Those Who Were: DRUG DOGS DUMB iTUNES DUMP #1

Here's a section in which I hit "shuffle" and do mini-reviews on the first 5 songs that come up. It's stupid, and many of these songs will be stupid, but sometimes it's just hard to come up with things to write about. 

1.

Excessive Force - "Those Who Were" (In Your Blood; Life Sentence Records) 
The web (and dorko  90's nostalgists) have spilled enough ink over this song's opening couplet ("you said you'd always be true/but you're a weak motherfucker and you never had it in you") but I'd still like to call attention to the profound poetry of one of Salty City's finest exports. Having just finished an agonizing tour of duty behind the Zion curtain, I tend to give Salt Lake City a hard time about their hardcore (historically: lotta sizzle, very little steak IMO) and Excessive Force (or Xcessive Force, which is a way better moniker) is no exception. I'm hesitant to call this record "good" though I do enjoy listening to it a fair amount at the gym, when I'm pipe-bombing a McDonalds or other such ventures. "Those Who Were" features a drum sound that fluctuates between "Ball-peen hammer on a lead pipe" and "soggy noodle on wet cardboard" but those vocals sound legitimately unhinged and when you're 16  and SUPER into straight edge, it probably sounded like god speaking directly to you. I'm also a geek for all the weird guitar stuff they tried to pull off (check "In Your Blood," the track) and some of the off-kilter batshit riffing that made it into this song. Tempo changes galore, gang vox and yadda yadda. Definitely worth checking out for historical purposes, but if you're only tentatively interested in 90's monster-core, you're probably going to struggle making it through this entire album. Wise choice to put this as the leadoff track though. 

2.
Next Step Up - "Sweet Leaf" (Fall from Grace, Gain Ground)
A Cover that falls into the "so bad I can't stop listening to it" category. Don't mistake me, the riffs are spot on, but the vocals really don't do justice to the almighty Sab. I get it. Covers are supposed to inject something new into the song, so this is cool as a novelty, it just kind of feels like a throwaway on the end of the album. Fav Next Step Up track is their contribution ("L.A. Story") to the East Coast Assault comp. vol 1. Because you asked. Also, this doesn't have any solos on it. Just lettin you know. 

3. 

Power Trip - "Hammer of Doubt (April Fools Version)" (Omegas Joy Boy Mixtape Vol. 3) 
There are, to my knowledge, three versions of this song and like any good Dad, I love them all equally and for different reasons (but will also admit that I like the one on the Triple B comp just a TEENY bit more than all the others). What's more to be said about Power Trip? Remember back in the Armaggedon Blues era when they couldn't GET rid of all their 7"s? Times have changed. I did a Drug Dogs interview with Riley that will probably end up on the internet someday. We talked about baseball and Monster Magnet. 

What's special about this particular version of the song is that it's crappy cassette quality and features new falsetto/screech vocals (seemingly done by Udo Dirkschneider) and an added melodic chanting bit at the end (gregorian chant style). Awesome. Pure awesome. Everything this band does is awesome. For once, the internet was right about something! (No youtube vid for this one. Sorry bunky.) Also, I'd like to point out that this mixtape has added band names like Candy Randy and the Gay Boys, Woo Ric Woo Flair Woo and Heavy Metal Eric into my iTunes library. Thanx guys. 

 4.
Fit for Abuse - "Prefabricated" (Mindless Violence, Crust)
Criminally underrated beantown 'core, fast and punky a'la Negative Approach and The FU's, created in a time of JNCOs, Open E notes and vegan apologetics. Absolutely essential. No question. This one's a minute long and features a phat and phunky beat. Get this 7". Get everything they did or pose forever. 

5. 
Our Gang - "Out of Hand" (Uprising Demo)
Late 80's NYHC that was always on my periphery (due to a smattering of awesome logos and demo covers) but I never really checked out until mid-college when I discovered Blogged and Quartered. The songs from the Uprising demos appeared other places, but sound-quality wise, these are the best. "Out of Hand" features an awesome riff and a "skank it up!" mosh call. Perfect ingredients for a rippin lil' tune. 

Hashtag Hardcore Fanzine + Wasted Paper Fanzine (Weekly Seizure - 9.29.13)

Thanks for your patience folks. Things are a little bit skee-wompus here at the Drug Dogs camp, but per usual, I'm not going to let the stress of spinning a few plates keep me from what I love: zines about hardcore. Here's a little bit of what's been accompanying me on my (many) bathroom trips this week.

1) #Hardcore / Hungry is How I Feel Fanzine

Ultimately, I'm split over this zine. I'm not entirely sure how to divvy it up and who gets credit for what, but as far as I can tell, it's a collaborative effort between two zines (#Hardcore and Hungry is How I Feel zine). For the most part, it's excellent. I loved the first ish of #Hardcore because it had a euro zine feel, reminiscent of 00's zine fare like Hustler and stuff. Also, I'm not as up on Euro core so from an educational standpoint it's great.

It's also loaded with content, so for sheer volume, you can't do much worse. 

Highlight include: an excellent cut-n-paste layout, some opinionated columns, tons of reviews of records, shows and zines (wtf is up with people doing zines that don't include reviews? GET OUTTA HERE WITH THAT WEAK STUFF!), a word find, an awesome interview with Spoiler, an interesting interview with Kirby Michael and an interview with Kickback where he talks about banging prostitutes and practicing black magic in Thailand. It's also nice to see Darkside NYC getting a little bit of attention too…"so what's the problem douche-waffle?! That's all really great stuff." You're right. It is, and I feel like that alone would've made for an excellent zine.

Frankly, the food content was a little too much for me. I'm not a vegan, but I date one, and I know how passionate people get over their grub…and how annoying it is to listen to them talk about it.  I just don't really have much desire to read about it in a hardcore zine. I admit it's a creative angle, and it was done tastefully in the Spoiler interview, but the main reason I picked this up was for the Mike Dijan interview and honestly? It was the biggest letdown of the whole zine. Very little put it into discussing his musical projects past and present, and a whole lot discussing food, yoga and other non-core fare. Whatever, maybe it sounds bratty but I stand by it.

Good JUSTICE talk

I'm also a little bit torn on the True Colors bit. I mean, I'm a fixie rider so I should've been way into this, but I would've rather read about True Colors generally. All that being said, I see the appeal. Taking a "road less travelled" approach with content is commendable, and perhaps I'm not looking at it through the correct lens. As an American, I wasn't as familiar with True Colors before I saw them with Mindset in 2009 and I became a huge fan. I would've liked to read more on those experiences, but at this point it becomes a "beggars can't be choosers" thing.

 The truth is that, even with my gripes, this is still an excellent zine that's loaded with great content…I just feel like I need to acknowledge a flaw.

If you're in the states, I got mine through Grave Mistake so I'd suggest you take that route too, lest you get slammed on shipping from Europe. 

Pepto-Bismol

2) Wasted Paper #2

Got this one through a friend who's also in the ontario band Straight Truth.

I'm a huge fan of the sloppy layout because it's hand-made and it rules. The interviews are short, but conversational so they serve a real supplemental purpose (something that zines HAVE to do in the internet era). Also shout out to the awesome artwork on the back, depicting punx past and present. Highlights: stories of Hoagie ruining outfits with a bottle of pepto bismol and referring to it as "father's secret elixir." 

How HI can a punk get?

Also, big fan of any zine who "reviews" Kramer's business ideas.  The Ancient Heads interview was a firing line style number, a little reminiscent of Mosher's delight and the Omega's interview is full of requisite insanity. Worth hunting down for a quick, yet delightful, read.

3) Ancient Heads - Both Demos 7" [Climbin' Aboard / Ground Floor]

Between both demos and the radio set, I've already gushed over this band enough. This 7" sees both demos packaged together. Worth it for the insert (A Mad Magazine collage) alone! Buy/Stream here if you're a latecomer. 

What, me worry?