I have a music blog but I really only review/talk about girl singers and girl bands... I also promised myself to never talk badly about people/bands on my blog because I would feel like some 32 year old loser internet bully :)  I'm always down to listen to new bands, regardless if I like them or not, I just won't really write about anything I don't like them.........  undergroundgirlsblog.blogspot.com    

I do agree that people that take the time to have a music blog should at least have the decency to write you back, even if it's "hey thanks for the submission, it will be considered for review"...  I also think if you don't have loads of internet buzz surrounding your band, you're kind of just automatically swept under the rug. Maybe consider writing up a simple one sheet highlighting your band's accomplishments or just describing your sound. Sometimes people are willing to take a chance if your band sounds like bands they are more familiar with or if your band plays shows with bigger name bands they like and admire?  Good luck :-) 

the big time blogs throw you right into the trash without a listen or a real reply. you are unknown and therefore unworthy. everyone understands that some people are not going to think you are anything special but we would all just like a polite listen. or even an impolite listen would be fine. name your fave blogs.

axel- you CAN"T spell rocknroll rong. there is no right way. also if you are getting press ANY press! then you are really fortunate. in chicago the local reviewers write mainly about big time acts or their fellow reviewers acts. all the reviewers are in bands and thus have easy access to press. we have seen feature articles about a reviewer's roomate's drunken train wreck band thrown together for a one off night of baloney and then called the new hope of rock and roll. press space is wasted on 3rd rate FRIENDS. bands that work like dogs to achieve something are ignored.

Axel Björnsson said:

I totally agree with you.. haha I always spell rock n roll wrong.. 

Ok my band was playing at international festival in my town and by older rewiews and describes (including from ourselves) we're described as a 60's revival psychedelic rock. (ofcourse we have influence from bunce of other genres as well) But that description really tracked us down. One journalist was not happy with us.(fuck journalists by the way) I can respect his opinions and all that crap but he killed his credbillity by saying that The Piper at the gates of dawn with Pink Floyd is what psychedelic is supposed to sound and our music were just chaosistic. (has he fucking listened to 13th Floor Elevators? That's what psychedelic is supposed to sound for me thou) The chaosistic is the psychedelic.. Different opinions.

 

 But really my point is descripion can be dangerous.. at least when we're are talking about ignorant journalists..

DEPRAVOS DE LA MOUR said:

that usually doesn't cut it with potentially interested listeners not familiar with your music. sifting through the gazillion choices requires some specific glittering shiny object word or phrase. sad and as unhappy as it may  be the term rock n roll is meaningless.( FUCK!! NOBODY CAN EVEN AGREE ON HOW TO SPELL IT!!!!!) to one person it means you may be death metal or to another you could be jimmy buffet or you could be a 1953 rhythm and blues offshoot. it would take longer to describe what you mean by rock and roll than to describe yourself. clubs, bookers, websites, bloggers and online mags or whatever will not even bother to listen to an unknown quantity without a stinkin' category marker. we really and truly do not know what category we are supposed to be stuck in. and its a sure bet that like yourself many other bands do not now what they are until someone else tells them..
Axel Björnsson said:

I was onetime obsessed with analyzing my music, talked endless about it. I'm still obsessed with it but I keep it to myself because I think it's dull to describe my art to another person. Recently I just tell people that i play Rock 'n Roll.

Ha that reminds me of this thread:

Is There Anything We HAVEN'T Heard?

DEPRAVOS DE LA MOUR said:

surf influenced gospel is really hard to pull off. believe me we've tried.

That Nardwuar is a charming fellow. Christ, I nearly broke my computer half way through the video.

Here's is the infamous record breaking incident (it's in part 2), fucking twats.

IF THEY SAID THAT , AND DID THAT , TO NARDWUAR , THEN DOOT DOODLE DOOT DOOT - EAT SHIT.

OK , I said Kim was cool with me.. She was. But , they were NOBODY , then. They played to about 40 people.

Nick X said:

I'm not sure if it's in that interview or the next one Nardwuar did with them but Lee Renaldo from the group literally destroys a rare record Nard gives them in from of him and Nardwuar yelled "you fucking asshole!" Sonic Youth are the only band I've ever seen make Nardwuar furious...well the band Blur came close. 

kopper said:

Have you ever seen Nardwuar's interview with them from '91? They were pretty much assholes to Nardwuar, too. I realize a lot of people are (and Nardwuar always eats it up), but they seemed like real AUTHENTIC assholes. See for yourself:

Doc Detroit said:

A friend and I had a run-in with Moore at a record store in SF many years ago.  He was a total asshole.

I'm not sure if it's in that interview or the next one Nardwuar did with them but Lee Renaldo from the group literally destroys a rare record Nard gives them in from of him and Nardwuar yelled "you fucking asshole!" (I think in that one he just bends it) Sonic Youth are the only band I've ever seen make Nardwuar furious...well the band Blur came close. 

kopper said:

Have you ever seen Nardwuar's interview with them from '91? They were pretty much assholes to Nardwuar, too. I realize a lot of people are (and Nardwuar always eats it up), but they seemed like real AUTHENTIC assholes. See for yourself:

Doc Detroit said:

A friend and I had a run-in with Moore at a record store in SF many years ago.  He was a total asshole.

Have you ever seen Nardwuar's interview with them from '91? They were pretty much assholes to Nardwuar, too. I realize a lot of people are (and Nardwuar always eats it up), but they seemed like real AUTHENTIC assholes. See for yourself:

Doc Detroit said:

A friend and I had a run-in with Moore at a record store in SF many years ago.  He was a total asshole.

A friend and I had a run-in with Moore at a record store in SF many years ago.  He was a total asshole.

Just got this Brazilian one-man band's CD today

Tigres Del Norte ARE great , and , then , you have all the great Mexican and South American Rock'n'Roll from the very early 60's , well into the 70's , and even some still - active bands that have been around forever like El Tri and Heavy Nopal , or Punk bands like Los Yaps or Rebel D'Punk....When Brave Combo started out (Very Late 70's - Early 80's.) , they were more like a Punk - Polka band...Or at least , Garage - Polka . I used to go see them until about '86 , WHEN THEY STARTED GETTING ALL SERIOUS AND PLAYING "wORLD mUSIC".

BUT , THE POLKAHOLICS , POLKACIDE , LULU and Her Polka Casserole , DEFINITELY The future of Punk Polka. Wish I could say the same for Those Darn Accordions , but , the last time I saw them , they had some 'TUDE on 'em , and were visiting all these lame 80's themes , musically.

swt said:

Some of my obscure favorites:

1) Polish rocker KAZIK STASZEWSKI, who sometimes records with his band KULT. I don't understand the language, but he's like the Polish Nick Cave. Some great stuff. He's done "tribute" albums to Tom Waits and Kurt Weil (except that one has a version of Cave's "Mercy Seat" for some reason. Sometimes he strays off into a weird style of Polish hip hop, which I'm not crazy about. But basically Kazik rocks. I was playing Kazik on my iPod in my car when I stopped to get gas this morning. A cop was there filling up in front of me. Boy did he look at me weird as Kazik bellowed some strange drunken Polish lament.

2) Punk Polka. The music of bands like Polkacide and The Polkaholics is great fun. Also I enjoy Waila, a style of polka performed by American Indians in southern Arizona. I'm not kidding.

3) Los Tigres del Norte -- pioneers of Narcocorrido, are great.

4) Fooling around on the Calabash Music site, I discovered some weird twisted blues from Turkey and Romania, both of which use elements of their native folk musics mixed in with good old American blues. Here's my review of that a couple of years back: http://steveterrell.blogspot.com/2006/01/terrells-tune-up-internati...
The bands are Nightloser (Romania) and Istanbul Blues Kumpanyasi (Turkey)

After I do my Christmas podcast in a couple of weeks I'm going to do a world music podcast with some of this stuff. It definitely won;t be yor typical world-beat weenie show.

get the belfasy gypsies . its pretty good stuff
John Battles said:

Hey , Nick.

I would'nt say any of it is as good as when Van Morrisson was in the group , just as I would'nt saw Van Morrisson was ever as good again , after he left the group (He has his moments , in my opinion.).

Belfast Gypsies and Them were never one and The same , though we've all been told that. Ugly Things ran an interview , explaining that Belfast Gypsies were two members of an ever changing lineup in the band , during Morrisson's tenure as a singer. The name "THEM" was put on their LP sleeve without their consent. That much said , Belfast Gypsies' CD (Or LP , if you can find it.) is really good , raw killer R'n'B in the Them /Animals vein , but not nearly as tight a band as Them .  Good singer , obviously trying to sound like Morrisson or Burdon , and coming up sounding Punk as fuck.

"Now...and Them" , one of two LPs they did on Tower Records (Them tried to conquer America around 1966 -7 , on the strength of their past hits , but , again , with only one or two actual members of the classic lineup.) , is pretty good , it's uneven , but it has some good rockers on it.....Later , still , they recorded some singles and a COUPLE OF LPS ON LABELS LIKE RUFF  ( Out of Texas.) and Happy Tiger , I think it was....oN THE LATTER, THEY RECORDED GOOD COVERS OF CHARLIE RICH'S "LONELY WEEKENDS" and The Electric Prunes' " I Happen To Love You", in a more "Garage /Psych" mode...Some of the original or semi - original members reconvened in 1969(?) and did an album with Psychedelic versions of "Gloria" and "Baby , Please Don't Go". But , the lineup continued to shift , well into the late 70's , when they did one reunion 45 , which is'nt bad , but , there's no telling who's on it.  I even saw an add saying THEM was playing some 60's fest in Germany just a few years ago. There's probably a version of the band , with no original members , floating around Europe , somewhere.   Nothing I've heard , post - Van , has been BAD , as long as you don't hold it up to the Them/ Them Again era recorded input.    I'd start with Belfast Gypsies, and see what you think , after that.

I've heard even better than that , but , I really should'nt repeat it. There IS a video , somewhere on You Boob of Bobby on the TV news , yep , working in a pizza place. I would not have wanted to have eaten THERE ! Ha Ha.Yeah , the name sounds familiar , but , not sure. You can tell 'em I said hi , if you like , and see if they go , "OH , GOD !!! NOT HIM !!".

Nick X said:

It's cool to hear more stories about Bobby. My parent's friend (maybe the name Craig Roberts rings a bell?) was telling me that Bobby used to work at a pizza shop and live with his parents and one day he ran into him sleeping in a shopping cart in front of a grocery because he had gone home the night before, after a show, and his parents had moved without telling him.

John Battles said:

Nick , I knew Bobby Soxx , back in the 80's in Dallas. Maybe I knew your Mom and Dad ( I don't want to intrude on their privacy ,of course.).

Yeah , he had a reputation for being crazy , but , mostly , he was just annoying. He was one of those "Look at me ! I'm weird !!!" urban attention seeker types. I did'nt get along with him too well , but that was all kid's stuff.

I only really conversed with him , maybe 4 or 5 times....One could be forgiven for thinking he was generally harmless. I did. I never actually saw him involved in any acts of violence. He struck me as kind of a Punk Rock Ernest T. Bass. Living to piss people off , but , at the end of the day , he did'nt seem like he meant any , or much , harm. Of course , there were incidents. Like the time he slashed The Stranglers' tires at  The Hot Klub because he was'nt allowed backstage to see them. Or making a friend take the fall for his spitting on Johnny Ramone at a Ramones concert. Then - Ramones Roadie, John  Felice of The Real Kids , was sent by Johnny to beat the shit out of the other guy , while Bobby laughed.  But , when he went to prison for the attempted murder of his Girlfriend , there was'nt anything to laugh about. He did 2 or 3 years (?) , and got clean , but fell back on the old ways , and passed away several years ago , from Cirrhosis and other complications. He played one "Comeback" gig ,  backed by either The Telefones (Who played on "Scavenger of Death") or a thrown together group , I forget which. 

Nick X said:

Well, I guess I'll have to check them out now. Just out of the blue, my parents knew Bobby Soxx from the Stick Men with Ray Guns growing up and they said he was about as crazy as you can imagine.

joey fuckup said:

Ha, well, the small rock 'n' roll world we live in...G.G. was best friends with Jeff, matter of fact they recorded together as the Murder Junkies way back in the day. There is an album out of their collaborations, and they did a lot of shows together.

It's cool to hear more stories about Bobby. My parent's friend (maybe the name Craig Roberts rings a bell?) was telling me that Bobby used to work at a pizza shop and live with his parents and one day he ran into him sleeping in a shopping cart in front of a grocery because he had gone home the night before, after a show, and his parents had moved without telling him.

John Battles said:

Nick , I knew Bobby Soxx , back in the 80's in Dallas. Maybe I knew your Mom and Dad ( I don't want to intrude on their privacy ,of course.).

Yeah , he had a reputation for being crazy , but , mostly , he was just annoying. He was one of those "Look at me ! I'm weird !!!" urban attention seeker types. I did'nt get along with him too well , but that was all kid's stuff.

I only really conversed with him , maybe 4 or 5 times....One could be forgiven for thinking he was generally harmless. I did. I never actually saw him involved in any acts of violence. He struck me as kind of a Punk Rock Ernest T. Bass. Living to piss people off , but , at the end of the day , he did'nt seem like he meant any , or much , harm. Of course , there were incidents. Like the time he slashed The Stranglers' tires at  The Hot Klub because he was'nt allowed backstage to see them. Or making a friend take the fall for his spitting on Johnny Ramone at a Ramones concert. Then - Ramones Roadie, John  Felice of The Real Kids , was sent by Johnny to beat the shit out of the other guy , while Bobby laughed.  But , when he went to prison for the attempted murder of his Girlfriend , there was'nt anything to laugh about. He did 2 or 3 years (?) , and got clean , but fell back on the old ways , and passed away several years ago , from Cirrhosis and other complications. He played one "Comeback" gig ,  backed by either The Telefones (Who played on "Scavenger of Death") or a thrown together group , I forget which. 

Nick X said:

Well, I guess I'll have to check them out now. Just out of the blue, my parents knew Bobby Soxx from the Stick Men with Ray Guns growing up and they said he was about as crazy as you can imagine.

joey fuckup said:

Ha, well, the small rock 'n' roll world we live in...G.G. was best friends with Jeff, matter of fact they recorded together as the Murder Junkies way back in the day. There is an album out of their collaborations, and they did a lot of shows together.

Yep the Saints got screwed over by bad timing! They made it before the Ramones.

Nick , I knew Bobby Soxx , back in the 80's in Dallas. Maybe I knew your Mom and Dad ( I don't want to intrude on their privacy ,of course.).

Yeah , he had a reputation for being crazy , but , mostly , he was just annoying. He was one of those "Look at me ! I'm weird !!!" urban attention seeker types. I did'nt get along with him too well , but that was all kid's stuff.

I only really conversed with him , maybe 4 or 5 times....One could be forgiven for thinking he was generally harmless. I did. I never actually saw him involved in any acts of violence. He struck me as kind of a Punk Rock Ernest T. Bass. Living to piss people off , but , at the end of the day , he did'nt seem like he meant any , or much , harm. Of course , there were incidents. Like the time he slashed The Stranglers' tires at  The Hot Klub because he was'nt allowed backstage to see them. Or making a friend take the fall for his spitting on Johnny Ramone at a Ramones concert. Then - Ramones Roadie, John  Felice of The Real Kids , was sent by Johnny to beat the shit out of the other guy , while Bobby laughed.  But , when he went to prison for the attempted murder of his Girlfriend , there was'nt anything to laugh about. He did 2 or 3 years (?) , and got clean , but fell back on the old ways , and passed away several years ago , from Cirrhosis and other complications. He played one "Comeback" gig ,  backed by either The Telefones (Who played on "Scavenger of Death") or a thrown together group , I forget which. 

Nick X said:

Well, I guess I'll have to check them out now. Just out of the blue, my parents knew Bobby Soxx from the Stick Men with Ray Guns growing up and they said he was about as crazy as you can imagine.

joey fuckup said:

Ha, well, the small rock 'n' roll world we live in...G.G. was best friends with Jeff, matter of fact they recorded together as the Murder Junkies way back in the day. There is an album out of their collaborations, and they did a lot of shows together.

Thomas , Yeah , I did'nt see that you left this , before....The CD " The Most Primitive Rock'n'Roll Band in The World" (sic) has their demos on it from , like , 1974. Super nasty sounding Punk before most people called it that.

Thomas Marshall said:

The Saints recorded a lot earlier too

I'd say both , plus the Dolls , Sonics , Wailers , ? and The Mysterians , Troggs , early Stones , Pretty Things and a few contempos - Heartbreakers , Real Kids , Ramones.

Mike said:

Maybe more MC5ish than Stoogesish

 

They are really cool people. And , they have a lot of reverence. When I first saw Antiseen (Ironically , I'd just come back from seeing David Allan Coe) , this had to be over 15 years ago , Jeff Clayton was earlier into his "Juicing" (What it's called when Wrestlers induce bleeding from their foreheads.) stage , and ,as I recall , his forehead still looked about average.He broke two shot glasses on his forehead ,  just by rammin' them real hard against his skull. I have'nt seen them , live , since then , but , they appeared on "Chic- A - Go Go", and Jeff DID look like a hardened Professional Wrestler about the forehead.  Which does'nt help , I know , but , if you like GG , you should like Antiseen. They were friends of his , and recorded an album with him called "Murder Junkies" (No connection to the band.).       But , bands I could recommend. HMMMM. That's a tall order , for someone who finds The Saints and Radio Birdman good but "Lame" sounding.

Actually , have you heard that CD of very early Saints demos , from 1974 , I think , THAT'S some raw , fucked up Stoogeified Punk Rock SHIT !!   Mentally Ill , Vomit Pigs , Dot Vaeth Group , Pack (Germany) , Teenage Jesus and The Jerks (You might think they're "Arty" or something , but they're about as abrasive as it gets) , Chosen Few (Australia) , Pork Dukes (UK) , Kids (Belgium) , Hubble Bubble (Belgium - May or may not be your thing , but , check 'em out.) ..... I'll try to think of some others.

joey fuckup said:

Well, one band that came out in the early '80's (and are still around) are ANTiSEEN. Not sure if you are familiar with them, but the lead singer belts out some throaty vocals over ballsy Southern hardcore punk. One of his trademarks is to take a broken bottle and repeatedly jab it into his forehead until blood is pouring down his face. He's done this so many times, he now just has scar tissue on his brow. I've gotten to hang out with the band and interview its frontman Jeff Clayton for a podcast I used to be on. He's actually a nice guy, but it's balls out fury when he hits the stage. The band are Southerners, so expect Confederate flags, pro wrestling homages (they've done shows before with barb wire strung up on the stage), hardcore covers of old honky tonk songs, and salutes to the American troops. They're pretty much the real deal.

An important band too.

Hell yeah the Candy Snatchers are great. Don't forget the Dirtys, too. And the early Killed By Death comps. And I can't help but think about the Fun Things when reading the title of this thread!

Richard Metcalf said:

There's two bands which immediately spring to mind for me. Poison Idea and The Candy Snatchers. I'm a technicological retard so look 'em up yourselves. Both had guitarists who died, one because he was the size of a house and another because of self induced chemical inbalances. Punk as fuck or what!

I know what your talking bout...looking forwardnto next one though..when ever

I could'nt read all of that site , but , it's fascinating the things that did get censored , and why ....It's interesting , too , to realize what songs were NOT censored ....There was an article about that in Buddy Magazine out of Dallas /Ft. Worth.  Of course , it's hard to believe "Walk on The Wildside" did'nt get banned (Yes , there was a cleaned up version , but , I seldom heard it on the radio !) , but , I had no idea why the popular yawnathon "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship was considered risque. I had to try to stay awake thru it , several times , when I realized he's saying something like "Do you remember when I went down on you". That's the only thing to recommend about the damn song ! By the 70's and 80's , you had songs like "Money" by "Pink Floyd" , "Life in The Fast Lane" by the Fleagles  , or "Tough Guys" by REO Slowdraggin' that did say "Shit" or "Goddamn" . or other things , but were produced in such a way , it was easy to miss , the first time.

My views of censorship? Negative. But , there are certain things I would'nt want my kids to have access to , if I had kids.   But , when the PMRC arrived , they did NOT advocate parents discussing with their kids why they might find certain materials objectionable  (Uhhh...Because Tipper SAID they were objectionable?), and , God forbid , giving kids a chance to make informed choices of their own......I remember a "Sample list " of songs they disapproved of.  One was "Bastard" by Motley Crue. Now , I don't like Motley Crue , but the song is about encouraging a rape survivor to defend herself. THAT's objectionable?!

I DJ'ed at a public radio station in the 80's. Like we did'nt have enough problems , the local "Christian" station was trying to bump us off our frequency , and take it from us. They had their own Secret Police , listening to us 24/7 , hoping to catch someone in the act of playing a record with a dirty word on it , so they could turn us in to the F.C.C. and have us banned. Yes , a public radio station had to fear these modern day Stalinists , who ,incidentally , had a LOT more money than the hovel in drugtown we worked out of ,  to carry out their unamerican and even anti - Xian scheme , and win.

My Station Manager told me , look , if you want to play a song that has the word "Fuck " or "Shit" in it , or whatever , as long as you think you can get away with it , do it. If it's too obvious , don't take a chance.  I only played 2 or 3 songs that'd fit the bill , because these people were not %$#@!! around.

This is really a great idea. Completely new twist on the "garage fest" thing. Kinda wish there were more bands playing though.