MetaChat - Last night at the bar...

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24 February 2006

Last night at the bar... I was drinking with these two aging harcore guys and we got into a discussion of what was the best postpunk/alternative/underground/whatever the fuck song of the 1980's.→[More:] I concluded that the answer was "Bastards Of Young," by the Replacements. No song has ever expressed postadolescent frustratio better, IMHO. They had never heard it, poor guys. But I think they were curious. They bought me a beer at any rate.

That made me think of my personal Great Lost 80's band, The Brandos. I bought their cassette Honor Among Theives when I was 16. They combined a punk spirit with a deep appreciation of roots music. Why they didn't become huge is a mystery to me. So I give you a killer anti-war song followed by a peice of nice atmospheric rock and roll:

Gettysburg
Honor Among Theives

Hope you like 'em.

post by: jonmc at: 11:00 | 37 comments

I've not got them here at work, but if I had to pick the song, I'd go with Schizophrenia off of Sister or Teenage Riot off of Daydream Nation, both by Sonic Youth.

Alternately, Brave Captain by firehose, or maybe Waiting Room or Repeater by Fugazi.

posted by omiewise 24 February | 11:32

Repeater! Yes!

The Crew by 7 Seconds? Anything by Husker Du? Tough call man . . .

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 11:39

Bastards of Young is one of my favorite songs. I must have heard it a million times, but I still get choked up at:

The ones who love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
The ones who love us least are the ones we'll die to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them

It gets stuck in my throat and I can't sing along.

posted by jrossi4r 24 February | 11:47

Totally off topic, but jon, have you seen your latest MeTa thread?

posted by mygothlaundry 24 February | 11:48

Slovenly was one of my Great Lost 80's bands. Thinking of Empire was one of my favorite records, but I just couldn't convince any of my friends to even give it a chance.

posted by danostuporstar 24 February | 11:56

Monkey Gone to Heaven by the Pixies, preferably live. Now, no one constest that and nobody has to find out how many bullets I got in this here duece-duece in my boot top.

posted by Divine_Wino 24 February | 12:11

Huh, omiewise, I was coming here to post sonic youth.

(Debaser, DW! Bring it!)

And it's not from 80s (but neither is Repeater) but in on the kill taker came out in my freshman year and was the anthem album of my college years.

posted by gaspode 24 February | 12:15

"Crack Pipe (Burning My Hand)" by the Coolies.

posted by Hugh Janus 24 February | 12:57

Gigantic, or really anything on Surfer Rosa.

posted by Triode 24 February | 13:06

Yeah I think Surfer Rosa is pretty much anthemic for me, being in my early 20s and burning up the world.

posted by matildaben 24 February | 13:13

Rise Above - Black Flag
Something I Learned Today - Husker Du

I'd pretty much take any of them so far, though.

posted by safetyfork 24 February | 13:37

Can we do actual punk and hardcore or does it have to be post-whatever? (How can you start this and then fuck off to put a man behind bars Twelve Angry Jonmcs?) If so FVK by The Bad Brains and I'm really not going to tolerate any argument about that, not even from a lady who calmly beheads rats.

posted by Divine_Wino 24 February | 14:03

Kick out the jams, motha fucka!

(Would I be castrated for mentioning DK - Nazi Punks Fuck Off? Hatebreeders by ye old Misfits?)

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 14:06

Holiday In Cambodia makes me feel very good every time I hear it.

As does many a Misfits song.

posted by Divine_Wino 24 February | 14:08

Whew.

/wipes brow

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 14:09

Two more, related - Wonderbeer by Naked Raygun and Big Black's Racer X or Kerosene (or Jordan . . . dammit, there are too many!)

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 14:13

Also World Peace and No Mercy by the CroMags. Also Just Can't Hate Enough by Sheer Terror. Oh that's a great one.

"Enough of your shit, I've had it up to here.
It's time I make my intentions clear,
I don't give a fuck about your skinhead pride
and I could care less about the lower east side.

I'm just a working class schmuck who's tired
of getting the short end of the stick
I'm not sorry that I'm not like you
and I'm not sucking Uncle Sam's dick."

Whooo weee! That dude could straight fucking bellow.

posted by Divine_Wino 24 February | 14:16

This reminds me of a conversation I recently had with my 16yo sister about Grunge. I was trying to explain to her that (in my opinion)Nirvana really didn't do anything new. They just marketed it better. Poor kid had never heard of Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr.

posted by jrossi4r 24 February | 14:23

Holiday In Cambodia is *the* song to me. But I didn't want to mention it because of the post-punk can o' worms.

If so FVK by The Bad Brains and I'm really not going to tolerate any argument about that

No, you're wrong! Pay to cum 7" version. No question.

posted by danostuporstar 24 February | 14:32

I like worms.

(I remember this stuff from summer camp!)

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 14:40

Dano
I was going to go with Pay to Cum, but I've listened to it (that 7") version until sometimes my pulse beats in time with it. So I will respectfully agree to agree to agree to disagree.

posted by Divine_Wino 24 February | 14:44

I was always fond of both New England and Lovers Town Revisited by Billy Bragg.

And if we're talking the mats, how about Can't Hardly Wait (I'll write you a letter tomorrow; tonight I can't hold a pen? Man!)and Kiss me on the Bus? Kiss me on the Bus reminds me soooo much of adolescence:

On the bus, watch our reflection
On the bus, I can't stand no rejection
C'mon, let's make a scene
Oh, baby, don't be so mean
They're all watchin' us
Kiss me on the bus
Kiss me on the bus
If you knew how I felt now
You wouldn't act so adult now
Hurry, hurry, here comes my stop

Oh, and I have too agree about DK's Nazi Punks. Totally got my blood going as a 15 year old punk rocker wanna be.

posted by richat 24 February | 14:52

Fair enough, Wino. I love MetaChat.

I've been listening to this Kalashnikov song, Schluter's Kabinet, from the P.E.A.C.E. compilation almost everyday since I found it on eMusic a couple months ago. (I sold my original copy of the album as a teen; I'm such an idiot.) It's just so completely perfect, even though I have no idea what she's singing.

Any chance anybody knows anything about this band, or can translate the lyrics? (I don't understand last.fm enough ... can I listen to these other songs?)

posted by danostuporstar 24 February | 14:54

HOLY CRAP dano, I still have that album!!

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 14:55

Yeah, misfits all the way.

And, as I posted in this thread, last year. Surfer Rosa is one of those perfect albums. Not a wrong note.

posted by gaspode 24 February | 14:57

With the insert, tr33?

posted by danostuporstar 24 February | 15:02

If so, didn't each song have its own page? Could you describe what's on the Kalashnikov page sometime?

posted by danostuporstar 24 February | 15:04

Yup. I'll try to remember and do that this weekend. My memory fails me sometimes though, so remind me via e-mail if I don't do it in the next few days.

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 15:22

Oh, and SHENANIGANS! :)

posted by tr33hggr 24 February | 15:24

I doubt that I could choose a single DKs or Crass or Animal Slaves track, but BBC6 just played The Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost Inside You", and I nearly burst into tears.

Can it really be twenty-two f*cking years ago? Man.

posted by jokeefe 24 February | 15:49

"My Life" by Sick Of It All

posted by Hugh Janus 24 February | 15:54

BBC6 just played The Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost Inside You", and I nearly burst into tears.
posted by jokeefe 24 February | 15:49

One of my favorite musical memories is the time I heard Robyn Hitchcock play a cover of that song, solo with his acoustic guitar, at the 40 Watt in Athens. Stunningly beautiful.

posted by BoringPostcards 24 February | 15:58

Some pron for tr33 (and other "nature lovers and technology freaks").

posted by danostuporstar 24 February | 16:22

'Til Tuesday - Voices Carry

posted by AlexReynolds 24 February | 16:30

Fuck man, I'm outta this loop - the 80's for me was REM, Roxy Music, and Simon and Garfunkel. Although anything by Ministry or the Swans will do me a nice dark corner when one's needed. Hey, what about early, early Public Image, Ltd.?

posted by Lipstick Thespian 24 February | 22:31

No love for X? Damn near anything offa Wild Gift will make me grin like an idiot.
As for post-punk, I'd be hard pressed to think of anything that's worn as well as "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" by Mission of Burma.

posted by bmarkey 24 February | 22:43

true.

posted by safetyfork 25 February | 23:48

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