Smuggling in Some Good Cheer

The Smuggler’s “Selling the Sizzle” is anything but mere sizzle. This album is a great light trash, sorta rockabilly, skate album that really has that old Mint Records sound that Gob had when they released “Too Late, No Friends”, and something that sounds like the songs they played on Hannah Barbara cartoons - “ I know a little town called bedrock, twitch-twitch.
“Bishy-Bishy” is one of the thrashier tunes, and could be the best on the album it is fast, catchy, and “Bishy-Bishy” is followed by “Big Trouble”. The album keeps pumpin’ out great tunes. This is definitely an album that you can listen to song for song, and not lose interest until you finish the fifteenth track. Stay away from sixteen, it is a hidden track, and although I haven’t listened through it seems like something I already heard Another Joe do at the end of “Ass Seen On TV.”
One of the best surprises is “The Dedication” a song that is basically a bunch of dedications, but it reminded me of the Beatles’ “Birthday Song” in that it is a weird, basic premise song, but it works when surrounded by great tunes - by the way it is sung, not spoken in some weird art style.
“Selling the Sizzle” reminds me of what made me fall in love with skate punk - fast rifts, and great lyrics that are funny, but actually have some real content behind them.
Oh Yeah, if you like supporting anything Canadian these guys are a Vancouver gem that you are depraving yourself of if you don’t check them out.

Propagandhi... One Great Band

I was at The Burton Cummings Theatre Saturday night to see The Weakerthans perform their last studio album from 2007 Reunion Tour. I was instead surprised with all four albums played in reverse order, and although The Weakerthans aren’t near my top ten for bands, I have always been a fan of John K Samson, and the fact that Anchorless , a Propagandhi redo, was the second last song played I was pumped to be into show right to the very end.
But that is enough of that, on to my favourite Winnipeg based release ever - Propagandhi’s “Less Talk, More Rock. This is the album that “Anchorless” is originally on, in the forth track, and it is surrounded by some of the most enlightened tunes I listened as a kid including the title track, which is a slower tune, but the lyrical content and the time changes make it a crowd pleaser when ever played in shows, and one ditty that I can assure you will be sung if you listen to it at home when alone - even if you aren’t.
If you are into the Fat Wreck Chords scene you have probably heard “And We Thought Nation-States were a bad idea. There is a reason for that. This song combines great music, with great lyrics, and they are so well written that they even have that catchy vibe pop-garbage has, only there is meaning to what Propagandhi does, but I have a feeling songs like this may be why Propagandhi turned in to a completely different band after about a five year hiatus.
There isn’t much else to say about this album other than songs like “Apparently I Am A P.C. Fascist“, “Nailing Descartes to the Wall, “Resisting Tyrannical Government“, and “I was a pre-teen McCarthiest“. Are a great mix of 90s skate punk melodies, and a whole heck of a lot of lyrical content, even one nice track call “Public Dis-Service Announcement” that mocks Shell’s involvement in international affairs.
This album is faster and harder than any Weakerthan’s album, but you can really hear Samson’s influence on the band before he left.
See a review collaboration between Andrew Parker and I on the Weakerthans show in the next issue of The Projector. Just a taste - there is mention of a “Judy for Mayor” shirt, and Winnipeggers beating the traffic.

Alkaline Trio

I got another one for my boy Dewey - Andrew Parker, and this time it is a band he recommended to me, or at least told me he liked - Alkaline Trio. I gotta say that I pigeon holed these guys as emo fluff. For the record, 95 percent of emo is garbage. I give an exception to the originators such as Moneen, Choke, and Boy Sets Fire, but what emo has become is a bunch o’ junk - see Silverstien, The Used, and any band with a day of the week in their name. I was going to check if I spelled Silverstien wrong, but they have wasted enough of everyone’s time, no chance I’m going to care what a bunch of middle to high class whiners have to say about anything. Let a real writer get in there and criticize, before you cut weirdo.
I’m still a little ticked so first I would like to say that I am flashing back to 1998, and the Trio’s first major album “Goddammit”. Unfortunately I am still bissed about bands like As I Lay Sucking, so I am going to get negative right off the bat, and say that Alkaline Trio has got to lay off the cheesy slow intros THEY ALL SOUND THE SAME. I am serious, but don’t let that turn you away from this group. They have some great old school skate lyrics and music. “Cop” is one that reminds me of what was great about 90s skate. They hate something, but they don’t take on more than they can comprehend. In this case they seem too be singing about a former friend, which, if you remember my lookout weekend featuring Screeching Weasel, is what someone they know, which is what I love about 90s punk - these stories that make way more sense to them, but are cool, because ,even if they are fabricated .they remind you of people you know, and therefore seem real.
I will also admit that I am a sucker for punk love songs. They are not the typical love tune, often involve humour. That is why I love bands like the Descendents, and these guys seem like a newer school Strung Out. They are my favourite band that the “kids” seem to love, although they seem to be less popular than in the past, maybe that is why I like them. But seriously they have a great melodic sound that reminds me of Good Riddance, No Use For A Name, and Face To Face. A
Alkaline Trio is good, but if you area expecting Bad Religion, Descendents, or early Strung Out you had better buy Bad Religion, Descendents, or early Strung Out. If you want an album I can burn you one just let me know where to find you in the comments. For the record I download nothing. I bought albums before, and now that stores don’t stock albums from a two decades ago I scour the used bins like my late Plecostomos Al that past away last year. He was hardcore as fish go - his favourite album was Void of Faith’s album Discography - Darn hardcore man!

What the Love is with the Foo Fighters

I wouldn’t call this album punk, but it is close enough, and I still maintain that Nirvana was a punk band, so just wait till I do my “Insecticide” flashback. Best Nirvana album by far . “New Wave Polly”, but I digress. The first and self-titled Foo Fighter album is a great mix of music that reminds me of Propagandhi in the way they can go from a hard rockin’ song to a softer more melodic tune. The first two tracks “This is a Call”, and “I’ll Stick Around” are great tunes, that when played live insight some of the nuttiest pits I have seen. “Big Me” slows it down a little, and if you don’t like the song I bet you were won over by the video. The rest of the tunes have a laid back hardness that blows my mind. This album is one for every season, every emotion you could be feeling - seriously.
Track 10 - “X-Static is a buried gem that makes this a rare major label album that you can listen to track to track until it is over.
Too bad “There is Nothing Left Lose” ever happened. For those harder rockin’ Footos fans - is “Stack Dead Actors” not the best song they have written, but on one of the most disappointing albums. I rushed to buy this disk after I heard that. Thank God that tune is worth the price of the disk.

Rancid - A Great Stocking Stuffer

I was looking for one last blog to slide in before the deadline for PR, and I realized that I had not completed a Rancid blog yet. So here ya’ll go - Let’s Go. Let’s Go was Rancid’s second album on Epitaph Records, and it is arguably their best work, but their first three efforts are some of the best punk you can find. That is if you count Rancid as punk, some consider them “urban reggae”, but I heard that at the U of M, and they pass out PHDs like they were mail in from what I hear.


http://www.rancidrancid.com/

Let's Get Toasted

I don’t have any albums from The Toasters, but I think this is may favourite band that I know nothing about. I cannot recommend an album but here are a couple of my favourite songs by these two tone skanksters. Let me know if you can recommend a good album.

Nicholsanian has been enslaved

This is Oderus Urungus, and the scumdog you call Nicholsanian has been enslaved or he is dead, nobody really cares. I am here to tell you human filth that your time on this damned rock is coming to an end as I and the rest of GWAR turn the Earth into a Bloody Pit of Horror - our new album too - so you better absorb all the GWAR and drugs you can before Beefcake, and Balzak come to kill you and steal your girlfriend... and kill her too.
I suggest that you either check out America Must Be Destroyed, or Carnival of Choas. GWAR is to great for humans to comprehend, so just watch the videos.

MORALITY SQUAD - from America - warning one f bomb at the start


The Private Pain of Techno Destructo from Carnival - more cursing



Sick of You

Catholics Gone Wild - A Creative Writing Post

　
　

Merv Michalyshen was at McNally Robinson Tuesday night to read and discuss his book Above The Rest.
As a former practicing Catholic I was very interested in the content, which discusses that switch from Vatican 1, compared to Vatican 2. The main difference for those who know is that Vatican 1 is the hellfire and brimstone version of Catholicism, whereas 2 has relaxed the rules slightly, and there is less reference to everyone going hell.
Michalyshen said that his greatest fear when he wrote the book was that he wouldn
Forced Celibacy - you bet he questions the value in that.
Molesting Priests - it
Misogyny in the church - Yeah Michalyshen is on it like stink on a camel.
 He read a part of his book that discussed how the church is not the mystical thing some have made it, but the people that come to the chapel. I feel that the church getting away from the people is the reason I have avoided church for the past decade. The rules that Michalyshen questions are the ones that bother me the most. All these rules about depraving ourselves in order to prove something that doesn't affect anyone accept ourselves. I figure the church's main message is good, do onto others and what not, but it is what people turn religion into the grills my Chilean Sea Bass, and that is where former principal, my former principal Merv Michalyshen also diverges from the order o' Rome.

The way the material was presented, as well as my mother saying that she wanted to read the book has made this book interesting, and a gift idea - if you are really into religion Catholic style.’t say anything. If the reading was any indication that should not be a problem. ’s in the crosshairs people.