Fuck Christmas

Snow Day

The weekend of December 19th saw the East Coast get pummeled by a blizzard. I haven't seen snow like that in a few years. It was the first real snow storm of the year and accumulations were upwards in 18"+ range. Some parts of Long Island recorded over 28". In some ways I guess I liked it. Anybody who grew up in the Northeast deep down in side has a soft spot for storms of that capacity. Life slows down and you tend to see the beauty in it all. However, as the hours pass, you see it for what it is: a pain in the ass. Hours of shoveling, melted snow turning into sheets of ice, treacherous driving conditions, wet shoes, chapped lips, wind burn, more shoveling, trapped in the house, etc. In fact, the Floorpunch show was cancelled and I missed the Jets game on Sunday because no one wanted to drive. Thank god for that though. The Jets lost to Atlanta on the last drive of the game. Pathetic. Anyway, I took some quick shots to remember this bohemoth of a storm.


My Apartment. Snow drift hanging over 2ft off the roof










Taken from my lady's parents' house

Amazing

Sargent D is coming...

Stormtroopers of Death was a creation of Scott Ian of Anthrax. He recruited Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and Dan Lilker of Nuclear Assault and began jamming songs based on his character Sargent D. Longtime NY scenester Billy Milano joined the band as singer and they went on to record the infamous crossover masterpiece Speak English or Die. I don't think they played out much in the mid-80's, but rejoined in 92 for one gig in NYC and released a live recording of it dubbed Live At Budokan. They reformed in 1997 for real and toured the US and Europe, as well as Japan. I caught them in NJ in 97 when they played with Fury of Five and Vision of Disorder. I don't remember much of the show other than SOD's set, and during Fury of Five some little kid got the ever loving shit beat out of him by like 20 kids. SOD was insane. The first and only time I've ever seen them. Speak English or Die remains my favorite crossover record. The mosh part alone in "Kill Yourself" can bring down walls. That shit is hard. More bands should take note.



SOD- Speak English Or Die





Check out Milano's speaker dive at 2:22

FEAR

via videosift.com

As I stated in the Bonecrusher post, in 1999, I got the oppurtunity to go on the road with Blood for Blood as they were supporting LA punk legends Fear on a tour starting in Texas and hitting the midwest and east coast. I had known Fear from some mix tapes but I can't say I was a huge fan at that point. Every night watching Fear, I grew a great respect for them as a band. They were the first "pro" band I ever encountered. They were tight every single show. Lee Ving's voice was on the money too. His stage banter was great, poking fun at all the punks in the crowd. It was great watching Lee kick kids as they came up to stage dive. The dynamic between Fear and Blood for Blood's live shows was amazing. That was my first real time being on the road. Fuck, what a good time. Fear still tours, but it Lee Ving looks like death now and his rotating cast of bandmates doesn't seem to make it out east too often. They did play Brooklyn last May but I missed it. Nothing compares to their first 2 lp's, The Record and More Beer. Ah, Lee Ving's sense of humor. Here's a sample of the lyrics to the song I Love Livin' in the City:

My house smells just like a zoo
It's chock full of shit and puke
Cockroaches on the walls
Crabs are growing on my balls
oh well I'm so clean cut
and I just want to fuck some slut

Over the years, Lee Ving has been accused of being a racist, sexist, homophobic xenopobe because some of his lyrics. They need a sense of humor. I love Fear. I love beer. You should love Fear and beer also.



Fear- The Record (1982)





Fear- More Beer (1985)





Footage from The Decline of Western Civilization

YouTubing

Sometimes I really love YouTube.

Faux-Mags Christmas Show

Fuck You Up and Get High

Looking up Dwarves footage, I came across this video of an aggro Fort Wayne cop foaming at the mouth at the idea of smashing some teenager's head in. Scary.

Just around the corner...

Christmas is around the corner. Anyone looking for ideas for me, look no further. I'm sure that this Ford Taurus could be traded for a bucket of the Colonel's delicious thighs and bus fare.

Shit I'm Digging

I feel like lately I've been really digging some music more than normal. It takes me about 12-15 minutes to walk from my girlfriend's apartment. That is when I utilize my ipod the most. Under most circumstances, I can spend the entirety of my walk shuffling through for something to listen to, arriving in time to catch about the first 30 seconds of the records I reluctantly chose. However, lately, I find myself with endless music to listen to. Some new, some old. But in the most unpretentious way (or maybe completely the opposite), I just wanted to name some things that have been holding my attention as of late.

Camera Obscura- My Maudlin Career
This dude Gerrard I work with was singing praises of this Scottish band the last few weeks, comparing them to a Phil Spector style white R&B. I'm not sure if I completely agree with him. Take aparts of the Beach Boys harmonies, with a definite American soul influence, the vocals from the Sundays, and that's them. Really polished and great (dare I say the word?) pop.

Blacklisted- No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me
I can't begin to describe my praise for this band. Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God is the best hardcore record of this decade. I can't say that this new lp on Deathwish tops it, but it has elements that makes my respect grow more for them. They don't follow any guidelines for what a hardcore band should sound like, and the songwriting has come a really long way. I have yet to read the lyrics, but George's voice sounds more sincere than ever. Buy it.

Devil Dogs- Saturday Night Fever
Years ago, this girl Jenn I was friends with from DC made me a mix tape of all her favorite bands, 2 songs from each. If she wasn't such a bitchy asshole, I probably would've married her. She had sick taste in music, especially for a 20 year old girl in 1999, pre-itunes and blogs. Sheer Terror, Backyard Babies, TSOL, the Damned, Bowie, Skrewdriver (first time I ever heard 'You're So Dumb', Youth Brigade, Cocksparrer, and this band I've never heard of called the Devil Dogs. Until recently, they kind of got lost in the mix. But I recently got hold of their seminal record Saturday Night Fever. Great fast rock'n'roll straight from NYC, when this city was actually producing great bands. Definitely in the same class as the Dwarves without the shtick. Get into it.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Let Love In
Nuff said. Moody and almost disturbing, to me the definitive (besides Murder Ballads) Nick Cave record. Cave's voice can evoke emotion unlike any songwriters of my generation. I can honestly say that I hate the piano before I started listening to him.


On first listen, the new Doomriders sounds pretty hard too.