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Post by petrolino on Sept 6, 2020 0:01:52 GMT
Cyberpunk Cinema
George Lucas' 'THX 1138' (1971) was a major influence on the science-fiction film subgenre cyberpunk. John Carpenter's science-fiction crime thriller 'Escape From New York' (1981) was a major influence on cyberpunk cinema and in many ways he's the godfather of the subgenre. A year later came Ridley Scott's science-fiction thriller 'Blade Runner' (1982), an adaptation of a novel by Philip K. Dick. Pioneers of cyberpunk fiction like William Gibson, Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling were influenced by science-fiction authors like Dick, Michael Crichton, Harlan Ellison and cyberpoet Roger Zelazny. Wes Craven originally conceived 'The Hills Have Eyes' (1977) as a science-fiction piece set in the future, but for budgetary reasons, he made significant changes; some ideas dropped were later explored in Joe Gayton's spin-off 'Mind Ripper' (1995). Craven went on to make science-fiction films like 'Chiller' (1985) and 'Deadly Friend' (1986) which were embraced by cyberpunk fans. 'Searching for a story to film, Wes Craven began looking up "terrible things" at the New York Public Library. While going through the library's forensics department, Craven learned of the legend of Sawney Bean - the alleged head of a 48-person Scottish clan responsible for the murder and cannibalization of more than one thousand people. What interested Craven in the legend was how, after Bean's clan was arrested, they were tortured, quartered, burned and hanged. Craven saw this treatment of the Bean clan by supposedly civilized people as paralleling the clan's own savagery. Craven decided to base the film on the legend. Another major inspiration for the project was Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), one of Craven's favorite films. Bloody Disgusting's Zachary Paul says that both films center on a group of vacationers who are "stranded in the wide open nowhere and must protect themselves against a tightly knit family of cannibals" and feature an archetypal "gas station of doom". Like The Last House on the Left before it, the film drew influence from the work of European directors such as François Truffaut and Luis Buñuel.
Other inspirations for The Hills Have Eyes were Craven's neighbors and family, on whom the Carters where modeled, the director's nightmares, and John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940). The original script was titled Blood Relations: The Sun Wars and was set in New Jersey during 1984, several years in the future. As producer Peter Locke's girlfriend, Liz Torres, often performed in Las Vegas during this period, Locke saw a lot of desert landscapes as the film was being written, and suggested that Craven set the film in the desert. Due to budgetary constraints, the film was written to have few roles and be set in few locations.'
- 'The Hills Have Eyes' at Wikipedia
"The story of Hansel and Gretel, taken from the fairy tale collection of the Brothers Grimm, can be read as a crisis of survival. With no help from their parents or friends, Hansel and Gretel must free themselves from slavery and ultimately defeat the evil witch. This fairy tale shows us the detours and successful strategies on the way to a final goal, be it eternal happiness or — in the case of a company — economic success. It also shows that the will to change and master a situation must come from oneself, not from others.
For the family of Hansel and Gretel, life itself was a crisis. They were preoccupied with pure survival, with having enough to eat. The stepmother proposes a solution that goes far beyond anything that might be deemed normal: she wants to abandon the children in the woods so there will be two fewer hungry mouths to feed. The father, distressed but too weak to fight back, acquiesces. The monstrous decision is made. The following day, the stepmother carefully and calmly carries out her plan."
- Veit Etzold, Boston Consultancy Group
'Hansel & Gretel'
'Forbidden Zone' - Oingo Boingo
Canada has produced cyberpunk titans like David Cronenberg ('Videodrome' & 'eXistenZ'), James Cameron ('The Terminator' & 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day'), Christian Duguay (the 'Scanners' series & 'Screamers') and Vincenzo Natali ('Cube' & 'Cypher'). Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven has realised cyberpunk visions on screen for decades, notably with 'RoboCop' (1987) and 'Total Recall' (1990), though there are visual shards in several other films he's directed. Peruvian filmmaker Luis Llosa made the cyberpunk staple 'Crime Zone' (1988) and drew from cyberpunk imagery in comic books when creating the visual design of 'The Specialist' (1994). Russian filmmaker Slava Tsukerman made 'Liquid Sky' (1982) in America and it's a textbook example of a film embraced by cyberpunk fans more for its punk credentials than any clear cyber aspects. Italian filmmaker Marco Brambilla made 'Demolition Man' (1993) in America which is the reverse as it has clear cyber elements but goes light on the punk. British director Danny Cannon also deserves a mention for bringing 'Judge Dredd' (1995) to the big screen. "I am a bestselling author of romance and erotica with a passion for romantic lesbian erotica and much naughtier monster erotica. I also specialize in writing interactive pick your adventure style erotica that allows readers to explore their own desires."
- Amanda Clover
'Hot Carbon : Tales Of A Cyberpunk Futa Girl' by prolific monster & elf erotica author Amanda Clover
Science-fiction writer Michal Crichton deserves a mention as he was an accomplished filmmaker in his own right. 'Looker' (1981) and 'Runaway' (1984) are key works. The great neon-lit crime thrillers of the 1980s from filmmakers like Abel Ferrara, Walter Hill and Alan Rudolph carried stylistic similarities with Crichton's genre work. "Scarlett’s voice, whenever you hear her voice, it just takes you to that place. She really is to me the cyberpunk queen.”
- Rupert Sanders, Comic Book
Scarlett Johansson
Kathryn Bigelow, Brett Leonard, Albert Pyun and Fred Olen Ray are among cyberpunk cinema's true pioneers. Bigelow directed 'Strange Days' (1995). Leonard pushed the boundaries of cyberpunk technology with 'The Lawnmower Man' (1992) and 'Virtuosity' (1995). Pyun established and cemented his status with audacious genre features like 'Vicious Lips' (1986), 'Cyborg' (1989) and 'Nemesis' (1992). Ray's essential contributions to the subgenre are 'Cyclone' (1987), 'Alienator' (1989) and 'Droid Gunner' (1995). Steve De Jarnatt ('Cherry 2000' & 'Miracle Mile'), Stuart Gordon ('Fortress' & 'Space Truckers'), David Heavener ('Deadly Reactor' & 'Outlaw Prophet'), Richard Pepin ('Cyber Tracker' & 'Cyber-Tracker 2') and David Prior ('Future Force' & 'Future Zone') have included strong cyberpunk elements in their science-fiction thrillers. In Pepin's 'Cyber Tracker', there's a scene in which the Tracker is scanning a robot and his search history includes the robot model, THX 1138. Artist and musician Roberto Longo was plucked from the underground to helm 'Johnny Mnemonic' (1995), an adaptation of a story by William Gibson that showcases Henry Rollins in a supporting role. Four years later, the Wachowski sisters hit it out the park with 'The Matrix' (1999). They've since delivered the intriguing science-fiction mystery 'Cloud Atlas' (2012) though the less said about the 'Matrix' sequels the better. I shall continue watching 'Orphan Black' which definitely has some cyberpunk elements, including the casting of Matt Frewer who portrayed cyberpunk figurehead Max Headroom in the early 1980's ... Scoring 'Forbidden World' (1982) - Susan Justin
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Post by petrolino on Sept 12, 2020 23:12:30 GMT
Strict Punk Principles, Shifting Political Landscapes And International Film Markets
Cyberpunk art and cinema stretches far beyond the established parameters of America's entertainment industry. It's become a global phenomenon in the digital age and cyberpunk cosplay is growing in popularity. Its rise was concurrent with the growth of punk-influenced political cinema which drew from original literary tracts. Genre filmmakers picked up on different facets of punk culture that could be worked into their films.
I'd like to consider a few national film industries that I feel have benefited greatly from punk, outside of America and the United Kingdom which housed the largest punk movements of the 1970s.
“One of the inaccuracies around punk is that it’s a reaction to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, but punk starts before those regimes take power in the mid-1970s. Punk did become a reaction to neoconservative rule. It felt necessary at the time to provide a social resistance against some of those aspects against neoconservative policy, but had longer-lasting effects, as well.”
- Andrew Blauvelt, curating the punk art restrospective 'Too Fast to Live, Too Young To Die : Punk Graphics, 1976–1986' at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York in 2019
'The Origins Of Cyberpunk 1948 - 1989' (2019, Documentary - Indigo Gaming & Shalashaskka)
{"Let's take a journey back to the 1980's and beyond, to discover the origins of the Cyberpunk movement, in literature, cinema, television, video games, comics and more! In this documentary miniseries, we will discover the wonders of Cyberpunk, dating back to the 1940's, all the way through 1989, with each successive episode taking on a new decade."}
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10 National Film Industries
10) Ireland
Ireland has a vibrant punk scene and Celtic punk is as popular as any form of punk flourishing today. Despite this, I don't recall seeing much in the way of Irish punk cinema. This could be to do with the political situation, or perhaps because some of the most prominent Irish punks boarded boats and relocated to London. I can't remember if 'Rawhead Rex' (1986) would qualify as it's been so long since I've seen it. It's based on a story by Clive Barker. But from my own perspective, including Ireland does serve to remind me that I'd like to see the documentary 'Shellshock Rock' (1979) which Thurston Moore listed among his top 10 punk documentaries at the British Film Institute.
'Is this the UDA, Or is this the IRA,
I thought it was the UK ...'
- Sex Pistols, 'Anarchy In The UK' (1976)
"In 1976, punk took the United Kingdom by surprise and for one brief moment challenged many of the cultural and social assumptions of British society, shocking public opinion and causing an outbreak of moral panic in its wake. In Northern Ireland people were preoccupied with other problems. 1976 was the year when internees of the Maze prison started a blanket protest after losing their status as political prisoners; the Shankill Butchers prowled the streets of Belfast in search of Catholic victims; a mother decided to establish the Peace People organisation after witnessing the deaths of three children, run over by a fugitive IRA member. In 1976, a total of 297 people lost their lives because of the conflict. All the news reports about Northern Ireland that year seemed to indicate that it truly was Anarchy in the UK."
- Timothy Heron, The Irish Times
Stephen Rea in 'Angel' (1982)
09) Italy
I've not noticed much in the way of punk in Italian cinema. The one exception is the horror genre which sometimes features punks as bait. Working-class Italians in cities like Rome, Milan and Turin typically gravitated towards hardcore punk bands who railed against the nation's corrupt institutions.
Bettina Ciampolini in 'Demons' (1985)
08) Ukraine
Journalists often write about the emergence of punk in Moscow, Russia and its connection there to poetry and protest. You can chart the impact of music in Lviv, Ukraine which has strong artistic traditions. Psychedelia, heavy metal and hardcore punk are part of the modern tapestry that makes up the city.
It's worth noting that many of the great Soviet film directors were born in republics other than Russia. Alexander Dovzhenko, Grigori Kozintsev and Aleksandr Ptushko are three master filmmakers from Ukraine. Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi's extraordinary experimental picture 'The Tribe' (2014) is the culmination of underground punk filmmaking in Ukraine and one of the finest films of the last decade. It's shot in Kiev.
Hippies in Lviv
Yana Novikova & Grigory Fesenko in 'The Tribe'
07) Mexico
Several of the punk bands that formed in California in the 1970s had Latino or Chicano musicians within their ranks, including the Bags, the Brat, the Go-Go's, Los Illegals, the Nuns, the Plugz and the Zeros. Naturally, there was a direct line down to Mexico and it didn't take long for punk to break out in Mexico City where Dangerous Rhythm and Size ruled the roost.
Hailing from Mexico City, horror filmmaker Ruben Galindo Jr. has links to the punk scene and this comes through in the imagery in movies like 'Cemetery Of Terror' (1985), 'Don't Panic' (1988) and 'Grave Robbers' (1989). His work has attracted a cult following on the punk scene.
Maria Rebeca & Erika Buenfil in 'Grave Robbers'
'The Wolf' - The Brat
06) Hungary
Hungary's punk subculture was the source of all manner of subversive materials during the final throes of Sovietisation. While punk was present in other nearby cities such as Bratislava in Slovakia, Prague in Czech Republic and Warsaw in Poland, the movement's cultural centre behind the iron curtain could be found in Budapest.
Filmmaker Bela Tarr has connections to the punk scene. Perhaps the defining cinematic work is Janos Xantus' 'Eskimo Woman Feels Cold' (1984) which stars Marietta Mehes and features a number of other musicians in acting roles.
Marietta Mehes
05) Australia
You'd expect punk to play a major role in Australian cinema as the country produced beloved bands like the Birthday Party and the Saints.
The 'Mad Max' franchise was helmed by George Miller and its post-apocalyptic landscapes are populated by rogue punks. 'Centrespread' (1981) is icy, new wave erotica about the art of photography. The action feature 'Dead End Drive-In' (1986) is one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite movies and it carries a strong punk vibe.
Natalie McCurry in 'Dead End Drive-In'
04) Spain
The punks of Madrid are well-known throughout Europe. The death of General Francisco Franco in 1975 ended years of suppression and artists could finally break down the walls of censorship. In doing so, they went a bit crazy, creating artworks that seriously pushed the boundaries in terms of explicit content. Punk was the perfect catalyst for change at the perfect time.
Spain's most famous living filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar, came up on the punk scene. His early work is indebted to the scene and it dominates 'Pepi, Luci, Bom And Other Girls Like Mom' (1980). His contemporary Bigas Luna also had links to the punk scene. They both knew musician Alaska who even had her own surreal punk show on television, 'The Crystal Ball'.
Comedians capitalised on the popularity of punk too, including legendary funnyman Andres Pajares who often worked alongside comedians Fernando Esteso and Antonio Ozores. My favourite of Mariano Ozores' genrebusting comedies are from this period including 'The Bingueros' (1979), 'The Energetic' (1979), 'The Erotic Masked' (1980), 'I Did Rocky III' (1980), 'The Blower' (1981), 'Magic Witches' (1981), 'The Prick' (1981), '¡What A Joy To Be Divorced!' (1981), 'Shake Before Use' (1983), 'The Worker' (1983) and 'La Lola Takes Us To The Orchard' (1984). Having appeared in most of them, Pajares collaborated with director Ramon Fernandez on the punk comedy 'The Donor' (1985) and Juan Ignacio Galvan on 'The Pregnant' (1987) which co-stars punk performer Carmen Grey.
"Part of what makes Pedro Almodovar's films revolutionary is that the storylines tend to orbit around a cast of strong women and members of the LGBT community. As is the case in fascist regimes, the Franco rule was intransigently patriarchal; women played a supporting role for husbands and children. "In Spain," historian Ricardo García Cardel writes, "feminism arrived late, and it arrived poorly." To cast flawed, highly sexual, ambitious women in his films was risky; to make films featuring men in drag was self-destructive.
It's no coincidence that Almodovar's early work is heavily imbued with Spanish new wave and punk-rock culture. As his films progressed, they became increasingly sophisticated and complex, musically speaking. The music in his films, as co-host Felix Contreras notes, has always functioned as another character unto itself. Almodovar picks musicians who, like his characters, are vibrant, imperfect and larger than life. He famously rescued legendary Mexican singer Chavela Vargas from alcoholic oblivion; he has sustained a decades-long love affair with tragic queen of Latin soul La Lupe, and more recently he worked with legend-in-the-making Concha Buika."
- Jasmine Garsd, National Public Radio
Alaska in 'Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom'
Alaska in 'The Crystal Ball' 'Abracadabra' - Alaska
03) France
Punk is an intrinsic part of French culture which always weaves new ideas into the fabric of the arts. Even filmmaker Eric Rohmer, who leaned against the use of non-diegetic sound, cast punk icon Elli Medeiros in the romantic comedy 'Full Moon In Paris' (1984). A group of young stylists was responsible for pushing cyberpunk to greater cinematic extremes. This included Jean-Jacques Beineix, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Luc Besson and Leos Carax whose groundbreaking work came to exemplify the stylistic film movement known as "cinema du look".
Thuy An Luu & Richard Bohringer in 'Diva' Isabelle Adjani in 'Subway' Marie-Laure Dougnac in 'Delicatessen'
Elli Medeiros in 'Full Moon In Paris'
02) Germany
Punk in Germany is similar to punk in France in that it's omnipresent. This is reflected in the work of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Ulli Lommel, Wim Wenders and Uli Edel, to name a few. Edel filmed Christiane Vera Felscherinow's autobiographical book 'We Children of Zoo Station' (1978) as 'Christiane F' (1981) which was scored by David Bowie and Jurgen Knieper. Today, Germany is at the forefront of d.i.y. digital filmmaking. Horror filmmaker Jochen Taubert once made shoddy, low budget works that I feel were best forgotten but he's developed into one of the nation's leading directors in more recent years, achieving success with 'The Return Of The Forklift Drivers' (2013), 'Play My Limb Until Death' (2014), 'Dead Or Alive' (2015), 'Juliet & Romeo : Love Is A Battlefield' (2017) and 'The Pope's Daughter : We Come In The Name Of The Lord' (2020). In stock company player Alina Lina, he also has Europe's leading cinematic punk icon to call upon.
Also worth seeing are the recent low budget films of cinematic philosopher and provocateur Roland Reber who's similarly improved as he's gained experience. I'd recommend Reber's existential seriocomic excursions 'Angels With Dirty Wings' (2009), 'The Truth Of Lie' (2011), 'Illusion' (2013), 'Taste Of Life' (2017) and 'Cabaret Of Death' (2019).
The Kitties in 'Cabaret Of Death'
Alina Lina in 'The Pope's Daughter : We Come In The Name Of The Lord' Shooting on location with Alina Lina
01) Canada
'O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee,
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.'
I've already mentioned Canadian directors in the post I made about cyberpunk so I won't repeat myself. You can also see Canadian punks in other films I've mentioned on this thread, from 'Class Of 1984' (1982) to 'Breaking The Rules' (1985).
I'll add three more movies to the mix that revel in punk ideas and imagery; Rene Bonniere's comedy 'Perfect Timing' (1986), Jean-Claude Lauzon's thriller 'Night Zoo' (1987) and Rafal Zielinski's drama 'Fun' (1994).
Lynne Adams in 'Night Zoo'
Renee Humphry & Alicia Witt in 'Fun' 'It's The Evil' - White Lung
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Post by petrolino on Sept 18, 2020 23:25:32 GMT
Whip It! : The Unbreakable Bond Between Punk & Horror
The Ramones are among the many punk groups that wrote songs explicitly referencing some of their favourite science-fiction, fantasy and horror movies. In this sense, they were building on the work of proto-punk bands like Chrome and the Dictators. Towards the end of their recording career, the Ramones fully embraced the world of genre movies with albums like 'Animal Boy' (1986), 'Halfway To Sanity' (1987), 'Brain Drain' (1989) and 'Mondo Bizarro' (1992) which featured songs like 'Freak Of Nature', 'Worm Man', 'Pet Sematary' and 'Zero Zero UFO'. On the New York scene, Blondie were also dedicated pop culture nuts. At their early live shows, b-movie fans would call out for songs like 'Attack Of The Giant Ants', 'Kung Fu Girls', 'Bermuda Triangle Blues (Flight 45)' and 'Contact In Red Square'.
The Plasmatics were devotees of all forms of "exploitation" cinema. This informed their sound, their look, their lyrics and their stage shows. Bassist Jean Beauvoir worked in various capacities with the Ramones and later co-wrote the horror anthem 'Shocker' which was recorded by hair metal supergroup the Dudes Of Wrath.
"I don't object to the term "exploitation" in any way. That's what they were called, and I accept the word. B-movies, classically, meant the second half of a double-bill of pictures that were made in the '30s to bring the audiences in during the Depression and give them two pictures for the price of one. So, from a technical standpoint, I never made a B-movie in my life. However, today the term "B-movie" is applied to low-budget films, so, on that basis, I guess I did make B-movies."
- Roger Corman, The A.V. Club
Joey Ramone & Debbie Harry
'Hollywood' - Suzi Quatro
The Ohio invasion injected fresh streams of pop culture junkiedom into the New York underground's multimedia playground. Hailing from Cleveland, Dead Boys and Pere Ubu were committed genre fans and this was evident in the work of their parent group, Rocket From The Tombs. Pere Ubu would later compose underscores for experimental horror movies including Herk Harvey's 'Carnival Of Souls' (1962) and Roger Corman's 'The Man With The X-Ray Eyes' (1963). Over in Akron, Devo were in many ways an extension of science-fiction cinema. Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh both went into film scoring, composing music for films like 'Doctor Detroit' (1983), 'Fright Night' (1985) and 'Slaughterhouse Rock' (1988). Several years on from Circle Jerks portraying a lounge act in Alex Cox's science-fiction sleeper 'Repo Man' (1984), Devo played the mysterious Ministry of Science in 'The Spirit Of '76' (1990).
Devo's fellow Akronite Chrissie Hynde led the Pretenders through the sonic instrumental 'Space Invader' which riffed on sound effects created for the popular arcade game 'Space Invaders' which was launched commercially in 1978.
'Horror punk is a dark style of music mixing Gothic and punk rock sounds with morbid imagery. Often, song topics are taken from horror movies, but the best horror punk creates atmosphere by telling tales through the song. Usually with poetic lyrics.'
- Urban Dictionary
Debbie Harry in 'Videodrome'
'Starlight Lady' - Suzi Quatro
California had the advantage of being home to Hollywood and this was amply demonstrated by the state's punk music. In Los Angeles, the Skirts were a hardcore horror band led by guitarist Linnea Quigley, one of the horror genre's leading exponents. The Skirts rehearsed next door to the Go-Go's who referenced folklore, fairy tales and mythology within their lyrics, as suggested by the wordplay behind the title of their debut album, 'Beauty And The Beat' (1981).
Oingo Boingo emerged as the musical wing of the street theatre troupe, Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo. Troupe founder Richard Elfman went on to become a horror filmmaker, as did his creative associate Matthew Bright. Band members Steve Bartek, Danny Elfman and Richard Gibbs all went on to compose music for television and cinema. Hardcore attractions Social Distortion and T.S.O.L. (True Sounds Of Liberty) became purveyors of bouncy deathrock. They were gothic-leaning but fun and unafraid to get political. Contemporaries Adolescents explored science-fiction themes in songs, skate punks Agent Orange displayed their own gothic tendencies and Christian Death slowed things down a bit to produce a murkier form of hardcore gothic sludge. "You might not be familiar with the music, but you definitely know the look: tall fluorescent-colored mohawks, silver spikes protruding from black leather, steel-toed combat boots, ripped jeans, and unusual objects dangling from their ear piercings. During its formative years, punk rock was perceived as a threat. Concerts would often erupt into riots. Gang violence and drugs were prominent in the community, and parents feared for their children, fuelled by news reports and an Afterschool Special called 'The Day My Kid Went Punk' (1987).
The zeitgeist of the era made punk rockers the ultimate villain and goon in 1980s cinema. Gangs of punks would lurk around in alleyways late at night, waiting to jump an unsuspecting passerby, like in 'Howard the Duck' (1986). Armed with switchblades, chains, and spiked bats, smiling mischievously and bug-eyed from ingesting handfuls of drugs. Should their victims attempt to escape on foot, the hoodlums would jump onto their motorcycles or pile into beaten-up cars, hooting and hollering as they chased down their prey.
When they’re not harassing and assaulting innocent people on the street, they can be found in cramped underground clubs, characterized by dirty walls covered in graffiti. The front of the stage is complete chaos; kids are moshing and stage-diving, the band is playing loud and spitting on the crowd, while those on the sidelines are either making out, throwing beer bottles against brick walls, or overdosing on some bad smack.
In schools, punk gangs terrorized classrooms (though the actors playing the students were at least 25 years-old) and verbally abused the teachers. During their lunch breaks, they roamed the hallways, bullying nerds and dealing drugs. In 'Class of 1984', teachers are so afraid of their students that they bring guns to class for protection. When one teacher decides to take a stand against the gang leader, he ends up paying the ultimate price when the punks invade his house and kidnap his wife. In its follow-up, 'Class of 1999', schools have devolved into warzones for rival gangs. In response, a private military company develop cyborg teachers programmed to kill any misbehaving students.
In 'Class of Nuke ‘Em High' (1986), nuclear waste from a nearby malfunctioning chemical plant transform model students into grotesque punks with a bizarre sense of fashion. Even the marijuana that they forcefully sell to the student body has been infected with the toxic waste, causing abnormal mutations in the lead lovers. In the climax of the film, the punks take over the school, driving their motorbikes through the walls. Punk rockers appear in numerous films produced by Lloyd Kaufman’s Troma studios, mainly because the film company share many of the same DIY ethics of many punk bands. Both are able to pull off masterpieces on a shoe-string budget, while keeping the rawest aspects.
When civilization collapses and society falls into anarchy, punks become scavengers, raiders, and cannibals. Post-apocalyptic movies like the Mad Max franchise, 'Escape From New York' (1981), 'Waterworld' (1995) and 'Doomsday' (2008) are chock-full of tattooed and pierced brutes who enhance their survival with sadism.
Although, they may look tough, punk baddies often underestimate the strength of their targeted victims. When confronting The Terminator or Jason Voorhees in 'Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan' (1989), these goons end up with broken bones and running for the hills. Probably the biggest example of the tables being turned on punks is 'Return of the Living Dead' (1985), a classic zombie film that’s very popular among the punk community, so much so that bands have used clips of the movies in their music. The punk gang in the film is lead by Suicide, who imposes himself by clutching his black leather jacket and stating “You think this is a f*cking costume? This is a way of life!” Shortly after, Suicide is bitten in the head by the Tarman, a zombie with melting black skin. One-by-one, the rest of the gang is devoured by the living dead, hungry for brains.
Then, something happened. The 1990s rolled around. Punk bands that dominated the late 70s and most of the 80s were either broken up, or had completely changed their sound. Newer bands like Green Day and Blink 182 gave up on aggressive vocals and started singing more melodically. Punk was no longer perceived as a threat once it was co-opted by the mainstream; it was less about anarchy and more about selling shoes. Punks were no longer perceived as big scary goons looking for a fight. Their image changed into scrawny misunderstood kids bored of living in the suburbs. The ideal horror victim."
- Chris Aitkens, Nightmare On Film Street
Debbie Harry in 'Tales From The Darkside'
'Suicide' - Suzi Quatro
Over in San Francisco, the Nuns built their ornate spirituals with the aid of authentic gothic machinery and crafted post-apocalyptic soundscapes dripping in nihilistic, sado-masochistic imagery, some of which drew from sacrilegious films condemned by the Catholic Church. They gained a hard-earned reputation as being the San Francisco underground's doom merchants, a band whose pervasive gloom was alleviated only by their musical prowess.
Dead Kennedys were similarly pop culture junkies with a passion for genre cinema. The Kennedys' controversial third album was greeted with intense hostility within sections of America's bible belt; it's called 'Frankenchrist' (1985).
"Every idea I submitted was considered too strange, too weird; every idea they had seemed too ordinary to me. Ordinary pictures don't make money."
- Roger Corman discusses his studio contract with Columbia Pictures
Jennifer Miro
'The Nuns' ~ The Nuns
-- --- -- --- --
Suicide Pact
At times surreal, at others supernatural, Suicide's desperate working-class anthems would take lengthy detours into purgatory, hell and parallel worlds. Lydia Lunch was a dedicated fan. Here in the U K, the Damned, Siouxsie And The Banshees, the Cure, Buzzcocks, Magazine and Joy Division are among the punk bands that employed icy keyboards in the wake of Suicide's work. As the gothic scene became increasingly more electronic, bands experimented in ever-darker guises.
Like their contemporaries in New York and Ohio, Suicide were pop culture fanatics. Their early club anthem 'Ghost Rider', for example, is based on a Marvel comic book. The outfit most commonly credited with coining the phrase "punk music" in relation to their own music were also among the scene's ultimate nerds.
"Suicide: Alan Vega and Martin Rev, the follow-up to Vega and Rev's vaudeville-for-arsonists debut, lacks the rusty-screwdriver-as-equalizer skinny junky twitching rage of their first record, but has its own '70s CBGB's sleazeball vibe. The emaciated Harlem thug of the debut has moved on from t-shirt and bellbottoms to wide-lapel seersucker suits, neck chains, mirror shades and a slathering of cheap cologne. He's still a nervous, fast-talking chain smoker, but he can now sit still for a few minutes every once in a while, mid-twitch.
If Dion and the Belmonts dropped daily doses and spent their evenings in a NYC disco, ca. 1979, this would be them. But while they chased the drugs on the debut with copious quantities of Schlitz and Old Crow, these suddenly leather lounge synthpunks for the first time can afford cocktails."
- L. Leland, Rate Your Music
Martin Rev, Debbie Harry & Alan Vega
'Creature Feature' - Suicide
The Cramps : Crawl Of Creationism
The Cramps are often referred to as the godfathers of psychobilly having influenced a generation of sedentary roots rockers to tune out and punk it up. Their journey was an unusual one, leading to the development of a rock 'n' roll unit that California, Ohio and New York can all lay claim to. Frontman Lux Interior was from the industrial city of Akron, nicknamed "the rubber capital of the world". Accordingly, his ring attire consisted largely of black leather, latex, polyvinyl chloride and rubber. The Cramps' majestic rhythms allowed Interior to masquerade madness while pleasuring his microphone and gyrating for the audience. He was a skilled painter, photographer and visual artist. Guitarist and bassist Poison Ivy was a musical stylist and technical virtuoso from San Bernardino, California. Her interest in design prompted her to showcase the shape and arches of her stringed instruments. She exposed the feral qualities they possessed beneath furbished refinement while exploring the deep valleys that connected neck and body. Her heightened sense of dynamics and demonic shudder guitar reflected a base interest in hipsway and booty-shaking. Guitarist Bryan Gregory was a science-fiction, fantasy and horror fan with a passion for monster movies and creature features. He designed jewelry, clothing and horror costumes at his base in Cleveland, Ohio and was also an active make-up artist. A Catholic, Gregory was also a human rights activist. Miriam Linna was an instinctive drummer. Linna was also a fanzine writer and a paperback book collector. She's now recognised as being one of America's leading authorities on juvenile delinquent fiction and has a keen interest in "jd" cinema too. When Linna departed, Nick Knox of the Electric Eels took over the drum stool. Knox laid down the mammoth beats that became the foundation of the Cramps' deep psychedelic trance. Knox nailed down every beat with control, economy and authority.
"Published 1984-85, Bad Seed was Miriam Linna’s celebration of Juvenile Delinquency, the “overnight plunge into general degeneracy” among US teens in the 50s. At the time the JD scare prompted a media frenzy which was accompanied by an explosion of books, music, flicks and fashions.
All of these aspects of JD are sampled in the pages of this 8.5″ x 5.5″ stapled zine produced by one-time Cramps drummer Linna, whose work with partner Billy Miller has manifested itself in such ventures as garage band The A-Bones, enduring reissue label Norton and, imho, the greatest music magazine of all time, Kicks.
This is where the notion of teenagers as a threat to society was minted, and via a variety of archives, Linna explores all the angles, from dope and STDs (“JD!! VD!! OD!!”) to the pulp fiction of Harlan Ellison, lyrics for JD classics, promiscuity, gang violence and the exploits of teen murderers Charles Schmid and Charlie Starkweather (whose Nebraskan killing spree with girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate inspired Terence Malick’s Badlands).
Linna isn’t a fan of Badlands, which she believes romanticised the pretty abject behaviour of Starkweather + Fugate. With Bad Seed she provides an unblinking insight into the symbiosis at the heart of JD: serious derangement and sensationalised reportage."
- Paul Gorman, 'Bad Seed : The Kicking 1980s Juvenile Delinquency Zine And T-Shirt'
Poison Ivy
'What's Behind The Mask' - The Cramps
The B-52's : Quiche & Cake On Surfer's Moons
There are rare examples of symbiosis behind the playing of the B-52's that can become positively infectious. They weren't all long for this world but they were all multi-talented, well-seasoned and extremely well-rehearsed. Fred Schneider, Ricky Wilson, Cindy Wilson, Keith Strickland and Kate Pierson powered a beat combo that captured the raw energy of the drive-in and did so through manic episodes of inter-galactic space travel. To see Pierson playing synthesiser melodies with her right hand and bass patterns with her left hand while using her voice as a harmonic instrument, is just about as good as it gets.
"I think bands, because we have a sense of humor, we are not always taken as seriously. I hope our legacy will be enduring and that people think of us as an important band."
- Kate Pierson, VICE
Kate Pearson & Cindy Williams
'Hero Worship' - The B-52's
Misfits, Malfeasance & Malcontents
The Misfits are generally regarded as the godfathers of the horror punk subgenre. They hail from the hard-nosed, horror-loving state of New Jersey, home to two fifths of the B-52's (the three fifths are from the state of Georgia where the band was established). In 1999, longtime bassist Jerry Only and the rest of the then-Misfits line-up enjoyed a brief stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), one of sports entertainment's leading promotions. They aligned themselves with the wrestler Vampiro. I believe Only competed against Dr. Death in a steel cage match and won. That's a measure of the Misfits who also appeared in the science-fiction drugs drama 'Animal Room' (1995) and George Romero's mystical horror 'Bruiser' (2000) around this time. In their early punk days, few bands could keep up with the ferocity of the Misfits who gave hardcore bands a run for their money. New Jersey became the de facto capital for horror punk as the Misfits birthed such unholy abominations as Kryst The Conqueror, Rosemary's Babies, Samhain and the Undead.
"First of all, you've got to define horror. For me, politics is horror. Religion is horror. True crime is horror — but it's not as horrific as hundreds of thousands of people being killed in a genocidal war. So who's the bigger murderer? Some politician who decides he's gonna off tens of thousands of people at a time or Charles Manson, who may or may not have been involved in the killing of four or five people and didn't actually kill them? Are people who get killed in drone strikes any less dead than the people that get killed in their apartment?"
- Glenn Danzig, Revolver
Glenn Danzig
Glenn Danzig on 'Portlandia'
45 Graves ~ Deathrock Around The Clock
"Formed from putrefying remnants of The Germs, The Consumers, The Bags, The Gun Club, and The Screamers among other L.A. punk outfits, 45 Grave were arguably the first American Goth/deathrock band and inarguably one of the best. Fronted by the Exene-meets- Vampirella vocal and visual stylings of Dinah Cancer (still one of the greatest stage names in a punk rock genre full of ‘em), 45 Grave also featured Paul B. Cutler on guitar, Don Bolles on drums, Rob (Ritter) Graves on bass, and Paul Roessler on keyboards, and from that all-star line-up came 1983’s Sleep in Safety, their lone studio release and only recording with the band’s original members.
Probably most famous for the first appearance of the horrifyingly graphic, true-crime track “Partytime,” the single version of which was subsequently cut in 1985 and featured on The Return of the Living Dead soundtrack (both versions appear on our Expanded CD Edition), Sleep in Safety also offered the early MTV track “Evil” and the band “theme song” “45 Grave” among other blandishments for those who like their rock and roll with a side of the macabre."
~ Real Gone Music
'Black Cross' ~ 45 Grave
'Weathered Statues' ~ T.S.O.L.
{###}
Microshock Cinema, Digital Versatile Discs & The Indie Horror Revival
'Plantlife' - Autolux
---
American Horror (2000 - 2020)
25 Franchises
1) Species (1995 - Roger Donaldson) / Species II (1998 - Peter Medak) / Species III : (2004 - Brad Turner) / Species : The Awakening (2007 - Nick Lyon)
2) Scream (1996 - Wes Craven) / Scream 2 (1997 - Wes Craven) / Scream 3 (2000 - Wes Craven) / Scream 4 (2011 - Wes Craven)
3) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997 - Jim Gillespie) / I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998 - Danny Cannon) / I'll Always Know What You Last Summer (2006 - Sylvain White)
4) Mimic (1997 - Guillermo Del Toro) / Mimic 2 (2001 - Jean De Segonzac) / Mimic : Sentinel (2003 - J.T. Petty)
5) Wishmaster (1997 - Robert Kurtzman) / Wishmaster 2 : Evil Never Dies (1999 - Jack Sholder) / Wishmaster 3 : Beyond The Gates Of Hell (2001 - Chris Angel) / Wishmaster 4 : The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002 - Chris Angel)
6) Blade (1998 - Stephen Norrington) / Blade II (2002 - Guillermo Del Toro) / Blade : Trinity (2004 - David S. Goyer)
7) The Blair Witch Project (1999 - Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez) / Book Of Shadows : Blair Witch 2 (2000 - Joe Berlinger)
8) Lake Placid (1999 - Steve Miner) / Lake Placid 2 (2007 - David Flores) / Lake Placid 3 (2010 - Griff Furst) / Lake Placid : The Final Chapter (2012 - Don Michael Paul)
9) The Erotic Witch Project (2000 - John Bacchus) / Erotic Witch Project 2 : Book Of Seduction (2000 - John Bacchus) / Witchbabe : The Erotic Witch Project 3 (2001 - Terry M. West)
10) Final Destination (2000 - James Wong) / Final Destination 2 (2003 - David R. Ellis) / Final Destination 3 (2006 - James Wong) / The Final Destination (2009 - David R. Ellies) / Final Destination 5 (2011 - Steven Quale)
11) Killjoy (2000 - Craig Ross Jr.) / Killjoy 2 : Deliverance From Evil (2002 - Tammi Sutton) / Killjoy 3 (2010 - John Lechago) / Killjoy Goes To Hell (2012 - John Lechago)
Killjoy's Psycho Circus (2016 - John Lechago)
12) Goreface Killer (2002 - Jason Matherne) / Goregasm (2007 - Jason Matherne) / Grimewave (2013 - Jason Matherne)
13) Wrong Turn (2003 - Rob Schmidt) / Wrong Turn 2 : Dead End (2007 - Joe Lynch) / Wrong Turn 3 : Left For Dead (2009 - Declan O'Brien) / Wrong Turn 4 : Bloody Beginnings (2011 - Declan O'Brien) / Wrong Turn 5 : Bloodlines (2012 - Declan O'Brien) / Wrong Turn 6 : Last Resort (2014 - Valeri Milev)
14) Saw (2004 - James Wan) / Saw II (2005 - Darren Lynn Bousman) / Saw III (2006 - Darren Lynn Bousman) / Saw IV (2007 - Darren Lynn Bousman) / Saw V (2008 - David Hackl) / Saw VI (2009 - Kevin Greutert) / Saw 3D (2010 - Kevin Greutert)
15) Boogeyman (2005 - Stephen Kay) / Boogeyman (2007 - Jeff Betancourt) / Boogeyman 3 (2008 - Gary Jones)
16) The Gingerdead Man (2005 - Charles Band) / Evil Bong (2006 - Charles Band) / Gingerdead Man 2 : Passion Of The Crust (2008 - Silvia St. Croix) / Evil Bong 2 : King Bong (2009 - Charles Band) / Evil Bong 3 : The Wrath Of Bong (2011 - Charles Band) / Gingerdead Man 3 : Saturday Night Cleaver (2011 - William Butler) / Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong (2013 - Charles Band) / Evil Bong 420 (2015 - Charles Band) / Evil Bong : High 5 (2016 - Charles Band) / Evil Bong 777 (2018 - Charles Band)
17) Hostel (2005 - Eli Roth) / Hostel : Part II (2007 - Eli Roth)
18) Bikini Bloodbath (2006 - Jonathan Gorman & Thomas Edward Seymour) / Bikini Bloodbath Car Wash (2008 - Jonathan Gorman & Thomas Edward Seymour) / Bikini Bloodbath Christmas (2009 - Jonathan Gorman & Thomas Edward Seymour) / Bikini Bloodbath Shakespeare (2013 - John B. Reed)
19) Hatchet (2006 - Adam Green) / Hatchet II (2010 - Adam Green) / Hatchet III (2013 - BJ McDonnell)
20) See No Evil (2006 - Gregory Dark) / See No Evil 2 (2014 - Jen Soska & Sylvia Soska)
21) Halloween (2007 - Rob Zombie) / Halloween II (2009 - Rob Zombie)
22) Laid To Rest (2009 - Robert Hall) / Chromeskull : Laid To Rest 2 (2011 - Robert Hall)
23) Porkchop (2010 - Eamon Hardiman) / Porkchop II : Rise Of The Rind (2011 - Eamon Hardiman)
24) The Hospital (2013 - Tommy Golden & Daniel Emery Taylor) / The Hospital 2 (2015 - Jim O'Rear & Daniel Emery Taylor)
25) Death-Scort Service (2015 - Sean Donohue) / Death-Scort Service Part 2 : The Naked Dead (2017 - Sean Donohue) / Taste Me : Death-Scort Service Part 3 (2018 - Chris Woods)
Suzi Lorraine
'Swan Song' - Giant Drag
---
FILMS
Bless The Child (2000 - Chuck Russell)
Bruiser (2000 - George Romero)
The Convent (2000 - Mike Mendez)
Crocodile (2000 - Tobe Hooper)
The Doorway (2000 - Michael B. Druxman)
Drainiac! (2000 - Brett Piper)
Hollow Man (2000 - Paul Verhoeven)
Lost Souls (2000 - Janusz Kaminski)
Pitch Black (2000 - David Twohy)
Psycho Beach Party (2000 - Robert Lee King) Scary Movie (2000 - Keenen Ivory Wayans)
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The Thirteenth (2000 - John Blanchard)
Sideshow (2000 - Fred Olen Ray)
Supernova (2000 - Walter Hill)
What Lies Beneath (2000 - Robert Zemeckis)
Ruby Larocca, Linnea Quigley & Victor Bonacore
The Attic Expeditions (2001 - Jeremy Kasten) The Forsaken (2001 - J. S. Cardone)
Ghosts Of Mars (2001 - John Carpenter)
Horror Vision (2001 - Danny Draven) Mulholland Drive (2001 - David Lynch)
Night Of The Groping Dead (2001 - Rich Hillen)
Session 9 (2001 - Brad Anderson)
Shredder (2001 - Greg Huson)
Tina Krause
Angel Blade (2002 - David Heavener)
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002 - Don Coscarelli)
Bundy (2002 - Matthew Bright)
Cabin Fever (2002 - Eli Roth)
Demon's Kiss (2002 - Brad Sykes)
Demon Under Glass (2002 - Jon Cunningham) Despair (2002 - Mark Baranowski)
Eight Legged Freaks (2002 - Ellory Elkayem)
FeardotCom (2002 - William Malone)
Flesh For Olivia (2002 - William Hellfire)
Ghost Ship (2002 - Steve Beck)
Mummy Raider (2002 - Brian Paulin)
The Rats (2002 - John Lafia) Runaway Terror (2002 - Mark Baranowski) Satan's School For Lust (2002 - Terry M. West)
Silk Stocking Strangler (2002 - William Hellfire)
Slaughter Studios (2002 - Brian Katkin)
They (2002 - Robert Harmon)
Danielle Harris
Cheerleader Autopsy (2003 - Stu Dodge)
Cheerleader Massacre (2003 - Jim Wynorski)
Delta Delta Die! (2003 - Devin Hamilton)
Dr. Jekyll & Mistress Hyde (2003 - Tony Marsiglia) Expendable (2003 - Mark Baranowski)
Flesh For The Beast (2003 - Terry M. West)
The Hazing (2003 - Joe Castro)
King Of The Ants (2003 - Stuart Gordon) Leeches! (2003 - David DeCoteau)
Love Object (2003 - Robert Parigi)
Lust For Dracula (2003 - Tony Marsiglia)
Screaming Dead (2003 - Brett Piper)
Vampire Vixens (2003 - John Bacchus)
The Witches Of Sappho Salon (2003 - Tony Marsiglia)
Erica Duke
Bite Me! (2004 - Brett Piper)
Club Dread (2004 - Jay Chandrasekhar)
Dawn Of The Living Dead (2004 - David Heavener)
Frankenfish (2004 - Mark A.Z. Dippe)
Ghost Game (2004 - Joe Knee)
The Halfway House (2004 - Kenneth J. Hall)
The Hazing (2004 - Rolfe Kanefsky) The Machinist (2004 - Brad Anderson) Orgasm Torture In Satan's Rape Clinic (2004 - William Hellfire)
The Rockville Slayer (2004 - Marc Selz) Sin By Murder (2004 - Mark Baranowski)
The Sisterhood (2004 - David DeCoteau)
Toolbox Murders (2004 - Tobe Hooper)
Wilderness Survival For Girls (2004 - Kim Roberts)
Erin Brown (Misty Mundae)
'Death Dreams' - The She's
Bikini Girls On Dinosaur Planet (2005 - William Hellfire)
Cry_Wolf (2005 - Jeff Wadlow)
Cursed (2005 - Wes Craven)
The Devil's Bloody Playthings (2005 - William Hellfire)
The Devil's Rejects (2005 - Rob Zombie) Edmond (2005 - Stuart Gordon) The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005 - Scott Derrickson)
Hostel (2005 - Eli Roth)
House Of Wax (2005 - Jaume Collet-Serra)
Mortuary (2005 - Tobe Hooper)
The Naked Monster (2005 - Wayne Berwick & Ted Newsom)
Pervert! (2005 - Jonathan Yudis)
Shadow: Dead Riot (2005 - Derek Wan)
Shock-O-Rama (2005 - Brett Piper)
The Skeleton Key (2005 - Iain Softley)
2001 Maniacs (2005 - Tim Sullivan)
Venom (2005 - Jim Gillespie)
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Abominable (2006 - Ryan Schifrin)
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006 - Jonathan Levine)
Behind The Mask : The Rise Of Leslie Vernon (2006 - Scott Glosserman)
Big Bad Wolf (2006 - Lance W. Dreesen)
The Breed (2006 - Nicholas Mastandrea)
The Covenant (2006 - Renny Harlin)
Dark Corners (2006 - Ray Gower)
Dark Ride (2006 - Craig Singer)
The Devil's Den (2006 - Jeff Burr)
An Erotic Werewolf In London (2006 - William Hellfire)
The Gravedancers (2006 - Mike Mendez)
The House Of Usher (2006 - Hayley Cloake)
Knight Of The Peeper (2006 - Jose Sombra)
The Lost (2006 - Chris Sivertson)
The Marsh (2006 - Jordan Barker)
Nightmare Man (2006 - Rolfe Kanefsky)
Satanic (2006 - Dan Golden)
Stump The Band (2006 - JoJo Henrickson & William Holmes)
Turistas (2006 - John Stockwell)
Whispers From A Shallow Grave (2006 - Ted Newsom)
The Woods (2006 - Lucky McKee)
Eliza Dushku
Black Devil Doll (2007 - Jonathan Lewis)
Buried Alive (2007 - Robert Kurtzman)
1408 (2007 - Mikael Hafstrom)
I Am Legend (2007 - Francis Lawrence)
Left For Dead (2007 - Christopher Harrison)
The Mist (2007 - Frank Darabont)
The Rage (2007 - Robert Kurtzman)
Skin Crawl (2007 - Justin Wingenfeld)
Solstice (2007 - Daniel Myrick)
Splatter Beach (2007 - John Polonia & Mark Polonia)
Splatter Disco (2007 - Richard Griffin) Stuck (2007 - Stuart Gordon) Through The Night (2007 - Insane Mike Saunders)
The Wizard Of Gore (2007 - Jeremy Kasten)
Zombie Cheerleading Camp (2007 - Jon Fabris)
Elissa Dowling
Bad Biology (2008 - Frank Henenlotter)
Bitten (2008 - Harvey Glazer)
Blood And Sex Nightmare (2008 - Joseph R. Kolbek)
Bonnie & Clyde Vs. Dracula (2008 - Timothy Friend) Dark Reel (2008 - Josh Eisenstadt)
Demon Divas And The Lanes Of Damnation (2008 - Mike Watt)
Frat House Massacre (2008 - Alex Pucci)
The Happening (2008 - M. Night Shyamalan)
Legend Has It (2008 - Jason Bolinger & Insane Mike Saunders)
The Midnight Meat Train (2008 - Ryuhei Kitamura)
Mirrors (2008 - Alexandre Aja)
Monster From Bikini Beach (2008 - Darin Wood)
Parasomnia (2008 - William Malone) The Ruins (2008 - Carter B. Smith)
Sea Of Dust (2008 - Scott Bunt)
Slumber Party Slaughterhouse : The Game (2008 - VARIOUS)
Spring Break Massacre (2008 - Michael Hoffman Jr.) Transsiberian (2008 - Brad Anderson)
Untraceable (2008 - Gregory Hoblit)
Wicked Lake (2008 - Zach Passero)
Mena Suvari
Bikini Girls On Ice (2009 - Geoff Klein)
Blood Night : The Legend Of Mary Hatchet (2009 - Frank Sabatella)
Drag Me To Hell (2009 - Sam Raimi) Faces Of Schlock (2009 - VARIOUS)
Grave Danger (2009 - Jim Haggerty) The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto (2009 - Rob Zombie)
The House Of The Devil (2009 - Ti West)
Infestation (2009 - Kyle Rankin)
Malibu Shark Attack (2009 - David Lister) Mister Dissolute (2009 - Mark Baranowski)
Nine Dead (2009 - Chris Shadley)
Orphan (2009 - Jaume Collet-Serra)
Pandorum (2009 - Christian Alvart)
Run! Bitch Run! (2009 - Joseph Guzman)
Skull Heads (2009 - Charles Band)
Sorority Row (2009 - Stewart Hendler)
Spirit Camp (2009 - Kerry Beyer)
Strangers Online (2009 - John Huckert)
Terror Overload – Tales From Satan's Truck Stop (2009 - Brant Johnson, Kevin Myhre & Jason Stephenson)
The Unborn (2009 - David S. Goyer)
Witchmaster General (2009 - Jim Haggerty)
Zombieland (2009 - Ruben Fleischer)
Tiffany Shepis
'Love Is' - Dude York
Black Swan (2010 - Darren Aronofsky)
From The Inside (2010 - Jim Haggerty) The Last Exorcism (2010 - Daniel Stamm)
My Soul To Take (2010 - Wes Craven)
Nude Nuns With Big Guns (2010 - Joseph Guzman)
President's Day (2010 - Chris LaMartina)
Red, White & Blue (2010 - Simon Rumley)
Shutter Island (2010 - Martin Scorsese)
Stake Land (2010 - Jim Mickle)
The Taint (2010 - Drew Bolduc & Dan Nelson)
Lauren Lakis
Chillerama (2011 - VARIOUS)
Climb It, Tarzan! (2011 - Jared Masters)
Creature (2011 - Fred M. Andrews)
Dear God No! (2011 - James Bickert)
The Disco Exorcist (2011 - Richard Griffin)
Drive Angry (2011 - Patrick Lussier)
The Innkeepers (2011 - Ti West) The Orphan Killer (2011 - Matt Farnsworth)
Raymond Did It (2011 - Travis Legge)
Red State (2011 - Kevin Smith)
The Sex Merchants (2011 - John Niflheim)
Shark Night (2011 - David R. Ellis)
Shriek Of The Sasquatch! (2011 - Steve Sessions) Swamp Shark (2011 - Griff Furst)
The Thing (2011 - Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.)
The Victim (2011 - Michael Biehn)
Witch's Brew (2011 - Chris LaMartina)
The Woman (2011 - Lucky McKee)
You're Next (2011 - Adam Wingard)
Sarah Nicklin
The ABCs Of Death (2012 - VARIOUS) Bad Kids Go To Hell (2012 - Matthew Spradlin)
Creeper (2012 - Matthew Gunnoe)
Dark Shadows (2012 - Tim Burton)
Girls Gone Dead (2012 - Michael Hoffman Jr. & Aaron T. Wells)
Inhuman Resources (2012 - Daniel Krige)
Kiss Of The Damned (2012 - Xan Cassavetes)
The Lords Of Salem (2012 - Rob Zombie)
Murder University (2012 - Richard Griffin)
Prometheus (2012 - Ridley Scott)
Play Hooky (2012 - Frank S. Petrilli)
The Raven (2012 - James McTeigue)
Scream Park (2012 - Cary Hill)
Sinister (2012 - Scott Derrickson)
The Sleeper (2012 - Justin Russell) Slice (2012 - Terence Muncy)
Vamps (2012 - Amy Heckerling)
When Death Calls (2012 - Jim Haggerty)
Zombie A-Hole (2012 - Dustin Mills) Kaylee Williams
Axeman (2013 - Joston Theney)
All Cheerleaders Die (2013 - Lucky McKee & Chris Sivertson)
Babysitter Massacre (2013 - Henrique Couto) Bath Salt Zombies (2013 - Dustin Mills) Blood Slaughter Massacre (2013 - Manny Serrano)
Bunni (2013 - Daniel Benedict)
The Cemetery (2013 - Adam Ahlbrandt)
The Conjuring (2013 - James Wan)
Die Die Delta Pi (2013 - Sean Donohue & Christopher Leto) Easter Casket (2013 - Dustin Mills)
Frankenstein's Hungry Dead (2013 - Richard Griffin) Horns (2013 - Alexandre Aja) Ghost Shark (2013 - Griff Furst)
The Green Inferno (2013 - Eli Roth) Night Of The Tentacles (2013 - Dustin Mills)
Ooga Booga (2013 - Charles Band)
Rapture-Palooza (2013 - Paul Middleditch)
Return To Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 (2013 - Lloyd Kaufman)
The Sacrament (2013 - Ti West)
Skinless (2013 - Dustin Mills)
Slink (2013 - Jared Masters)
Izzie Harlow & Henrique Couto
After School Massacre (2014 - Jared Masters)
Annabelle (2014 - John R. Leonetti)
Big Driver (2014 - Mikael Salomon)
Call Girl Of Cthulu (2014 - Chris LaMartina)
Camp Massacre (2014 - Jim O'Rear & Daniel Emery Taylor)
Cheerleader Camp : To The Death (2014 - Dustin Ferguson)
Club Lingerie (2014 - Jared Masters)
The Coed And The Zombie Stoner (2014 - Glenn Miller)
Deadly Punkettes (2014 - Jared Masters)
Deadly Weekend (2014 - Jason Sutton)
Don't Blink (2014 - Travis Oates) Ghoulish Tales (2014 - Brad Twigg)
A Good Marriage (2014 - Peter Askin) The Guest (2014 - Adam Wingard)
Haunted House On Sorority Row (2014 - Henrique Couto)
It Follows (2014 - David Robert Mitchell)
Jailbait (2014 - Jared Cohn)
Lost After Dark (2014 - Ian Kessner) Naughty, Dirty, Nasty (2014 - Chris Woods)
Scarewaves (2014 - Henrique Couto)
The Sins Of Dracula (2014 - Richard Griffin)
666 : Kreepy Kerry (2014 - David DeCoteau)
Starry Eyes (2014 - Kevin Kölsch & Dennis Widmyer)
Stonehearst Asylum (2014 - Brad Anderson)
Teenage Slumber Party Nightmare (2014 - Richard Mogg)
Varsity Blood (2014 - Jake Helgren)
The Voices (2014 - Marjane Satrapi)
Zombie Pirates (2014 - Steve Sessions)
Sarah French (Scarlet Salem)
'Bad Idea' - The Paranoyds
Alone In The Ghost House (2015 - Henrique Couto)
Badass Monster Killer (2015 - Darin Wood)
Ballet Of Blood (2015 - Jared Masters)
Bastard (2015 - Powell Robinson & Patrick Robert Young)
Dangerous People (2015 - Garo Nigoghossian)
Fangboner (2015 - Nathan Rumler)
The Fappening (2015 - Sean Weathers) Flesh For The Inferno (2015 - Richard Griffin)
Knock Knock (2015 - Eli Roth) Milfs Vs. Zombies (2015 - Brad Twigg)
Other Halves (2015 - Matthew T. Price)
Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse (2015 - Christopher B. Landon)
Secret Santa (2015 - Mike McMurran)
Seven Dorms Of Death (2015 - Richard Griffin) $kumbagz (2015 - John Miller)
Tales Of Halloween (2015 - VARIOUS)
Sara Paxton
All Girls Weekend (2016 - Lou Simon)
All I Need (2016 - Dylan K. Narang)
Cannibal Claus (2016 - Sean Donohue) CarousHELL (2016 - Steve Rudzinski) Chaos A.D. (2016 - Chris Woods)
Chupacabra Territory (2016 - Matt McWilliams)
Don't Breathe (2016 - Fede Alvarez) Fiendish Fables (2016 - Brad Twigg) Frankenshark (2016 - Bill Zebub)
Frankenstein Created Bikers (2016 - James Bickert)
The Horde (2016 - Jared Cohn)
Hunters (2016 - Adam Ahlbrandt)
Lights Out (2016 - David Sandberg)
Little Dead Rotting Hood (2016 - Jared Cohn)
The Love Witch (2016 - Anna Biller)
Model Hunger (2016 - Debbie Rochon)
Night Of Something Strange (2016 - Jonathan Straiton)
Plank Face (2016 - Scott Schirmer)
She Wolf Rising (2016 - Marc Leland)
Sorority Slaughterhouse (2016 - David DeCoteau)
Terrifier (2016 - Damien Leone)
Tonight She Comes (2016 - Matt Stuertz)
Sadie Tate
Aliens Vs Titanic (2017 - Jeff Leroy)
Bad Kids Of Crestview Academy (2017 - Ben Browder) Big Hair, Long Lashes (2017 - Jared Masters) Get Out (2017 - Jordan Peele) House Skark (2017 - Ron Bonk) Killer Campout (2017 - Brad Twigg) Land Shark (2017 - Mark Polonia) Locked Up (2017 - Jared Cohn)
Mother! (2017 - Darren Aranofsky)
Party Night (2017 - Troy Escamilla)
Return To Return To Nuke 'Em High Aka Vol. 2 (2017 - Lloyd Kaufman)
Space Babes From Outer Space (2017 - Brian Williams)
Jessica Cameron
Amazon Hot Box (2018 - James Bickert)
The Executioners (2018 - Giorgio Serafini) Ghoul Scout Zombie Massacre (2018 - Eric Eichelberger)
Alyss Winkler, Brian Papandrea, Allison Maier & Ellie Church
Art Of The Dead (2019 - Rolfe Kanefsky)
Crossbreed (2019 - Brandon Slagle)
Earth Girls Are Sleazy (2019 - VARIOUS)
Girls Just Wanna Have Blood (2019 - Anthony Catanese)
The Hart-Break Killer (2019 - Sean Donohue)
Slaughterhouse Slumber Party (2019 - Dustin Mills)
Haley Madison
Clown Fear (2020 - Minh Collins)
Naked Cannibal Campers (2020 - Sean Donohue)
Carmela Hayslett (Roxsy Tyler)
'YFLMD' - Giant Drag
---
Global Horror (2000 - 2020)
1 Franchise
[Rec] (2007 - Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza) / [Rec]² (2009 - Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza) / [REC] 3 : Genesis (2012 - Paco Plaza) / [REC] 4 : Apocalypse (2014 - Jaume Balaguero)
Alina Lina
Head Wound City at Bedrocktoberfest
---
FILMS
Deep In The Woods (2000 - Lionel Delplanque)
Faust : Love Of The Damned (2000 - Brian Yuzna)
Ju-On : The Grudge (2000 - Takashi Shimizu)
Sacred Flesh (2000 - Nigel Wingrove)
Brotherhood Of The Wolf (2001 - Christophe Gans)
Cradle of Fear (2001 - Alex Chandon) Dagon (2001 - Stuart Gordon)
Kannibal (2001 - Richard Driscoll)
The Others (2001 - Alejandro Amenabar)
The Barber (2002 - Michael Bafaro)
Dark Water (2002 - Hideo Nakata)
Darkness (2002 - Jaume Balaguero)
Fallen Angels (2002 - Ian David Diaz)
Wolfhound (2002 - Donovan Kelly)
A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003 - Kim Jee-Woon)
Creep (2004 - Christopher Smith) Decoys (2004 - Matthew Hastings) Dracula 3000 (2004 - Darrell Roodt)
Frost (2004 - Domink Alber)
House Of Voices (2004 - Pascal Laugier)
Romasanta (2004 - Paco Plaza) Rottweiler (2004 - Brian Yuzna)
Beneath Still Waters (2005 - Brian Yuzna)
Cello (2005 - Woo-Cheol Lee)
The Descent (2005 - Neil Marshall)
Feed (2005 - Brett Leonard)
Forest Of The Damned (2005 - Johannes Roberts)
Fragile (2005 - Jaume Balaguero)
Man-Thing (2005 - Brett Leonard) The Nun (2005 - Luis De La Madrid) Wolf Creek (2005 - Greg McLean)
Black Christmas (2006 - Glen Morgan)
Cold Prey (2006 - Roar Uthaug) 5ive Girls (2006 - Warren P. Sonoda) Sheitan (2006 - Kim Chapiron)
Silent Hill (2006 - Christophe Gans)
Sukeban Boy (2006 - Noboru Iguchi)
When Evil Calls (2006 - Johannes Roberts)
Exte : Hair Extensions (2007 - Sion Sono)
Sick Nurses (2007 - Piraphan Laoyont)
Tokyo Gore Police (2007 - Yoshihiro Nishimura)
Book Of Blood (2008 - John Harrison)
Credo (2008 - Toni Harman)
Donkey Punch (2008 - Olly Blackburn) Gutterballs (2008 - Ryan Nicholson)
The Legend Of Harrow Woods (2008 - Richard Driscoll)
Love Exposure (2008 - Sion Sono)
The Machine Girl (2008 - Noboru Iguchi)
Martyrs (2008 - Pascal Laugier)
Ogre (2008 - Steven R. Monroe)
Red Mist (2008 - Paddy Breathnach)
RoboGeisha (2009 - Noboru Iguchi)
Splice (2009 - Vincenzo Natali)
Triangle (2009 - Christopher Smith)
Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009 - Naoyuki Tomomatsu)
Zombie Women Of Satan (2009 - Warren Speed)
Lullaby (2010 - Juliusz Machulski)
Monstro! (2010 - Stuart Simpson)
Mutant Girls Squad (2010 - Noboru Iguchi)
Psychosis (2010 - Reg Traviss)
Rabies (2010 - Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado)
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010 - Eli Craig)
Macarena Gomez
'Bonfire' - Magik Markers
Deadball (2011 - Yudai Yamaguchi)
Guilty Of Romance (2011 - Sion Sono)
Inbred (2011 - Alex Chandon)
Sleep Tight (2011 - Jaume Balaguero)
Strip Mahjong : Battle Royale (2011 - Makku P. Foeva) Tomie : Unlimited (2011 - Noboru Iguchi)
The Wicker Tree (2011 - Robin Hardy)
Zombie Ass : The Toilet Of The Dead (2011 - Noboru Iguchi)
The ABC's Of Death (2012 - VARIOUS)
Dead Sushi (2012 - Noboru Iguchi)
Dracula 3D (2012 - Dario Argento)
The Facility (2012 - Ian Clark)
Fresh Meat (2012 – Danny Mulheron)
The Girl From Nowhere (2012 - Jean-Claude Brisseau)
Slasher House (2012 - MJ Dixon)
Strippers Vs Werewolves (2012 - Jonathan Glendenning)
The Tall Man (2012 - Pascal Laugier)
Three's A Shroud (2012 - VARIOUS)
Tower Block (2012 - James Nunn & Ronnie Thompson)
Truth Or Dare (2012 - Robert Heath)
The Return Of The Forklift Drivers (2013 - Jochen Taubert)
Under The Skin (2013 - Jonathan Glazer)
American Burger (2014 - Johan Bromander & Bonita Drake)
Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla (2014 - Stuart Simpson)
Devil's Tower (2014 - Owen Tooth)
The Editor (2014 - Adam Brooks) Girlhouse (2014 - Jon Knautz & Trevor Matthews)
Play My Limb Until Death (2014 - Jochen Taubert)
The Quiet Ones (2014 - John Pogue)
Dead Or Alive (2015 - Jochen Taubert)
Deathgasm (2015 - Jason Lei Howden)
The Devil's Woods (2015 - Anthony White)
Even Lambs Have Teeth (2015 - Terry Miles)
The Lure (2015 - Agnieszka Smoczynska)
Secret Santa (2015 - Mike McMurran)
Tag (2015 - Sion Sono)
Tale Of Tales (2015 - Matteo Garrone)
Female Zombie Riot (2016 - Warren Speed) The Limehouse Golem (2016 - Juan Carlos Medina)
Peelers (2016 - Seve Schelenz)
Sneekweek (2016 - Martijn Heijne)
We Are The Flesh (2016 - Emiliano Rocha Minter)
Juliet & Romeo : Love Is A Battlefield (2017 - Jochen Taubert) Revenge (2017 - Coralie Fargeat)
Necrologies (2018 - Fabien Chombart, Guillaume Defare, Nathalie Epoque, Francois Message & Alexis Wawerka)
The Pope's Daughter : We Come In The Name Of The Lord (2020 - Jochen Taubert)
Kyrie Capri Mayberian Sanskulotts at Kepler Studios
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Post by petrolino on Sept 19, 2020 23:42:18 GMT
Movie Magic : Make-Up Art, Mise-En-Scene, Mobile Mechanics & The Music Industry
One of the reasons punk and horror go together so well is a shared pantomime aspect. We see this with the work of film composers, but also production designers, costume designers and set decorators. Another key role on a film set is played by the make-up artist and no film genres require more make-up work than science-fiction, fantasy and horror.
Interestingly, some of the great make-up artists of the punk era were musicians themselves and some even had distinct links to the punk movement. For example, actress and guitarist Linnea Quigley (of the Skirts) is a talented make-up artist in her own right, as well as being a costume designer, jewelry maker and professional puppeteer. Her film work has led her to collaborate with some of the greatest make-up artists and special effects technicians active in science-fiction, fantasy and horror cinema. Quigley's worked with character actor Michael Sonye on several film productions. Sonye is better known as Dukey Flyswatter and fronts the horror punk band, Haunted Garage. Sonye is also a capable special effects technician and make-up artist. He's built a range of unusual props for Haunted Garage's stage shows which revel in the traditions of Grand Guignol theatre and erotic burlesque. Sonye has also fronted several different parody bands including Fox Twat (riot grrrl), Hemorrhoid In Cambodia (Dead Kennedys) and Moronic Reducer (Dead Boys).
Dukey Flyswatter & Gaby Godhead
Linnea Quigley enters special effects artist Steve Johnson's workshop
Screaming Mad George is an elite special effects and make-up artist and one of the most imaginative workers in his field. He's from Osaka, Japan but is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, New York. Since graduation, he's lived and worked in America and is noted for his many collaborations with filmmaker Brian Yuzna. In the late 1970's, George fronted a punk band called the Mad. His entry to the film industry came about when his work on music videos garnered attention. George directed Linnea Quigley in 'The Guyver' (1991).
The Mad at CBGB's in 1978
The Mad & Bad Brains play Max's Kansas City in 1979
'I Wanna Be A Devil' - The Mad
Rob Bottin is noted for his many collaborations with filmmaker Joe Dante which includes the punk musical 'Rock 'N' Roll High School' (1979). His friend and creative associate Rick Baker worked regularly with filmmaker John Landis who's directed some of the most successful music videos of all time. Bottin's work on 'RoboCop' (1987) and Baker's work on 'Videodrome' (1983) were essential to the visual development of cyberpunk cinema. Stan Winston's work on 'The Terminator' (1984) was equally important and he became a spokesman for the creative and economic benefits of computer generated imagery.
Rob Bottin
'Scare Tactics' (with Steve Johnson & Linnea Quigley)
Mechanical effects creator Jim Doyle worked uncredited with a number of rock groups early in his caeer. As an inventor for hire, he'd be recruited to work on music videos and oversee the development of stage devices. Make-up artist and special effects creator Robert Burns also built props and developed mechanical devices used by musicians.
Robert Burns & Tobe Hooper
Jim Doyle's 'Elm Street' Video Diary
Tom Savini is a bass guitarist. He's a friend of the Misfits and would probably step in if bassist Jerry Only ever stepped aside. Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger were greatly influenced by Savini and started the special effects studio KNB. Kurtzman, who was mentored by John Carl Buechler early in his career, plays guitar in a rock 'n' roll band.
“I make a tool out of a guitar string and a piece of brass for raking down a sculpture – you can buy these rakes, but most people make them. I use it all the time. Duct tape – now Gorilla Tape – is also indispensible, and so is Super Glue. You’ve gotta have Super Glue; it fixes everything, including a broken guitar string on my rake to make it last another show longer.”
- Robert Kurtzman, Creative Content Wire
Tom Savini
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Post by petrolino on Sept 26, 2020 22:37:11 GMT
Shortboard Thruster : Surfing On The A-Frame
Blondie, the Ramones, the Cramps, the B-52's and the Dead Kennedys are among the many punk bands that have utilised surf rock techniques in their music. Surf punk has been called "a revival of the original surfing sound" and it's true there's a strong connection. Agent Orange recorded covers of 'Miserlou' (a folk song from the east Mediterranean reinvented by surf rock pioneer Dick Dale), the Bel-Airs' 'Mr. Moto' and the Chantays' 'Pipeline'.
"It wasn’t long after the invention of rock ’n’ roll that artists started making their own styles of rock, including the reverb-heavy surf rock, made most popular by Dick Dale and later, the Beach Boys."
- Alyssa Quiles, Alt Press
Surf Punks
'The Dummies' - Surf Punks
The pioneers of what might be called "pure surf punk" included the group Surf Punks who formed in Malibu, California, and Insect Surfers who originated in Washington D.C. which is technically landlocked. Insect Surfers opened for the B-52's in 1979.
"One of the best things about Surf Punks is they were exactly what they said they were. In the late 1970s, the Malibu band aimed to apply the no-frills surfer ideal to punk in the same way the Beach Boys had applied it to rock 'n' roll in the 1960s. It was a novel idea, for sure. But, for a time at least, it succeeded, even if the Surf Punks story was weird and fragmented.
Adding to Surf Punks' unlikely premise was the fact that co-founder, producer, and drummer Dennis Dragon was the younger brother of "Captain" Daryl Dragon of the soft-rock duo Captain & Tennille. In another odd twist, both Dragon brothers had played with the Beach Boys themselves.
Fronted by vocalist Drew Steele, Surf Punks self-released an album in 1979. It was later picked up by Epic, who issued it as My Beach the following year. Punk's first wave was already dying out, and the band moved to indie Restless/Enigma for the 1982 follow-up Locals Only. Then, they disappeared for six years."
- John Bergstrom, Pop Matters
Insect Surfers
'Up Periscope' - Insect Surfers
One of the most dedicated surf rock bands is Man Or Astro-Man? who draw heavily from punk music. They apparently released a split 7" single with Chrome in 1996 but I've not heard it.
Californian Super Surfer ~ Jennifer Aniston
'Told You So' - Paramore
- - -
Noseslide Grind : Skating To The Death Wobble
Around the same time that surf punk broke through, skate punk emerged as a major musical movement. Skate punk went on to become a global phenomenon whereas surf punk has remained a niche market. Suicidal Tendencies are one of the more innovative skate punk bands, blending thrash metal with hardcore punk to fashion an arresting hybrid. Suicidal Tendencies were formed in Venice, California which had a strong skate punk scene and was also home to Excel. As surf punk gripped the west coast, some of the leading skater punks could be found inland where they were spread across the south-west. The seeds of subgenre pioneers JFA (Jodie Foster's Army) were planted in Pheonix, Arizona though they also had links to California's punk scene.
“I decided to start a record label because I could see the future of punk.” Doug Moody, still laser-sharp well into his 80s, is the founder of Mystic Records, a California-based label that released early albums, singles and compilation tracks from many of the bands that would become synonymous with the skate-punk movement of the 1980s – bands like JFA, Suicidal Tendencies, Ill Repute, RKL, DRI and Dr. Know.
“I decided to record 500 bands, and they came from all over, everywhere, even Holland,” he says. “The trick for Mystic was to give a voice to people who wanted to tell the world how they felt. You can only capture that before you have the responsibilities of bills and children.
"Most of the bands were between the ages of 16 and 18. That’s when you have the vehemence, the drive to tell the world what you really think. I saw myself in these kids, and that’s why I started Mystic.”
Moody made his fortune in the 50s and 60s, recording soul and R&B acts on his Philadelphia-based labels Herald and Ember, including some early work with influential country and blues guitarist Lightnin’ Hopkins.
“When I moved to the US from England,” he says, “the only people that would accept me were black. So that’s the kind of music I recorded. The people that played this music were dirt poor, they’d come in with holes in their trousers, and with hand-me-down instruments.
"Fast forward to the 1970s, when I started recording punk bands for Better Youth Organization in California, and I saw the same things – kids with holes in their clothes, and with hand-me-down instruments. They were poor. It was like the 50s all over again. And I knew they were all skateboarders, because they would come into the studio with their skateboards.”
One of these early skate bands was Dr. Know. Brandon Cruz was their first singer, although he left the band before their more well-known ‘crossover’ era, and the frontman recounts how a bunch of scruffy, angry skateboarders started an entire musical movement.
“We were all skaters before we were punkers,” he says. Cruz was from a Los Angeles suburb called Oxnard, which quickly became ground zero for skate-punk. “In Oxnard, where Aggression, Ill Repute, Dr. Know and Stalag 13 all came from, we surfed year round and skated in empty pools when it didn’t rain.
In 1975 or 1976, this was before punk rock, they built a skate park in Oxnard, and all the guys from Venice would come up to skate there. Some of the guys from Venice included Jim Muir and his little, little brother, [future Suicidal Tendencies frontman] Mike Muir. We all skated, and we all skated to heavy metal and southern-fried rock back then.”
The following year, however, the musical landscape changed radically. “The summer of ’77 I came back from England, and there was a band from Moor Park called the Rotters. They started playing, and by 1978 they were playing high school parties, and we would go and crash the parties.
We heard those guys playing, and we said, ‘Oh, we can do that.’ The guys in Aggression were a few years older, so all us guys that would later be in Ill Repute and Dr. Know, we just sat and watched to see how they did it. Then we all sorta came together at my mom’s house. That’s where our guitar player Ismael coined the term “Nardcore”, and it all sorta got going from there. The band started in late ’79, and it really got going by 1981.”
“The original name for the music we put out was thrash, or skate-thrash,” says Doug Moody. “Punk music was Exploited, Discharge. The bands coming from England, and the bands that copied them were punk bands. The stuff we were producing was an original form of Californian music, thrash, or skateboard punk. It originated here.”
The movement was aided by the emergence of LA hardcore bands like Black Flag, The Circle Jerks and the Adolescents, bands that were fast and raw, which replicated the feel of skating. Soon, skate-punk bands starting cropping up all over California and, indeed, the rest of the country. Arizona’s JFA (or, as they were more formally known, Jodie Foster’s Army) are one of the longest running. Lead singer Brain Brannon recounts the early days of the scene.
“You had bands in Orange County and LA, you had Oxnard, which is central California, you had skate-punk coming out of San Francisco, like the Drunk Injuns, San Jose had a big scene. They were sprouting like weeds. It was going on all over. It wasn’t really a movement until Thrasher magazine started putting it all together. Thrasher was a really big catalyst in helping everybody join together. With it you can find out what town has what band so you can hook up and tour, go to their spots to skate and hang out.”
At the same time skate-punk began developing as a loosely-knit but far-reaching community, a per nicious influx of gangs crept into the LA skate-punk scene. The most notorious were the Suicidals, known as much for their low-slung bandanas as their propensity for brutality. Venice Beach skate thrashers Suicidal Tendencies were, naturally, at the eye of this particular hurricane. Their shows became so violent that by 1983, they could no longer even play in Los Angeles.
“Suicidal blew up ridiculously huge”, says Brandon Cruz. “A lot of the East LA guys delved really deep into the gang lifestyle, to the point where you couldn’t even refer to them by their real names anymore, they had all these nicknames and stuff. Back in the 80s, punk rock gang fights were, at the worst, somebody with a stick.
"They were fistfights. But after a while, people were getting jumped for no reason, and it just got stupid. The violence in that scene is legendary, but it was brutal to be a part of. I’m a small guy, but I got punched a bunch of times at gigs by people where I didn’t know who they were or what I’d done. It was like a random thing.”
As if random face-mashings weren’t enough, around 1983-1985, a strange new influence crept into skate-thrash: heavy metal. Seemingly overnight, scores of once-staunchly anti-metal punk bands began to add scorching lead-guitar solos and wailing vocals into their songs.
It was a like some sort of lead-infused virus, and it claimed an impressive roster of skate-friendly punk bands, including Dr. Know, DRI, Suicidal Tendencies, Corrosion Of Conformity, Septic Death, Agnostic Front, SSD and many others. Brandon Cruz was one of the few purists who refused to ‘go metal’.
“I don’t know how it happened,” he shrugs. “I just remember in 1983 hearing the initial rough versions of songs that were going to be on our Plug-In Jesus record and looking at our guitar player Kyle and realising, ‘Wow, he’s growing his hair out and listening to a lot more Motörhead and Black Sabbath lately,’ and this isn’t what I thought we were going to do."
- Ken McIntyre, Louder
Suicidal Tendencies
'Tapping Into The Emotional Void' - Excel
Big Boys and the Dicks both played in Austin, Texas and were a key influence on the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' funk-fuelled sound. Together they recorded a joint album, 'Big Boys & The Dicks -- Live At Raul's Club' (1980), which is now enshrined as a skate punk classic. There were countless hardcore bands active in cities like Dallas, Houston and San Antonio that pretty much sounded the same, but several bands in Austin sought to add groove to their frenetic thrash.
"Skateboards and the cinema are no strangers. They’ve had a relationship stretching back more than 50 years. One of the earliest examples is Skaterdater, a 15-minute short with zero dialogue. It’s a classic boy-meets-girl story soundtracked by the surf rock group Davie Allan and the Arrows, which was released way back in 1965.
Skating or ‘sidewalk surfing’, as it was known back then, was almost lost to history as a passing fad until the 1970s saw the invention of the polyurethane wheel, which allowed riders to hit bigger and tougher terrain. Soon, skaters such as Tony Alva and Jay Adams, members of the legendary Z-Boys skate crew, were pushing all previous boundaries, and photographers and filmmakers were keen to capture their exploits on camera. This resulted in a 70s spike of skate-based films, including Freewheelin’ (1976), Skateboard (1978) and Skateboard Madness (1980).
Narratively shaky, these were essentially cinematic vehicles for skaters to showcase their skills and tricks. The budgets were low but the enthusiasm behind them was enough to give the new genre traction, leading to the release of an increasing number of skate-inspired films. Before long, more mainstream movies began to have central characters who were skaters, as the skateboard became emblematic of youth identity or rebellious unconventionality."
- Tom Jones, The British Film Institute
Robert Rusler & Pamela Gidley relaxing on set during the filming of 'Thrashin' (1986)
'Institutionalized' - Suicidal Tendencies
The great legacy of skate punk is the world-conquering bands it's inspired. NOFX, the Offspring, Green Day, Pennywise and Blink-182 are just some of the rock groups that owe a huge debt to the skater scene. What was perhaps most shocking however, were the rabid levels of machismo fostered in skate punk circles. At times, it seemed like hardly any women were active within any of the major bands.
"Skate punk is something taken seriously in the desert. We're always looking to finish an argument about what constitutes a good slab of skate punk wax. Phoenix has a long history with both skateboarding and the music most closely associated with it. Skate punk (or skate rock, which many see as interchangeable terms), is any music created by skateboarders and/or a provider of the sufficient inspiration to risk life and limb on four wheels and a deck of wood.
Local heroes Jodie Foster's Army (JFA) debuted in 1981 and are considered by some to have started the whole thing. However, JFA actually does have peers that predate the Phoenix quartet in terms of first gigs and recordings so we won't coronate them as the original skate punks just yet. For many of the progenitors of the genre, the sound is equal parts of the following bands: The Sonics, The Ventures, The Who (specifically the early '70s Isle of Wight-era Who), Black Sabbath, Ramones, and Devo.
The popularity of skateboarding on a national and international level has grown steadily since the mid-'80s, but it has been a popular sport in our "but it's a dry heat" corner of the globe since the 1970s. It is also safe to say we no longer need to preface the word "sport" with "alternative" or "extreme" in 2015, as skateboarding finally has matured enough to no longer be seen as a fad or anomaly in the sports world. To put it in perspective in another way, we're just a little over a year away from having a 40-year-old skate shop in greater Phoenix, as Scottsdale's Sidewalk Surfer will celebrate its ruby anniversary in 2017."
- Tom Reardon, Pheonix New Times
JFA
'Blatant Localism' ~ JFA
No Doubt were an accomplished rock group who married ska punk with skate punk to create their own unique sound and aesthetic. Vocalist Gwen Stefani at times seemed like a lone voice in the wilderness. When the class of the 2000s emerged with strong record sales, there were again hardly any women active on the scene. As such, Canadian skater Avril Lavigne (she surfs too) became a figurehead for the movement, as did songwriter Hayley Williams who fronts influential rock band Paramore.
Californian Collegiate Skateboarder ~ Jodie Foster
'Hard Times' - Paramore
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Post by petrolino on Oct 13, 2020 23:52:01 GMT
Transgressive Movies, The Sundial Revolution & Independent Community Spirit 'Total Confusion' - Minny Pops
The crooked, weaving pathway that connects "no wave" cinema to the independent film movement of the 1980s is only half the story when it comes to the rapid evolution of American punk cinema, though it does cover the entire time frame of the original punk cycle. It was during this fertile period of artistic innovation that you could go and see Lydia Lunch appearing in Beth B. & Scott B.'s drama 'Black Box' (1978) and then go see her again alongside Pat Place in Vivienne Dick's drama 'She Had Her Gun Ready' (1978). Around the same time, Amos Poe directed Patti Astor, Debbie Harry, Anya Phillips, the Cramps and the Erasers in the mystery 'The Foreigner' (1978) and James Nares directed Astor, Place, Arto Lindsay, John Lurie and Jennifer Miro in the historical drama 'Rome '78' (1978). Focusing on 1978 alone demonstrates how punk was always cinematic and wide-reaching in its intent and that it was heavily connected to guerrilla filmmaking from the get-go.
Debbie Harry & Anya Phillips
'Funny' - The Erasers
Transgressive cinema incorporates "no wave" cinema and is a more suitable journalistic (or literary) title to my mind. The idea of transgressive film was around long before punk cineastes got in on the act. Existing experimental, "midnight movie" directors like Paul Bartel, David Lynch, Paul Morrissey and John Waters became figureheads for the movement. The transgressive film movement also bled into the development of cyberpunk cinema, with Lizzie Borden directing Adele Bertei in the futuristic urban project 'Born In Flames' (1983) which features a rare performance in front of the camera from director Kathryn Bigelow.
Bertei was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where she became a protege of Peter Laughner, but like so many punks from Ohio, she ventured east to New York where she became a member of the Contortions. Bertei went on to direct the erotic fetish film 'Secrets Of A Chambermaid' (2000) which was reportedly Hugh Hefner's favourite feature-length 'Playboy' production. Erotica remained an essential factor in punk expression, something exemplified by Lydia Lunch when she famously clung on to Henry Rollins' bulging junk and gave the well-hung J.G. Thirlwell (she called him "thrilwell") an earth-shaking blow job in Richard Kern's 'The Right Side Of My Brain' (1985).
Officer Elton John arrests the Ramones
'Shift The Blame' ~ Model Citizens
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The Sundance Effect
'The Incredible Crawling Eye' - Nervus Rex
I highlighted the work of Jim Jarmusch and Penelope Spheeris in America and Peter Greenaway and Alex Cox in the U K with my earlier posting, 'Rock And Roll High School & The Punk Revolution'. Here's a few additional points regarding punk culture and some of the filmmakers that steered the independent film revolution, a movement that coincided with the rise of the Sundance Film Festival which has been held annually in the state of Utah since 1984 {: the Sundance Institute was founded in 1981 :}.
"I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and spent the first seven years of my life there before moving to New York City with my family. My father was born and raised in Cleveland, and my mother in Omaha, Nebraska. The memories of those early years in Ohio are strong, perhaps because they are the impressions of a child who has not yet made intellectual sense of the place in which she lives. So every memory is very specific and tied to very sensory experiences of early childhood – the smell of wet leaves raked to the curb in the fall, the taste of honeysuckle sucked right from the bud, the low hanging winter sky …"
- Marisa Silver (director of 'Old Enough', winner of the 1st Grand Jury Prize : Dramatic at the 1984 Sundance Film Festival), Midwestern Gothic
01) Abel Ferrara and Spike Lee occupy a certain place within the New York underground. Ferrara was the punk who found himself being embraced by the hip hop movement. Lee was the hip-hopper who found himself being embraced by the punk movement. Ferrara unveiled the magisterial crime drama 'King Of New York' (1990) to open the 1990s. Lee responded in kind by directing arguably the greatest revisionist crime punk picture to close out the decade, the analytical crime melodrama 'Summer Of Sam' (1999). Tributes to Lee have been mounted at 'Afropunk' and 'Punk Rock Theory', while Lee himself has recently been shooting a film version of David Byrne's new stage show 'American Utopia' (2020).
"In Britain, he is regarded as a sensationalist lowlife whose films rely on gratuitous nudity, drug use and violence. His official debut, The Driller Killer, was actually his second movie. The first, Nine Lives of a Wet Pussy, was straightforward porn, starring his girlfriend, her friends and a hired cast of studs, one of whom had difficulty rising to the occasion. "It's bad enough paying a guy $200 to f*ck your girlfriend, then he can't get it up," Abel Ferrara says. The crew drew lots, and he lost, thus making his first appearance in front of the camera. When The Driller Killer arrived in Britain in 1982, straight to VHS without certification, it was cited by Mary Whitehouse as one of the "video nasties" corrupting our youth. It does, as advertised, show people being murdered with a power tool. It's also a vivid depiction of artistic alienation, full of evocative shots of New York, but that didn't matter to the Daily Mail.
Ferrara takes pride in his capacity to shock. "They used to have these charts of how many people were killed in a movie, how many curse words," he says. "Well, King of New York made Scarface look like Mary Poppins." The film has become a hip-hop favourite, partly because of the flamboyant terrorism waged by Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne and their gang."
- Andrew Purcell, The Guardian
Adrien Brody & John Leguizamo in 'Summer Of Sam'
David Byrne speaks with Seth Meyers
02) Friends and filmmakers Alexandre Rockwell and Steve Buscemi were hardcore scenesters in New York. Both men feel their days frequenting punk clubs have informed their artistic outlooks as well as leading to collaborations.
“Back in the day, being a filmmaker was like rock ’n’ roll. It felt exciting. We’d go to see punk music and hang out at the Mudd Club. I just felt like we were inventing the world with music and filmmaking. There weren’t tons of people that were doing it. I called Jim (Jarmusch) on the phone after I saw ‘Permanent Midnight.’ I said, ‘Man, you gotta keep being a filmmaker,’ and he said, ‘No man, I want to play rock ’n’ roll.’ That was what it was like down there.”
- Alexandre Rockwell, IndieWire
'First Rock Star On The Moon' - The Brats
03) Tom DiCillo was another scenester. DiCillo's comedy 'Johnny Suede' (1991) has been called the final word in rockabilly punk and features Nick Cave as Freak Storm and Samuel Jackson as cool jazz B-Bop (his name, a nod to throwback artists Be-Bop Deluxe, who were embraced by British punks just as Mink DeVille were welcomed into the fold by America's punks). DiCillo himself makes an appearance in Susan Seidelman's punk staple 'Desperately Seeking Susan' (1985).
“Punk opened up the idea of possibilities and the idea that if they can do it themselves, we can do it ourselves. Many people feel they can’t make a film unless someone allows them to. The rules perpetuate that. ‘We won’t give the money unless you change your script, unless you da da da.’ Well, the punk movement said, ‘F*ck that. No one is going to allow me to do anything. I’ll do it if I want to do it.’ The same thing then affected the idea of independent film. A lot of people were shooting features in Super 8 and projecting them on the walls in bars. It was just that feeling of, ‘Don’t tell me a film has to be a certain way.’”
- Tom DiCillo, 'Shoot It! Hollywood Inc. And The Rising Of Independent Film'
Samuel Jackson in 'Johnny Suede'
04) Allison Anders co-directed the definitive cowpunk picture, 'Border Radio' (1987), with Dean Lent and longtime collaborator Kurt Voss. The cast includes members of X, the Flesh Eaters, the Blasters, Green On Red and the Divine Horsemen.
"You can’t expect other people to create drama for your life — they’re too busy creating it for themselves,” a punk groupie says at the conclusion of Border Radio. And the four reckless characters at the center of the film certainly manage to create plenty of drama for themselves. In the process, they paint a compelling picture of the Los Angeles punk-rock scene of the 1980s: what it was like on the inside — and what it was like inside the musicians’ heads.
Border Radio (1987) was the first feature by three UCLA film students: Allison Anders, Kurt Voss, and Dean Lent. The subsequent work of both Anders and Voss would resonate with echoes from Border Radio and its musical milieu. Anders’s Gas Food Lodging (1992), Mi vida loca (1993), Grace of My Heart (1996), Sugar Town (1999), and Things Behind the Sun (2001) all draw to some degree from music and pop culture. (She quotes her mentor Wim Wenders’s remark about making The Scarlet Letter: “There were no jukeboxes. I lost interest.”) Voss, who co-wrote and codirected Sugar Town, also wrote and directed Down & Out with the Dolls (2001), a fictional feature about an all-girl band; and in 2006, he was completing Ghost on the Highway, a documentary about Jeffrey Lee Pierce, the late vocalist for the key L.A. punk group the Gun Club.
The three filmmakers met at UCLA in the early eighties, after Anders and Voss had worked as production assistants on Wenders’s Paris, Texas. By that time, Anders and Voss, then a couple, were habitués of the L.A. club milieu; they favored the hard sound of such punk acts as X, the Blasters, the Flesh Eaters, the Gun Club, and Tex & the Horseheads. The neophyte writer-directors, who by 1983 had made a couple of short student films, formulated the idea of building an original script around a group of figures in the L.A. punk demimonde.
Border Radio — which takes its title, and no little script inspiration, from a Blasters song (sung on the soundtrack by Rank & File’s Tony Kinman) — was conceived as a straight film noir. Vestiges of that origin can be seen in the finished film. Its lead character bears the name Jeff Bailey, also the name of Robert Mitchum’s doomed character in Jacques Tourneur’s 1947 noir Out of the Past; its Mexican locations also reflect a key setting in that bleak picture. One sequence features a pedal-boat ride around the same Echo Park lagoon where Jack Nicholson’s J. J. Gittes does some surveillance in Roman Polanski’s 1974 neonoir Chinatown; Chinatown itself — a hotbed of L.A. punk action in the late seventies and early eighties — features prominently in another scene. Certainly, Border Radio’s heist-based plot and the multiple betrayals its central foursome inflict upon each other are the stuff of purest noir. But the film diverges from its source in its largely sunlit cinematography and its explosions of punk humor; Anders, Voss, and Lent also abandoned plans to kill off the film’s lead female character.
In casting their feature, the filmmakers turned to some able performers who were close at hand. The female lead was taken by Anders’s sister Luanna; her daughter was portrayed by Anders’s daughter Devon. Chris, Jeff’s spoiled, untrustworthy friend and roadie, was played by UCLA theater student Chris Shearer."
- Chris Morris, The Criterion Collection
'Did You Get The Girl?' - Mumps
05) Todd Haynes was majorly influenced by punk early in his career. Like punk band Television, he also held an interest in the symbolist movement and French poets of the 19th century.
"Assassins: A Film Concerning Rimbaud - that’s one I can watch without squirming too much. There are some parts I find really lyrical, still. What I like about the film, and what it always was to me, is a story of translation: the way Rimbaud is appropriated by artists and writers, who almost covet him as their own. So a lot of the soundtrack is made of multiple voices reading translations of the same poem on top of each other, and in the original French as well — these highly mythologized moments in his work.
People will see the influence of (Rainer Werner) Fassbinder, for sure, including some freeze-frames, and a shot of a burning card straight out of Querelle. And there are other moments of experimentation or of me translating different influences. For example, after a shot of Verlaine f*cking Rimbaud, the camera pans over the room, very Laura Mulvey, very Peter Wollen, and then finds me and my then-boyfriend in this Fassbinder pose, blankly staring at this event on the bed. There’s step-framing and a lot of punk, and some Henry Miller, who was obsessed with Rimbaud, so he becomes a way to think about everyone’s over-identification with Rimbaud, mine included."
- Todd Haynes, Film Comment
Todd Haynes, Susan Norman & Todd Adams in 'He Once Was'
06) Gregg Araki has been called "punk cinema's boldest voice" and is the primary author of the 'Teen Apocalypse Trilogy', consisting of 'Totally F*cked Up' (1993), 'The Doom Generation' (1995) and 'Nowhere' (1997).
"Gregg Araki's films are the kind of guilty pleasures you don't actually have to feel guilty about. They tend to offer everything you'd want from a teen film — good-looking actors, shallow dialogue, angsty post-punk soundtracks — but without all the heterosexuality and clichéd endings. Instead, the director opts for nihilistic, disenfranchised characters (so much more relatable) and a resolutely queer approach. His most famous film, for example, is Mysterious Skin: the story of a small-town rent boy who first fell in love with a man who abused him at the age of eight.
Araki first made his name as a filmmaker in the 90s, emerging as part of the new queer cinema movement when his third feature, _The Living End—_the story of two HIV-positive fugitives — debuted at Sundance, in '92. He was banded together with Todd Haynes, Tom Kalin, and Rose Troche — filmmakers who shared his dedication to putting a more accurate portrayal of gay characters on cinema screens.
"It was very small, like a high school class," he remembers. Araki's in his 50s now, but he talks like a Valley Girl and doesn't look a day over 35. "Rick Linklater is another filmmaker — we have a very similar method of working, doing our own thing." He compares himself to Gus Van Sant, too — another art-house auteur for doomed Gen X. "We're similar in that we all have our own voice."
- Amelia Abraham, VICE
'Wok N' Woll' - Milk 'N' Cookies
07) Film composer Carter Burwell and musician Miranda Stanton (aka. Miranda Dali) were members of experimental punk group, Thick Pigeon. Burwell has frequently worked with filmmaking brothers Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, as well as Spike Jonze who documented skate punk in the 1980s. Stanton played drums in the punk group CKM alongside bassist Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth); she also acted in several films directed by Jonathan Demme, including those for which independent New York filmmaker Nancy Savoca served as a production assistant.
"A highly respected independent filmmaker, Nancy Savoca spent the early part of her career learning the filmmaking ropes from such greats as John Sayles and Jonathan Demme. Her first feature film, True Love (1989), which she made in her late 20s, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival."
- Monica Sirignano, The Free George
Melanie Griffith in 'Something Wild'
08) Filmmaker John Dahl played guitar in the Pugs, a punk band based in Montana. Dahl co-wrote the horror punk musical 'Here Come The Pugs' in his junior year at Montana State University, before directing his senior year film, 'The Death Mutants'.
"Here Come the Pugs - that was our junior year film. It was a very ambitious musical where we had this punk rock band and there was a disco maniac who was trying to take over in this small town. The conflict was live music versus records. It was fun. Our senior film was an 87-minute black-and-white horror film spoof called The Death Mutants, where a college professor accidentally radiated himself and turned three students into the death mutants, who were helping him build “the laser.” It was totally silly."
- John Dahl, Filmmaker
'Rats' - Tuff Darts
09) Seasoned punk drummer Cliff Martinez (The Dickies, Lydia Lunch, Red Hot Chill Peppers & The Weirdos) composed film music for director Steven Soderbergh, including the original score for his breakthrough feature, 'Sex, Lies, And Videotape' (1989).
"One of the reasons why I think virtual reality, as a narrative format, is never going to go beyond the short-form immersion space is because the bedrock of visual storytelling is the reverse angle. If you can't look into the eyes of the protagonist, you cannot hold people's attention for more than 15 minutes."
- Steven Soderbergh, Vulture
James Spader & Laura San Giacomo in 'Sex, Lies & Videotape'
10) Darren Aronofsky continues to identify with punk in interviews, having been quoted as saying 'Requiem For A Dream' (2000) and 'Mother!' (2017) are "punk films". Whit Stillman became the disco king of indie cinema in the 1990s. Richard Linklater has looked at 1970s American rock music, en masse, throughout his work. Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola and others have also taken a broader approach to 20th century music. But at the end of the day, whether it's Anderson spinning the Clash and the Ramones on the soundtrack to 'The Royal Tenenbaums' (2001), or Coppola's multi-pronged new wave attack designed for 'Marie Antoinette' (2006), they can still get the punks talking ...
"I identified with new wave and punk, but where do you put the art rock like Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, King Crimson? Tull? All that stuff still sounded cool to me."
- Richard Linklater, Louder Sound
'Student Teachers' - Channel 13
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Hal Hartley's 'Long Island Trilogy'
By analysing the films of Hal Hartley, you can trace a direct pathway from experimental jazz through industrial punk, "no wave", "noise rock", "math rock" and other related subgenres / sublabels, which might be considered subsidiaries, depending upon your view. Anders Grafstrom's underground period piece 'The Long Island Four' (1979) inspired Hartley in the making of the 'Long Island Triology' which consists of 'The Unbelievable Truth' (1989), 'Trust' (1990) and 'Simple Men' (1992).
Grafstrom's film also inspired Whit Stillman's distinct visions of Manhattan life and Steve Buscemi's contemplative debut feature 'Trees Lounge' (1996). The cast of 'The Long Island Four' included cabaret artist Joey Arias, ballerina Patti Astor, filmmaker Eric Mitchell, classical tenor Klaus Nomi and comedian Gedde Watanabe, as well as Tina Lhotsky of Minny Pops, and Kristian Hoffman & Lance Loud of the Mumps.
"I did not have Adrienne (Shelly) in mind when I first wrote Trust. In fact, a fully fleshed out version of Trust existed before I wrote and shot The Unbelievable Truth. When editing the first feature, I decided to show her the script for Trust. She and I agreed Maria in Trust was a more demanding role. But I was confident she could do it.
I pushed Adrienne pretty hard on Trust. I didn't have the time or resources to wait for her to really understand and appreciate the dramatic, emotional, aesthetic pitch I was after. She picked it up as we went along. Adrienne would have said her natural inclination was toward broader comedy — which, in fact, is where she went in her own writing and filmmaking. But so much about her manner, her looks and her intelligence (which I could observe thoroughly while editing The Unbelievable Truth) convinced me she would be very moving as Maria."
- Hal Hartley speaking in 2019, Tone
Adrienne Shelly in 'The Unbelievable Truth'
Hartley shot his first feature film, 'The Unbelievable Truth', in 1988. It was made on a shoestring budget and filmed in his native Long Island. It's an unconventional tale of longing, desperation and philosophy, in which a Long Island teenager (played by Adrienne Shelly) finds herself drawn to a mechanic with a criminal past (played by Robert John Burke).
'Trust' confirmed Hartley as one of independent cinema's auteurs. He defined his style with an improved budget, relaying the complex tale of a Long Island teenager with morbid desires (Adrienne Shelly) who becomes enmeshed in the fallout of a television repairman's mental, physical and emotional collapse (played by Martin Donovan). 'Simple Men' is a different proposition altogether; a romanticised family piece concerning the fractious relationship between discipline and anarchy. But just like 'The Unbelievable Truth' and 'Trust', it has the spirit of punk coarsing through its veins.
"There was considerable push-back at the time regarding abortion in particular. After the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where it was very positively received, a woman did stand up and say the film was hateful toward women. Adrienne and I were both baffled by this, as we thought of the film as very loudly a celebration of female autonomy, generosity, and a takedown of male patriarchal habits generally. And despite its warm reception at Toronto, Sundance and elsewhere, distributors waited quite a while to make offers. Recently, a college in a right-leaning state chose to show most of my most popular films — except Trust. That was clearly a choice to avoid controversy."
- Hal Hartley speaking in 2019, Tone
Martin Donovan & Adrienne Shelly pose for a publicity still for 'Trust'
'The Unbelievable Truth' was scored by composer Jim Coleman, keyboardist and sampler with the industrial punk band Cop Shoot Cop. Other members of Cop Shoot Cop included keyboardist David Ouimet of darkwave cabaret Sulfur and "world punk" gypsy rockers Firewater, bassist Tod A. of Firewater, bassist Jack Natz of horror punks the Undead, and drummer Phil Puleo of "post-rock" pioneers Swans.
Coleman's also worked with photographer and filmmaker Richard Kern, who frequently collaborates with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. 'Simple Men' has songs by Sonic Youth and New Jersey outfit Yo La Tengo on its soundtrack.
'Trust' composer Philip Reed was a member of Wild Blue Yonder, the New York group whose songs are on the soundtrack to 'The Unbelievable Truth'. The soundtrack for 'Trust' also features music by Hub Moore & the Great Outdoors (a band led by bassist James Hubbard of Massachusetts groove group Three Colors). Hartley is a musician himself; he's composed minimalist musical pieces for the soundtracks to many of his own films.
'Disconnected 666' - Cop Shoot Cop
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The Adrienne Shelly Foundation
Elton John is summoned to the Royal Palace by the Queen
Adrienne Shelly embodied gothic style, student poetry and post-punk sensibility with her characterisations in 'The Unbelievable Truth' and 'Trust'. In many ways, Hal Hartley's filmmaking was the next step on from Abel Ferrara, Jim Jarmusch and Susan Seidelman's punk-infused visions of streetlife. Hartley showed that suburban insanity in New York could be just as all-consuming as urban insanity.
"At last night's show in New Orleans, Elton John dedicated Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me to Pete Shelley, singer of the British punk band the Buzzcocks. Shelley died earlier in the day of an apparent heart attack. He was 63 years old."
- Chief Editor, Elton John World
“Joe Strummer seemed to be singing from a different place - the kind of place that I suppose Bob Dylan sings from, or John Lennon sang from. He was part town crier and part storyteller. The Sex Pistols were punk, and I loved them because of the sort of Richard III character that John Lydon was playing, and just the sheer noise of the guitars; but what the Clash did was more like roots music.”
- Elton John, Far Out
"John Lydon’s stage presence was simply electrifying - and Elton John rang me one Sunday, asking to meet to discuss the revolution that was going on in pop music. Elton was totally bowled over by punk, realising that nothing in pop would be the same again.
John Lydon didn’t just take on the establishment with hits like God Save the Queen, his alternative National Anthem (which topped the charts in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Year in 1977) and Anarchy in the UK, he sent shock waves through the world of popular music - he mouthed off about Queen and ‘pomp’ rock, played in pubs and small village halls where kids could get up close - everything mega stars like Rod Stewart had left behind long ago.
I’ve known him through three of my marriages, while he’s always been devoted to one partner for almost 40 years. Nora has been his rock and his soul mate, a woman who shuns the limelight and gets on with her life. A man of many contradictions, a shy sensitive soul who carefully keeps that aspect of his personality hidden, a loud mouth who can terrify any hard-bitten interviewer with one withering F*** off. From Vogue to your local newspaper, he doesn’t discriminate, but behind that belligerent façade lurks a highly intelligent bloke.
At my 50th birthday guests like Stephen Fry, Ruby Wax and Ian McKellen and the boss of the BBC all queued up to be insulted by the king of Punk. What an inspiration."
- Janet Street-Porter, The Daily Mail
"Any straight-down-the-line punk rock. Anything by the Clash. Ha ha! I hate the f*cking Clash! I'm sure they are (or were) nice fellows, but they always seemed like temporary rebellion music for college students. And Gang of Four--don't get me started on them. Blaaarrrgggghhhhh! Give me the Cramps any day.
Anyway, I think, ultimately, though it erupted at the right time and was an assault on complacency initially, and at least nominally aggressive and virulent--all qualities I applaud-- punk rock was music for joiners, for people who needed to be a part of something, and inevitably it became very claustrophobic and stylized.
True punk rock would be Throbbing Gristle or SPK. Then again, to contradict myself, I liked--though I couldn't listen to them now--Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, the Germs, and later even the Buzzcocks, Magazine, Wire, the Fall, etc. Hardcore??? [It's] veiled homo music for jocks."
- Michael Gira, Self-Titled
"Sit back, kids, and I’ll tell you about the baddest punk of them all. No, I’m not talking about Johnny Rotten or Richard Hell or Sid Vicious even. No, I’m talking about Captain Fantastic, The Big E — that’s right, Elton John his tough mofo self. Sure, he’s better known for such anthemic softballs as “Your Song,” “Somebody Saved My Life Tonight,” and that awful piece of treacle “Candle in the Wind.” But John is the same rock’n’roll badass who gave us “The Bitch Is Back,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Your Sister Can’t Twist (But She Can Rock’n’Roll),” “Midnight Creeper,” and “Street Kids,” the last of which is off Sir Surly’s punkest LP of them all, 1975’s Rock of the Westies.
In a deliberate effort to be misunderstood, because every good punk wants to be misunderstood, John larded his earlier LPs with love songs, broken heart songs and the like. He threw in lots of oddball tunes as well; the great “Solar Prestige a Gammon” is made up of nonsense words, “Social Disease” is a hillbilly ode to living life as a form of human syphilis, and “Teacher I Need You” is “Hot for Teacher” years in advance. As for the great “Bennie and the Jets,” who else could have conceived of such a thing? And who but Elton John would have thought to write a song called “I Think I’m Going to Kill Myself” and fit it up with a bona fide tap dance solo? That right there is a real punk move for sure."
- Michael H. Little, Vinyl District
"My first love in music was Elton John and I finally got to meet him a few weeks ago. My wife arranged it as a birthday present for me, out in Vegas. He was so nice; he loves music and musicians.
Bruce Springsteen definitely; huge fan, continues to be a huge influence. Really the greats – Dylan, Stones.
Both Greg (Graffin) and I were very influenced by Darby Crash in terms of how he tried to be a smart, artistic lyricist in punk, and that kind of let us know that you could do that. And the Ramones are a huge influence ’cause they let me know that it didn’t matter that I suck at guitar, you could still write good songs, good lasting songs."
- Brett Gurewitz, Rolling Stone
"I listened to Elton John, David Bowie and Roxy Music obsessively when they came out. I haven't heard it in years, but the austerity of that second Elton John album stands out. In the early days he was more earnest and low-key, but I like the way he turned into Liberace ... anyway, I saw a special on Elton John on TV maybe a decade ago, and I was in awe. Creatures like him are what makes the rest of us retreat and slink away into the murk of daily existence, cowering and furtive, only to emerge again when the light and sound and magic of an Elton John lures us, hypnotized, out of our dismal lives."
- Michael Gira, Self-Titled
'If There's A God In Heaven (What's He Waiting For)' - Elton John
Shelly was born in Queens and raised in Long Island. She was murdered on November 1, 2006 in Manhattan, New York City, aged 40. The Adrienne Shelly Foundation was established in her memory. The foundation awards scholarships, production grants, finishing funds and living stipends to artists. The Women Film Critics Circle presents the Adrienne Shelly Award annually to films that oppose violence against women.
"Adrienne Shelly and Soren Kierkegaard lived 150 years apart but their approaches to death were comparable. The Danish philosopher believed people fail to grasp their own mortality despite the constant presence of death. “I shall certainly attend your party, but I must make an exception for the contingency that a roof tile happens to blow down and kill me; for in that case, I cannot attend,” he thought they should say. Shelly quoted this line 10 years before she died. The director/writer/actress lived her life believing one could seize the day while also acknowledging its potential to cease. She believed when we were prepared, we could face death with dignity. She herself had been prepared since the age of 12, when her father had died suddenly. “Who, now, is going to decide which life was easier, whether it was the life of those who continually lived with a certain reserve because the thought of death was present to them or the life of those who so abandoned themselves to life that they almost forgot the existence of death?” Kierkegaard asked. Shelly’s answer was to live both, the presence of death abandoning her to life.
“Probably the rush wasn’t necessary,” the New York native told Sassy in 1990 after dropping out of university to pursue acting, “but I finally had gotten up the courage to do it, so I wanted to do it right away.” So Shelly sent her picture to every casting notice in Backstage magazine that “sort of” applied to her, including one by a music video producer who happened to share office space with a young filmmaker named Hal Hartley. A graduate of SUNY Purchase film school, Hartley had directed three shorts and was casting his first feature, The Unbelievable Truth, about a suburban-teen-turned-big-city-model who thinks the world is about to end. His producer, Bruce Weiss, came across Shelly’s headshot by chance. “I found Adrienne’s picture somewhere in the back of the office,” he says. “It was odd that her eight by ten was sort of sitting separately from all the rest. It was like just hanging out.” He held it up to Hartley and asked: “What about her?”
Hartley found the 22-year-old Long Islander’s photo “bitchin,’” though at 5’1” she was too short to play a model. “But I saw her and just kind of got knocked out,” he told The New York Times. “I said, ‘Wow, she’s interesting and pretty.’ She was also the best actress.” She was also the one with the right sense of humour. But it was still her first film, and Hartley was sensitive to that. “Will you keep an eye on her?” he asked the rest of the cast. Julia McNeal, who was 27 at the time and played a friend of Shelly’s crush, said it was easy to do. She and Shelly had similar personalities so they got along. “We each have a natural frankness and even a blunt frankness,” she says. “We just said what was true for us.”
The first of what would be known as Hartley’s Long Island Trilogy was shot in the filmmaker’s hometown of Lindenhurst in less than two weeks. In her opening scene as high school grad Audry, Shelly wakes up stretching, imitating the sound of an explosion. “History is coming to an end,” she says with the same emotionless cadence used throughout Hartley’s oeuvre. It’s the late ‘80s and this girl doesn’t smile, doesn’t wear neon and doesn’t see a future. “I’m not mixed up,” she says, “I’m depressed.” Though Audry is accepted to Harvard, she makes a Reagan-friendly pact with her parents that has her acquiring an empty modelling career in the city. “People are only as good as the deals they make and keep,” she says, before breaking hers.
“Gratitude is the feeling I most remember in regard to Adrienne when making The Unbelievable Truth,” Hartley told Film List in 2013. “She just understood the character perfectly.” Shelly herself told the Times she was attracted to Audry because she empathised with her displacement (as a teen she also felt alienated from her peers, in her case because of her dad’s death). And even though Hartley told everyone exactly how to perform—“He kept saying he was trying to turn a three-dimensional thing into a two-dimensional thing,” McNeal says—Shelly was particularly attuned to his unadorned dialogue-driven set. The ingénue had ingenuity, according to Hartley. “He used the word ‘gumption’ to describe her quite often,” McNeal says. “He said she had ‘real gumption,’ which was an unusual old-fashioned word and he knew it.”
- Soraya Roberts, Hazlett
'She Used To Be Mine' - Sara Bareilles
Shelly directed the film 'Waitress' (2007) in which a small town waitress (played by Keri Russell) deals with daily frustrations and an abusive husband (played by Jeremy Sisto). The film was adapted into a stage musical in 2015 with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. An accompanying book was written by Jessie Nelson.
Sara Bareilles performs 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'
In Memory ~ · Adrienne Shelly (1966 - 2006) >'Gone, but never forgotten' <
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Post by petrolino on Oct 16, 2020 23:10:57 GMT
Steve Buscemi : More Tales From The City
Tickets Available : 04/21/09 @ 8:00pm
Readings of the work of William S. Burroughs, Marquis DeSade & Edgar Allan Poe
Performances by Steve Buscemi, Richard Hell, Chloe Webb, Tom Davis & Special Guests ...
Music by Trevor Dunn, Yuka Honda, Sean Lennon, Doug Weiselman & Hal Willner
Curated by Hal Willner
Steve Buscemi & Debbie Harry
Hal Willner & Lou Reed
Steve Buscemi & Richard Hell in 'No Picnic' (1986)
'Now can we get the f*cking season 3 DVD out on the shelves, please?
Reigniting the dim fire amongst fanboys of a very specific age (read: mine) for the short-lived Nickelodeon show "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" to get the proper respect it deserves demands, the blog "Gaytriarchy" slapped together a bunch of 120 Minutes-influenced cameos that were featured on the show in its too-short existence.
Which I'm mad grateful for, but I have to object to the exclusion of LL Cool J as Little Pete's teacher. Dude was straight academic with it.
Anyway, here's a reference list of the cameos in the order they appear. Stay tuned for Iggy Pop as Nona's dad. (Nona, played by Michelle Trachtenberg, is the only one of the cast's kids that's doing anything noteworthy these days, and honestly, I'm cool with that. The Pete boys just didn't have much to offer beyond this).
Patty Hearst, David Johansen (New York Dolls), Ann Magnuson, Martin Donovan, Suzzy Roche (The Roches), Sarah Shannon (Velocity Girl), Chris Elliott, Bebe Neuwirth, Syd Straw, Steve Buscemi, Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes), Janeane Garofalo, Debbie Harry, Heather Matarazzo, Kate Pierson (the B52s), Marshall Crenshaw, Juliana Hatfield, Luscious Jackson, Iggy Pop, Hunter Thompson ...
- Anonymous, Orlando Weekly
Chrissie Hynde, Steve Buscemi & Jo Andres
Steve Buscemi, Tom Murrin & Richard Lloyd
Steve Buscemi, Moby & Lou Reed
Jennifer Charles & Steve Buscemi
"Penned by Rich Wilkes and directed by Michael Lehmann of Heathers fame, Airheads tells the madcap story of three heavy metal washouts — Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler — who are so desperate to make it with their band, the Lone Rangers, that they take over a radio station with water pistols to force their demo recording onto the airwaves. Things quickly go awry when the station’s equipment shreds the tape. The song on that demo that listeners hear being eaten in real time? Reagan Youth’s “Degenerated.” Specifically, a re-recording of “Degenerated” sung by Fraser with instrumental backing from Phil Buerstatte, J. Yuenger, and Sean Yseult of White Zombie.
Melodic and anthemic and boasting a few semi-satirical guitar solos, the original “Degenerated” steps slightly out of hardcore bounds to suggest exactly what happened here — reinterpretation by a more mainstream act. Little else about Reagan Youth lends itself to a mid-’90s Hollywood comedy. The band’s 1984 debut Youth Anthems For The New Order baits potential listeners in both title and imagery; the cover shows a Klansman patting an adoring toddler on the head. Anyone who bought the LP quickly learned that Reagan Youth were violently opposed to toxic hate groups. “Death to the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan!” Rubenstein screams on “New Aryans.” If you miss that, there’s the entirety of “I Hate Hate” (“Why waste the life you live? Live’s to love, I’m positive!”). Acolytes of their namesake are dismissed as “godforsaken” and “brainwashed.” Reagan Youth’s initial burst of hardcore energy lasted until 1990 (versions of the band have since played reunion shows). After that, Paul Bakija and Dave "Insurgent" Rubenstein tried to get other projects off the ground before the latter’s fatal overdose in 1993 (a heartbreaking coda following the death of Rubenstein’s mother in a car accident and the murder of his girlfriend Tiffany Bresciani by serial killer Joel Rifkin)."
- James Greene Jr., Hard Noise
Steve Buscemi & Bruce Loose
 
"Is it significant that Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) and William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) were born just one year apart? Maybe. Sinatra began as a teen idol, before developing into American's bon vivant and arbiter of cool, and finally a cranky old man. On the other hand, the writer Burroughs was born a cranky old man, and perpetuated that image throughout his life. We loved him for his irascibility. It tempered his truths, by giving a reader a passage into his junky life, his homosexuality, and his explorations of death.
To mark the centennial of his birth, actor/director Steve Buscemi and musician Elliott Sharp performed selected writings from the Burroughs oeuvre. There have been excellent tributes to WSB before, including Hal Wilner's Dead City Radio (Island, 1990) and Spare Ass Annie (Island, 1993). More recently, Let me Hang You (Khannibalism, 2016) and William S. Burroughs In Dub (Echo Beach, 2014). Buscemi and Sharp's sample the written and not the voice, but I cannot think of a better emulator of Burroughs' crusty voice than Buscemi. He delivers the texts with just enough of the classic Burroughs croak. Sharp's accompaniment is minimal, pulsing strummed electric guitar and electronics into your veins.
Fans of Burroughs will recognize Dr. Benway's condescending elitism, his concepts of control, viruses, the theory of cut-up, Spare Ass Annie, and the man who taught his asshole to talk. Burroughs' words today are as significant as they were in the 1950s and 60s. His individualism, maybe more paranoid than rugged, is conveyed brilliantly by Buscemi and Sharp's Kafkaesque accompaniment which completes the picture."
- Mark Corroto, All About Jazz Elliott Sharp & Steve Buscemi
'The Human Virus' - Steve Buscemi & Elliott Sharp perform the work of William Burroughs
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Post by petrolino on Oct 17, 2020 23:46:17 GMT
Rodeo Clowns : Sun, Sin & Sand
There are American punk tracks from the 1970s that have clear country music stylings. Bands like Suicide and the Voidoids were influenced by rockabilly music and the Cramps pioneered psychobilly music. It's hard to overestimate the impact the Cramps had on the music scene as they came to spearhead an entire movement. The fact they held roots in California, Ohio and New York was an essential ingredient as it made them the ultimate 1970s punk band in certain respects.
"Social Distortion may have gotten their start in the late 1970s Southern California punk scene, but the band’s musical lineage and influences go much further back (and spread further out) than the punk landscape. The group’s singer and leader Mike Ness recalls being shaped by a rich, roots-heavy musical upbringing.
“Around the house, my father liked country and my mother was more rock & roll,” Ness tells Rolling Stone Country. “I remember a lot of Johnny Cash, the Dillards and Buck Owens. Country music was just always in the background and I absorbed all of it. Also, this was in the period of the folk revival, so we had that big Smithsonian box set [The Anthology of American Folk Music] where I distinctly remember hearing the Carter Family for the first time. Their tones and that style of music really resonated with me as a kid. Early on, I wanted Social D to be the Carter Family with electric guitars.”
Inspired by the Sex Pistols and punk’s no-rules approach, Ness channeled that unruly inclusivity to mix punk with the roots music he had grown up loving, seeing a distinct connection between the styles. “To me, the main shared characteristic between the two of them is that they’re both working-class genres that deal with working-class issues in an honest way,” says Ness, who recently produced the traditionally styled country singer Jade Jackson’s debut Gilded. “Whether it’s Billie Holiday or Howlin’ Wolf or Johnny Cash, they’re singing about real-life things and that’s what punk is – a dissatisfaction with the status quo and wanting to honestly sing about it.”
- Will Hodge, Rolling Stone
Far Out Fables Presents 'Punk Rock Mouse And Country Mouse'
'Pony Dress' - The Flesh Eaters with John Doe & Exene Cervenka
In California, X were hardcore pioneers of country punk, which came to be known as cowpunk. Several members of the band were politically conservative (something common in country circles), drummer DJ Bonebrake was a master of railroad rhythms and guitarist Billy Zoom played "country cartwheels" as well as heavy punk riffs. The Blasters formed in 1979 and branded their roots-based music as "American Music". Members of X and the Blasters formed the Knitters in 1982, a folk-infused cowpunk band whose name is a play on the Weavers. Members of both groups also played with the Flesh Eaters, a California-based punk unit conducted by poet Chris Desjardins.
Country & western fanatics Social Distortion arrived on the scene in 1978. Cowpunk act Rank And File was formed in 1981 by former members of the Dils and the Nuns.
"Brothers Chip and Tony Kinman, foregrounding harmonies that were hardly close — imagine an inordinately dry Johnny Cash up against a washer-womanly blushing violet — trade in the class-warring of L.A. punk troupe the Dils for sagebrush pop rock as schooled in Ennio Morricone as Merle Haggard. On later records, they took themselves too seriously, but on this debut, hooky ditties like “Amanda Ruth” and “The Conductor Wore Black” win out. Secret weapon: former Nun and future adult-alternative hero Alejandro Escovedo on guitar."
- Chuck Eddy, SPIN
X
'The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss' - X
The Gun Club formed in 1979 and are now seen as progenitors of cowpunk. Their raw psychobilly sound was tribal in nature and dominated by distortion when they performed live. The Paisley Underground also emerged in California around the turn of the decade, a nostalgia-drenched art movement that drew heavily from baroque pop and psychedelia. Bands like Green On Red (originally from the punk scene in Tucson, Arizona) and the Long Ryders drew heavily from psychedelic country rock.
"Many, many years ago a friend put me on to the Gun Club saying that it was one of his favorite lesser known bands. Six or seven years into listening to them on a semi-regular basis, they've really grown on me, especially their 1982 album Miami. I was reading an issue of SPIN last year and Chuck Eddy wrote a short piece about the lesser known genre of cowpunk, which I have to say was new term to me.
To put it briefly, cowpunk is a genre of music from the UK and later the US during the early post-punk period where musicians drew influence from country music while maintaining punk's rawer edges. Other notable acts from the genre include Long Ryders, Meat Puppets, and X.
What is crazy to me is the influence this music would have on the music that follows it, but also how little it's talked about today. The Psychobilly genre ran parallel to Cowpunk in terms of timing, but both were influential on Social Distortion - I am personally not a fan of theirs, but their influence on refined pub punk / hard rock is pretty wide-reaching. It's hard to imagine if there would have been a Beck without the groundwork of cowpunk in Los Angeles. Though I don't consider Los Lobos as part of this scene, I'm sure they got around more because of it. Without Los Lobos, there probably wouldn't be a Graceland by Paul Simon, and there would be no Vampire Weekend, etc. I can't imagine a world without The Cramps - it would simply be an alternate reality."
- Ukilla Cosby, Reddit
The Bangles
'Mr. T Luv Boogie' - Screamin' Sirens
Cowpunkettes Screamin' Sirens portrayed the She-Devils in Max Tash's punk comedy 'The Runnin' Kind' (1989), which took its name from a song written by sister and brother Diane 'Boom Boom' Dixon and Gary Dixon, who was married to Fur Dixon of the Cramps. Punk poet Pleasant Gehman, Rose Flores (Rosie And The Screamers), Casey Gomez (the Pandoras), Boom Boom Lafoon (Keith Joe Dick And The Goners), Genny Schorr (Backstage Pass) and Annette Zilinskas (the Bangles & Blood On The Saddle) were all members of the Screamin' Sirens at one time or another.
"For the past 15 years, I’ve been booking, hosting and performing at Sleepless Nights, an annual Gram Parsons tribute held in San Francisco. I’ve come to learn that Parsons fans have different reasons for loving the guy. Some appreciate how he influenced the Byrds and the Rolling Stones. Others are drawn to his wild ride through life, and death – after his untimely passing at age 26, Parsons’ road manager stole his casket from the airport and set his corpse ablaze in the Joshua Tree desert. And there are other fans who believe he invented country rock. What still excites me today about his recordings are all the rabbit holes he gave us to explore. Digging through his discography led to my personal discoveries of Emmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall, Dan Penn, Judy Henske, Fred Neil, George Jones, Buffy Sainte-Marie and the Louvin Brothers.
A few years after getting into the country artists who influenced Parsons, I started reading about some of the bands that Parsons inspired. This eventually led me to the subgenre of country punk. What’s country punk? Well, it’s not quite the Supersuckers, nor is it someone’s dad wearing that shirt of Johnny Cash flipping off the camera. Country punk (or cowpunk) is so much more than that. Like a lot of underground music, country punk had its origins origins in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. At its foundation, much of this stuff is punk, post punk, power pop, new wave or rock with some of that Los Angeles-born, “Paisley Underground” guitar jangle. Needless to say, the subgenre gets its name from incorporating salient elements of country twang, blues tones and rockabilly rhythms. It should also be noted that country punk predated the whole Americana/alt country scene by a decade. But it totally seeded the soil of such roots rockers as Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Son Volt, Whiskeytown and then Ryan Adams, Neko Case, Drive-By Truckers and almost everyone else who has ever combined twangy guitars with distortion pedals. Nobody really knows who the first country punk band was, but the movement sparked when underground musicians began discovering and sharing classic country records. This inspired bands and artists who were looking to try something different from the neon MTV trappings of the ’80s.
Any true underground music tribe has its own companion film. The punks have Suburbia. The mods have Quadrophenia. Goths have The Hunger. Cowpunks have Border Radio. Borrowing its title from a Blasters song, this 1987 indie film has been added to the Criterion Collection and features such staples of the subgenre as John Doe, Dave Alvin and Rank & File’s Tony Kinman. It also boasts a cool country punk soundtrack including the Gun Club, X, the Flesh Eaters, Chuck Prophet’s old band Green On Red and Tex & the Horseheads. Border Radio is a great opportunity to hear some essential country punk."
- Eric Shea, Pandora
Belinda Carlisle & Pleasant Gehman
'People Ain't No Good' - The Cramps & The McMartin Preschool Choir
In England, Elvis Costello took an interesting career course. Costello's debut album featured backing from Clover, an American group who'd moved from psychedelia into country rock. Several members of Clover formed the band Huey Lewis & The American Express in 1979, which mutated into Huey Lewis And The News. For Costello, Clover ensured a track like 'Alison' sounded like an authentic country ballad, while rockers like 'Miracle Man' and 'Blame It On Cain' delivered a plentitude of country twang.
Costello formed the Attractions for his second album, 'This Year's Model' (1978). The Attractions included bassist Bruce Thomas (Quiver) and drummer Pete Thomas (Chilli Willi And The Red Hot Peppers) who were seen as old timers on the punk scene (much like Jet Black of the Stranglers and Andy Summers of the Police).
"WARNING : This album contains country western music and may cause offence to narrow minded listeners."
- Elvis Costello
A billboard advertising 'My Aim Is True' by Elvis Costello
'Watermelon Man' - The Gun Club with D.H. Laurence Jr (Debbie Harry) & Chris Stein
Subgenres like jazz punk, punk funk and folk punk are harder to qualify and even harder to quantify as these elements run throughout rock music. On top of that, punk was about experimentation, so nothing was off limits. In America, for example, Blondie ('Once I Had A Love'), the Patti Smith Group ('Redondo Beach'), Television ('The Fire') and Pere Ubu ('Laughing') were utilising reggae rhythms as the bedrock of original compositions. In the U K, reggae played an even greater influence and the ska punk movement (centred around 2 Tone Records) ran alongside the punk movement.
Blondie brought disco into the mix when their jagged set favourite 'Once I Had A Love' mutated into the more sophisticated pop punk anthem 'Heart Of Glass'. Blondie were instrumental in popularising rap punk too, thanks to Debbie Harry's unusual vocalising of 'Rapture'. Punk is also credited as being the source of the electropop duo "new wave" movement, a synth pop facet that was built upon a "keyboard-singer" band set-up sparked by the early innovations of Suicide.
Folk punk, also known as rural punk, or rustic punk, is a tricky one to nail down. Lots of punk groups incorporated folk into their music and it was a driver behind the work of the Patti Smith Group and Television. Moving into the 1980s, there are key albums in the evolution of folk and punk including 'Nurds' (1980) by the Roches, 'Murmur' (1983) by R.E.M., 'Secrets Of The I Ching' (1983) by 10,000 Maniacs, 'Violent Femmes' (1983) by Violent Femmes and 'The Doghouse Cassette' (1985) by Throwing Muses. Cowpunk and rustic punk are rural patches' kissin' cousins.
'Folk punk is a genre of music that combines elements of folk and punk rock music. There are two distinct types of folk punk. The first is artists like The Knitters - punk music musicians who play in a traditional folk style. There are also modern artists who perform acoustically in the folk style, this is the "riotfolk" genre.'
- Urban Dictionary
'Like A Bad Girl Should' - The Cramps
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Post by petrolino on Nov 14, 2020 23:35:02 GMT
My Top 12 Punk Guitarists (Ranked)
# "The Figurehead" : Johnny Ramone (Tangerine Puppets / Ramones)
"The influence of the Ramones on the global music landscape over the past 40 years is immense. For many fans, the Ramones are a religion, and for even more, it’s a lifestyle. I had the opportunity to experience the depth of this firsthand by performing the songbook alongside Marky Ramone, the drummer of the classic Ramones lineup. I had to learn a lot about Johnny Ramone’s incendiary, raw guitar style, as well as how to create a rhythmically relentless wall-of-sound.
For many guitarists, playing Ramones tunes appears incredibly easy. How hard could it be to play four-chord songs? Nearly every guitar player thinks they can play any song from the repertoire, until they have to do it. But like many specialized areas, first impressions can be deceiving: It requires precision to get Johnny’s parts exactly right.
It’s definitely anti-punk to analyze, theorize, and reverse-engineer such a figure of punk-rock culture, but I don’t care. Let’s look at key characteristics of Johnny’ style and technique through the lens of rhythm, harmony, and lead.
The first thing you’ll notice when observing Johnny Ramone is his incessant use of downstrokes. Nearly all of the Ramones’ signature guitar sound stems from this technique. During my audition with Marky Ramone, one of our first interactions went something like this:
“Can you play downstrokes?”
“Yes!”
“Can you play downstrokes for 90 minutes?”
In short, if you’re not playing downstrokes all the time, you’re doing it wrong. You need the crunch, the attack, and the fullness that alternate strumming and upstrokes just can’t provide. And the songs are fast. Very fast. They are much faster than the studio recordings. (Listen to Loco Live—the tempos are insane!) Playing downstrokes that fast, that long, and that hard can be very taxing for your wrist and arm, so proper technique and posture is essential to develop speed without cramping up.
The key to playing fast downstrokes is to keep your arm relaxed and strum with the least amount of tension possible. Let your arm fall down naturally along your body. Play standing up and wear your guitar very, very low. From there, the wrist will do the work. Not only does it look cool (and that’s highly important), it’s also the most ideal and natural position to achieve optimal speed and endurance.
The second most noticeable element of Johnny Ramone’s guitar style is the use of full barre chords. A common misconception about Ramones songs is that they’re almost exclusively made of power chords, but if you listen closely, you’ll hear full chords played across all the strings. Sometimes, the fretting hand will mute the low or high string depending on the chord position being used. Attack all six strings as much as possible to give fullness to the sound. Use big movements, rather than smaller and more economical motion. Forget about finesse: The secret ingredient to the guitar sound is a physical, full-body approach to playing, fueled by passion, intensity, and attitude. Sling your guitar low, play hard, play fast, and play wide. Because the parts are so repetitive, make sure to stretch your wrist and arms before and after playing, and to warm up into the high speeds."
- Aurelien Budynek, Premier Guitar
'Questioningly' - Ramones
12) D. Boon (The Reactionaries / Minutemen / Nig-Heist)
'D. Boon’s name has survived as one of the greatest punk guitarists despite his band, the Minutemen, only being active for five years prior to his untimely death. They were political revolutionaries, encapsulating the core ethic of punk and alternative rock but never being bound by a particular style. It’s the numerous elements that guitarist and vocalist D. Boon incorporates into his playing that really sets him apart, building elements of free jazz, folk and funk into their California punk sound. D. Boon breaks down the walls between genres like no other punk player, yet he’s often overlooked because of the Minutemen’s firmly cult status.
Dennes Boon was in 1958 in San Pedro, California, meeting future band-mate Mike Watt at an early age. The two grew up together, with Boon soon taking up the guitar and Watt picking up the bass. They were influenced by bands like the Who when they first got started, but they soon became immersed in the sounds of punk acts like Richard Hell and the Voidoids and the Germs. After enlisting the help of another friend on drums, the trio took off to play the Sunset Strip circuit in LA before signing to Black Flag’s label.'
- Punk Guitarists.com
'Viet Nam' - Minutemen
11) Greg Hetson (Redd Kross / Circle Jerks / Bad Religion / Punk Rock Karaoke)
"My dad was an audiophile vinyl junkie. He was into folk music and classical music and opera mostly. He would always take me to record stores, so I grew up with music playing in the house. I enjoyed most of the stuff and I picked up on the early FM freeform, super liberal, anti-war, protest stuff. That was the stuff that caught my attention as a kid. It was late ‘60s and early ‘70s."
- Greg Hetson, Juice
'Coup D'Etat' - Circle Jerks
10) Billy Zoom (X)
'X were the first punk act out of LA that was really taken seriously by critics and fans all across the US. They’re another band who broke the traditional punk mold, by fusing it with elements of blues, rockabilly and country. Although they shared the LA punk scene with other landmark acts like Black Flag, they stood out from the pack thanks to the impressive guitar work of Billy Zoom, who still holds his weight as one of the best guitarists in the history of punk. As a musician, you can pick something up from his distinctive style – which incorporates plenty of techniques such as hammer-ons – and his use of minor chords in his songwriting.
Billy Zoom (real name Ty Kindell) was the son of a musician, and he developed a wide-ranging taste from a young age. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, having picked up the banjo, accordion, violin, clarinet and saxophone alongside the guitar. Out of the nine instruments he knew how to play, it was the guitar that he really settled with. After playing in numerous R&B and soul acts, he found a role in several rockabilly bands before hearing the Ramones and deciding to apply his guitar style to the punk genre. He answered an ad and joined X in the mid-70s.'
- Punk Guitarists.com
'I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts' - X
09) Brian James (Bastard / London SS / The Subterraneans / The Damned / Tanz Der Youth / The Lords Of The New Church / The Dripping Lips) & Captain Sensible (Johnny Moped / The Damned)
"Well I just see what we played as a continuation of genuine Rock ‘n’ Roll. We had an attitude that had been missing for a long time. In the ‘60’s there were bands like The Yardbirds, the Stones and The Kinks and they all started with a groove that made me want to pick up a guiatar and play. Then there was the British Blues scene with John Mayall, Clapton and Peter Green and everyone was also looking to America and the Delta for influences like BB King and Freddy King; there was just so much emotion in that music. It was real and that was the sort of thing that really inspired me when I was starting out.
But then we had ‘Flower Power’ and it all just got too folky and lazy for my liking. Then it got worse with Prog Rock where emotion seemed to go out of the window completely and it seemed like you needed a bloody university degree to play it. Then we had that Tin Pan Alley nonsense of Glam Rock where song-writers and producers were running the show with bands being told what to sing and how to dress. It seemed to me that music had lost touch with the street. There was no dirt or nitty gritty and the only bands at the time I thought were worth bothering with were those like The Pink Fairies, they had a really good spirit. The real stuff was in the States as far as I was concerned, the New York Dolls, Velvet Underground, MC5 and The Stooges – they were my heroes, the beginning of what was ‘Punk’, or what came to be known as ‘punk’ anyway.
Someone took me to see the Pistols at a party and they played a Stooges song and I just thought “wow”! I was in a band called Bastard and we just couldn’t get a gig anywhere. We moved to Belgium where people were more relaxed and more into that sort of music. I just remember when I saw The Pistols thinking they were the perfect band for The Damned to make our debut with, they were a great band in the early days."
- Brian James, Louder Than War
'Problem Child' - The Damned
08) Frank Infante (Sniper / Blondie) & Chris Stein (The Stilettoes / Blondie)
“I was probably 11 or 12, and I was wandering around in Brooklyn in about 1961 and I heard electric guitar notes coming out of a gas station. I still remember the moment. It was very haunting – it sort of struck me, you know? After that, I got my first guitar – a Harmony single-pickup, double-cutaway kind of thing that my parents bought for me. I was never a very technical guitar player, I was always a very emotional guitar player, like BB King or something, as opposed to Yngwie (Malmsteen)! Improvement was an ongoing process. I would go for a few years and then I would sort of plateau, then it would lift up again. I’m impressed nowadays how quickly I can learn something and have it stay in my head with muscle memory, but I’ve been playing for 50 years, so I guess it just becomes what it is.”
- Chris Stein, Music Radar
'Slow Motion' - Blondie
07) East Bay Ray (Cruisin' / Dead Kennedys / The Killer Smiles)
"East Bay Ray, who was born in Oakland, California, in 1958 as Raymond Pepperell, is a punk icon. His band, the Dead Kennedys, launched what critics call the second wave of American punk and defined the sound of hardcore. Their music was aggressive, defiant, and the polar opposite of the synthesized cheese popular in the ’80s.
Their influence was immediate, too, spawning armies of copycats, and is still felt a generation later. Classic bands like Slayer, newcomers like Deafheaven’s Kerry McCoy, and many others cite them as a primary influence. Their controversial name and radical politics got them a lot of attention, but their legacy is their great songwriting and high-caliber musicianship. The Dead Kennedys spent countless hours crafting songs, perfecting arrangements, sculpting tones, modding gear, and nerding out in the studio. And their solid work ethic and professionalism stood in stark contrast to the mediocrity so prevalent in DIY punk.
The Dead Kennedys took their art seriously and were anything but one-dimensional. They played hardcore — East Bay Ray can rifle through quick successions of distorted power chords with the best of them—but they were much more than that. Spaghetti-western twang, slapback echo, and unorthodox clean tones were also integral to their sound. East Bay Ray toured with a vintage Echoplex, although he kept it in the rear of the stage on his amp and away from diving moshers. And he crafted a tone that had much more in common with ’60s surf than the sounds usually associated with punk and heavy metal. His diverse influences include his father’s collection of swing and delta blues 78s, Merle Haggard, the Ohio Players, and the music his mother listened to.
“My mother was into things like the Weavers, Pete Seeger, and Frank Sinatra,” he says. “And my father took my younger brother and I to see Lightnin’ Hopkins — we were too young to drive. We also had him take us to see Muddy Waters, who we’d learned about through the Rolling Stones.”
In 1986, when the Dead Kennedys called it quits — at least until reuniting with a new singer in 2001 — East Bay Ray stayed busy recording and producing. He played on Sidi Mansour, an album of Algerian Raï music by vocalist Cheikha Rimitti that also features Robert Fripp and Flea. He was involved in projects with groups like Hed PE, Frenchy and the Punk, Pearl Harbor, Skrapyard, and many others. He’s featured on Amanda Palmer’s “Guitar Hero” and recorded with Killer Smiles, his collaboration with Skip (aka Ron Greer, also the singer in the current DKs incarnation). He will be back on the road with the Dead Kennedys this summer."
- Tzvi Gluckin, 'Forgotten Heroes : East Bay Ray'
'The Man With The Dogs' - Dead Kennedys
06) Paul Weller (The Jam / The Style Council)
"It had fallen out of fashion, but the Rickenbacker, with its Swinging Sixties, Carnaby Street vibe, not to mention its unique jangly chime, was the obvious choice for The Jam.
The guitar company was founded in Los Angeles by a Swiss tool and dye maker Adolph Rickenbacker - a distant cousin of the celebrated First World War flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. In the early 1930s, Adolph developed the first commercially successful electric guitar, a cast aluminium Hawaiian model.
It was three decades later, however, that the brand became famous, with a series of thin, hollow-body electrics designed by a German emigrant, Roger Rossmeisl, whose father was also a guitar maker. Initially marketed as the Capri series, the guitars featured a novel construction in which a solid body was partly hollowed-out from the rear, the electronics were installed, and then a wooden back was fitted. The German heritage is evident in the Teutonic design: "cat's eye" sound holes, triangular markers and recessed top carve. With its plain cosmetic appearance, the twin pickup 330 (which initially retailed at a modest $259.50) was the workhorse of the full-size range, while the more rounded 360 was a more upmarket version costing $50 more.
By the mid-1960s, Rickenbacker was in the enviable position of having its instruments in the hands of all three of the guitar-playing Beatles. John Lennon's three-quarter-sized model 325 was bought in Hamburg in 1960, while Paul McCartney acquired his left-handed 4001S bass (later used on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) in 1965.
As a result of the Fab Four's endorsement, numerous other Beat-era bands adopted the brand. Gerry Marsden (Gerry and The Pacemakers), Hilton Valentine (The Animals), Denny Laine (The Moody Blues) and the Kinks bass-player Peter Quaife all played Rics at one time or another. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds cites George Harrison's use of a Ric 360-12 as the reason he abandoned his acoustic in favour of a Rickenbacker 12-string - in the process giving birth to the folk/rock movement. But after The Beatles, the most visible proponent of the brand was The Who's Pete Townshend - although he was, of course, as famous for smashing Rickenbackers as for playing them.
The arrival of Jimi Hendrix and the advent of blues-based rock spelled the end of the line for the jangly pop sound of the Sixties. Heavier sounds required new gear and so Rickenbackers and amplifiers such as Vox AC-30s were cast aside in favour of Gibson Les Pauls and Marshall Stacks - until they became as much part of The Jam's image as the spray-paint logo, bowling shoes and target insignia.
Although arguably not the most versatile of guitars, Rickenbackers possess a unique, jangly chime that can't be duplicated on any other guitar; think of the celebrated opening chord to The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night", or the introduction to The Byrds' version of Bob Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man". But it is not just their sound that ensures Rickenbackers enduring popularity among players and collectors alike; the Rickenbacker look - the antithesis of metal and heavy rock - immediately conjures up the Swinging Sixties and Carnaby Street cool.
In the wake of Paul Weller, Rickenbackers enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s, when Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles), Peter Buck (REM) and Tom Petty began using them. More recently, Rickenbackers have reappeared in the hands of musicians in some of the most credible bands around, including Pete Doherty and Carl Barât when they were in The Libertines, Bob Hardy, the Franz Ferdinand bassist, and Chris Urbanowicz of the Editors."
- Paul Alcantara, The Independent
'The Modern World' - The Jam
05) Greg Ginn (Black Flag / Nig-Heist / Gone / Confront James / Mojack)
"There’s something about a Greg Ginn guitar solo. The Black Flag driving force and mainman tore up the rule book with his guitar and his lead breaks are like nothing else. The early eighties LA based hardcore band already had a distinctive sound with Ginn’s dominating sludge rhythm guitar work dominating the songs but when he pealed off for a solo the effect is mesmerising. Where most guitar solos are basically the guitar player w*nking off or the point of the song that needs filling, Ginn cranked the volume and the glorious head f*ck of the rush of electricity. Somehow he made the guitar sound like it was going backwards, the breaks are a flurry of totally unexpected notes that follow no pattern or rules and take you on an intense and weird trip. They are like free jazz, the Greatful Dead, Black Sabbath, psychedelia and a whole host of off the wall influences cranked through the stripped down, aggressive rush of punk whilst inventing hardcore and creating a template for post hardcore - ask Thurston Moore - the true inheritor of the Ginn guitar mangle who even stands on stage and plays in the same shapes as Ginn. You can like Black Flag for a lot of things - the pure aggression, the funny and dark songs, the dark humour of the sleeves drawn by Greg Ginn’s brother, their pile driving aesthetic, their inventiveness and their total lack of compromise but it’s the point in the song when Gregg Ginn just goes off one one when it all comes home to a point of pure genius. Those sick, note splurges, the amazing, dissonant against-the-notes lead stuff that he does mark him out as one of the great guitarists and that’s not even counting his knack for creating the great riffs that are the chassis of the Black Flag songs.
His work aesthetic was legendary, driving the band through six hour rehearsals and endless tours and its this passion and intensity that you can feel in the music that make Black Flag one of the key bands of the period. It’s this total commitment and belligerent genius that gives his music its pure genius."
- John Robb, Louder Than War
'Jealous Again' ~ Black Flag
04) Ivan Julian (The Voidoids / Lovelies) & Robert Quine (The Voidoids)
"By many peoples' standards, my playing is very primitive but by punk standards, I'm a virtuoso. People on the local rock scene in the early '70s treated me very condescendingly. After we played CBGB's in October '76 for the first time, these people respected me. To me, the positive thing about it was we were pulling out these old influences like the Velvet Underground and the Stooges that were gone.
As for a scene, to be thrown in the same category ... Blondie? Talking Heads? The Heartbreakers? The Shirts? It was just a catch-all thing. If you happened to be a band in the town, you were in the right place at the right time. Blondie had the biggest hit and that was a disco song. They're nice people though. There was a social scene but I couldn't really say there was a music scene. It did give people alternatives to disco, the Eagles, Carole King, James Taylor. That's the one thing we all had in common. It gave people a place to play. People could come to New York, play CBGB's and have a contract, like the B-52's who were great.
What came of it? Nothing. What was going on in the '80s? Nothing. It was even worse than the '70s. I never really followed grunge. When I'm at a record store, I walk past all the recent releases and look for an obscure Eddie Cochran or Link Wray release. There are a few people that are really good now. The Pretenders are really great - I think she's really talented. She's from Akron too. I'd like to be on one track with them but I hear she's a perfectionist. J.J. Cale is a real idol of mine. His interviews are the greatest. He had a hit and his manager says 'you got a hit, you gotta tour.' He says 'well, if I got me a hit, why do I have to go out on the road?' I turned Lou Reed onto him and that's all you'd hear from his hotel room - they both had that two chord thing down too."
- Robert Quine, Perfect Sound Forever
'Another World' ~ Richard Hell And The Voidoids
03) John McGeoch (Magazine / Visage / Siouxsie And The Banshees / The Armoury Show / Public Image Ltd / Pacific)
"He was in Howard Devoto's massively influential Magazine; he spent an enormously productive three years in Siouxsie and the Banshees before going on to join ex-Sex Pistol John Lydon in PIL. While John McGeoch's back catalogue is matched by few British guitarists of his generation, his influence continues to reverberate. A host of young bands - from The Strokes to The Rapture - owes something to the myriad of sounds McGeoch pioneered. Equally, he has been credited as an inspiration by U2 and most of the world's biggest rock bands. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante recently said that he taught himself to play "learning all John McGeoch's stuff in Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees".
McGeoch was born in Greenock, Strathclyde, but moved in his teens to Manchester, where he immersed himself into the fledgling punk scene. In April 1977, an advert led to a meeting with Devoto, who had just left Buzzocks and was looking to explore new forms of music beyond three-chord punk. McGeoch proved the perfect foil. The young guitarist's memorable riff - a sound like an elastic band building to snap - fuelled the band's classic debut single, Shot By Both Sides, an outsider anthem which reached Number 41 in January 1978 and ushered in the post-punk era. McGeoch featured on the band's first three classic albums, Real Life (1978), Secondhand Daylight (1979) and The Correct Use Of Soap (1980), developing his trade mark of getting guitars to make unusual but powerful sounds. However, he quit the band in 1980, disappointed by the lack of commercial success to match critical acclaim.
McGeoch had already guested with bands such as the Skids and Generation X, but now began moonlighting with Magazine colleagues, the bass player Barry Adamson and the keyboard player Dave Formula in clubland guru Steve Strange's synthesiser band, Visage, formed with members of Ultravox. Although McGeoch saw the band as a joke, smash hits such as Fade To Grey signposted the era of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. His next projects would prove equally creatively and commercially rewarding.
After being asked to join the Banshees, McGeoch featured on, arguably, their most enduring albums, Kaleidoscope (1980), JuJu (1981) and A Kiss In The Dreamhouse (1982). The hit singles of the period - particularly 1980s Happy House and Israel - featured some of McGeoch's most spellbinding work, hypnotic circular rhythms conjured from icy guitar notes and echo. However, eventually the stresses of touring and drinking led to a nervous breakdown, and McGeoch found himself in hospital and out of the band.
An unsuccessful tie-in with Skids' Richard Jobson (1984-86) in The Armoury Show was followed by another largely glorious spell with Lydon's PIL, a band he admired greatly - largely because of Lydon's lyrics - and was reputed to have been first asked to join in 1984. Eventually clambering onboard in 1986, he transformed PIL from a left-field, experimental outfit into a provocative, marauding rock band. McGeoch moved to Los Angeles and went on to become PIL's longest-serving member bar Lydon, staying until the band dissipated in 1992.
After his return to England, work on more dance-oriented material with Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory and a projected band, Pacific, with Spandau Ballet's John Keeble, came to nothing. For the first time, the pioneer found himself stranded in another era. He qualified as a nurse in 1995 ..."
- Dave Simpson, The Guardian
"In addition to being a great guitarist, people forget that John McGeoch was also a fantastic saxophone player."
- Kid Creeper, 'Best Of British : London Punk's The Only Punk So Shove It'
Magazine - 'Shot By Both Sides'
"Magazine were also one of my favourite bands and that they came from the same city as me was a marvel. It didn't make any difference to what I thought of their music, but it was definitely a bonus. As a teenager I was very critical at the state of guitar playing and the usual cliché-ridden approach that was either blues rock or prog rock. It didn't mean anything to my generation. In John McGeoch, Magazine had a guitar player who was modern and relevant and interesting, while Howard Devoto was, and still is, one of my favourite ever lyricists.
There is a thought that the first couple of records for many bands are the ones that are considered seminal. As is the case with Wire, I think that when bands break away from their first seminal albums - in Magazine's case that was Real Life and Secondhand Daylight - and they take somewhat of a left turn, it is really interesting. On The Correct Use Of Soap, Magazine did something original and almost ahead of themselves. There is a lot of space on The Correct Use Of Soap and I think it is better than the first two records. The space means that John McGeoch can really stretch out. Songs like 'Philadelphia' and 'Because You're Frightened' are based on guitar-playing that is utterly unique. It is one of those records that you can say that if it came out now, it would still not only be fresh but ahead of the race."
- Johnny Marr, The Quietus
"All the great stuff comes out of inspiration, doesn’t it? A lot of guitarists like to play blues: If you’re going to play blues, dig deep. Try and do something different with it. We were always inspired by people like Sonic Youth — the way they kind of mutilated their instruments, the retuning. We were lucky that post-punk had the golden era of guitarists. People like Johnny Marr, John McGeoch, the Edge — all these people were doing something really, really different and unique, and not necessarily playing the blues."
- Ed O'Brien, Premier Guitar
"My favourite guitarist of all time."
- Siouxsie Sioux on John McGeoch
'I Want To Burn Again' - Magazine
02) Steve Diggle (Buzzcocks / Flag Of Convenience) & Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks)
'The Buzzcocks debut album Another Music in a Different Kitchen, as well as follow ups Love Bites and A Different Kind of Tension helped to establish the Buzzcocks as one of the most important bands of the Punk era. Pete Shelley's songs - melodic, full of energy and lyricism - set the template for much of the rock music that was to come - and the Buzzcocks were a huge influence in early 90's Grunge music. Kurt Cobain was a big fan of the band, and a reformed Buzzcocks supported Nirvana on their last ever tour.'
- Eastwood Guitars
Buzzcocks - 'Love Is Lies'
"I was a conscientious objector to work. Being on the dole was great back then; you could write songs and figure yourself out. You didn’t have much money but money wasn’t in the equation then, you just had big ideas. [Musicians] all seem to have names like Tarquin nowadays. That’s not a very rock ‘n’ roll name, is it?
I had a six-pound Spanish guitar that had been hanging on the wall, and you’d tune it up the best you could but it went out of tune all the time. I learnt how to play “Ode to Joy” on a couple of strings and I think that was the beginning of the little motifs in the Buzzcocks. Had I been like the posh kids in South Manchester whose daddies bought them all the gear and then sold it for a pair of skis or something, then who knows?
I was living in a house share taking acid, as we were all trying to figure out the universe. I think one went into a mental hospital, and the middle-class ones went up to the Himalayas looking for gurus. When they came back, I said, ‘I’ve joined a punk band and I’m sniffing speed. The world has f*cking changed since you were away, and particularly for me.’ "
- Steve Diggle, Huck
'I Believe' - Buzzcocks
01) Richard Lloyd (Television / Rocket From The Tombs) & Tom Verlaine (Neon Boys / Television)
"Tom [Verlaine] plays lead guitar with angular inverted passion like a thousand bluebirds screaming ... he is blessed with long veined hands reminiscent of the great poet strangler ..."
- Patti Smith, The Wonder
Television - 'Elevation'
"I went to see John Lee Hooker in Boston, at the Jazz Workshop on Boylston Street. Back then, I just walked into the dressing room and sat down. Eventually, he took notice of me and he said — he pointed his finger at me, and he said, “And you, young man, what do you do?” I said, “I play guitar.” He said, “Are you good?” I said, “I don’t know.” He said, “No, no, no. You’re great. I can tell. Come over here and I’ll tell you the secret of playing the electric guitar.”
Then he cupped his hands and he whispered in my ear, “Take off all the strings but one and learn the one string up and down and down and up and bend it and shake it until the women go ‘oooo.’ Then put two strings on and learn two strings up and down and down and up.” I went home, but I didn’t take the strings off. I couldn’t afford to take them off — I didn’t have a replacement set. But I did practice what I call vertical knowledge, which is up and down pitch on a single string, a great deal."
- Richard Lloyd, Premier Guitar
'Days' - Television
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Post by Zos on Nov 15, 2020 12:06:38 GMT
Richard Lloyd was, along with Quine and Thunders my favourite of the New York guitarists. Wonderful "angular" sound that is very much of the time and place.
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Post by petrolino on Nov 15, 2020 14:50:08 GMT
Richard Lloyd was, along with Quine and Thunders my favourite of the New York guitarists. Wonderful "angular" sound that is very much of the time and place. I like listening to Johnny Thunders playing with Sylvain Sylvain and Walter Lure.
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Post by Zos on Nov 15, 2020 15:37:01 GMT
Richard Lloyd was, along with Quine and Thunders my favourite of the New York guitarists. Wonderful "angular" sound that is very much of the time and place. I like listening to Johnny Thunders playing with Sylvain Sylvain and Walter Lure. The Heartbreakers were a fantastic band before Johnny got too in the dime bags. Number of times in the end I'd get to a venue to see a "gig cancelled, Johnny Thunders unwell" sign on the door became a running joke. Never got to see Syl play sadly and with his bad health problems probably won't. He was the brain of the Dolls for so many years.
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Post by petrolino on Nov 17, 2020 21:31:22 GMT
I like listening to Johnny Thunders playing with Sylvain Sylvain and Walter Lure. The Heartbreakers were a fantastic band before Johnny got too in the dime bags. Number of times in the end I'd get to a venue to see a "gig cancelled, Johnny Thunders unwell" sign on the door became a running joke. Never got to see Syl play sadly and with his bad health problems probably won't. He was the brain of the Dolls for so many years. Sorry if I get this wrong, but didn't you mention before that you like the album 'Horses' (1975) by Patti Smith? I think Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group is another interesting guitarist (Tom Verlaine and Allen Lanier also contributed guitar parts to that album). Kaye's gone on to produce a number of records for other musicians. Over the years, he's worked with some of my favourites, including Suzanne Vega, Kristin Hersh and R.E.M.
In more recent years, Kaye worked with Walter Lure on the annual 'Johnny Thunders Birthday Bash' commemorative concerts held in mid-July in New York City.
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Post by Zos on Nov 18, 2020 11:17:37 GMT
The Heartbreakers were a fantastic band before Johnny got too in the dime bags. Number of times in the end I'd get to a venue to see a "gig cancelled, Johnny Thunders unwell" sign on the door became a running joke. Never got to see Syl play sadly and with his bad health problems probably won't. He was the brain of the Dolls for so many years. Sorry if I get this wrong, but didn't you mention before that you like the album 'Horses' (1975) by Patti Smith? I think Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group is another interesting guitarist (Tom Verlaine and Allen Lanier also contributed guitar parts to that album). Kaye's gone on to produce a number of records for other musicians. Over the years, he's worked with some of my favourites, including Suzanne Vega, Kristin Hersh and R.E.M.
In more recent years, Kaye worked with Walter Lure on the annual 'Johnny Thunders Birthday Bash' commemorative concerts held in mid-July in New York City.
Horses is probably my all time fave and like Kaye but don't necessarily think he stands out in the way some others do. He likes to be old school garage type and should also be greatly respected for putting together the "Nuggets" album which was so seminal. Huge figure on the NYC scene as you say.
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Post by cypher on Nov 18, 2020 12:25:02 GMT
Nice list, and nice to see D. Boon included.
Just want to add an unsung hero, who never seems to get their props, except in 'cult hero' lists, Greg Sage.
The Wipers - Youth of America
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Post by petrolino on Nov 18, 2020 22:09:13 GMT
Nice list, and nice to see D. Boon included. Just want to add an unsung hero, who never seems to get their props, except in 'cult hero' lists, Greg Sage. The Wipers - Youth of America
A friend of mine got me into the music of Minutemen when I was at secondary school. That same friend also introduced me to Husker Du and the Replacements, he was a good friend. His first passion was for singer-songwriters like Gram Parsons, James Taylor, Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther.
It was during those same years that I discovered the music of the Wipers. Nirvana exploded on Sub Pop Records and in interviews they started acknowleding the influence of the Wipers.
"They're the most innovative punk rock band that started the 'Seattle Sound' like 15 years too early. We learnt everything from the Wipers. They were playing a mixture of punk and hard rock at a time when nobody cared."
- Kurt Cobain, speaking in Leeds, England on October 25, 1990
Nirvana went on to record cover versions of 'Return Of The Rat' and 'D-7'. They also appeared on the tribute album, 'Eight Songs For Greg Sage And The Wipers' (1992). Another band I like who were influenced by the Wipers is Sleater-Kinney who composed a concert tune called 'Wipers'.
That's some awesome footage of the Wipers, thanks for sharing.
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Post by petrolino on Nov 21, 2020 0:28:00 GMT
My Top 20 Punk Keyboardists (Ranked)
# "The Fantasist" : Martin Rev (Suicide)
Interview Excerpt : Martin Rev speaks with L.A. Record (article published November 17, 2017) :
L.A. : As I understand it, you studied piano as a child?
Martin Rev : Yes. It’s something I had to learn. Everybody in the family played something. There was just four of us. My brother and I were given lessons. It was something we had to do. When I wanted to quit a year or two later—because it was getting in the way of my playing baseball and hanging out with my friends when the week was over—I was told, ‘You can’t quit. You’re 11, 12 now—you can’t make that decision until you’re 15.’ And to me that was like … forever, between 12 and 15.
L.A. : It’s all about the ratios! When you’re 12, three years is like a fourth of your life.
Martin Rev : It is! The amount of growth and everything physically … In less than a year I was already grateful and thanking them that they kept me doing that. My brother at the time was studying more popular music, and he was doing the boogie-woogie thing, and when I heard that—and I knew how to read that—I took that and just began playing. I started improvising, playing boogie-woogie stuff, figuring things out. And then taking songs that I was listening to all the time, all the rock stuff, and figuring those out. And now I was doing my own playing. And plus getting the facility—the fact I had learned all that and was still learning gave me even more facility. The only classical composer that I only kind of felt something for then—that I had to play—was Debussy.
L.A. : Also my favorite.
Martin Rev : And still is. Absolute? There’s a few. But he’s definitely still one I come back to.
L.A. : The Suite Bergamasque is transcendent in a way that music rarely is.
Martin Rev : It’s so modern. All the modern jazz guys too are so influenced … this harmonic innovation was very much in the forefront of Herbie and Bill Evans and, you know, Miles. That was the next stage. ‘Kind of Blue’ came out of … the way Debussy was voicing stuff just like that when he did it, and Ravel. I was playing maybe one piece out of the ‘Children’s Corner’ or something like that. But already it was so visual and descriptive. But I didn’t attach to it that much. I didn’t get up from a lesson and say, ‘I gotta hear Debussy!’ I would listen to Stravinksy and I remember the first time it came on the radio—I knew there was stuff there that I had to learn for myself. I had many times fell asleep—like in the middle of ‘Firebird’—because they’re so long. But I was starting very earnestly to hear what’s happening there. And it continued to this day. I just listen and study.
L.A. : I noticed a lot of the influence on Stigmata. I’m sure that’s an easy parallel to draw. And that leads me to my next question. In an older interview you mentioned Alan (Vega) used to wear a giant white cross around his neck, and of course you were on the album cover in a cross position. Tell me about Catholicism—how it has influenced you and how you internalize it as an ethos rather than an aesthetic.
Martin Rev : It was very different for Alan and myself. I didn’t have any real affinity for Catholicism at all. My first impression is of Catholicism is being horrified. Going to friends’ homes and seeing pictures of Jesus on the wall—crucifixion pictures. That was scary stuff. I didn’t know where that was coming from because I wasn’t brought up that way. So Stigmata, to me, was more of continuing the thread for me of the tradition of music and the musical history, which is like the history of art. You can’t separate it from the history of the church and the history of religious art or religious music. So much of the music that is totally the great music—not the great religious music, though it is great religious music … the church was the only institution to preserve and foster and promote music and art, so that became the place for hundreds of years—
L.A. : They were the bankrollers.
Martin Rev : Yeah, and the ones that gave you a wall to paint on, like Michelangelo. And when you painted, sure, you painted the scenes that they … you know. When you had a gig like that, when you had a gig for the church, you wrote for the masses and for the weekly services and all the different times of the day, different formats, weekend stuff, like what all the scutata is for. So that to me was always totally one with any study of music at all. Stigmata was just a reflection of that for me. The titles.
'Space Blue' - Suicide
A Word (Or Two) On The Piano ...
I started learning to play piano when I was about 4 or 5 years old. Most of the musicians in my family, of which there are many, are guitarists of some description. My mother plays guitar and saxophone, so she got me learning saxophone when I was about 11 or 12 years old. When I joined my first rock 'n' roll band in my teenage years, I wanted to play bass guitar, but I never learnt how to play the instrument properly or how to read guitar music; I just tried playing bass by ear (or coming up with basslines to fit songs I was working on). The piano is the instrument I feel closest to.
"I had many encounters with Lou Reed over the years, and he was always charming and polite. I just never ran into his infamous dark side, so I can’t attest to its actuality. Lou was one of a handful of originals. I don’t think that the conditions that created him will again be approximated, let alone duplicated.
When I was 17 years old in 1967, my friends and I were fascinated by the Velvets’ first amazing album. A close friend of mine worked for Warhol. One night he arrived at my house in Brooklyn and told my friends and me that the band who was supposed to open for the Velvets in NYC had cancelled, and would we like to replace them.
We got on the subway with our guitars and went to a venue on the Upper West Side called the Gymnasium. Maureen Tucker let us use her drums, turn them right side up even, and we used the Velvets' amps. We played our little blues rock set, and at the end someone came over and said “Oh, Andy [Warhol] thought you were terrific.”
There were maybe 30 people there. The Velvets came on and were just powerful. They used the echo-y acoustics of the place to their advantage. This was a moment that shaped my musical life, and I tell the story frequently.
What else? I was really fond of Metal Machine Music and went through a period of constantly playing it. Lou’s music is a perfect mix of light and dark, and it will stay with us."
- Chris Stein, The Hollywood Reporter
Harpsichord
Claviochord
'True Love' - Jilted John (keyboardist Graham Fellows)
By considering the piano's role within punk, I feel I'm able to concentrate on the roots of the movement. The punk movement in New York drew from a number of creative sources. The psychedelic side of keyboards runs from experimental composers active in New York in the first half of the 20th century, through experimental bands like the Velvet Underground and Silver Apples. The more tuneful, melodic side leans heavily on the traditions of Tin Pan Alley songwriters, especially the in-house songwriters active within the Brill Building, an office building located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in Manhattan.
This New York stream rose to international prominence in the 1950s but you can trace its creative seams back to the jazz age. For young punks living and working in New York, songwriting teams like Burt Bacharach & Hal David, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, Howard Greenfield & Helen Miller, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Peter Anders & Vini Poncia, Carole Bayer Sager & Toni Wine, and Neil Sedaka & Carole Bayer Sager made significant contributions to the state's rapidly evolving musical landscape. Sager went on to form songwriting partnerships with Melissa Manchester and Marvin Hamlisch in the 1970s and Neil Diamond in the 1980s.
Individual songwriting talents like Mort Shuman, Bobby Darin, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Doris Troy, Lou Reed and volatile house producer Phil Spector further embellished the sounds emanating from the streets of New York. The "girl group" phenomenon of the 1960s owes a great deal to the Brill Building's musical complex, something that wasn't lost upon the punks of New York.
'In 1966, Seymour Stein and record producer Richard Gottehrer founded Sire Productions, which led to the formation of Sire Records, the label under which he signed pioneer artists such as the Ramones and Talking Heads in 1975, the Pretenders in 1980 and Madonna in 1982. Other acts signed by Sire include The Replacements, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure, Ice-T, The Undertones and Echo & the Bunnymen. Stein did not fire Depeche Mode despite poor sales of their first three albums in the US; it was their fourth album that brought them American success.'
- Wikipedia
Hammond Organ
Moog Synthesizer
'Cuckoo Clock' - Rachel Sweet ("The Girl With The Synthesizer") & Lene Lovich (with "Flying Scotsman" Peter Nardini on keys)
The one punk scene that ran concurrent to that of New York was in Ohio, but Ohio risked losing much of its creative talent to the east coast where opportunity beckoned. What's noticeable about the use of keyboards in Ohio's cities is that they became reflective of the state's decaying industrial landscape. This is one of the things that makes punk music so interesting; the musical contrasts created by tradition, culture, experience, history and geography.
Casio Keyboard
'Button Up' - The Bloods (with keyboardists Adele Bertei & Annie Toone)
-- --- --
20) Tom Verlaine (Neon Boys / Television)
'Change may be the only constant in Tom Verlaine's musical odyssey. He began with classical music, then moved on to jazz, playing piano and saxophone before focusing on the guitar. He even adapted the breathing style he learned while playing sax into the pauses that are a signature of his guitar work.'
- National Public Radio
'Kingdom Come' - Tom Verlaine
19) Pat Irwin (8-Eyed Spy / The Raybeats)
"A founding member of The Raybeats and 8 Eyed Spy, Pat Irwin had his roots in jazz and the avant garde, studying with John Cage and befriending the likes of Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs in Paris. But once he moved to New York City and played CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, his musical path took a punk turn and, for nearly 20 years, he traveled the world as a member of the B-52s. Now, he continues to pursue a number of eclectic projects."
- Valerie Simadis, Please Kill Me
'Piranha Salad' - The Raybeats
18) Harvey Gold (Tin Huey)
"In his 1978 Village Voice article which launched the idea something called “The Akron Sound” existed, critic Robert Christgau wrote “Tin Huey’s music is also impure … with influences like Robert Wyatt, Ornette Coleman, Henry Cow, and Faust (the group, not the hero) … they’re Akron esoterics”. He later went on to write in the same article, “But where most groups use difficult keys and meters to get closer to Atlantis, or transubstantiation, Tin Huey seemed to be seeking the eternal secret of the whoopee cushion.” And while Christgau has fun listing the influences he most certainly heard, alongside them I also hear Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa and The Stooges. In fact the Hueys tell a story a little too long for here about meeting Beefheart when they were recording their only major record release in 1979 that makes it pretty clear he and Zappa had some influence on them. Others have also heard the Soft Machine, which isn’t as obvious for me but I can buy it. But with all those possible influences running around, I’d still describe Tin Huey as staggeringly different.
And while every member of the band was extremely talented in their own right, Christgau focused on saxophonist Ralph Carney, the uncle of The Black Keys' Pat Carney and future longtime saxophonist for Tom Waits. He also singled out Chris Butler, who would go on to lead the Waitresses (Christmas Wrapping, Square Pegs and I Know What Boys Like).
Their recorded output was spotty; a number of EPs, one full length album in 1979, and a few compilations of outtakes which certainly come off as full length albums as nothing about them says cuts not good enough to make a regular release.
They are the poster child for a band just a bit too off kilter, that never planned to be anything but non-commercial, to ever find lasting success from a commercial viewpoint. As Christgau said they were using difficult keys and meters to discover the eternal secret of the whoopee cushion, not exactly a recipe for big sales numbers. It also seems their live eccentricities didn’t always translate in the recording studios. Which often happens with a lot of great live acts."
- Calvin Rydbom, Toppermost
'Squirm You Worm' - Tin Huey
17) Dave Greenfield (The Initials / The Blue Maxi / Rusty Butler / Credo / The Stranglers)
"David Paul Greenfield was born in Brighton, where his father worked as a printer. A schoolfriend taught him how to play guitar and he then began studying piano. Having finished school he became a jobbing musician – one of his first experiences of the music business was playing guitar in a band that performed on US military bases in Germany.
Greenfield served his musical apprenticeship in such late-1960s bands as The Initials and The Blue Maxi before graduating to prog-rock bands Rusty Butler and Credo in the early 1970s. None of these bands experienced any success and when, in August 1975, he answered the advertisement for keyboardist needed for a Chiddingfold band called The Guildford Stranglers – a band formed in 1974 by 36-year-old drummer Jet Black who, having made money through a fleet of ice cream vans, decided to give music another go – Greenfield might have assumed that his day jobs (working in his father’s print workshop and as a piano tuner) would continue.
Yet The Stranglers – as they soon became known – had, in Hugh Cornwell and Jean-Jacques Burnel, a guitarist and bassist (both sang) who possessed considerable presence and songwriting skills. By late 1975 the band had developed a following on the pub rock circuit that encompassed Greater London and, when punk rock exploded in autumn 1976, The Stranglers were quick to capitalise on it and were signed to United Artists.
Already considerably older than their largely teenage contemporaries, The Stranglers stood out as punk misfits – Greenfield and Black both sported unfashionable facial hair (and keyboards were a no-no in a scene based around fast, three-chord guitar thrash) – but their energy, aggression and surly attitude fitted perfectly."
- Garth Cartwright, The Independent
'No More Heroes' - The Stranglers
16) Steve Nieve (The Attractions / Perils Of Plastic / Madness)
"I’d answered an advertisement for a keyboardist for ‘a rocking pop combo on Stiff Records’. I knew a bit about Stiff Records, but that was about it. The audition was the first time I met Elvis Costello, and they were just there in this rehearsal room. I think he had a couple of members of The Rumour in there with him and we played through two or three songs, and I said, ‘Do you mind if I hang around? I’d like to hear the other guys.’ I ended up sitting in the back of the room, listening to these two or three songs over and over with different people playing them, and for some reason there was a large keg of cider at the back of the room which I managed to get through. So at the end of the evening I was feeling rather jolly, and then I went out for dinner with them. I seem to remember that even at that point he was constantly talking about music. The whole evening was spent talking about music, which was great. I lost track of time and nearly missed the last train back to the deep dark suburbs of Dartford.
My tastes in music were not really the same as his at all, but it wasn’t really about that; it was more about how passionate he was about it. In those days we used to make up cassettes with our favourite bits of music for playing in the car. It’s different nowadays – everyone’s got those headphones on. So you would share things. It was good for that."
- Steve Nieve, MOJO
'Radio Radio' - Elvis Costello And The Attractions
15) Ronald Ardito (The Shirts / The Shake Society) & Arthur La Monica (The Shirts) & John Piccolo (The Shirts / Chemical Wedding)
'Annie Golden's career has taken her from punk rock (she fronted the Shirts in the ’70s) to musical theater (she was the oiginal Squeaky Fromme in Assassins) to rich character acting on TV (she plays the mute Norma Romanot on Orange Is the New Black). Her no-b*llshit mien works wonders in combination with the thrilling soulful babydoll power of her voice.'
- Time Out
'I'm Not One Of Those' - The Shirts
14) Marty Jourard (The Motels)
"It was my good fortune to grow up in Gainesville, Florida, a town with a lot of bands and live music. During the '60s and early '70s this small university town in North Florida was an amazingly rich musical environment. Two future members of the Eagles grew up there (Bernie Leadon and Don Felder); Tom Petty was born and raised in Gainesville, Steve Stills attended the University of Florida ... there are many great musicians from Gainesville. Live music flourished in this university town, thanks in large part to the hippie scene of the late '60s coupled with a large University of Florida entertainment budget. Many famous acts in varied musical genres played this sleepy Southern town. I can recall seeing and hearing Peter Paul and Mary back in the early 1960s, Donovan, the Doobie Brothers, Ravi Shankar, Janis Joplin, the Beach Boys ...
I joined my first band when I was 15 (1970) as the bass player. We did tunes by Creedence Clearwater, Hendrix, the Doors, the Rascals, Steppenwolf, Cream, the Beatles. These were not oldies, they were the current hits! I played in various rock bands throughout Florida and the South on and off from 1970 to 1976. Our circuit went from Tampa and Macon and Atlanta to Athens and even Tuscaloosa. There were plenty of places to play. This environment was conducive to further playing of music, and we did.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1976 I attended U.S.C. (University of Southern California), where I majored in music. I began playing at recording sessions and gigs in the L.A. area before joining the Motels on keyboard and saxophone in 1978."
- Marty Jourard, 'Knowledge Is Power'
'Apocalypso' - The Motels
13) Roman Jugg (Victimize / The Damned) & Rat Scabies (London SS / The Damned / The Germans / The Gin Goblins / Professor And The Madmen / One Thousand Motels / The Sinclairs) & Captain Sensible (Johnny Moped / The Damned)
“I saw The Damned for the first time at Leeds Polytechnic. They were playing first on the bill on the fated Anarchy in the UK tour on December 6th 1976, along with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers. The Damned were totally irreverent and delightfully assholic; they made me think of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. They were messy and fast and loud. It was great. Dave Vanian was acting as much as he was singing."
- Hugo Burnham, 'Happy Talk'
'Under The Floor Again' - The Damned
12) Matthieu Hartley (Lockjaw / The Magspies / The Cure)
"As famous for their depressing dirges as for singer-guitarist Robert Smith's deathly visage, the Cure rode the post-punk wave during the late 1970s and early 1980s as leading architects of goth rock. By the time the genre hit its stride in the mid-'80s, the band had moved on to more mainstream pastures; but their second album Seventeen Seconds, and especially the single 'A Forest', were the definitive goth recordings. Hey, even co-producer/engineer Mike Hedges sported eyeliner back in the spring of 1980.
Around the time that the Seventeen Seconds sessions began in late 1979, bassist Michael Dempsey left to join the Associates and was replaced by Simon Gallup, while keyboard player Matthieu Hartley was added to a line-up that also included Smith and drummer Laurence 'Lol' Tolhurst, fleshing out the group's sound and enabling it to be more experimental and ... well, downright gloomy. This, after all, is what lyricist Robert Smith was after: creating a consistently dark and evocative mood by way of sparse musical arrangements and plaintive vocals buried deep within the reverb-laden mix."
- Richard Buskin, Sound On Sound
'A Forest' - The Cure
11) Paul Weller (The Jam / The Style Council)
"With things still to say musically, Paul Weller has no intention of hanging up his guitars or putting away the keyboards."
- Janet Christie, The Scotsman
'Music For The Last Couple' - The Jam
10) Jennifer Miro (The Nuns)
"January 14, 1978. A teenage vampiress emerges from the shadows of the Winterland Ballroom stage floor. A chiseled film noir blonde with a crystalline glaze. She begins to perform a sardonic cabaret number on her electric piano that magnetizes the jagged sea of safety-pinned punk rockers in her midst.
Jennifer Miro was the Ice Queen of punk rock’s Golden Age, a criminally overlooked vanguard of first-wave California punk as the frontwoman of The Nuns. She was also instrumental in the proliferation of Gothic/S&M imagery into the subcultural underground. The Nuns had been dressing in black and unleashing deranged provocations on audiences in San Francisco dives with odes to hard drugs, suicide, mind control, and kinky sex with the sadistic anthems “Savage” and “You Like To Bleed” as early as 1976 — a time when Miro proclaimed, “there was no punk rock. We were the first punk rock band in California.”
- Sarah Schimek, 'The Mesmerism Of Mistress Jennifer Miro'
'It's A Dream' - The Nuns
09) John Crawford (Farenheit / Berlin) & David Diamond (Berlin) & Jo Julian (Berlin) & Matt Reid (Berlin) & Dan Wyman (Berlin)
"It doesn't feel like 40 years. I had no idea we'd get to play this long. It's kind of like a marriage; You hope it will be forever, but you don't know. I'm just proud of what we did -- and what we're doing."
- Terri Nunn, Billboard
'A Matter Of Time' - Berlin
08) Dan Klayman (The Waitresses / Swollen Monkeys)
"!"
- Dan Klayman, Life In Ohio
'Quit' - The Waitresses
07) Bernard Sumner (Joy Division / New Order / Electronic / Bad Lieutenant)
"Kevin Cummins' monochrome stills helped Joy Division establish an otherworldly aura, but behind the scenes, Factory's inimitable way of finding itself in sitcom-like situations was making itself known. "We turned up at the rehearsal studio in Salford and Terry [Mason], our roadie, had organised a benefit screening for striking miners," Bernard Sumner chortles. "There was a picket line outside our rehearsal room. 'We've come to see the porno film,' they said. I was like, 'What porno film?' Terry had forgotten we were rehearsing and he'd laid out chairs like a cinema. Terry said, 'I thought we were rehearsing tomorrow.'
So we were backing the miners, but it was a strange way of doing it. Minutes later, Ian Curtis turned up with a female journalist from Paris. So there he is, 'Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean-Luc Godard, Nietzsche...' the usual stuff, and he walks into the room and he's like, 'What's going on? Oh God, we've got a journalist here! We're supposed to be doing an interview! It's not like this all the time! This is a one-off!'"
Paris might have appreciated the Pennine sound, but in London the press took little notice of the Manchester scene until Ian Curtis hanged himself in 1980. As Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks mentions in John Robb's The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City 1976-1996, "Manchester was like the animals in New Zealand - they got on with developing because they were left alone."
- Lee Gale, GQ
'Glass' - Joy Division
06) Kate Pierson (The B-52's / The Shake Society)
"My grandmother owned the house we lived in in Weehawken, New Jersey. She lived upstairs, and as soon as I woke up I would go up there, and she’d play the piano. She sang this song, “Tra-la-la, tweedlee dee dee, it gives me a thrill.” I don’t remember much from when I was 5, but I specifically remember her playing that. It’s almost like a vision of her, angelic, playing “Mockin’ Bird Hill.” She was singing dramatically, and that made me think, I want to be a singer."
- Kate Pierson, Pitchfork
'Cake' - The B-52's
05) Allen Ravenstine (Pere Ubu / Red Crayola)
"When Pere Ubu appeared in 1975, punk barely existed in New York or the UK, much less in their native Cleveland. But there were a bunch of misfits and freaks who dared to make insane, unhinged music, including a certain building owner and tinkerer who took the unusual tact of not playing notes per se. Original Ubu member Allen Ravenstine didn't so much 'play' his homemade EML synthesizer as much as he coaxed bizarre noise out of it and placed these sounds in unlikely places within each of Ubu's songs. As such, his contribution was much like a great dub producer, adding in all kinds of strange sound effects to enhance and distort the music. Or maybe think of him as the aural equivalent of a horror film, inserting all kinds of unexpected and thrilling bits into songs."
- Jason Gross, Perfect Sound Forever
'Go' - Pere Ubu
04) Richard Sohl (Patti Smith Group)
"Richard Sohl passed into the great beyond, and he was always our perfect piano player. So when the right person comes along … we don’t just want someone to put organ pads underneath the songs. We want someone who will help us move forward creatively, in the same way that Richard did. You know when it was just me, Richard and Patti (Smith), there was a real immediacy to the work we did. Richard was the right person."
- Lenny Kaye, Rock And Roll Paradise
'Piss Factory' - Patti Smith Group
03) Bob Casale (Devo / Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers) & Gerald Casale (Devo / Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers) & Bob Mothersbaugh (Devo / Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers) & Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo / Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers)
"I had a couple of friends who were jock football players, and they went over to Vietnam and they came back and they thought they were going to work in the rubber factories, like their dads and their grandads. But while they were in Vietnam fighting for capitalism, the capitalist structure of Akron, Ohio was making a fast getaway to Malaysia and Brazil for cheap labour, and leaving those guys behind. So they came back and they had nothing to do, and they'd learned how to kill people and smoke pot when they were in Vietnam. And they decided: 'We want to start a band, but none of us play an instrument.' So they were using their unemployment cheques, and doing whatever jobs they could, and putting money together and putting together a band, and they asked me if I wanted to play keyboards in their band. And all I had to do to do that was agree to write music. I said 'That sounds pretty good,' and they said 'We can go get you a keyboard if you want, what kind?' So we drove to Buffalo, New York, where Moog used to be, and I remember walking into this barn that had been converted into a warehouse. I remember seeing a rack that was about 30 feet high that had Minimoogs stacked up. It seemed so futuristic.
The Minimoog kind of became my M16 rifle. That's the synth that, to this day, you could blindfold me and say 'All right, we want a white‑noise puffball with one sine wave wiggling at about 90bpm through the middle of it,' and I could sit there and dial it in. I learned it that well. I was very aware of what was going on with synthesizers, and looked at them lustfully. They were very expensive, and just the fact that I even had a Minimoog was awesome, a really big deal. It wasn't like buying a plug‑in.
To me, that was what I was looking for. By the time that Devo started, Jerry and I had met in college already and collaborated on some visual things, and we were there at the protests at Kent, and they shot kids at one of the protests [four students protesting against the Vietnam war were killed by the National Guard at Kent State University, in an infamous incident that inspired the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song 'Ohio'], and they shut the school down for about four months. We were talking about the world and what we saw going on around us, and decided we were observing de‑evolution, not evolution.”
- Mark Mothersbaugh, Sound On Sound
Devo - 'The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize'
'Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh has a studio on Sunset Strip called Mutato Muzika where he and his team of composers knock out an impressive amount of soundtracks for Hollywood films, TV shows and adverts, and the games industry; ‘The Lego Movie’ for one, and most of Wes Anderson’s films also. The building is painted lime green and is circular. It was built for a cosmetic surgeon called Dr. Richard Alan Franklyn in 1967, and he named it ‘The Beauty Pavillion’. Franklyn wrote a couple of books about his trade, one was called ‘Developing Bosom Beauty’.
It’s been Mothersbaugh’s studio for over 20 years now, and serves as Devo’s HQ, so as you expect, it’s a regular Aladdin’s Cave for synth freaks in there. A place where a vintage Minimoog is the least exotic item on display is somewhere you want to see, right?
There’s a Synthi AKS, a Synthi A, an Oberheim 2-Voice, a Nimbus (a what? It looks positively Edwardian), and some interconnected keyboards that might have come from the leisure lounge on the Starship Enterprise.'
- Electronic Sound
'Gates Of Steel ' - Devo
02) Dave Formula (Magazine / Visage)
"Since I joined Magazine in late December 1978 it was just a whirlwind really. We never stopped from one day to another; recording, touring, recording etc. It was non-stop until we moved out of Manchester. What triggered a memory about that period was I watched the Joy Division documentary after the film 'Control' came out. It was those views of Manchester. It was looking like it was still in the 1940's and even some of the city centre shots looked like it was from another era. If you could go back [in time] you'd be surprised how grey and doomy it was. Now it's changed so much, physically.
I'd known Martin Hannett for three years before I joined the band and it was Martin that got me the job with Magazine. He was a very nice man but a lot of the things you read about Martin, especially those reports of the Martin Hannett-Joy Division interplay were, as far as we can all see and I was talking to Howard Devoto about this last week, a little bit exaggerated shall we say. He was a character if that's what we call him, but I don't think he was quite the Martin that came over in some of those reports. I don't know. Maybe he changed a lot. I last saw him in 1982 or something like that, though I did used to speak to him quite a lot."
- Dave Formula, Penny Black Music
Magazine - 'Believe That I Understand'
"The SS30 was renowned as one of the most sophisticated of the 1970's string machines and the selling price at the time reflected this. It wasn't produced in large numbers and therefore has something of a cult following among collectors and connoisseurs of this period.
It is a remarkably versatile string machine, as the recorded examples below will demonstrate, with the ability to transform a track, when used as a full section, or as individual instruments: the cellos are particularly effective, solo, when used in staccato fashion. All in all, it records beautifully!"
- Dave Formula assesses some of his chosen instruments, Feed The Enemy
'You Never Knew Me' - Magazine
01) Jimmy Destri (86 Proof / Milk 'N' Cookies / Blondie / Knickers)
"I'm from a musical family. My uncle - my mother's youngest brother - was the drummer for a late 50s early 60s rock band called Joey Dee & the Starlighters who had a hit record in America. They were on the Dick Clark show and I saw my Uncle Joe on TV and said, "That's what I want to do!" He was a one-hit wonder, had one song then went into construction and every time I said I wanted to go into music he said, "Don't do it!" But I disobeyed and here I am."
- Jimmy Destri, Blondie.net
Blondie - 'Poets Problem'
"I was asked to play on David Bowie's album, but I couldn't. We're too close. We're too good friends. As a friend, an artist and a writer myself, I wouldn't take direction. I wouldn't be treated like a studio musician. I told him to get a piano player to play certain things. I'm not that good of a piano player anyway."
- Jimmy Destri, Classic Bands
'Angels On The Balcony' - Blondie
'Blondie started out in the 1970s New York punk and new wave scene, but they soon became known for fearless musical experimentation. In 1980 Call Me saw them working with iconic Italian disco producer Giorgio Moroder, while their classic reggae cover The Tide Is High also topped the charts. In the same year, Rapture became the first US No.1 single to feature rap, with lyrics namechecking hip-hop pioneers Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flash. Their genre-bending 2017 album Pollinator shows Blondie are still musical innovators.'
- The British Broadcasting Corporation
'Picture This'
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Post by petrolino on Nov 22, 2020 0:54:39 GMT
Deconstructing 'Marquee Moon' [10:40] by Television { ~ My All-Time Favourite Punk Song (Track 4 On My All-Time Favourite Punk Album) }
'April Fool' - Patti Smith & Tom Verlaine
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Composition
'"Marquee Moon" is the title track from American rock band Television's first album, Marquee Moon. It was written by Tom Verlaine.
Each of the song's three verses begins with a double-stopped guitar intro before Billy Ficca's drums come in, and after the second chorus Richard Lloyd plays a brief guitar solo. After the third chorus, there is a longer solo by Tom Verlaine, based on a jazz-like mixolydian scale, that lasts for the entire second half of the song. On the original vinyl edition of the album, the song faded out just short of ten minutes, but the CD reissues have included the full 10:40 of the take. In concert, the band has sometimes extended the song to as long as fifteen minutes.'
- Wikipedia
Richard Hell, Tom Verlaine, Billy Ficca & Richard Lloyd
Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, Billy Ficca & Fred Smith
Pastel Rainbow Keyboard
Nels Cline & The Fender Jazzmaster : 'My Life In Five Riffs' { 'Turn Turn Turn' (The Byrds) 'Happening Ten Years Ago' (Yardbirds) 'Manic Depression' (Jimi Hendrix Experience) 'Marquee Moon' (Television) 'West Germany' (Minutemen) }
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Musical Differences
"Richard Lloyd's new memoir 'Everything is Combustible: Television, CBGB's, and Five Decades of Rock and Roll', is a curious book. In sixty-nine loosely linked, non chronological vignettes, Lloyd moves from recounting a fiercely interior, self-aware, and precocious childhood toward his wandering, drug- and alcohol-soaked twenties, up to the present day (Lloyd, with a backslide or two, has been clean and sober since the mid-1980s). In an oddly childlike tone, he writes about his favorite guitarists, lots, and lots of sex, lots, and lots of drug use (cresting with a crippling heroin addiction in the early 1980s), and his recording and touring career as a founding member of Television and as a solo artist and session musician.
In the prologue, Lloyd makes an interesting distinction between autobiography and memoir, insisting that he's composing the latter, which allows writers to wander among life's events, untethered to chronology, and to "understand [themselves] a bit and to share their lives from the inside." Yet for the most part, Lloyd observes, with detachment, his life's worth of sensual, pharmaceutical, and artistic adventures in the world's "lunatic asylum"—occasionally floating theories on spirituality, mysticism, Dharma energy, and psychology, especially in the book's ponderous final pages—with nary a note of self-reflection. We shouldn't necessarily expect deep character excavation in rock star memoirs, but we can hope for some measure of stock-taking, of wisdom or perspective arriving with the long view. For the most part, Lloyd seems uninterested in that; rather, Everything is Combustible reads like a dispassionate diary, closer in tone to Walter Benjamin's "Hashish in Marseilles" than to a revealing memoir.
That said, the book's juicy as hell. In the late-60s in Los Angeles, Lloyd palled around with the idiosyncratic guitarist and performer Velvert Turner, a protege of Jimi Hendrix's from whom Lloyd claims to have learned tricks on the guitar. For a time in the mid-70s he hung with Anita Pallenberg and Keith Richards, the latter of whom invited Lloyd down to Jamaica with him on a whim. Alcoholism and drug abuse permeates the book, and the extent of Lloyd's recreational drinking and drugging is astonishing; that he's alive is a remarkable testament to, as he sees it, his stamina, native curiosity in the expanding limits of body-testing, luck, and prayer. Lloyd's other major preoccupation in the book, sex, is mostly of the mid- and late-70s one-off variety, much of it emotionally engaging for Lloyd, a lot of it degrading and tawdry, and sometimes mean-spirited, for both parties. There's a funny scene involving Keith Moon in a tux, and a great revelation that Joey Ramone wrote his early Ramones songs on a guitar with only two strings. Lloyd gets digs in at his fellow band mates, particularly Tom Verlaine, whom he barely tolerates, endeavors to correct one or three errors in others' memoirs of the era and scene, and details the up-and-down recordings sessions of Television's three albums (Marquee Moon, Adventure, and Television) all with an innocent, wide-eyed view of the wonder of the world and the strange people doing strange, sometimes weird, sometimes tragic, often funny things on it."
- Joe Bonomo, No Such Thing As Was
"For Tom (Verlaine), 'Marquee Moon' is more of an albatross than it is for me. When I left the band in 2007, Television hadn’t put out a record since 1992 and had written eight songs in that whole time. Tom would start a song and he had no lyrics and he didn’t want to sing and he didn’t want to tour and he didn’t want to do this or that. I had a studio where we could have made a reasonably good-sounding record for free. But he didn’t want to use it, and he kept making excuses, even though he would come over and we would spend hours testing microphones. We both had quite a collection of microphones. So I have an eight-song demo, but with no lyrics. But they sound great."
- Richard Lloyd, The Stranger
"Television’s debut album, 1977’s Marquee Moon, might have failed to light up the U.S. charts (it never even cracked the Billboard 200), but it turned the heads of critics, who hailed the intricate, fluid and improvisational guitar playing by Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine as a groundbreaking combination of jazz, blues and garage rock. “I knew we were doing something special on that record,” Lloyd says. “It was simple in terms of production, but it was honest music played with heart. I think that’s what’s made it sort of timeless.”
Television called it quits in 1978, and a year later Lloyd released a bracing solo album, Alchemy, but for the next seven years he was beset by personal problems and substance abuse. “I call that my ‘Great Depression period,’” he says matter-of-factly. “It took me a while to get a lot of angst out of my system, but then I came back with Fields of Fire, and I’ve kept going since.”
While he’s taken part in sporadic Television reunions, Lloyd’s focus has been on working as a session guitarist while issuing solo albums. His newest, The Countdown, is a fiery collection of snaggle-toothed punk jams (“Whisper,” “So Sad”) and winsome, country-laced rockers (“Just My Heart”) that sport energetic, extended solos. “Each one is completely improvised,” Lloyd notes. “I played them once, but they probably would have sounded the same if I played them 50 times.”
Of the album’s epic, artrock title track, Lloyd says, “I had the riff that begins and ends the song, but that was basically it. I just said to the band, ‘We’re going into the outer limits here.’ So it’s me thinking Hendrix and space travel, and I just let my guitar lead the way. How could I lose?”
- Joe Bosso, Guitar World
'Countdown' - Richard Lloyd { • GUITARS Supro Black Holiday, Epiphone Casino, vintage Strat-style model
• AMPS Supro Black Magick and Thunderbolt 1x12 combos, Vox AC30
• EFFECTS Vertex T Drive overdrive, DigiTech FreqOut Frequency Feedback Generator, Dunlop Echoplex Preamp. }
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Poets Problem
The poetry collection 'Wanna Go Out' (1973) by Richard Hell & Tom Verlaine is an obscurity and a collector's item that's sought after by punk fans around the globe. For this collection, Verlaine adopted the identity Theresa Stern, a young prostitute working the streets of New York City. Copies of the original publishing are exchanged online for similarly rare punk artefacts and substantial prices.
"The first time we met David Bowie was when we supported him and Iggy Pop [for The Idiot tour in 1977]. We were in awe of him and Iggy right from the get-go. He was always very charming and gentlemanly, but also wary and kind of catty at the same time. I remember we talked about the new wave, and about Tom Verlaine’s hairdo a lot. He was a little sarcastic and derisive of it, but at the same time I thought he was also kind of jealous of the attention the hairdo was getting."
- Chris Stein, The Guardian
"Most of my amp, guitar and pedal choices are based on records I have become emotionally attached to. I want to recreate those emotions in my own playing. Television guitarist Tom Verlaine’s clean, angular and outside jazz guitar lines truly inspired me and had me researching his gear and finally hunting down and procuring a ’66 blackface Super Reverb and a pair of Jazzmasters (seafoam green’61 and a transitionyear tobacco ’65). Do I sound like Tom Verlaine? Not even close. Do I love the sound of my ’65 into the Super Reverb? Let’s just say I know that the hair on the back of your neck will stand at attention when I tear into “Marquee Moon.”
Oddly enough, before I was on a Verlaine trip my obsession with Jazzmasters came from guitarists like Sonic Youth’s Lee Renaldo and Thurston Moore and Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis. These mavericks were trying to remove themselves as much as possible from the classic Page, Clapton and Hendrix tones that a plethora of players were trying to shoulder up against. Another thing that I now see clearly is that my infatuation with classic Jazzmaster tones was a blessing for me as well as for other less financially endowed riffmeisters. The Jazzmaster’s doormat reputation had something to do with the slim price tag attached to its extra wide head stock. Heck, that could have been the same reason that threadbare rockers like Renaldo and Mascis’ gravitated towards them."
- Johnsom Cummins, 'The Psychology Of Tone'
"He isn’t just into the french symbolist poets. He’s also into a certain artist/bohemian fashion move forever linked with France. Tom Verlaine has been known to wear berets. He even wears one on the album cover of 'Flash Light'. Dear Lord, he even WEARS THEM ONSTAGE. This clearly demonstrates the kind of admirable indifference to accusations of sartorial pretension that a lesser man couldn’t even begin to contrive."
- Herriot Row, '10 Things I Love About Tom Verlaine'
'The Night' (1976) by Patti Smith & Tom Verlaine
'Warm And Cool' ~ Tom Verlaine
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The Record
"These bands achieved their initial notoriety while playing in the same place (an esophagus of a bar called CBGB, in lower Manhattan) and have been lumped together with other habitués of this joint as purveyors of “punk rock.” In their self-consciousness and liberal open-mindedness, these bands are as punky as Fonzie: that is, not at all.
Blondie is a quintet which juggles genres of fast rock, from a thick, Spector-ish vision of street crime called “X Offender” to a thick, Who-like vision of womanhood called “Rip Her to Shreds.” Blondie is for the most part a playful exploration of Sixties pop interlarded with trendy nihilism. Everything is sung by Deborah Harry, possessor of a bombshell zombie’s voice that can sound dreamily seductive and woodenly Mansonite within the same song. It’s an interesting combination and forces all the songs on Blondie to work on at least two levels: as peppy but rough pop, and as distanced, artless avant-rock. The group’s original material has no trouble yielding to this malleability of meaning since the songs are so broad in theme — the plots of “Kung Fu Girls,” “Rip Her to Shreds” and “The Attack of the Giant Ants” are exactly what their titles suggest: the aural equivalents of tabloid newspapers. Absolutely anything, from joke to political manifesto to hoax, can be ascribed to them. Two things save Blondie’s music from a lack of focus and sincerity. One is producer Richard Gottehrer’s adroit echoing of decade-old pop songs, replete with hooks and innocent melodrama. The other is Deborah Harry’s utter aplomb and involvement throughout: even when she’s portraying a character consummately obnoxious and spaced-out, there is a wink of awareness that is comforting and amusing yet never condescending.
The Ramones’ second album contains 14 songs, all around two minutes long. So did their first. They have lost none of their intensity, and if to “leave home” implies a certain broadening of experience, its main evidence on the new record is an occasional use of harmony and the boys’ discovery of carbona (“Carbona Not Glue”), a substitute for airplane glue in getting high.
The Ramones are as direct and witty as before. They’ve also lost just a pinch of their studied rawness: whether this is a sign of maturity or sellout is a matter for debate. The Ramones make rousing music and damn good jokes, but they’re in a bind: the hard rock of this group is so pure it may be perceived as a freak novelty by an awful lot of people.
Marquee Moon, Television’s debut album, is the most interesting and audacious of this triad, and the most unsettling. Leader Tom Verlaine wrote all the songs, coproduced with Andy Johns, plays lead guitar in a harrowingly mesmerizing stream-of-nightmare style and sings all his verses like an intelligent chicken being strangled: clearly, he dominates this quartet. Television is his vehicle for the portrayal of an arid, despairing sensibility, musically rendered by loud, stark repetitive guitar riffs that build in every one of Marquee Moon‘s eight songs to nearly out-of-control climaxes. The songs often concern concepts or inanimate objects — “Friction,” “Elevation,” “Venus” (de Milo, that is) — and when pressed Verlaine even opts for the mechanical over the natural: in the title song, he doesn’t think that a movie marquee glows like the moon; he feels that the moon resonates with the same evocative force as a movie marquee.
When one can make out the lyrics, they often prove to be only non sequiturs, or phrases that fit metrically but express little, or puffy aphorisms or chants. (The chorus of “Prove It” repeats, to a delightful sprung-reggae beat: “Prove it/Just the facts/The confidential” a few times.)
All this could serve to distance or repel us, and taken with Verlaine’s guitar solos, which flirt with an improvisational formlessness, could easily bore. But he structures his compositions around these spooky, spare riffs, and they stick to the back of your skull. On Marquee Moon, Verlaine becomes all that much better for a new commercial impulse that gives his music its catchy, if slashing, hook.
Television treks across the same cluttered, hostile terrain as bands like the Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls, but the times may be on the side of Verlaine: we have been prepared for Television’s harsh subway sound by a grudging, after-the-fact-of-their-careers acceptance of those older bands.
At their best, these three bands do indeed have things in common: a lack of pretension plus an abundance of vigor and adventurousness that have obviously been stoked by popular manifestations of print, film and TV: comic books, detective stories, science fiction, westerns and their attendant stock figures — hoods, dicks, cowboys, aliens: heroes, super and anti. Rock has always traded on a certain amount of this spirit — the naming of a band is just as stirring to its members as the sewing of his first cape is to a fresh superhero — but these three bands use this popular art in a way very few rock & rollers have done — with consistency and accuracy. (The Kiss boys read comics and even dress like them, but their secret identities are those of four businessmen dedicated to taking as few risks as possible.) The Dolls did a bangup job on a song like “Bad Detective” but they never approached the sinister precision Tom Verlaine achieves to wrap up the scenario of “Torn Curtain”; “Prove It” is a paean to a never elucidated “case” Detective Tom has “been workin’ on so long.” Blondie owes its moniker no less to its peroxide-soaked lead singer than to the marriage partner of Dagwood Bumstead. But in the wisecracking snipes of Deborah Harry, the band knows damn well it has found an image closer to that of a feminist Marvel Comic for the ears. The brutality and willful cruelty of the Ramones’ music can find its direct antecedent in the films of Samuel Fuller; Joey Ramone writhing out “Commando” is the real soundtrack for Fuller’s yahoo, prowar nose-thumber, Steel Helmet."
- Ken Tucker, Rolling Stone (article published April 7, 1977) Neon Electro-Punk LED High-Technology Keyboard
'Marquee Moon' - Television
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Post by petrolino on Nov 22, 2020 1:36:10 GMT
Sorry if I get this wrong, but didn't you mention before that you like the album 'Horses' (1975) by Patti Smith? I think Lenny Kaye of t Patti Smith Group is another interesting guitarist (Tom Verlaine and Allen Lanier also contributed guitar parts to that album). Kaye's gone on to produce a number of records for other musicians. Over the years, he's worked with some of my favourites, including Suzanne Vega, Kristin Hersh and R.E.M.
In more recent years, Kaye worked with Walter Lure on the annual 'Johnny Thunders Birthday Bash' commemorative concerts held in mid-July in New York City.
Horses is probably my all time fave and like Kaye but don't necessarily think he stands out in the way some others do. He likes to be old school garage type and should also be greatly respected for putting together the "Nuggets" album which was so seminal. Huge figure on the NYC scene as you say. Good call on 'Nuggets', a rites of passage for psych heads everywhere and testament to Lenny Kaye's passion for music.
Here's a quote I think you might like from Richard Lloyd about his own guitar playing which has had its fair share of critics over the years.
Richard Lloyd, Tina Weymouth, Chris Stamey, Chris Frantz, artist Julia Gorton & journalist David Fricke attend a punk retrospective in Austin, Texas in 2018
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Post by Zos on Nov 22, 2020 13:26:12 GMT
He's also done a lot of good solo work that doesn't get enough credit.
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