Blog — Page 251 of 277

The infrequently-updated site blog, featuring a range of content including show reviews, musical musings and off-color ramblings on other varied topics.

Seeking Respite from Ubiquitous Holiday Pop...

Posted by Andy Armageddon • December 25, 2015

In the month leading up to the holiday, it's often difficult to escape the near-continual assault of schmaltzy Christmas music. It seems virtually every artist of note in the last half century (and quite a few that are best left forgotten) have, at some point or other, produced some sort of Christmas song or album, from The BeatlesThe Ventures and The Beach Boys to Rob Halford, Weezer, and Sharon Jones (to name but a few), meaning in the end that there's an absolute glut of different, sometimes only moderately compelling, versions of instantly familiar, classic songs. Despite of this, Christmas albums seem to have inherent commercial punch that other albums sometimes lack – Josh Groban's 2007 Noel, for instance, moved an astonishing 3.7 million copies in its first three months of release, making it the second highest-selling holiday album of all time (number one on the list – Kenny G's Miracles: The Holiday Album, which sold nearly three million copies in just the last two months of 1994).

 

It's not difficult to imagine artists like Groban or Kenny G cutting a holiday album however – their music appeals to a significantly older audience that would be perhaps more willing to listen to another batch of the same old holiday tunes. Given that Christmas albums are (apparently?) in such high demand, it's not surprising that some definitively bizarre records have been released over the years, ranging from novelties like the Star Wars-themed Christmas in the Stars and Disco Noel to things like Julien Koster's The Singing Saw at Christmastime, The Moog Machine's Christmas Becomes Electric, and Alexander Goodrich's Organ and Chimes at Christmas that may have been good ideas initially, but become positively maddening when drawn out to album length.  I'm still haunted by memories of listening to a beat up LP of Li'l Wally "The Polka King" Sings Polish Christmas Carols, which somehow found its way onto the record player at my childhood home numerous times every holiday season.

 

It's might not be all that shocking then that it's generally the more offbeat Christmas albums that appeal to me today - and I would suspect many others whose Decembers sometimes turn into a nightmare of repetitive, frequently obnoxiously chipper tunage whether they want them to or not, feel the same way. Punk rock bands have released a fair share of Christmas songs over the years, though for my money, it's the older singles (originals like The Raver's amusing “(It's Gonna Be A) Punk Rock Christmas,” TVTV$'s “Daddy Drank Our Xmas Money,” and Fear's impactful “Fuck Christmas,” along with the classics - Stiff Little Fingers's furious “White Christmas” and The Dickies's “Silent Night”) that take the cake for fury and enthusiasm over more recent efforts that often seem to have been dialed in (My Chemical Romance's cover of Mariah Carey's “All I Want for Christmas is You” for one).

 

Among the snottiest and funniest punk bands around, British group The Boys (recording as The Yobs) and The Vandals perhaps released the finest full-length holiday records from the genre. The Yobs Christmas Album, released in 1980, slams through various traditional songs in amusing ways (“White Christmas” becomes a faux-reggae number, while “Stille Nacht” samples Adolf Hitler), but it's the downright filthy “The 12 Days of Christmas” and “C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S” that steal the show. The Vandals went for much the same sort of amusingly tasteless vibe on their 1996 “Oi to the World,” which is fairly unique for containing mostly original (if very irreverent) songs along with a Yobs cover, Tchaikovsky rendition, and a (frankly, irritating) version of the religious hymn “Here I Am Lord.” While “Christmas Time for My Penis” and “My First Xmas (As a Woman)” set the stage, I rather like downer album closer “Hang Myself from the Tree” for its complete reversal of the usual holiday cheer.

 

Though the late, venerable British actor Christopher Lee made it a habit of droppingChristmas-themed heavy metal release yearly from 2012 until 2014 and doom metal has occasionally toyed around with this sort of material from time to time (Type O Negative's “Red Water [Christmas Mourning]” being one that stands out in my mind), Old Man Gloom's 2004 Christmas is arguably one of the best and most singular seasonal releases from the genre. North Carolina's Silber Records, meanwhile, has unleashed a slew of holiday-based noise and experimental music on and off since the year 2000 (2015 saw the release of 8 EPs), but one of my favorite albums of extreme Christmas music is the 1996 Japanese compilation simply titled The Christmas Album. Featuring the likes of Melt-Banana (performing a hectic version of “White Christmas”), Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her (delivering a somewhat smarmy, easy or maybe even sleazy listening cover of “Here Comes Santa Claus”), Gastr Del Sol (putting forth a serene and almost ambient rendition of “The Bells of St. Mary") and God is My Co-Pilot (with a harsh, menacing version of “Marshmallow World”), the album culminates with noise god Merzbow's haunting “Silent Night.”

 

While I could rattle off the highpoints of both The Raveonettes's 2008 Wishing You a Rave Christmas (which starts off with a buzzy cover of Darlene Love's “Christmas [Baby Please Come Home],” then proceeds through a trio of original, dream and/or noise pop tracks) and Narwahl Decimation's DØD SNØ GØD JUL (the idea of an electronically-based Christmas album strikes me as a lousy one, but this sometimes destructive combination of experimental electronics and grindcore is actually surprisingly decent and rather fun), my choice for the best, most overlooked definitively off-kilter holiday album is 1997's Christmas in Stereo, released on the Kindercore label.

 

Each of the 19 bands featured on this compilation were given two weeks to put together a track. Some chose to cover traditional songs in a unique way, with the results ranging from excellent (The Catskills and Kincaid producing bummer rock covers of, respectively, the aforementioned Darlene Love track and “White Christmas,Aden's gorgeously executed rendition of “Silent Night) to positively odd (a shrill, anything-goes version of Louis Armstrong's “What a Wonderful World” produced by the Elephant Six Collective supergroup Major Organ and the Adding Machine). Among the original songs on the album, Gritty Kitty's hazy “Why They Chose the North Pole,” Bunnygrunt's comical “I Am Going to be Warm This Winter,” My First Keyboard's playful “Christmas Is Only Good If You Are a Girl (Boy),” and The Autumn Teen Sound's relaxed “Christmas Wish” may fare the best. Still, while individual taste may vary and not everyone will like everything included on this incredibly eclectic disc (one which even throws in a old-school country tune from The Starroom Boys as well as a straight-up sound art experiment courtesy of the Olivia Tremor Control), every track here is interesting in its own way. I also like the fact that this may be one of the most pervasively melancholic Christmas albums I've ever listened to: the perfect antidote for that inevitable overdose of tiresome holiday pop.

Andy Armageddon • December 25, 2015

Misfits @ Manning Bar

Posted by T • December 13, 2015

The Misfits

Manning Bar

Sydney, AUS

December 12, 2015

 

The Misfits. One of the most iconic punk bands. These days they are fronted by bassist Jerry Only, framed by Jerry Junior and Eric "Chupacabra" Arce on drums.

For this tour, the trio was digging up two of their most seminal albums from the grave, Static Age, which was written in 1978 but not released until 1997, and Earth AD, which is noticeably harder and faster material and according to Glenn D. contained tracks that were originally intended for Samhain's debut.

Other classic songs from The Misfits' catalog were sprinkled in for good measure and the full auditorium ate it up.

The two Jerrys, devilocks and ghoulish make up intact, work the stage and the three microphones that were set up on stage help to penetrate the willing audience from every angle with renditions of their spooky and fantastical horror stories.

Drawn-out legal battles and seemingly unending lineup changes aside: 
You love the songs and the performance of the 2015 incarnation of The Misfits, though very heavy on tones in the low-pitched range, is fun to watch.

---

Photos by T

T • December 13, 2015

Bands to see at Soundwave 2016

Posted by T • December 10, 2015

With the full line-ups unveiled for Soundwave 2016 in Australia, Scene Point Blank has put together a quick primer to help prepare.

Without further adeiu, SPB's Bands to See at Soundwave 2016:

Refused

Saw them the first time in the early 1990s, when they were another youth crew SxE band from Umeå. Fast forward to 1998, following the release of the homage Ornette Coleman, "The shape of punk to come,", they split up after serenading local policeforce with "Rather be dead." Fast forward, add an irresistible offer and they are back to play Coachella and selected shows. It was good to see them again. Hiatus. Now they are back for good. "Freedom" is an enjoyable album. While the leftist mantra can be a tad yawn inducing for the converted, well executed melange of James Brown dance moves and Ian Svenonius stage antics never get old. Go see Refused at Soundwave 2016!

(Photo by Megan Lahman)

Hatebreed

1997. "Satisfaction is the death of desire." Wow. Fell in love after the first spin. Frank "3Gun" Novinec. Integrity. Ringworm. Terror. Hatebreed. Go check it out. Hatebreed will only play a few selected shows in 2016 as they are working on a new album. Go check Jamey Jasta's podcast show, where he shows an array of facets. Go see Hatebreed at Soundwave 2016!

(Photo by Calm Bomb)

Frenzal Rhomb

Australia's quintessential medodic punk / hardcore band. Yes, NOFX plays as well. Go for the locals. They got their own Belgian pale ale, a collaboration with Newtown brewery Young Henrys, who also made the fantastic "Brew am I" pale ale. Go see Frenzal Rhomb at Soundwave 2016!

(Photo courtesy of Fat Wreck Chords)

Editor's note: Soundwave 2016 has been cancelled. That's still no reason not to check out the bands though.

T • December 10, 2015

Mono @ Newtown Social Club

Posted by T • December 8, 2015

MONO

Newtown Social Club

Sydney, AUS

December 7, 2015

 

"Mesmerizing" and "cinematic" are the adjectives that come to mind when one is asked to describe the epic, vast instrumental landscapes MONO from Japan weaves.

Drawn out crescendos, cascading and repeating, slowly building up until a shrill and thunderous wave of distortion drowns you in an ocean of noise. Phil Spector would have hit the wall.

Oh, My Bloody, shoegazing Valentine!

The upper register of the Glockenspiel, which is an integral part of MONO's instrumentation rather than an ornament, is omnipresent and its chimes add an ethereal quality to the performance, which is enhanced by the intimate setting of the Newtown Social Club.

A MONO show is not a fun show in the traditional sense: The protagonists completely lost in the music, trying to communicate the incommunicable, do not acknowledge the audience and a seated venue would suit them better than a rock'n' roll cave.

Light and its dynamics could play an important role yet the show is devoid of visual stimuli.

The element of MONOtony is prevalent throughout the show as almost every song starts and ends in the same place.

A majestic instrumental band.

T • December 8, 2015

The Ghost Inside @ Altar Bar

Posted by Stephen Thomas Black • November 11, 2015

The Ghost Inside “Locals Only”

Altar Bar

Pittsburgh, PA

November 6, 2015

 

Los Angeles-based melodic hardcore band The Ghost Inside dropped their latest album, ‘Dear Youth,’ last year on Epitaph Records. After relentlessly touring to support the new record, the band decided to mix things up this time around by announcing the “Locals Only” Tour. Rather than compiling an all-star lineup to guarantee packed venues and steady income, The Ghost Inside took the risk to allow each city to supply their own local opening acts as an ode to the scenes that have supported the band over the years. On November 6, 2015, the tour stopped in Pittsburgh, PA and I has the opportunity to attend.

I love hardcore. I grew up on bands like Shutdown, Snapcase and Ensign, so I’m kind of tough on newer hardcore bands, like all old guys should be. I’m not alone. After all, the hardcore scene did take a turn for the worse somewhere around 2009, prompting even die hard, living legend Toby Morse to ask, “What Happened to the Passion?” Unlike other bands of hardcore modern-era, The Ghost Inside definitely has the passion.

The band hit the stage swinging with “Move Me”, and the crowd erupted into stage dives as if it were rehearsed. There were no frills, no light shows, and no security up front – typical unfortunate findings in hardcore modern-era. The fans of the band were amazingly loyal, seemingly knowing all of the lyrics to even early records, something I sheepishly admit was not the case for me. The sincerity was truly inspiring.

The Ghost Inside blasted through tracks like “The Great Unknown” and “Sacrifice” with little to no front-man commentator interruption. Unbeknownst to me, this LA hardcore outfit had significant ties to Pittsburgh, even mentioning they recently filmed a video at Altar Bar. The connection was obvious, as the energy from the crowd and band alike never wavered throughout the entire set.

The sincerity paid off, as the band extended their set three extra songs. Not a planned, Axl Rose-esque encore, a sincere ‘thank you’ to the crowd (I’m holding the set list as I write this.) The Ghost Inside ended their set with the incredible sing-along “Engine 45”, and literally half of the crowd joined the band on stage to close out the set. This was a hardcore show, and I left inspired. Good on you, The Ghost Inside. Thank you.

 

Stephen Thomas Black • November 11, 2015

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