detailed information on the recording sessions, as well as a lengthy essay telling the story of their savage young years. It's quite an impressive package.
Getting to the four records, the first features early demos and live tracks and shows a band working on finding an identity. "Do You Remember?," "Sore Eyes," "Sexual Economics" and an early version of "Do The Bee" (which is very rough sounding) are good snotty punk rousers. But it's wildly hit and miss. The demo of "Data Control," is inferior to the live version on Land Speed Record (more on that later). Definitely some skip-over tracks--their mid-tempo poppy songs hadn't really gelled yet. "Outside" is an exception, a stinging mesh that has stinging guitar work and endearing ragged harmonizing.
The second is also on the haphazard side, although it gets off to a great start with the sturdy post-punk of their debut single "Statues." "Writer's Cramp" and "Let's Go Die" are both sharply catchy. But other songs suffer from substandard sound quality and, once again, things hadn't completely gelled and there's a good reason why many of those songs didn't last long in the set list. The early, deconstructed version of Metal Circus' "Wheels," is done as tense, moody dirge with repetitive keyboards, far-removed from the chugging arrangement on Everything Falls Apart.
Things took a 180 degree turn for their first 12" release, Land Speed Record. A live recording that shows the band hammering out blistering high-velocity thrash, seldom taking a break between songs. However, it's not the original version of the album that came out on New Alliance and later SST (no doubt due to licensing issues). This comes from a show taped two weeks after the one that was on the original release and holds its own quite well. It's a bit cleaner and the set list is the same with the exception of three songs--"Do The Bee," "Tired of Doing Things" and "Data Control," all of which appear elsewhere on the box. As I said, it's a shame about "Data Control," because that was a show-stopper, a slower, bashing conclusion to the speedy mania that precedes it. However, there are five songs from the second set they played the night of the original recording and it includes an early version of Metal Circus' "Diane." The songs are much more tuneful, a harbinger of what's to follow. That really started with the In A Free Land EP. It's a slightly different mix than the original 7" but the title song remains one of their all-time greats. A politically-charged, speedy anthem with a knockout chorus and guitar line. The two other songs were in a LSR vein and there are two outtakes of songs that'd end up on their Everything Falls Apart album, blazing renditions of "Target" and "Signals From Above."
Finally, the last disc is a remastered version of the aforementioned Everything Falls Apart, along with half a dozen unreleased live tracks, including three live versions of Metal Circus songs. "Travel In Opposite Car" is a tuneful track that should have been done in the studio. EFA solidified the transition or yin and yang, if you will, of their balancing hardcore savagery with blatantly poppier compositions like the title track and "Gravity." Even the harder hitting tracks (well, all the songs here are hard-hitting) offered glimpses of melody--the guitar line between verses of "From The Gut," for instance. It set the stage for what would follow, at least up through Zen Arcade--a smorgasbord of high energy punk, pop and hardcore.
Obviously, this box is only one chapter of the Hüsker story and I'd recommend Zen Arcade for novices, but it's a vital history lesson, a treasure trove for lifelong fans and shows them going from a hodgepodge of styles into something focused and highly influential. (www.numerogroup.com)
ROCKING AND WALKING ON THE STRAIGHT EDGE
The
title for this review comes from a sticker on the cover of 7 Seconds 1988 album
Ourselves that was put there by their
record company. When I sent a photo to Kevin Seconds, he said, “even at my corniest, I couldn't have come
up with anything that ridiculous. The first time i saw it, I just about threw
up.” As bad as that sticker is, the album’s contents aren’t much
better—tepid melodic punk with abysmal, echoey production that was fairly
common on late 80s albums. Let’s just say it won’t make you forget Skins, Brains & Guts, The Crew or Walk Together, Rock Together. In fact,
some opted out with New Wind and Praise, the latter of which had a
decided REM vibe.
I
thought of that sticker while reading Tony Rettman’s latest book Straight Edge—A Clear-Headed Hardcore Punk
History, an oral history presentation that traces straight edge back to its
roots in the embryonic DC hardcore scene with Teen Idles and Minor Threat. From
there, it delves into three decades of the edge story and just about all of the
major players are heard from—members of Youth of Today, Uniform Choice, Insted, Earth Crisis, Judge, Chain of Strength, Mouthpiece, Ten Yard Fight and Floorpunch. as well as fanzine publishers and record label people who continue to keep the
straight edge banner flying. The subjects talk about how they embraced straight
edge and, in some cases, left it behind and what it’s meant to them in their
lives. Various feuds and beefs are discussed and some mention how they were
ostracized after “breaking” their edge—that became particularly true in the
early 2000s.
It’s
interesting to read the comments by the old-timers. You get the feeling some of
them felt like they might have created something of a monster, something that
strayed from the original intent. For instance, John Stabb (R.I.P.) of
Government Issue said, “straight edge is
not a movement to me” and that ““Straight
Edge” is a great song but it’s a song about anti-obsession… it’s not a fucking
religion. It’s a song.” Brian Baker from Minor Threat said, “the band didn’t brand ourselves a straight
edge entity. The idea of having straight edge bands came after us, with the
Boston people.” Baker’s bandmate and Dischord co-founder Jeff Nelson says, “Straight edge became a religion, and it’s a
very strange feeling to be one of the unwitting founders of this religion.”
Indeed,
over the years, straight edge increased in militancy and codification in some
quarters. As Baker mentions, the Boston bands added a vehemence to their take
on straight ege. The philosophy was expanded by some to embrace
vegetariasnism/veganism and spirituality (Krishna consciousness, in
particular). It was taken to ridiculous extremes with the Hardline movement
(Vegan Reich, Raid and Statement), which also embraced regressive viewpoints,
such as being anti-choice. All eras are covered—the mid-to-late 80s “youth
crew” scene, its revival in the late 90s to the subsequent generations of bands
and individuals keeping the flame burning.
There’s
a discussion of straight edge fashion—an effort to separate from the punk
style. It became, in the words of Sammy Siegler (Youth of Today, Judge, Side By Side), “a powerful culture and look, like
in hip-hop, in that there was an identifiable look.” A certain amount of
conformity set in. Ray Cappo from Youth of Today described it as, “a bubble, a scene within a scene that
wasn’t really interested in anything that wasn’t straight edge.” The
fashion element has certainly never gone away. Ray’s bandmate John Porcelly
owns a company called True Till Death Merch that sells clothing with a straight
edge theme. The demand is certainly there.
Straight
edge as a worldwide movement is also covered—straight edge bands and scenes in
the UK, Europe and Scandinavia (Umeå, Sweden, home of Refused)—and how a lot of
those people faced resistance and hostility from other punks. People from LÄRM
talk about how left-wing politics had more of an influence than in the straight
edge scene in the States.
I
have to mention one noticeable element—just about every person interviewed is a
white male. Only a few non-males are mentioned in the story and Vique Martin,
from Simba fanzine and Revelation
Records, is the only one who speaks at length. And there isn’t any mention of
LGBT people in straight edge. You have to look elsewhere for that. The 2012 book Sober Living For The Revolution (edited by Gabriel Kuhn, PM Press, pmpress.org) covers more diverse territory. It provides a wider variety of perspectives on straight edge. An assortment of voices are heard from--activists, non-male and LGBT straight-edgers and it visits different countries. It gives more voice to individuals who look at straight edge being part of an activist mentality. Taken together, those two books provide a more complete survey of a
subculture that continues to bring a wide variety of reactions and opinions to this day.
(Bazillion Points, bazillionpoints.com)
NECK CHOPPIN’
Neck Chop Records, out of Fullerton, CA, started in
2016 and, in that brief time, already have 25 releases in print. Lest you think it’s
just throwing shit against the wall to see what sticks, most of these have been
quality releases, including the likes of Erik Nervous, Acrylics, Macho Boys, Woodboot, Mark Cone and plenty more. The tagline for my radio show is “punk,
hardcore, garage and other loud music” and that’s what Brandon puts out, in
different forms and permutations.
Label honcho Brandon
sent me a huge package of 13 records, seven of which were released at the same
time and that’s what we’ll focus on here. Knowso’s one sided 12”, Look At The Chart, sounds like a
slightly-less mechanized A-Frames but there’s a robotic element. The title
track is a paranoid tale of science possibly gone too far. The speed up and
slow down of the riff signature at the end sounds like an adjustment is being
made to the narrator’s wiring until the plug is pulled. Straddling the line
between post-punk and nervous new wave, with an edgy intensity.
Jackson Politick is another solo project for Andy Jordan aka Andy Human. His Paste V.1
album is a wide-ranging effort of punk and pop minimalism and the results are
scattershot. The lo-fi punk of “Habit” and “Learning To Live With It” are nervy
delights and “I Am A Raver” has an engaging catchiness. The early
OMD-meets-bedroom pop of “The Hours” has an offbeat charm. Other songs are on
the too-cutesy/twee side. If you’re into the C86 bands or Tenement, you might
like those songs more than I do.
Living Eyes are from Australia and I’d imagine there’s a good chance they’re named
after Radio Birdman’s second album but you can only hear faint echoes of that
band and it’s not really a major component of their muse. Their third album Modern Living is a hit and miss
collection of tuneful punk with garage and psych shadings. “Better Think
Again,” “Party Theme,” “Stuck In A Hole” and “Horseplay” are all good charging
rockers but other songs don’t have nearly as much presence. All in all, kind of
an average effort—some good moments but not always that gripping.
Moving
on to the 7”s, Winnipeg band Whip's self-titled EP is a raucous joy. Snotty,
insolent-sounding punk with a trebly guitar attack and a whole lot of fuck-you
attitude in Ferro’s vocals. Pretty straight-forward, although they add some
against-the-grain elements at times, as with the post-punk jab for “Double
Life” and “Melle.” In addition to this 7” (their vinyl debut), Whip also just
released a new demo, Can Con Icon,
which includes a cool cover of Dow Jones & The Industrials’ “Can’t Stand
The Midwest.”
Gee Tee is another solo project, this one masterminded by an Australian named Kel
Gee, who plays in garage mavens The Draggs. Hissy, lo-fi, quirky new
wave/punk/pop that has an appealingly skewed nature. A cruder-sounding version
of Ausmuteants-meets-Spits-meets-UV Race-meets-Total Control. Something like
that. There are hooks to go along with the weird, mad-scientist ambiance. Death Race is his second 7”, following
the Thugs In Cars EP released on
Goodbye Boozy early last year and that one is just as enjoyable as this
scorcher.
Philly
bashers Penetrode and Chicago hellions C.H.E.W’s split tape Strange New Universe has been given a
vinyl pressing and both bands generate some skull-crushing sounds with
different wrinkles. Penetrode’s songs have a mean/stomping old-school hardcore
cadence ala 86 Mentality at times,
although “Egocentric” takes an anarcho punk turn. C.H.E.W. impressed on their
split with Rash last year and their four songs on this split. Nightmarish
hardcore with a relentless quality, accompanied by anguished and howling
screams from the soul.
Color TV’s second 7” Paroxeteens is a pair
of jabbing, tuneful punk gems along the same lines as Marked Men. The chorus
for the title track has an absolutely knockout hook and “Night After Night” is
just as punchy. These two songs feature denser, less-clean production than on
their debut and that makes it sound harder-edged. Fine with me.
I
have to mention a few of the other releases—Science Project’s Basement Blues is entertaining
one-man-band synthy weirdness. The culprit is Cody, who hails from Nova Scotia,
and also plays in a bunch of other projects including Booji Boys. His cover of
Negative FX’s “Might Makes Right” is hilarious, as he explains “we ain’t gonna stop… fuck you!,” just
like Choke did at NFX’s final Boston show.
Raymond
Schmidt is another one-man science project, Race Car and B.Y.O.G.K. (or Build Your Own
Go-Kart) was originally released on tape on Abnormal Broadcasting. While
synths and programmed drums are part of the equation, it’s a noisier,
clattering, head-messing approach laced with searing guitar licks. Channeling Metal Urbain and Chrome and stripping them to their barest elements? That works. If
you can’t get enough of that sort of thing, Raymond has another project called
S.B.F. who released a really good demo on Abnormal Broadcasting a few years
ago. Along the same lines with programmed drums and drill-press guitar,
although it’s more of a straight-forward punk attack.
Another
Abnormal Broadcasting release that’s been pressed onto vinyl by Neck Chop comes
from Process of Elimination, once again featuring one performer, Grant Berry.
Three songs of electrifying mechanized primitivism with distorted vocals and
spacy synth and guitar effects. Grant
also plays guitar in The Snails, whose two Abnormal Broadcasting demos have
been given the vinyl treatment (hmmm… something doesn’t sound right about
that). More traditional-sounding punk and hardcore bordering on nerdy new wave,
but with live drums and no synths. Just buzz.
Round
Six, with five more releases, is already in the works and should be out very
soon. It includes a new Liquids LP, an Erik Nervous singles compilation LP and
new 7”s from Kid Chrome, Lysol and Stiff Love. (PO Box 5635, Fullerton, CA
92838,neck-chop-records.myshopify.com/)
BUILDING BRIDGES
Chris
Wrenn started Bridge Nine Records in 1995 while he was a college student in
Vermont and, over the past 23 or so years, it’s grown from a tiny DIY label run
on a shoestring budget to one run out of a large warehouse in Peabody, MA,
about five minutes from my house. Chris is up to over 250 releases at this
point, a long way from running the fledgling label out of his dorm room.
The First Nine Years is a box set with
five 7” EPs, each with a heavy stock picture sleeve, with songs drawn from the
label’s first 50 releases—29 songs in all—accompanied by a 128 page soft-cover booklet.
It tells the Bridge Nine story—all the trials and tribulations and the creative
ways he financed and promoted the label, like painting the company’s name in
the middle of the night on a bridge over the Charles River that was usually painted
by rowing teams. He talks candidly about his struggle to keep things afloat
when he runs into a serious snag with his distributor. There are reminiscences
about the bands who had records released on B9 during that time. It’s been an
interesting journey, one borne of an abiding passion for the music and that
continues to this day. There’s never been anything half-assed about a Bridge
Nine release.
Bridge
Nine’s roster has become more diverse in recent years—my favorite release is
Ceremony’s Rohnert Park album from
2010, which branched out into post-punk, garage and shoegazer rock along with
more traditionally hardcore sounding material. During the early era, though, the
emphasis was on straight-edge hardcore that generally used early Revelation
Records as a starting point. Opening band Tenfold sound more than a little like
Chain of Strength. In fact, the last song is taken from B9’s reissue of Project X’s Straight Edge Revenge EP. There
are darker shadings from the likes of Panic and Give Up The Ghost (aka American Nightmare). Cops and Robbers hearken back to classic early 80s hardcore, as
their song “On The Decline” borrows from Negative FX’s “VFW.” But it’s mainly
aggressive, pummeling material from some well-known parties—Terror, Carry On, No Warning and Hope Conspiracy, along with the slightly-underrated Striking Distance and Holding On.
It
has to be noted that this end of the hardcore spectrum was (and still is) a
very male-oriented scene, at least in terms of the bands included—that’s my
perception, anyway. You don’t see that many women in the photos and few are
mentioned in the story. Still, this is a well put-together package, coming out
some thirteen years after its projected release. Better late than never!
(www.bridgenine.com)
