Jay Reatard has been an underground figure for ten years or so playing with bands like The Reatards and the Lost Sounds and most recently he has gained a good deal of mainstream success with his solo efforts. Going back to his earliest roots when he had recorded songs alone to escape from his home life, his solo records feature him playing every instrument and singing. When he plays live, of course, he has a backing band as can be seen here.
This video where they play ‘Oh It’s Such A Shame’ from his debut LP ‘Blood Visions’ captures the intensity of their live show. Jay Retard has become infamous for punching, kicking and spitting on his audience members during his shows. I guess it’s common knowledge that he was raised in some shitty circumstances and not surprising that he has some socialization issues, but he still puts on a great show.
Pulley was something of a pop-punk supergroup with members of Ten Foot Pole and Strung Out. The band was started after singer Scott Radinsky was kicked out of Ten Foot Pole for not having enough time to commit to the band (in addition to being a singer, Radinsky was also a Major League Baseball relief pitcher.)
The song ‘Cashed In’ is from their 1996 debut, Esteem Driven Engine. The song outlines Radinsky’s reaction to the commercialization of punk music. Radinsky (along with most of the other members of Pulley) was a veteran pioneer of the pop-punk movement before it was commercially viable and the historical importance of their former bands is often overlooked because they didn’t strive to achieve mainstream success.
The Bronx is a pop-punk band from Southern California. Normally this kind of music isn’t my thing, but they have kind of an old rock and roll sound that made them grow on me. They have put out two self-titled albums and, oddly enough, will be putting out another one soon.
White Guilt is on their second self-titled album, this video reminds me of my high school Summers when my friends and I would go hang out at Venice beach, where this video was shot, and running away from bike cops.
Back in the early 90s when punk became marketable thanks to bands like Green Day and the Offspring, a lot of other, less accessible bands tried to get in on the action, including New York Hardcore veterans Sick Of It All. They put out a record, Scratch The Surface, on a major label (EastWest, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers) and had a video on MTV, but they refused to compromise their sound and never became a commercially successful band. Nonetheless this video has become something of a cult favorite among hardcore punk enthusiasts; Step Down is one of their most popular songs and quite frankly this video is just tons of fun to watch.
I think this was Bad Religion’s first real music video; it’s from their album Recipe For Hate and is probably one of their most poppy and lyrically most interesting songs. I believe Greg Graffin wrote the song in reaction to George H.W. Bush stating that America couldn’t do wrong in the Gulf War, because Jesus was on the side of America. In general I think the song is meant to poke fun at the often hypocritical neo-Christian values that America was founded on, as well as the suggestion that Jesus was someone that would endorse American values.
The video is kind of funny, there is sort of a rusty black-and-white color to the whole thing which I think is used to mock religious imagery and we see people carrying crosses on the LA freeway. You can see Greg Hetson of the Circle Jerks playing guitar in the video as well as Mr. Brett; Brian Baker of Minor Threat wouldn’t join the band until Mr. Brett’s departure after the Stranger Than Fiction album. Ironically, Mr. Brett joined the band again a few years ago and now they have three guitar players; the band is now something of a punk-rock retirement home.
Boston’s Converge are one of the original pioneers of chaotic, mathy hardcore punk. Countless bands followed in their footsteps: Coalesce, Dillinger Escape Plan, Daughters, Unless, Curl Up And Die, All Else Failed, etc. This song is from Converge’s 2004 album, ‘You Fail Me’, which was recorded shortly after the loss of their second guitarist and showcases a newer sound for them. This video is basically the story of my life.
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