No Hope For The Kids – Das Reich (Backwards Masking, 2003)
7″ are to be at the core – both of any bands oputput and in any record collection. Buying singles was the only item i could afford in the early 70s when i got attracted to mu-sick. Glory old days, when single charts where there. Nevermind, rewind into 2000something, music and punk is still there and from sunny Denmark come “No Hope For The Kids” with a monster 7″ to pleasure us and specificaly all germans!
The verdict:
1977 – sure thing! published by a cool lable – DYI, sure thing! found in a cool shop – … mailorder, mmhhh, forgotten from where actualy…tststs catching sound – Yes – marching integrated and that chorus, splendid! And clocking in just over a minute – why does a song need to be longer, all said! The lyrics – simple and to the point!
Read youself:
Germany 1943
Soldiers marching in the streets
No one talks cause who can you trust
Shut your mouth or you'll get busted
Das Reich!
Das Reich!
The neighbor is the GESTAPO house
No one sleeps cause they scream so loud
Germany 1943
Germany 1943
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Who they fight for? Das Reich!
Das Reich!
(C) 2003 No Hope For The Kids
Saint Vitus – Born too late (SST Records SST082, 1986)
Now this is something completly different – at least back then, when we did crave for US Hardcore and stuff comming from SST (Black Flag’s Greg Ginns own lable). Saint Vitus reminded all of early Black Sabbath and generaly where seen as Hardcore slowed down to the max. In short: They had a fucking unique selling preposition!
Saint Vitus where around the “hard” music scene in LA but actualy only made it big when the charismatic Scott “Weino” Weinrich joined the band in 1986, spot on when this record was completed. After an “normal” disbanding of the band in the early 90’s (when Grunge broke big) they reunited in 2008 and are still going strong.
The verdict:
1977 – in essence yes but hey, this is now considered “doom” published by a cool lable – SST, tick! found in a cool shop – … Konneckschen for sure! catching sound – Yes – unique, slow, hard – best in class and genre defining! The lyrics – dark and doom as doom should be! And no surprise drugs!
My loveliest song on this is a rather short one – if you dare check out the long rolling ones!
I see colours everywhere
I have things living in my hair
In the dark, I see lights
My brain is working overtime
On clear windowpane
In my house, all things glow
My walls are a living light show
Purple dragons, smoke with me
I have friends only I can see
On clear windowpane
I can't handle coming down
'Cause I can't take the human crowd
I can't face reality
So I fly back to where I am free
On clear windowpane
(c) 1986 Cesstone Music
Now listen up:
And see this just again as a perfect set, performing live at the Palm Springs Community Center on May 16th, 1986. It will kill all your thoughts about rock’n’roll galmour and brings it right back to the bare bone:
Note of warning: For those of you who complain about the visual effects on this video rember that back then it was VHS (analog) and most likely the guy on the camera was stoned too! So shut the fuck up – this was 1986 you twat!
Modernettes – Teen City EP (Quintessence Records QEP 1204, 1980)
Oh Canaduh! This is more history from Canada and this is even more underrated – this is most likely the definite punk/power-pop trio in history. They got it all – style (and the good looks of the girl on bass), songwriting, punch and great tunes. The only lived short (from 1979 to 1983, with their peak being 1980). But they did leave something behind, oh boy, this absolut stunning 12″ EP.
The internet (damn internet, never forgets) quotes:
“Some punky powerpop now and then is exactly what we all need to be able to coop with life. Canadas Modernettes does everything right, up till the title track. It’s catchy, it’s intense, it’s great, it’s awesome. Hell(paradise?) yeah, they make smile the whole sunday long which makes it’s so much easier to do the laundry and clean my apartment.
What’s for dinner? Mmm salmon. Pink innersleeve and pink food. Take note of the great looking sleeve. Always been very fond of squares and circles. AND! AND the production! Oh man it’s Bob Rock you know!” That comes straight from our bible, KBD!
The verdict:
1977 – sure, The Jam where part and this truely is! published by a cool lable – a local indepdendent lable, tick! found in a cool shop – … Michelle Records if my memories serves well catching sound – POWER with a capital P like in Punk Pop! The lyrics – simple teen fun – cool!
My favorite is Barbra, a timeless ode to school and love and girls and and and:
there's a new little girl in my home class
you know i'm talking about barbra
and everybodys thinks that she's such a gas
b-a-r-b-r-a barbra
shes the girl i love forever
we spend our lives together
barbra
well the docs gonna side so she can pass
you know i'm talking about barbra
and everybodys looking and thats such a gas
b-a-r-b-r-a barbra
i envy the guy she kisses
i just wanna skip class with barbra
there's a new little girl in my home class
you know i'm talking about barbra
and everybodys thinks she's such a gas
b-a-r-b-r-a barbra
shes the girl i love forever
you know im talking about barbra
talking about barbra
talking about barbra
talking about barbra
(c) 1980 Modernettes / Buck Cheery
and it has been glued to film perfectly and even got restored to HD – modern times, tststs:
And for those who are by now deep in love with the girl on bass – Mary Jo Kopechne has for a long time retired from music and lives a remote life on her horse farm:
What do others say?
Mary Jo from The Modernettes is the blonde (dancing), one of the greatest rock stars of all time who didn't become one.
The Modernettes basically had the idea (and part of the sound) of Green Day, ten years ahead of time and locked in a corner of Canada with no one who could ever get the record (Teen City) distributed outside of British Columbia.
And obviously not a single hustler from the scene loading quarters into a pay phone, telling every A&R Man in major lable Hollywood to GET YOUR ASS UP TO SAN FRANCISCO and see this fucking band (The Modernettes Tour Fall 1980). I did (because i lived in Oakland) and they where the best band ever. Fact!
So Green Day would up selling 80 Million albums (and got paid for every one of them), deservedly so. The Modernettes sold 8 Thousand and got doofus Ted (who ran Quintessence Records, sort of) sticking his head into Jughead's bass drum in practice room and saying "I don't hear a follow-up hit here!" to which buck/joch quite reasonably replied "our first record was a HIT? In what universe?" (since it didn't get five copies hipped to Retail ourside of the British Columbia Area).
Stories, Stories - but put on the record, the music does not lie!
(unknown, found on the net)
