Dead Milkmen Free For All

[Rodney]

A couple of quick things:

Tribute Bruuuuuuuuce at the National Constitution Center
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ncc_press_Bruce.aspx

SongFacts is the Crack of this decade. I could waste hours there.

Here's another video of that enthusiastic RivetGirl. This time she's dancing to Das Ich: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR_JzxmboqA

And as for "Aardvark", it's quality control for comments.

[Rodney]

4. Nick Fuckin' Cave: Every song he's ever written .

But I never crucified little Biko, that was two junior high school psychos
Stinky Bohoon and his friend with the pumpkin-sized head
- Nick Cave, The Curse of Millhaven

I divide my stint as a lyricist into two distinct periods: BCE (Before the Cave Experience) and CE (Cave Enlightened). That doesn't mean I wasn't always sort of aware of Nick Cave - I always loved the Birthday Party and I thought that "From Her To Eternity/The Firstborn Is Dead /Kicking Against the Pricks"-era Nick Cave was the mongoose's pajamas - but it wasn't until I heard Tender Prey that I become a True Believer. By the time I was two bars into The Good Son, I was a zealot. Henry's Dream left me knocking on stranger's doors asking them if they'd heard the good news about Nick Cave.



Speaking of "Have you heard?", have you ever listened to The Boatman's Call? It's arguably the greatest CD ever made. If I was only allowed one CD to listen to for the rest of my life, The Boatman's Call would be it. Take the song "Where do we go now but nowhere", for example; every line is perfect, from the introduction...

I remember a girl so very well
The carnival drums all mad in the air
Grim reapers and skeletons and a missionary bell
O where do we go now but nowhere

...through the setting of the scenes....

Across clinical benches with nothing to talk
Breathing tea and biscuits and the Serenity Prayer
While the bones of our child crumble like chalk
O where do we go now but nowhere

...to the ending.

From the balcony we watched the carnival band
The crack of the drum a little child did scare
I can still feel his tiny fingers pressed in my hand
O where do we go now but nowhere

If I could relive one day of my life
If I could relive just a single one
You on the balcony, my future wife
O who could have known, but no one

And then (after a few more great CD's) came Grinderman! which was basically all of the madness from Murder Ballads cranked up and condensed into a smaller band. If you don't love Grinderman, there's something seriously wrong with you.

There's a kid laying on the lawn
The neighbors on the telephone
The dispatcher asks, "What's going on?
Please, sir, what's going on?"

Palaces Of Montezuma is so good that it was used over the closing credits of the final episode of Luther. So there!

OK, next time, we'll wrap this up with the people I currently draw inspiration from like Melora Creager, Amanda Palmer, Ronan Harris, et al. Hopefully, I that won't be as dry a read as this was.

[captainpants]

Speaking of Nick Cave I hope you have seen the 2 excellent movies that he wrote - Ghosts of the civil dead & The proposition. The latter shows a real beautiful side of Australia I encourage you all to visit :)

BTW Amanda Palmer was hinting strongly at the dresden dolls show here in Melbourne the other night that this is where she'll be setting up her home
_________________
Don't look at me for the answer

[Rodney]

5. Let’s wrap this thing up, fer Chrizzzakes….

When I went to get tested
I brought along my best friend
Melissa Mahoney
Who had once been molested
- Amanda Palmer from “Oasis”

And then the 90’s came along and everything sucked this enormous pair of rhinoceros testicles. OK, maybe not everything. If you lived in the UK, you turn on the radio and hear a plethora of innovative British pop bands like Pulp (whose front man, Jarvis Cocker, was once arrested for mooning Michael Jackson[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZEWomOQVno]), The Libertines, Blur, Oasis, and the Stone Roses. But, if you turned on the radio in the good ol’ U.S. of A, you were going to get an earful of Grunge (AKA “Punk Lite”) Nu Metal, Corporately-approved Gansta Rap, and Pop..

Ever since Robespierre started lobbing off heads, practically all revolutions have ended in either disappointment, bloodshed, or film roles for Courtney Love. And so it came to pass that all of the musical revolutionaries who’d logged countless hours on the road during the 80’s in the hope of one day seeing Killdozer ascend to the top of the charts, were soon to discover that all their hard work had just been to point Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jizz once had the audacity to cover/anally rape Nick Cave’s “The Ship Song”) towards the flannel shirt section of Kroger. Kim Gorden appeared on MTV to sell her line of “Riot Grrrl” clothing (Actual quote: “If your t-shirt doesn’t have a collar, you’re not Gen X”) No wonder people just gave the fuck up and started playing cello, or forming Brechtian cabaret duos, or playing tin whistle in proto-Steampunk bands. If playing in a “traditional” punk band meant being associated with The Smashing Punkins, then pass me the hurdy gudy!

I want that thing, I want it now
I'll say it once, I don't care how you get it
You can rob a store, There just is nothing I want more
Than diamond jewelry for me
And I'll talk louder so you see how very much it means to me!
Even some little stud earrings
Give me the goddamned diamond!!!
- Rasputina from “Diamond Mind”


While a rebellion against The Rebellion was never officially declared, the 90’s did have their share of Revolutionary Sweethearts; and one of those was Rasputina. Eschewing guitars for cellos and consisting of three women (currently two women and a man), Rasputina was, and still is, something truly different: something truly unique. Who else could turn the Triangle Shirtwaist fire into a great rock song?

The terrible flames of
All that remains of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire
- Rasputina from “My Little Shirtwaist Fire”

To recap: the only two good things to come out of the 90’s were Rasputina and the Greatest Woodstock Ever! (If you don’t count the rapey bits):



In 2000, the Dresden Dolls formed (a very good thing), but we have other stuff to talk about right now.

What happened to all of that Grunge, Nu Metal, Gansta Rap? Where did it go? And whatever became of Brit Pop? Well, there’s an excellent documentary called “Live Forever” [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358569/] that answers the Brit Pop half of that conundrum. In that film, the case is very well made that it was the death of Princess Di that took out Brit Pop (and at least one underpass support). In “Live Forever”, Louise Wener very deftly states that whenever there’s a crisis of any sort, the music industry reverts to its default setting: Safe, commercial Pop.

In the USA, Grunge, et al fell with the Twin Towers as any form of music which might show even the slightest inclination of ever questioning the coming war was ushered off the airwaves [http://radio.about.com/library/weekly/blCCbannedsongs.htm]. THINK ABOUT IT, other than Sage Francis’ flat-out brilliant “Makeshift Patriot”, name one other protest song you remember hearing in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 ?

“I'll show you which culture to pump your fist at, which foot is right to kiss
we don't really know who the culprit is yet...but he looks like this
we know who the heroes are. Not the xenophobes who act hard
‘We taught that dog to squat, how dare he do that shit in our own back yard!’"
- Sage Francis from “Makeshift Patriot”

This brings us to today (this afternoon, to be precise) and a war that you might not even be aware of taking place while you read these very words. You see, back in the 80’s, some Execu-Ass coined the term “Alternative Rock”. If those words ever meant anything, they’re completely meaningless today. As far as I can tell, there are two types of “Alternative Rock” out there today: Pitchfork friendly twee crap like the Black Keys and Adele and Metropolis Records-driven danceable anger in the form of groups like Angelspit, CombiChrist, iVardenshere, etc.

“I am beyond god I am human I am the razor blade on the communion tray
I am a freak in control not a control freak, I am the sheep that got away”
- Angelspit from “Wreak Havoc”

Which side am I routing for? Hey, do I seem like the kind of person who’d take sides?

[BStaff24]

Although I expect some verbally scathing repercussions, I have to say that I enjoyed [b]some of the 90's alternative. I was a product of the 80's, but I grew up in the 90's so it was inevitable that I was going to hear the music that came out of that era. For example, I love Third Eye Blind's first album(nothing after it though) because of the songwriting. If you look at the tracks that did not receive radio play such as "God of Wine" or "Motorcycle Drive By," the songs are quite beautiful and lyrically brilliant.
However, I detested the Grunge scene and I staunchly believe that Pearl Jam was one of the worst things to happen to Rock music(aside from Nickelback who prove that Satan's sadistic malice is very much alive and in full force). Eddie Vedder, Scott Stapp, Darius Rucker, and Scott Weiland all have the same grating vocal style; it was as if there was a bluprint on how you should sing if you are in a substandard and embarrassing modern rock band. I can't stand the "bands you have to listen to to be cool" category. I have expressed my hatred for AC/DC many times and it was as if I had told the Spanish Inquisition that I didn't believe in God. I'm sorry, but AC/DC sucks.

[BStaff24]

In conclusion,(besides the fact that AC/DC sucks) the 90's did generate some atrocious music, but I think you'll have that in every era. In the 70's you had disco and in the 80's you had Bon Jovi, which is a band that induces regurgitation everytime I hear them.

I think it's safe to say that the current state music is quite depressing, but it makes me happy at least knowing that bands like the Milkmen are still putting out something different and for that I thank you. I thank you for your humor and for writing lyrics that indicate that you have a reading level that is higher than the third grade.

[The Tarantula]

I'm Australian and I can't stand AC/DC.
_________________
It's alive! (nearly)
http://dmtabs.deadmilkmen.com

[Rodney]

[Rodney]

[BStaff24]

The context of my criticism was regarding music on the radio. I think that underground music has always more endearing to those who have had passion for music and are viscerally affected by it. Also, I would say that the dismal nature of mainstream radio has only helped elevate the importance and beauty of underground music.

Punk Rock was about the deviation from societal standards and from crap like Barry Manilow and Donnie and Marie. Hell, it was even against mainstream rock like Zeppelin and other drug using hippies. There had to be something to rebel against to make Punk what it was and to establish that particular ethos.

Despite this fact, it does not alleviate the disgust I have when I hear the sonic garbage that is thrown to the masses. We are not even glorifying mediocrity; we are glorifying the shallow and the substandard and that is the problem that I have.

I realize that music is subjective, but for cryin' out loud, there has to be some bar. Most of the "artists" today are about as adept at music as G.W. Bush would be in an elementary school spelling bee.

[Chuck]

Just going through bookmarks n' stuff:


Not from 2011 this link but still the self-proclaimed every ones favorite 3rd best Hardcore band CH3.

http://ch3guest.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-ch3-
test-kitchen-top-ramen/

For the artist-type.An amazing free graphic program that you don't have to pirate.These suckers cost hundreds if not thousands a bucks.You can find tutorial vids online for most of these things.

http://www.123dapp.com/

:
Crumb kinda doin' what Rodney was with his Springsteen and Motown posts. (it was really weird finding out "Hangin' out in the commode listenin' to Depeche Mode" was autobiographical lyrics though!)


http://rcrumb.com/aboutcrumb_others_2.html


My all time favorite cartoonist and human being Bill Griffith's first strips of the Dingburg Beatniks.


http://zippythepinhead.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ZTP&Product_Code=26-Oct-10&Category_Code=

check out http://www.alhinkle.com/ in the if you aint no pussy dept:

more no pussy shit: http://youtu.be/q-3kPpPjoz0



If 'n you don't like Rock and roll that's one thing and fine.If''n you claim to like Rock & Roll but don't like say, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry lee Lewis, or Jayne County, you are a big pussy well,'n y' see AC/DC falls into this category.My experience is most people dismiss AC/DC as some juvenile kick from their days before they grew up/wised up became mature and don't have time for that nonsense (they're the people who made all those singer/songwriter Americana roots snoozeola contemporary adult ASSHOLES THAT COME TO MY TOWN KEEP PLAYING THAT BORING MUSIC !!!!) Not sayin' yer a bunch a fuckin' pussies er nothing though.




hrmmph, fuckin' pussies . . . . .

[lithiumtom]

[quoteIf 'n you don't like Rock and roll that's one thing and fine.If''n you claim to like Rock & Roll but don't like say, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry lee Lewis, or Jayne County, you are a big pussy well,'n y' see AC/DC falls into this category.My experience is most people dismiss AC/DC as some juvenile kick from their days before they grew up/wised up became mature and don't have time for that nonsense (they're the people who made all those singer/songwriter Americana roots snoozeola contemporary adult ASSHOLES THAT COME TO MY TOWN KEEP PLAYING THAT BORING MUSIC !!!!) Not sayin' yer a bunch a fuckin' pussies er nothing though.
[/quote]

chuck dont cut no slack!

ac/dc rocks! i remember exactly where i was when i heard bon scott died, i was a senior sitting in my drafting class - our teacher was so fricken cool he had a record player in the room and we used to listen to all manor of rock and roll in class - zappa- led zep- ac/dc and so on
_________________
His grace is greater than all our sin.

[Rodney]

Nachtmahr

[Jugglingfreak]

Shonen Knife.

They may not be as lyrically deep as some of the others listed, but they give me a nice, warm, wet feeling.... In my pants.

[Cult Leader Lettuce]