Considering how many bands have such crappy songwriters, maybe it's just as well that they only do covers.

BTW, I'm exaggerating a wee bit. Yes, I have seen some great bands over the years that had great original material. Unfortunately, I've also seen a lot of bands who went for a rather generic sound because they could not do any better in terms of songwriting. Maybe for some bands, playing nothing but covers isn't such a bad thing. Keep in mind that the Beatles and Stones started as cover bands, and take a look at what they grew into. Not that I really think this sort of thing always happens.

BTW, Little Steven said something about this in a speech he delivered at SXSW, in which he stressed the importance of studying the songwriting of great bands so you'll become a better songwriter. Yes, I know some of you think LS is full of shit, and that's fine, but I just thought I'd bring that up.

Just my two cents.

 I have noticed lately that more and more bands, even touring bands that I like, are really nothing more than cover bands. Doesn't anyone write their own songs anymore? I find it odd, having come from the original 77 NY Punk Rock scene. One of the reasons that whole movement happened was as a rebellion to the fact that there were very few venues where an original band could play. Cover bands could gig anywhere. Okay, back then the cover bands did top 40. Now the cover bands are smarter, opting to do more obscure songs, but they are still cover bands. There's nothing wrong with doing a few covers in your set, but to base your whole thing on covers to me is just taking the easy route.

And those 2 LP's are still around...Star Records in Oshawa Ontario Canada (just outside Toronto) put out those 2 LP's and still has them listed in their current email catalogue, here's an email for Star Records: starrecordscanada@netzero.net

stoneageromeo said:

Downloading's alright but, concerning the Purple Toads, they put out two albums that are absolutely fantastic so I suggest you buy them instead ...

Downloading's alright but, concerning the Purple Toads, they put out two albums that are absolutely fantastic so I suggest you buy them instead ...

If you need the Irish folk, there's always The Pogues!

Not sure if they're the same as the above types of bands, but there's a lot of good newer folk punk bands I'm into. Mischief Brew, Saw Wheel, Evan Greer, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains to name a few...there are lots of different styles and types of folk punk, but hopefully you'll like some of them.

thanks; keep em comin!

What about Beau Brummels and the Searchers? They may not be very moody. The Zombies are more moody but less folkie and more jazzy.

It's the twisted brain-wrong of a one-off man-mental. Hey, that's a great name for a band; One-Off Man-Mental & The Twisted Brain-Wrongs.

Alex said:

I fucking love that song! So demented!

electrocute your cock said:

Hasil Adkins laughing and screaming and everything in We Got A Date is just plain fucking terrifying.

Those are all great suggestions. I guess, off the top of my head, as far as new-ish bands go these days, the singer from the Konks lets a few good ones rip on their record. http://www.amazon.com/Konks/dp/B0007M42BY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288229220&sr=8-1

I can't believe I hadn't seen this post yet. Anyway....Satisfaction, I Wanna Be Your Man, and Around and Around are my top 3 Stones recordings. It's the sound.

I hate lo-fi recordings. Eric Clapton over Robert Johnson all day.

I usually only get stuck in this conversation if I'm dumb enough to mention what kind of band I played in. I try to mention Dirty Water (as opposed to actually naming the Standells) and You Really Got Me (I make sure to mention the Kinks in this case) and My Generation and I hope they get it.

I think Steven's going to ignore it.

Your probably right!

I felt Rhino could have done two or three box sets of "Children". Trying to put 25 years onto 4 discs meant a lot of bands were going to miss out. They should have done the 80s for one box and the 90s for another. This year would have been perfect for the last 10. Of course, there are a few Bomp/Voxx comps that kind of fill in the gaps.

LOL, that is so true! You could say it's like separating the wheat from the chaff.

BTW, my all time favorite track from that compilation is "I Wanna Destroy You" by the Soft Boys. I love how that song combines snarling punk lyrics with a jangly pop sound. When I went to see gigs from Little Steven's Rolling Rock tour, that song was on the mixed tape that the go go dancers did their routines to.



Michelle said:

It's the same as any comp, you've to listen to a lot of shite to find the good stuff! :)

It's the same as any comp, you've to listen to a lot of shite to find the good stuff! :)

I figured this must have been discussed back then, but I wasn't involved with this site at the time.

That's cool that you played a small part in making this happen.

kopper said:

Yeah, this topic was beat to death back on the old GP Forums. That must've been six years ago! Man, how time flies...

Anyway, I think it's pretty decent. I like about a third of it, but there's a lot of stuff that just doesn't float my boat. I was surprised by the inclusion of some bands, happy about the inclusion of others, and dismayed about the exclusion of some.

It was also nice to be included in the thank-you list in the liner notes, even though I really had very little to do with the song selection.

Yeah, this topic was beat to death back on the old GP Forums. That must've been six years ago! Man, how time flies...

Anyway, I think it's pretty decent. I like about a third of it, but there's a lot of stuff that just doesn't float my boat. I was surprised by the inclusion of some bands, happy about the inclusion of others, and dismayed about the exclusion of some.

It was also nice to be included in the thank-you list in the liner notes, even though I really had very little to do with the song selection.

Sounds like a great show. Have fun.

I just remembered something...the Cynics played some new songs that night, which will be on their forthcoming new album. Barbara Kostelich told me they are shooting for a February release. The new songs sounded cool, and they will go back to their traditional raw sound.

I just uploaded those pictures from last Friday's show. Sorry I was little late in getting this done, but I'm usually quicker when the pictures include cute girl bands or go go dancers, as opposed to grizzled old veterans like the Cynics and Fleshtones;)

Are you coming to Arizona? If you are thinking about it, consider The Yucca Tap Room, I play there and would give you a contact if you would like. It's a great place run by a younger owner and they have a pizza oven! No cover, you get a % of sales. Ryan Wong who is on Goner records has a few bands that play there, you guys would make a good bill.

thanxx yallll

we've got an LP coming out early next year so stay tuned..