Genuinely deranged in the best possible way. Over dramatic vocals, discordant rhythms, pulsing beats.
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Carolyn Keddy's Top 10+ Of 2004
1. John Wilkes Booze - "Five Pillars Of Soul" LP (Kill Rock Stars)
Demented punked-out soul music. A collection of the best songs from their CDeps inspired by the five pillars of soul: Melvin van Peebles, Tania Hearst, Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and Yoko Ono. Singer Seth Mahern sings in this wildy high-pitched, bratty voice that seems to blend so perfectly with the soul music his band is pumping out. The songs are unbelievably catchy and so fun to sing along to.
2. Piranhas - "Piscis Clangor" LP (In The Red)
Genuinely deranged in the best possible way. Over dramatic vocals, discordant rhythms, pulsing beats. It teeters on the edge of something without ever falling off. The band is so tight and such incredible musicians, they may not need a crazy singer, but it does make it fun for us. I am really happy I didn't get beat up for my heckling at their SF show. Not that I cared too much at the time. I was just joining in on the fun. Singer Gentle James Easter's bellyflop onto a table full of pint glasses was a spectacular way to end a show, especially with all the blood.
3. Savage Lucy "Forget This Generation" LP (Squirrel)
Even though I know they are teenagers from Portland, OR, USA, these girls still sound Australian to me. This could easily have been some recently discovered lost recordings of SUICIDE SQUAD. They play simple punk rock at break neck speed, yet still manage to sound poppy. "Terrorist" is an evil revenge song that is so hummable, I feel creepy when I catch myself singing it while I am walking down the street. Even their cover of "Blue Moon" is fun. Who would have thought that was possible?
4. The Observers "So What's Left Now" LP (Vinyl Warning)
An amazing band with a singer who at times sounds like MINOR THREAT-era Ian McKaye and at others like early 7 SECONDS Kevin Seconds. There really isn't anyone out there these days doing the sing-songy '80s hardcore thing. It really brings me back. The music is thrashy, trashy garage rock that makes a nice contrast with the vocals. Every time I catch one of these songs playing somewhere, my ears perk up. I love the sound.
5. Muck and The Mires "Beginner's Muck" CD (Amp Records)
The best straight-ahead garage rock record of the year without a doubt. Super catchy, upbeat, all original songs. They have the matching clothes and the vintage equipment, but they manage to pump life into the genre that so many manage to run into the ground. Everything I look for in a garage band and they have an amazing female drummer too.
6. Fatals "Angry" EP (Nasty Product)
One amazing record that I was never able to track down a copy of so I have a pathetic cassette recording of the MRR copy. Alas. This amazing noisy as fuck French band blows me away. How these guys are able to beautifully channel the essence of TEENGENERATE is beyond me. Who cares? They did it. Great songs buried beneath a wall of noise and some coolly, snotty punk rock attitude.
7. Baseball Furies "Let It Be" LP (Big Neck)
Using the best influences of the New York and Detroit underground rock scenes that would eventually spin off to form punk rock, The Baseball Furies are making some of the best music around. Trashy, dirty and evil music with disaffected vocals. Excellent, catchy songs. A perfect album.
8. Operation S "s/t" LP (Broken Rekids).
In these days of such crappy '80s new wave revivalist bands, it is nice to see a band that can incorporate keyboards into their music and still manage to maintain a punk attitude. That is they don't let keyboards overwhelm the songs. Guitar is still the main instrument. Plus there are fun female and male vocals that are all sung in French. C'est trés exotique.
9. The Fe Fi Fo Fums "Electrofize Me/ Wild One" 7" (Boom Boom Of Renton)
Two amazing trashy, garage rock tunes in great tradition of the heyday of the '90s San Francisco Purple Onion scene. I can't decide which song I like better. I always love a song that utilizes a made up word like "Electrofize Me", but on the other hand 'Wild One" is so damn catchy. Fortunately since both are under five minutes total I don't have to decide. Whew.
10. Motorama "Shy Girl" EP (Vida Loca)
A very cool two-piece female garage band from Italy. The music is so frantic and energetic that seems hard to believe there isn't a full band. Excellent catchy songs.
11. Illnesses "I Wanna Die" EP (Pop Quiz)
This band snuck into San Francisco to play a couple of shows in 1997 and then disappeared without a trace. That is until this year when some very nice and smart person decided to release this record of four songs the band recorded in 1997 before they broke up. Peppy punk rock recorded in the lo-fi manner that was all the rage back in the '90s. These songs are so great, it is hard to believe they weren't more popular.
Honorable mention to:
Orphans "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead" LP (Unity Squad), Career Suicides LP (Ugly Pop), Battleship "Presents Princess" LP (Raw Deluxe) and The Ulcers "Hot Skin & Cold Cash" LP (Damaged Goods)
Best Songs of 2004:
When I do my weekly radio show, I have a bad habit of latching on to certain songs that I love so much and can't seem to ever get out of my head so I don't want to play any others. These are the songs that I always had to play in 2004.
- Von Steins "Hot Sex" (from the Fancy Bulge 7")
- Twat Vibe "Got Nuthin'" (from the compilation Maybe Chicago)
- Hot Machines "Tear It Apart" (from the compilation Maybe Chicago)
- The Krunchies "Wargasm" (from the "Interrobang" EP on Criminal I.Q.)
- The Husbands "Daniel" (from the Blue Bus 7")
- The Winks "You're Gonna Die" (from the Super Secret EP)
- Headache City "Knee Jerk Reaction" (from The Shit Sandwich 7")
- Real Losers "(Let's Go) Totally Nutzoid!" (from the "Go Nutzoid!" EP on Wrench)
- Tyrades "I Am Homicide" (from the Shit Sandwich EP)
- Thee Minks "I Lie To Boys" (from the "Songs About Boys" EP on Steel Cage)
- Locomotions "Come and Get It" (from the "s/t" CD on Dead Beat)
Best reasons to have a CD player in 2004:
- Monoshock "Runnin' Ape-like From The Backwards Superman: 1989-1995" CD (S-S Records)
- Revelons "Anthology" CD (Sepia Tone)
- Scientists "Pissed On Another Planet" CD (Sympathy For The Record Industry)
Best Live Shows of 2004:
- The Dicks @ The Eagle Tavern - 3 of the 4 original Texas Dicks playing all their great songs. I was squashed against the bar and sweating, but I didn't care. It was worth every bruise. Gary Floyd hassled the "punks" in the audience who almost made us miss hearing "Dicks Hate The Police".
- The Piranhas @ The Hemlock Tavern - sound problems, heckling, violence, ripped t-shirts and the singer ended up bleeding all the way out the door on his way to the hospital. Plus the music was amazing.
- Metal Urbain @ The Hemlock Tavern - Two nights in a row!
- Operation S, Smirk and The Wendy Kroys @ Thee Parkside - This show was so crazy it blew out the power at the club and for five surrounding blocks which included the Dead Moon show down the street. Operation S did a great cover of "The American In Me" in French. Take that with your freedom fries.
- Thee Flying Dutchmen @ The Hemlock Tavern
- John Wilkes Booze @ The Hemlock Tavern
- Baseball Furies and Mistreaters @ The Stork Club and Thee Parkside
- Observers @ Thee Parkside
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