Dharma & Greg Forces Elph to Review Punk Albums Without Asking Him

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 05:13 PM

And go!

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 05:52 PM

TBH I like this comp better than any LP muchly because it's where I first heard Dead Kennedys but honestly I like the less fast approach of "Callifornia Uber Alles" and "Holiday in Cambodia" that allows Jello's performance to breath more, so Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables has never connected with me as much since those versions of the songs feel wrong. It also has "Police Truck" and the aforementioned "Night of the Living Rednecks" so that's an absolute no brainer for me to make it the definitive Dead Kennedys statement. I mean how can you listen to Fresh Fruit's version of "California Uber Alles" when there's a top 10 punk song version on another album?

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elphenor

Give me Convenience is lacking "Kill the Poor" so it's really hard to call it definitive

Absolutely agreed. But it also has "I Fought the Law" so boom to the dick. One other thing I like about Give Me Convenience is that it's a comp without flow which reminds the listener that albums at the time were a two-decade-old arbitrary concept based around how much you could fit on a piece of wax rather than being an objectively valid artistic concept. If a band can put out one single song that resonates throughout history like The Kingsmen with "Louie Louie" then you are still a great band if you don't add the arbitrary necessity of making entire 30-40 minute collections of songs to being a great band, and punk most of all genres should ignore the need for full "albums" when they can just put out great music to be great. Give Me Convenience is just some great songs with some other great stuff thrown in which doesn't make it feel like a statement that makes every song feel the need to work with every other song in a way that is unnecessary to appreciate each song.

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 06:41 PM

The point is that albums are an arbitrary medium and a comp can be at least as valid a medium for listening in one go and having a bunch of a band's best songs in one place along with some other oddities that are also bomb as **** even if they don't meld together in a seamless experience can be as definitive as an actual "album" and Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death is a perfect encapsulation of that. It's got a bunch of amazing **** and some other **** that doesn't fit in with the standard concept of an album that I love listening to as well that makes me very happy and the incongruity of it all feels perfectly valid considering just who the Dead Kennedys are.

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 06:45 PM

And go!

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elphenor

well I feel like hardcore punk is as much an experience as it is a genre of music and most of the bands benefit from comps that try to make up for what's lost in translation from the live performance to tape

for example, Media Blitz is the definitive Germs album imo

I'd also like to point out that my point also applies to EP's and singles. Whatever makes you think a band is ****in' rawkin' yo is all that's needed. And many punk bands can release a bombass song but can't follow up with a full album or even a solid 7" with two other songs that can compare to that one anthem, but when they have you for that moment then nothing else matters. And a comp like Give Me Convenience that has a number of songs that "have you" ****ing rules and worrying about it not being a full album that "has you" for thirty minutes in an "album oriented rock" kinda way is kinda bull****.

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elphenor

I've never heard this album so give me a moment

so far pretty sick

OMG I'm happy to give this to you. Feel free to give it some time. I can throw another album at you if you wanna give this time to hit you or something. I don't need this to be a 1st impressions thread.

The Batlord · 05-22-2019, 07:25 PM

Oh and one thing I love about Radio Birdman is that they were a legit 1st wave punk band, as in they weren't influenced by 1st wave punk bands and then got together and released an album, they were legit a formative band where one of their main members saw the Stooges play live, moved to Australia, and formed a band based on wanting to build something off of that. They have a sound that doesn't sound like the Ramones taken to the next step, they just sound like they were riffing off the Stooges and were a part of the movement that just so happened to be forming in 1977 and so what they were doing sounds organic and innovative.

Anteater · 05-22-2019, 09:20 PM

My turn.

Anteater · 05-22-2019, 09:36 PM

Real punk music coming on through. Choo choo!