Tag: punk

The Misfits – Astro Zombies

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week5 Comments

Gonna go quick and dirty for this week’s song, this one popped up on a playlist of mine recently and I hadn’t heard it in quite some time so I figured I’d get into it. I also haven’t talked about The Misifts since my third-ever Album of the Week post back nearly three years ago, which covered this very album.

Astro Zombies comes from The Misfits’ only “real” studio album Walk Among Us, which was released in 1982. Noting here was released as a single or given any promotional status, the band didn’t even have the money to release the album at first. There is nothing statistically to offer for this one, but The Misfits have gone on to become a cult classic punk rock act.

Astro Zombies is the second to last song on the album. It clocks in at a handy 2:14, which seems very quick compared to most conventional music but is also the third-longest song on the album.

This bashes through at a pretty good pace, there’s a lot going on with all the of instruments that Jerry Only, Doyle and Arthur Googy are playing here. And of course present is the voice of Glenn Danzig, who is packing a lot of words into this song at a quick clip. Danzig did also play some guitar on this song.

Like the rest of the album, Astro Zombies is a horror romp, this time a group of zombies are out under the command of Danzig and are looking to destroy the world. The song is based on a 1968 movie The Astro-Zombies. The plot of the movie is pretty well like the song – a fired scientist creates zombies to terrorize the world. The film is generally hailed as one of the worst movies of all time, I personally have not watched it but am curious to maybe check it out.

But the song is fantastic, a true highlight from the album and my favorite track of the record. The Misfits were firing on all cylinders here, the song is quick and catchy and fully developed. While The Misfits had quite a few very awe-inspiring songs, they also had a few more sloppy performances and were also massively constrained by a shoestring budget.

Astro Zombies is a great song to get the blood flowing and the energy up, and who doesn’t want to destroy the world after a crappy day at work or whatever? Let the zombies get the show on the road.

The Chats – Smoko

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week8 Comments

For once I’m going to handle something from this century. And today’s song is only going to turn seven this year so I can conveniently ignore the fact that the year 2000 was 24 years ago.

Our song today comes from The Chats, an Australian group who got their start in 2016 but would find themselves with the kind of fame every new band wishes they could have – a viral hit. It isn’t nearly as easy to score an attention-getting Internet hit as some might believe, but when it does happen it can pay in spades.

The Chats describe themselves as “shed rock,” while the music community at large applies the punk rock label to them. The band formed in school when they were 17 years old and they quickly issued two EP’s. “Chat” in Australia is slang to mean something gross, or along those lines. It should not be confused with the general use of “chat,” as in conversation; or the American use of “chat,” as in the Oklahoma noise rock act Chat Pile, which is mining waste.

It’s the band’s second EP Get This In Ya!! that houses today’s song. Smoko is another Australian slang term, this one simply refers to a break at work, it’s the typical 15 minute or so break most workers get and doesn’t actually have to involve smoking. And yeah, like many I had never heard the term until this song.

The song is a quick and easy one. It rolls through with the bass providing the bulk of the rhythm while the guitar accents over the music. Eamon Sandwith on vocals delivers a snotty sort of vocal take that is perfect for the song. This isn’t they type of punk rock where people slam out a few distorted power chords and scream about how the government sucks – this is very ear-pleasing stuff with a good hook and premise to draw the listener in.

The song and video work together to communicate one of life’s important lessons – don’t mess with people when they’re on break. In the first verse, Eamon bothers a guy on his smoko. In the second, he tries to get his benefits payment but finds that the phone rep is on smoko. And then Eamon himself heads to smoko while on lifeguard duty and a swimmer is caught in the waters off the beach. It’s all pretty hilarious stuff and well put together on an indie budget.

Smoko took the route of becoming a viral hit – it sits at over 20 million views on YouTube and nearly 30 million Spotify plays. Buzz increased when Josh Homme brought a few friends to a Chats gig in Los Angeles, those friends were Dave Grohl as well as Alex Turner and Matt Helders of the Arctic Monkeys. The group also drew the attention of Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and punk legend Iggy Pop.

The Chats found that their quick shot of notoriety had staying power too – the single for Smoko was certified gold in Australia and their subsequent full length albums have charted internationally. They aren’t a case of here today, gone tomorrow – they’ve got the legs to run it out and stick around.

Smoko was a nice surprise hit and The Chats were able to take advantage of the viral success to kickstart their career. They continue to tour the world and build on the buzz from nearly seven years back. As for me, well, I’m done with this post and I’m on smoko, so leave me alone.

The Singles Series – Bad Brains

On By bigbadburchIn collecting8 Comments

Today’s single is a massive force from one of the most innovative and pioneering bands in the punk and hardcore scenes. Bad Brains wrote the book on fast, ferocious music and one of their signature songs is the feature of this single.

Also I chose not to air the title of the song out in my post title, I figured I’d use an ounce of discretion and leave it out. But in the post anything goes, so here we are with Pay To Cum!

My version is a 2021 reissue of the landmark single, which was the debut release from Bad Brains. The original pressing goes for an amount of money I’m not paying, it’s at least several hundred dollars and has sold in the thousands before. This very easy to obtain reissue sits on my record shelf just fine.

While this is a huge song in the canon of several music subgenres, there actually isn’t a hell of a lot to talk about as the title song is whopping 1:33 and the B-side gets a hefty 2:25 to flex its muscles.

Pay To Cum

The feature song is a monster flex of speed and energy. It is a musical lightning attack, in and out before the inattentive even know something happened. Yet it is a juggernaut that commands that attention by being one of the damnedest things ever heard. No point in searching for layers of meaning or subtle flourishes – just jam it out and get crazy.

Stay Close To Me

The B-side does offer a contrast to the heavy hitter on the other side. It’s a track that offers a bit of reggae, another style Bad Brains would work with extensively over the years. This isn’t an all-out reggae song but does hint at the style. This song could easily be taken as an early template for ska (not that I know much of anything about the history of ska, but this song gives off that vibe in places).

That’s about all for this single. Bad Brains would go on to ignite several 1980’s scenes with their distinct blend of styles and their blistering live sets. While not a global best-seller, they are easily one of the most influential bands to ever pick up instruments. I could spend the rest of my life simply typing the names of bands and acts who honor Bad Brains as an influence. I won’t, but I could.

Tony Hawk and Punk Rock Karaoke – In The City

On By bigbadburchIn collecting4 Comments

Today’s single is my most recent acquisition – I saw info floating around about it and I made the purchase. It’s as much a curiosity as anything but it’s cool to have one of the most influential figures from my era on a recorded piece of music for the first time (that I know of).

To start let’s talk about Punk Rock Karaoke for a bit. The band has been around since 1996, formed by Circle Jerks and former Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. It was formed for the purpose stated in the band’s name – to do punk rock “karaoke” covers for parties. It is possible to actually sing for the band at a gig, just like karaoke but with a real live backing band.

The present incarnation of the band includes Stan Lee (of The Dickies, not that Stan Lee) on guitar, Randy Bradbury of Pennywise on bass and Darrin Pheiffer of Goldfinger on drums. All are credited and present for these two songs as they are fronted by Tony Hawk. The Birdman is a legend among legends in skateboarding and recounting his career accolades would take far longer than it will to briefly discuss two songs he sang on.

During 2021, Punk Rock Karaoke got together with Tony and did a few songs. They were laid down in remote fashion, now a common feature of the “new normal” of COVID. A bit over a year later a record was pressed and here we are today to talk about it.

In The City

The A-side to this release is a cover of a 1977 song from England’s The Jam. This group were noteworthy for their punk-era run through Britain until their break-up in 1982. The band featured Paul Weller, known today as a long-running solo artist of some renown.

Here today we have a cover of their debut single, executed by PRK and with Tony Hawk handling vocals. The song itself is played well by the band, it’s a faithfully executed cover and a song I’d wager they’ve run through more than once in their karaoke gigs.

The real question is “How are Tony Hawk’s vocals?” and honestly he totally kills it. He isn’t just serviceable and is even beyond competent – he absolutely has a voice for punk rock and it is on full display here. It’s very easy to say that Tony should front his own band, but I doubt the guy who made a zillion dollars off his video game franchise wants to start a punk band in his 50’s. But he could totally pull it off.

The video is worth a watch at the end, as Tony tears down his backdrop and heads back to his day job.

Neat Neat Neat

The B-side is a cover from The Damned and the opening cut of their 1977 debut album Damned Damned Damned. While The Damned might be most recognized for their cover of The Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz (recorded with Lemmy), this song is often the go-to original from the group.

Again, Tony and PRK handle the cover brilliantly. The Damned’s early snarling and rough attitude isn’t going to replicated but this cover does justice to the song and isn’t just a clean, polished rendition. It packs much of the same punch as the original.

That does it for today’s single. Not something I was ever expecting but one I was very happy to grab when it did come around. And Tony Hawk is beyond capable of handling some punk rock vocals, making this more than a mere gimmick release.

The Misfits -Walk Among Us (Album of the Week)

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week1 Comment

Our album of the week is an old-time cut from the early ’80’s. It’s a cult classic from a band that took on a life of its own after originally breaking up and has now ascended to legendary status.

The Misfits – Walk Among Us

Released March 1982 on Ruby Records

Favorite tracks – Astro Zombies, Mommy Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight, Skulls

Walk Among Us is a record I backed into for fairly obvious reasons – I was 4 years old when it came out. For whatever music I was exposed to in my early upbringing, The Misfits were not going to be counted among it.

About a decade later I was, like many adolescent dudes at the time, into Danzig. The Misfits’ former singer had found success in the early ’90’s with his Evil Elvis brand of metal. He was polarizing and is to this day reviled by some but I still hold up those early Danzig albums as examples of some truly great music.

At some point in that early half of the decade a buddy of mine needed to run to the next town over for something I can’t quite remember. I went along because well, you ain’t got much to do in mid-Missouri as a teen in 1993, or 1994, or 2004, or ever.

We wound up at a pawn shop and I sped straight over to their music section. The quality of music in a Midwest pawn shop was not up to the standards of any living being. It was the literal bottom of the barrel – just rejected tapes and CD’s that frankly should have never been recorded in the first place.

As luck would have it on that day, I spotted Walk Among Us in the pile of cast-off music. I paid $6 for a good used copy of this classic in a day and age where finding stuff like this wasn’t easy at all. The Internet was just barely a thing at the time and was not at all useful for commerce. And rural areas were sorely underserved for music – it was Wal-Mart or nothing.

I got home with my prized find and was instantly in love. I was nothing more than a tourist as it concerns punk but I was a Danzig fan and I was after everything he’d been involved in. And The Misfits were spectacular. The savage attack of unrefined horror punk was absolutely welcome to this young metalhead’s ears. It’s not some huge chasm between their stuff and metal anyway so it was pretty easy to see why so many in metal loved The Misfits.

The years wore on as they do and found both The Misfits and Danzig changing course and adding distance between them and their classic periods. Eventually they would find each other again and, if nothing else, they could count the money on the table and so they launched a few reunion gigs. I myself didn’t get to see them but that’s ok.

So there we have it – one of my all-time favorites and a more than fitting selection for the album of the week. 13 killer songs in 25 lean minutes and sometimes that, and some brains for lunch, is all you really need.