Out with a Bang-Love My Life

This was originally supposed to be part of an international zine compilation that has been delayed(killed?) for so long that I wanted to use this before it's too out of date. I kinda hate it but whatevs...



Out With a Bang "Love my Life" 7"

Out With a Bang has always made it clear what side of the "PC fence" they are on, but it seems that a few favorable reviews from the other side have caused them to take it up a notch(although The Grabbies "Better Sexist Than Faggot" might have set the bar pretty high). While "I'm Against It" contained lyrics that I'm sure sent a few people home crying, there really wasn't anything too faux-pas. So on this record(their 3rd) the line is clearly drawn in the sand. "Afraid of life, afraid of words, you need a safe place? stay the fuck home". Sure, I'm with you.. If you are easily offended and can't handle it, don't bother. Life is offensive and the sooner you learn that the easier it gets. I could give a fuck about the language, however their tact is lacking. While OWAB complains about people being overly reactionary towards them, they react to that by purposely trying to piss them off. "Fag, Fag, Fag...Fagaphobe, Oi! Sieg Heil Motherfucker". Now I'm not dumb enough to take that seriously, and if you think all punk lyrics were meant to be taken completely literally then you "Are Feeble Bastard" and "Can Tell One What To Do". But what's the point of this? Are people offended by who you are or are they offended because you are trying to offend them? I sure as fuck think it's okay to offend people, but why offend people just for the sake of doing so? I know the joy of pushing buttons and playing stupid, and it's very obvious that OWAB is doing just that. But, if you are trying to start shit, why are you complaining when shit starts? PC hysteria(although thankfully on the wane) is responsible for nothing but counter-productivity and witch hunts, and OWAB is obviously not as dumb as they are trying to appear, however I just see both sides having a big retarded knee-circle-jerk.

In the couple of years between when I became "responsible"(12), and when I was brought home in the back of a cop car(14), I used to sit for neighborhood kids. Making 3 dollars an hour to be spent on burritos, Sonic Youth cds and what not. Among the kids I sat, which are all probably making 3 times what I do at this point, were these 2 brothers. The younger one would hit the older one, and inevitably the older one would hit him back. Then the younger one would come crying to me about getting smacked and the older one would be defensive, crying about he hit him first. The whole bullshit PC argument runs parallel in my eyes, two sides whining their heart out, neither one is "right" and both sides baiting the other. The PC crowd is trying to enforce respect and dictate dialogue, both of which are extremely vain pursuits. The "Anti-PC" crowd is doing whatever they are told not to do, regardless of whether they should or not. They both exist only as an accessory to the other. Act, reaction. Personally, I burnt the "PC fence" down. I think both sides are juvenile and really want nothing to do with either one. As a young 'un I was firmly in the PC camp but as I grew older I realized that it's unnecessary, arrogant and pointless. Unlike so many others, I never swung so far the other way that I became a parody of myself. There is a nice middle ground full of people who I respect and I'll continue to shake my head at both sides. I'm not so dumb as to throw hissy fits when someone calls me "gay" and it's not that I don't get the joke, I just don't really think it's that funny.

The other things that bothers me is how insular such lyrics are. I can only wonder how someone who isn't familiar with PC backlash would interpret such a thing. While the intention is very clear to me, I'm not sure I could really fault someone outside of punk for taking them at least somewhat literally. Not to mention the uncomfortable feeling I get from mental pictures of the, uh, retards in our ranks singing along. I'm well aware that I've probably put more thought into these lyrics than it took to pen them, and if the whole point of them is to irritate people then I'm falling for it. I agree with the message, not the medium. I'm not upset with what they're saying, just how they are saying it. It's obviously not serious, and the taunting nature makes "Fagaphobe" much more acceptable than the million bands who cover "I'm not a loser" stone-faced. One side going to go "They said 'Fag', awesome", while the other "They said 'Fag', fuck them". Intelligent discourse and critical thinking be damned. It's clearly gimmicks and bait tactics, and they should be above it.

When Out With a Bang toured the US this spring I saw them 3 times. While they were okay, to be honest they weren't anything special(although once they were quite good). A band that approaches their set with indifference, will probably be met with the same by me. They were a mess. While their banter and presence was comedic, none of that matters if the tunes suck. Being fucked up and saying "Mussolini" a lot really isn't as shocking as it might of been at one point, and while I'm sure some people will still get up in arms about such things, I'm just bored. I'm sure they really care what I think too. After sharing a moment with the singer afterwards, I have no doubt that it's not a stage persona. They are for real, and they mean it maaan... but that in itself doesn't impress me, anymore. "Welcome to the real world".

However, I've always been very impressed with OWAB's records and this might be their best one yet. I really think this stuff is usually better recorded. My problems with live shows is a whole other thing in itself, but this way I can enjoy the tunes without enduring a tantrum and the one-upmanship of the crowd. "Love my Life" accomplishes exactly what it's going for, sounds desperate without being silly and is basically perfect. A great raw guitar, falling apart songs, stupid lyrics and drawling vocals. Like almost every other great punk record, there's no real production values, just a bunch of fuck ups going in the studio, banging it out and nailing it. OWAB understands very well what you need(anger, sass, creativity) and what you don't need(gear, production, talent) to make a great punk record. It's just a shame that most of "Fagaphobe" is the lyrical equivalent to a swastika drawn on a 4th graders binder. Despite all my pedantic bellyaching, they are still one of the best bands in punk today, no gimmicks needed.

Lurkers be fucked.

Does anyone even read this thing?

Gluebaggin'

Though I'm far from the first to lament the fact, the majority of long-time punkeroos show their true colors when they dismiss UK-82 punk. "Fuck that poser hair punk shit". So rather than piss on those who listen only to the tunes of clean-shaven Yankee teens, and obscure-o Japcore from years ago, I'm deviating from my set course and offering some prime cuts that will separate the try-hards from the die-hards. I dream of shows full of dumb kids with dumb hair and Abrasive Wheels shirts, drunk as shit running into each other and bloodying noses, instead of shows where people can sit on the ground directly in front of the band to shot pictures. Whatever. None of these are obscure, but these days the kids can sing along to "Lou's Anxiety Song" and not "Warhead", so who fucking cares? None of these records are hard to get either, but download em if ye must. I don't mean this as a best of, but if it'll make you angry take it as one. Stop trying so hard, it feels great. 5 good places to start:

Partisans-The Power and the Greed(from 17 Years of Hell 7")
Anything off the self-titled LP fucking rips too, but this is pretty much the pinnacle of teenage leather zit punk. Aside from Discharge, this the most aesthetically pleasing punk of the era. None of the silly pretense or expanded horizons that ruined(and ruins) those who think to much of their bands, just perfectly angst driven teenage stupid punk. 17 Years of Hell would probably be tattoo'd on my arm if that wasn't ten years ago. Get it while you can.

Disorder-Daily Life(from Distortion til Deafness 7")
Why are the kids listening to Kuro, Confuse and Gai, but not Disorder? That's like listening to Bl'ast! without listening to Black Flag, and I hope that's not happening yet.


Conflict-As Others See Us(from Increase the Pressure LP)
While I'm often quick to dismiss(and mock) attempts by punk bands to be overtly "POLITICAL" , Conflict(as well as a few others) will always hold a very special place for me. First, and most importantly, most bands who feel the need to market themselves as "POLITICAL"(not that Conflict necessarily did) do so due to the fact that they are bad. Conflict is not bad. What's more, instead of engaging in silliness like"Wall of Death-ing the System", Conflict truly believed in what they were doing and that it can, it will and it is happening. If you are going to be addressing serious issues, you should be doing so with the utmost seriousness, which is where Conflict succeeds and the hordes of clueless Pizza Thrashers fail. "As Others See Us" is not one of their most iconic cuts, but I think it's their best.


Cockney Rejects-We Can Do Anythings(from Greatest Hits Vol 2) and
4Skins-Chaos(from the Good, the Bad and the 4Skins LP)
While all the coolies think they are such cuz they listen to Skrewdriver("but it's like the pre-racist stuff, so it's cool"), these 2 blow them away. Hard Skin is all fine and good, but Cockney Rejects sound exactly the same and aren't kidding. And "Chaos" is easily the top song about the imminent skinhead take over. So what if the stinky kids with brown pants think you're "sketchy"?, that's a good thing.


GBH-Generals(from Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne 12")
I had always sort of dismissed GBH with the same sanctimony that most of my peers did(do?), although I would often play the live version of "Give Me Fire" from Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Vol 1 for people to get them to admit they liked it before revealing who it was. Of course, once I got to the age where I can finally get over myself, I picked this up for 5 bucks and here I am singing it's praise. Pretty much everything you could possibly want from a punk record. No excuses.
Oh yeah, for fucks sake get Neu Smell already. Trust me, you'll be able to get most of the new records you buy for half the price in three years anyway.

Walls LP

The Walls 7" released last year was solid, if not unspectacular. Much of the hype was due to the ex-member status. My two cents: Held up to "Blinded" it just plain sucks, but held up to some of the other tripe being hocked as "essential", it was a worthy pick up. However I question why certain people of suspect taste wouldn't stop talking about. I hee'd and haw'd over the LP for a couple weeks and rather than do the theft/test drive thing, I just bought it. It's pretty much what I expected. Solid, interesting, really well-executed but still ultimately unspectacular. I've made a couple arguments as of late about the relationship of "okay", "pretty good, I guess" and "bad", and how they are now the same thing as far as I'm concerned. The past few Under Pressure records were "okay", Violent Minds are "pretty good, I guess" and Clorox Girls are "bad". Obviously some of those bands are better than others and have varying levels of merit, but in a world with thousands of "good" punk records, who has time for all of that? The Walls LP is "really good" , I guess.