Bill’s Picks:

Operation Ivy – “Sound System”

Pretty much any song off of the Op Ivy collection would work, but we picked “Sound System” because of its relentless catchiness and lyrics.

Teenage Bottlerocket – “Bloodbath at Burger King”

As a teenager did you ever have a job that you got for the summer that turned into a more than two year long thing? Do you like a song that disguises lyrics about murdering customers and bosses with a disgustingly happy and upbeat melody? If the answer is yes, then boy do we have a song for you.

Napalm Death – “The Kill”

As much as you claim to love the summer and hate to see it go, inevitably you’re going to piss and moan when the thermometer reaches the 95 degree mark. This 20-second grind classic is music for those days, when all you want to do sit in your underwear and watch TV.

Anthony’s Picks:

Kidz In The Hall- “Drivin Down The Block”

Summer just wouldn’t be the same without cars driving by with the booming systems. Word to LL Cool J. Put some rattle in that trunk with this hip-hop selection.

Tigercity- “Are You Sensation”

Simply feel-good indie pop fo that ass! A simple track with simple lyrics sung by a weird but talented lead singer makes for a great joint for chillin’ out.

Lovage- “Stroker Ace”

Those hot, sticky summer nights will get a little hotter and a lot stickier once you throw this on. Sure to mellow out the mood, this song should come with a disclaimer: may cause separation with underwear.

Lisa’s Picks:

Chromeo – “Bonafide Lovin”

The perfect summer soundtrack for that perfect summer booty call.

MGMT – “Electric Feel”

These Brooklyn psychedelic-pop-rockers will keep your iPod hot all summer long. Guaranteed.

M.I.A – “Paper Planes”

Want to put a little controversy into your dance-mix? Then add M.I.A’s “Paper Planes,” a song about capitalism and immigrants, as your summer go-to.

Kevin’s Picks:

Attack In Black- “Hunger Of The Young”

A nice alt-country spin on the classic emo punk of yesteryear, Attack In Black conjures up summers gone by and what made them great. From road trips to sweating it out in clubs and first kisses, there’s a simplicity and nostalgia that rings true in each note. You know, where you’re not sloshed.

The Loved Ones- “Pretty Good Year”

A proper drinker with heart, “Pretty Good Year” is the perfect song for your first whiskey shot on Saturday evening. As vocalist Dave Hause so simply states: “Pour the drinks and we’ll cause the dancing to start.” I, for one, am behind him 100-percent.

Dead To Fall- “Major Rager”

Some summers are about wasting away again in Margaritaville. For the rest of us, it’s about stomping Jimmy Buffet’s head in, crashing a party and downing a 40 of Mickey’s in some alley. Dead To Fall has crafted the perfect metalcore ode to bonging beers, getting naked and running from cops.

Day 1 (Sound on Sound Records)

The Altars

Brain Handle

Day 1 (Emo’s)

Iron Age

No Fucker

Under Pressure

Fy Fan

Roky Erickson and The Explosives

World Burns To Death

Hard Skin

Day 2 (Emo’s)

Brain Handle

Iron Lung/Hatred Surge

Straight Jacket Nation

The Marked Men

Leatherface

Dillinger Four

Day 3 (Beerland)

Social Circkle

Day 3 (Emo’s)

Deskonocidos

Repercussions

Invasion

Inmates

Tragedy

Crude

Los Crudos                              

Day 3 (Broken Neck)

Inmates           

Cleveland Bound Death Sentence - Self Titled (walking to class)

Pinhead Gunpowder - Jump Salty (eating lunch)

Crimpshrine - Duct Tape Soup (riding the bus to work)

Sweet Baby - It’s A Girl (riding the bus and then walking)

Have you figured out the theme yet? Is it on the tip of your tongue? Are you drumming on your knees because it’s bothering you so much?

There’s your answer. The one, the only Aaron Cometbus. I admit that I’m not as up on his much more famous writing work as I should be, but hot damn can this guy drum and write some songs. Seriously. Each band is so completely different but still thematically linked in some way. I didn’t even set out to do this either, I just instinctively put on CBDS and then Pinhead Gunpowder, then decided what the fuck, let’s go for broke. There are still a ton of bands he’s done that I haven’t heard, like Harbinger with one of the guys from Blatz. You can bet your sweet ass that I’ll be on the lookout (pun intended!! HA HA!) for that 12″ during my next online or brick and mortar shopping spree.

Here are some videos of Pinhead Gunpowder playing in 2001. An audio recording of the entire set was posted on Lookout! Records’ old website right after the show, I bet it’s pretty easy to track down if you try. In any case, here’s the first 12 minutes of it in complete video glory. Look at that rock behind the kit. Cometbus for life.

Yeah, you read that right.  This weekend I scratched one more thing off of my list of “things I must do” and finally went to a record fair.  In previous years this was a benefit for WLUW, a community station that I volunteered at for six quick months in 2004.  Due to Loyola University taking WLUW back, this year the record fair was done to benefit CHIRP (Chicago Independent Radio Project), a new organization that is attempting to start up a low power FM station to serve the needs of the community that WLUW is leaving behind.  I walked in the doors of the Pulaski Park Field House with just over $40 in my pocket and instantly realized what a fool I was.  Less than an hour later I had to walk down the street to a K-Mart to get $50 back on a purchase of a bottle of pop.  All told I spent $77 on Sunday, which might not seem like too much to some hardcore collectors, but to a college student who’s about to graduate that’s about eighteen really bitchin’ burritos from Susupuato.  So without further delay, it’s time for you to check out all the cool shit I bought!

The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash LP.  $25.  This is now the most expensive single record I own, at a whopping $25.  The second I heard the opening chords of “Taking A Ride” I knew it was worth it.  I don’t really have a “want” list but I definitely had The Replacements on my mind for yesterday and finding this gem made my day.

TSOL - Dance With Me.  $10.  Same exact thing as above.  I’ve listened to this record more than you can probably imagine and scoring an original pressing of it for ten bucks I just about shat my pants in excitement.

Really Red - Teaching You The Fear (reissue).  $7.  If you want to talk about underrated punk rock bands Really Red is a good place to start.  They came from the same scene as the Big Boys and The Dicks and shared the same sense experimentation in their song writing.  The only stuff I previously “owned” from them were MP3s from a blog post so it’s great to finally own something physical.

Descendents - Enjoy!  $4.  New Alliance pressing.  Even though I love the Descendents I’ve never owned this album in any format.  The fact that it’s not the SST reissue is a huge coup, because SST really fucked up their mastering of the ‘dents back catalogue when they reissued them.  It’s not my favorite album but it’s a good addition to my collection.

MC5 - ‘66 Breakout!.  $10.  Were you aware that the MC5 were around for a good five or six years before Kick Out The Jams was released?  Were you aware that they began as the one of the most standard sounding, post British Invasion garage bands around?  This late 90s LP is all the proof you need.  There are a couple covers, discarded songs, goofs, and early versions of future classics.  If you’re a fan ‘66 Breakout! is a definite eye opener.  Motherfucker.

Charged GBH -  Leather, Bristles, No Survivors and Sick Boys.  $9.  Combat pressing.  Back in high school I had a burned copy of one of the Nth generation “Clay Years” rip off compilations.  At some point I lost that CD and haven’t re-bought it because of the insane amount of repeated and unnecessary additions to the G.B.H. catalog.  I don’t know all the details behind this version (it’s from before they dropped “Charged” from their name obviously) but I do know it’s the US pressing, it’s old, and I get to hear all the ‘lost’ classics that I haven’t heard in years in their original form.  Nostalgia rules the day.

Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick.  $5.  No matter where you go you’re bound to find an extremely beat up copy of this LP for probably between $0.75 and $2.  I was more than happy to pay a little bit more for a pristine copy.  “Hot Love” has been stuck in my head for hours now.

Die Kreuzen - Pink Flag/Land of Treason.  $4.  Die Kreuzen covering two punk rock classics before they turned into complete shit?  Sign me up!

Boris The Sprinkler/Moral Crux - split 7″.  $3.  As you’ve probably figured out, I’m a huge pop punk nerd so this was a pretty good score on my part.  I’m pretty sure at this point that I have about six or seven Boris The Sprinkler 7″s but no actual LPs or CDs.  We’ll see how long that keeps up.

Riot Fest 2007: Diary of a Press Pass

Being considered a VIP is strange to me. The vast majority of the shows I go to have no such thing, and when I find myself at larger events where such things are available, I’m never one of them. Since we helped to sponsor Riot Fest this year, I was given a press pass, which gave me access to every part of the venue (or so I thought, but we’ll get to that later). I felt weird to be honest. “Why the hell am I in here?” kept running through my head all weekend. It took a few baby steps but I eventually got used to it and attempted to use my newfound “important” status to the best of my ability, both for Air Raid’s sake and for my own selfish reasons.

Day 1

The weekend began with a long shift on the radio on Friday afternoon. After going to my one class that afternoon and eating a quick lunch I made it into the office by 3 PM, just in time to begin a Riot Fest themed internet radio show (Shameless plug – listen to my radio show). The sailing was smooth and I’d consider the show a success; it featured lots of the bands playing this year as well as bands that played in years past mixed in with anecdotes and bad jokes. Around 6:30 Kevin and I packed up, locked the station, and went our respective ways before heading over to the Cobra Lounge. I managed to eat a quick can of generic Dominic’s brand potato soup before turning right around and hopping on the bus to the venue.

The Cobra Lounge pre-show had been advertised as being “Five Mystery Guests” but by the time the show date came up most people had figured them out. The lineup for the night was Shot Baker, Zero to Sixty, The Methadones, The Effigies, and The Queers. My first duty at this show was to hand out a pile of stickers with the Air Raid logo on the front, and a personalized message on the back, a long with our website address. My entire shift at work on Thursday involved doing this process approximately three hundred fifty times. It felt good to see the confused looks on people’s faces as they saw various Arrested Development or Army of Darkness quotes. Eventually all the stickers were passed out and I didn’t see too many on the floor so I’d consider that a victory.

The first band of the night was Shot Baker, who is well above average in the melodic punk rock realm. I watched and dutifully nodded my head a long to the tunes, recognizing quite a few from the other times I’d seen them. Next up was Zero To Sixty, which is the new band of Dan Precision and Dennis Buckley of 88 Fingers Louie. The first thing I noticed was that they had three guitar players and my mind immediately thought of Iron Maiden. Being that I was never really a fan of 88 Fingers I can’t really comment on Zero To Sixty too much; the people I know who were huge fans of the old band seemed to enjoy their set but it didn’t do too much for me.

The Methadones came up next and for the first portion of the set it was honestly pretty mediocre. This show was my 17^th time seeing them so I feel safe in saying it was in the bottom three; Schafer’s vocals were off and the band couldn’t seem to really get in line. However, the last two songs managed to redeem the set beyond any shadow of a doubt. Out of nowhere the new guitarist Ken played four chords. Slowly we all began to realize that these were the opening chords of Screeching Weasel’s “What We Hate.” There were six other guys around me who all had the same wild eyed look on their face which screamed “HOLY SHIT!?!” I will never forget the looks of pure, unbridled joy that were on everybody’s faces. Instantly every fist was in the air and every voice was straining to sing louder than was physically possible. After that, the twelve second blast of “Panic” ended the set. After it was over I was left completely speechless. I had to ask people if they had seen what I had seen. As a Weasel fanatic, it’s safe to say my mind was blown.

So The Effigies were up next. I really do like these guys but don’t really put in the effort to see them as often as when they first got back together. They’re usually pretty on spot with their playing but it gets a little boring seeing the exact same set list every time. Open with “Below The Drop,” move into “We’re Da Machine” and then yet “Baby Sleeps Alone.” Yup. Not to say I didn’t enjoy it but it was a bit of a let down after the mini-Weasel encore. The Queers closed the night with a typically frantic “30 songs in an hour” set. Despite the seeming inability to keep a lineup together for more than one tour, I’ve never seen a less than awesome Queers show. Highlights included the set opener “Fuck The World” and “I Didn’t Get Invited To The Prom.”

Day 2

Here’s where the big show begins. I walked into the Congress Theatre as The Magnafux were playing. I was able to listen to a few songs but don’t really remember too much about what they sounded like; I was trying to get situated with everything going on with the passes and my work responsibilities. However, I made time to watch The Methadones play by far to the biggest crowd I’ve seen them in front of. Dan’s voice still hadn’t fully recovered from the night before and once again it wasn’t that great of a set; still entertaining but nothing worth writing home about. I’m not worried though, soon enough they’ll be back headlining their own shows at the Beat Kitchen and everything will be right in the world again.

As the Lower Class Brats began to do set up I made my way into the dressing room areas. After getting lost initially I found the room that was being used by The Methadones, The Copyrights, and Shot Baker. My first, and only, interview of the weekend was with Tony Kovacs, the vocalist of Shot Baker. It went swimmingly and can be found in the “Interviews” section of the website. This took up most of the Lower Class Brats set time but I did manage to hear them cover “Fun Fun Fun” from the Big Boys, one of my favorite songs around.

The Queers were up so I had to move down to the main floor to fully appreciate it. They changed up about 30% of the songs from the night before and definitely delivered the goods in the huge setting. Some of the songs they played on Saturday that weren’t there Friday were my some of my personal favorites like “See You Later Fuckface” and “We’d Have a Riot Doing Heroin.” They closed their set with a cover song from the greatest punk rock band of all time, The Ramones, doing “Sheena is a Punk Rocker.” I’ll repeat once again that I’ve never seen a bad Queers show.

I retreated to the balcony as the Nekromantix played and sat in the nice cushioned seats as they tore through their forty minutes of psychobilly madness. I own one or two Nekromantix albums and they were entertaining enough but I had to pick and choose my battles over the long weekend. Their set didn’t seem to drag until the last song or two.

The next band would not allow sitting down; the next band was 7 Seconds, who I place in my top two favorite bands of all time. I used the ‘clout’ afforded to me by the fancy sticker on my sweatshirt to watch from the side of the stage. I was finger pointing and shouting a long like there was no tomorrow; several other hangers on gave me funny looks, but fuck them, it’s 7 Seconds and I was excited. They opened up with “Not Just Boys Fun” and stuck mostly to the pre-1985 material, with “Here We Go Again Kids,” “One Big Guessing Game,” and “Sooner or Later” being the exceptions. I was a bit bummed about them not playing “Still Believe” but many worse things have happened in the world. Kevin was apparently performing with a bum knee so the audience sing-a-longs weren’t present that afternoon but it ended up not taking away from the power of the performance. USE YOUR. HEAD. BE. AWARE. GIVE. A. FUCK! Awesome. Awesome awesome awesome.

Stiff Little Fingers began next and to my surprise did not play the entirety of the Inflammable Material album like they did on the rest of the tour. Jake Burns explained that they didn’t have a long enough time slot to accommodate the full album as well as the selections from other records. This turned out to be a blessing because it allowed the band, once again featuring founding bass player Ali McMordie, to play all the hits like “Nobody’s Hero” and “Fly the Flag” that aren’t on that classic debut, even if it would’ve been cool to hear “Here We Are Nowhere.” Inflammable Material was represented by “Alternative Ulster,” “Suspect Device,” “Johnny Was,” and my personal favorite SLF song “Wasted Life” among others that I can’t remember now. They also debuted a decent new track entitled “Liar’s Club” that should see release soon. Thirty years hasn’t dimmed the zeal of Jake Burn’s performance and the crowd went nuts the entire slot.

The last performer of the big show was Naked Raygun. I have to admit that by the time they came on I was pretty pooped so I watched the set from the balcony instead of being down in the crush of the crowd where I knew I belonged. Raygun delivered a much more energetic set than last year’s fest, playing songs from all of their albums. The “woahs” alone shook the foundation of the Congress Theatre. Jeff Pezzati’s voice was in top form and Bill Stephen’s guitar tone finally had all of the muscle that the songs deserve. By the time Raygun’s set ended at 11:30 a decent portion of the crowd had left for some reason. Their loss, because it was a pretty great set.

Even though the big show was over the night was nowhere near done, because there was another show at the Cobra Lounge featuring Four Star Alarm, Love & Squalor, and special mystery guest Youth Brigade. Thankfully the second show didn’t start until after the first one finished so I walked in right as Four Star Alarm were beginning their second song. I don’t remember too many specific details but I do know that they were about the same as the other times I’ve seen them play. I’m not all that familiar with their reference points but their melodic take on post hardcore is very entertaining in a live setting, but I can’t imagine myself listening to their records at home all the time.

The middle band of the post-show was Love & Squalor. Friendships aside, I like the music that these guys make. If you are big into the Epi-Fat skatepunk sound and like long (I’m talking over four minutes here people) songs then this is the absolutely perfect band for you. They’ve got it all: double time drums, gravely vocals, every member singing harmonies, beards.

Have I mentioned anywhere in this write up how much I love my job yet? Here, let me explain why. The special guest of the night was Youth Brigade, a band that I believe is criminally underrated in the annals of Southern California punk rock history. I didn’t even notice that they were playing because I was too busy having fun talking to all my co-workers in the other room of Cobra Lounge. The 16 year old version of myself would have kicked my ass for not paying attention to the Stern brothers, but I digress. At one point, an anonymous co-worker INSISTED that bartenders never check the signatures on receipts (strong emphasis placed on insisted). She asks “what should I sign my name?” Without any hint hesitation the next phrase out of my mouth is I. P. Freely. BAM! I. P. Freely gets signed on the receipt and handed to the barkeep. Everyone giggles like schoolgirls for a moment until he walks back over to us and says “I don’t think this is your real name, ma’am.” I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life at something so stupid. It was glorious.

Finally I notice the unmistakable drum intro to “Fight To Unite” coming from the other room. “Fuck, Youth Brigade is on!” rolls through my head and I run into the other room to watch the last five or six songs. My memory is a little clouded but I do recall seeing them play “I Hate My Life,” “Did You Want To Die?” and the closing “Sink with California.” Shawn Stern’s eyes still hold the same paranoid look that was there in 1982 and the portion of the performance I saw delivered the goods. After the show it was time to breakdown all of the branding pieces and bring them back to the office, meaning that I got back to my apartment some time around 4:45 AM.

Day 3

Thanks to the ungodly hours the construction crew that’s working on a condo down the street holds, I was awake by 10 AM on Sunday morning. Thanks for that, you evil bastards. Needless to say I was going to take it easy for the first portion of the day. I got to the Congress around 4 PM or so right before Youth Brigade started. This time I managed to see their complete, though shortened because of their early slot, set. By this point not too many kids were inside but the ones that made it that early all seemed to be having a good time, myself included. Youth Brigade definitely deserves more respect than they currently get.

The Bollweevils came on after Youth Brigade and I migrated back up the balcony to relax as they played. I own two of their records but never really listen to them all that often; after every time I see these guys I vow to change that but I doubt it’ll actually happen. It’s been over two weeks and have yet to dust off “Stick Your Neck Out.” As with Four Star Alarm, The Bollweevils are a great live band but on record don’t stick out too much for me.

The inimitable Dillinger Four took the stage after The Bollweevils. I actually, I should say that Patty took the stage to rattle off some trademark stage banter while the rest of the band set up their equipment. Sporting a brand new Mexican Squier bass guitar purchased in Arlington Heights that morning (with the $20 insurance), he asked, no, demanded more smoke from the machines on the side of the stage. Soon the smog was so thick you’d think you were in the Bad Brains’ dressing room. No new songs were debuted today and there was no talk of the new record, but who cares, Dillinger Four sets are always extremely entertaining. Most surprising of all was the lack of shit talking on the Bad Brains! Crazy! That was one of the things I was looking forward to the most to be honest.

The Casualties were up next. I don’t hate this band as much as most people seem too. They’re so over the top that I can’t help but laugh. In fact, I think they’re kind of entertaining for a little while specifically for this reason; they are a fairly pedestrian street punk band with a ridiculous image and fan base. However after more than ten minutes I lose all interest. Before they played I met up with my roommate and some friends who traveled from St. Louis for the show and moseyed up to the balcony. I think I fell asleep first for a few songs, then slowly but surely three of the four other people I sat with fell asleep at some point while the Casualties played. There’s not much more I can say other than that.

Finally the main reason I had been looking forward to the fest for weeks was coming up: Sludgeworth. I will follow Dan Schafer’s musical endeavors to the ends of the earth and I wasn’t aware of them during the last reunion show in 2001, so this helped to make my year. I planned on watching from the side of the stage again but was not sure how it would work on this day. Throughout the entire show the access to the backstage area had been restricted and perilous to navigate. It was so much more constrained that I ended up not getting any additional interviews done, which was my one assignment for the weekend and the reason why I had the press pass. But anyway, I figured out an alternate route and managed to watch the first four Sludgeworth songs from the side of the stage. I’d conservatively estimate there were twenty of us on the sides singing along and fist pumping until out of nowhere a member of the Bad Brains crew escorted all but a few of us off. I wasn’t one of the extra special people allowed to stay and I’m actually kind of grateful for it. I pushed my way through the crowd to be right up front and sang with a thousand other people crushing forward instead of merely twenty standing peacefully. I liked it better than way to say the least. They played the majority of the songs picked for the Losers of the Year compilation and one song from their more funk influenced period, “Plunger,” that didn’t make it. Schafer’s voice held out magnificently for the entire set and the band was tighter than hell. My personal favorite moments were “Someday,” “Two Feet On The Ground,” and “Waste It Away.”

I could have left completely satisfied at this point but my morbid curiosity (and the fact that if I stayed I would get a ride home instead of taking the bus) demanded I stay for the Bad Brains. Now, I want to know what type of person goes to see the Bad Brains in 2007 and honestly expects a transcendent performance. Who among the masses of Bad Brains fans doesn’t know about HR’s mental state? Is there really anyone out there? As a comedy act they were fucking amazing. As a legitimate musical force, not so much.

After waiting for what seemed like an obnoxiously long time, HR walked out on stage carrying his luggage and wearing two full winter jackets waving two peace signs and said “Would you like to hear some music?” The crowd roared back in approval, and HR responds with “Well we’ll be starting up momentarily so don’t go anywhere. Jah love.” A large portion of me was hoping that HR would then disappear into the shadows and never come back, leaving that to be the entire performance. It would have been absolutely perfect in my mind, but it wasn’t meant to be. Dr Know, Darryl Jennifer, and Earl Hudson were spot on through the whole show and I’m glad I was able to hear them play the old songs, but HR was completely off his rocker. He invented new vocal lines for every song and sang in a modified falsetto tone. His hands were one of two places, either in his pockets or pulling a Richard Nixon with the dual peace signs. He constantly reminded us that Jah loved us and that we should be very thankful. I nearly fell asleep standing up during the back to back “I and I Survive” and “I Luv I Jah” section. The Bad Brains set was a huge debacle and it was exactly what I expected, but after the amazing Sludgeworth performance nothing could bring me down.

To say I was exhausted at the end of the weekend would be an understatement. I got a ride back to my apartment and was asleep before midnight. The weekend was finally over, and I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just that I wanted nothing more than to drink a glass of free water and go to sleep. As a journalist my weekend was a bit of a bust considering I only got one interview done through the entire weekend, but as a music fan I had fun.

As I got home from the show and threw on the LP, I noticed the needle bouncing more than a fat kid on a trampoline. Yes, the limited, rare record that I had just purchased a few hours before was warped beyond belief. For those not in the know, Teenage Bottlerocket don’t really rely on many chord changes in their songs, so the warbling was apparent immediately. Even worse, the vocals were affected even more so, rendering the record utterly unlistenable. Essentially what I was left with was a record that only looked cool and would forever be relegated to the back of my collection. After talking to a few other people at the show they all had the same results; warped LPs and broken hearts.

This goes to all bands and to you fans out there: for the love of god, do not stack your records. There is nothing cool about warping, and if you’re of the EBay scum variety, that shit will really bring down the re-sale value. Bottlerocket, you’re still my favorite band of the last five years, but fuck you for essentially ripping me off of ten dollars. Now please come back and play another show in Chicago. It’s been two days already for godssakes and I need another fix.

All the bands were great in their own special way. In fact, Shoot It Up have taken the crown of new “Best Worst Band Ever” in that they were so terrible that they transcend all traditional definitions of “good music” and become amazing. On tour with Shoot It Up were the two esteemed gentlemen behind Fashinable Idiots Records and their sizable distro. The second I walked into the Beat Kitchen I knew that it was a good sign that I brought some extra money. So to steal an idea from Kevin, here’s a brief review of the the records I bought. Unfortunately I can’t find pictures of the covers for all of them so I might have to add them in later, if at all.

The Darvocets - Are New Wave LP. This was the most impulse driven purchase of the night and by far the most expensive at a full ten dollars, but with cover art featuring dolphins and razor blades I couldn’t pass it up. This six song, 45 RPM LP is a pretty good listen but much too short. If you’re not familiar, Are New Wave stays on the same wacky, sci-fi influenced punk rock tip that they’ve been mining for awhile. This is the first real record I own from these guys and I need to get more.

Shoot It Up/Analingus - Split 7″. Judging purely by the names I bet you can tell if you’re going to like it or not. Analingus features ex-members of The Grabbies (who spawned the degenerates Out With A Bang!), so their half is full of snot nosed punk rock. After a few listens I have a general feel for it and like it. Shoot It Up, if you didn’t know, are a drum, guitar and vocal group who’s main purpose is to destroy the listener with poorly executed, vaguely garage punk. It really takes a special kind of person to like these guys.

Shoot It Up - Criminal IQ 7″. Out of the three records I own from these guys this is easily the most professional sounding. Still ameturish at best, but I wouldn’t describe it as shambolic. It fits in well with the established Criminal IQ sound and scene.

Deep Sleep - Manic Euphoria 7″. From what I understand this thing isn’t even officially out yet, but who cares, it’s punk rock. These guys take the Milo Goes To College era Descendents worship of their previous 7″ on Grave Mistake up a notch, and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I’m tempted to use the word “re-incarnation” while describing this; little lead guitar flourishes are all over this six song monster and the vocals are strained just enough in that Milo tradition. This is a huge step up from the You’re Screwed EP and will be on top 7″s of the year list.

Homostupids - The Edge 7″. This one is not as artsy sounding (aka no keys) as the Brutal Birthday 7″. In fact, it’s a continuation of the poorly recorded racket of their LP, The Intern. I’m not quite sure when this was recorded/released in relation to the aforementioned releases, but it sounds older to me. My lone complaint with this is that the a-side has three fairly long (for these guys anyway) songs, then the b-side only has one sub-minute long song. By the time I sit back down at my chair it’s time to flip over the record again. Bastards!

Sex/Vid - Nests 7″. I didn’t get this at the show, but rather in the mail less than ten minutes before I had to leave to get to work today. I’ve only been able to listen to it once so it hasn’t had time to sink in, but I think I like it. The b-side is a slow building dirge while the a-side features two more of the Void inspired ragers that Sex/Vid has built their name on. I’m pretty sure that with some more listens this one will burrow deeply into my brain.

The reason why I bring this up is because it has happened once again. Mission of Burma and Matador Records are the latest offenders to bilk me out of my hard earned money to re-buy albums I already own. Yup, I went and did it again, and I’m not ashamed. All of Mission of Burma’s output from their first era has been re-introduced to the world: Signals, Calls and Marches EP, Vs. LP, and The Horrible Truth About Burma live album.

In my defense, Matador did a fantastic job on this and essentially forced my hand. Each CD has a 32 page booklet chock full of rare photos, flyers, original notebook scans, and single covers. All three of the releases feature bonus tracks, some of which have already seen the light of day and some, such as Signals two outtakes, that are only now being issued for the first time. Last but not least, each disc contains a bonus full length DVD of live performances. Signals features selections from tiny shows in 1979 and 1980. Vs. has the complete afternoon set from their “final” show at the Bradford Hotel in March 1983, while The Horrible Truth… features the whole late show from the same night. An edited down version of the late show was originally released on VHS in the late 1980s but has been out of print for well over 15 years. One of my best record store finds was a pristine, but still age worn, Live at the Bradford VHS a while back for eight bucks; that is now worthless.

If you’re so inclined, there are also 180 gram double LP versions being released with all of the above mentioned bonus materials as well as coupons for MP3 downloads. Whether you’re buying them for the first time (and if so, what kind of a monster are you!?!?!) or you’re like me and going on a second (or third if you’re old enough) go ’round, just pull the trigger and purchase them. If you somehow still need more convincing that these are worth your cash, Matador’s Mission of Burma profile has video clips, scans, interviews, and tons more, or you just can just look at the little widget thing below.

My package came right as I was on my way out the door to go to work today so I haven’t had a chance to scope out the DVDs yet, but the CDs all sound absolutely great. Right now I’ve got Vs. pumping out of the office stereo and couldn’t be happier. So there you go. I’m a huge dork and I’m perfectly fine with that. Now I just need to find my old versions of these CDs/VHS tapes and try to sell them to Reckless for some extra money for when those Replacements re-issues come out in a couple of months. Onward!

Dead To Me

City and Clour With Attack In black

The Flatliners

Kevin DeLury mid “getting awesome.”

Paint It Black

Dan Yemin teaching the youth

HERE’S TO THE SKINNED KNEES! THE SUTURED HEARTS! TO THE UNHAPPY ENDINGS AND ALL THE FALSE STARTS!

Hot Water Music

The text of this message simply said “The Best Day Ever”

And this is the latest text to come from Kevin “”Some serious trash talk from Dead To Me to Dead to Fall. Musically, Dead To Fall wins. Sick bros playing party metal vs some asshole with an ironic rat tail? No contest.”

So as you can see, there’s a lot of shit happening. Keep checking back for more

Meetings.  Lots of them.  Probably too many of them.  We’ve discussed concepts, finances, real estate, and the very philosophy of what we want AirRaid to be.  These brain storming sessions lasted for a couple hours at a time and ultimately left us mentally exhausted.  They were so tough that one afternoon we all relied so heavily on super-caffeinated hot chocolate that we all ended up seeming drunk.  Yeah, that’s right; buzzed on super-caffeinated hot chocolate.  We’re risking our health and well being FOR YOU!

All in all, we here at AirRaid are working our asses off.  I spent the majority of my spring break in the office or in transit to the office instead of going somewhere warm.  The weeks leading up to SXSW and our official launch have been some of the busiest times in my entire life.  I’m trying to balance our my dedication to AirRaid (which is complete and total, by the way) with the annoying requirements of graduating from college.  Come in early, stay late, it’s all a part of what needs to be done.

So as you can probably tell I’m a bit scatterbrained right now.  All you need to know is that Anthony, Kevin, Lisa, and myself are working as hard as we possibly can to make AirRaid the best goddamn music website on the internet.  In time, I think we can do it.