Dead Kennedys - 1982 - Demo Tape

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VA - 2003 - Punk Goes Metal, Vol. 1

Punk Goes Metal is a concept compilation, as it finds 17 of punk rock's quirkiest groups covering many heavy metal classics in their own special way. Occasionally, the songs take on a new life based on the band's interpretation (such as Link 80's brass section in Metallica's "Harvester of Sorrow"), while others stick to the integral metal qualities that left the chosen song imbedded on so many sweaty, long-haired headbangers' minds when it first came out (as does A.F.I.'s version of "My Michelle" or Dynamite Boy's superb cover of AC/DC's "TNT"). These groups have done an outstanding job of refreshing old classics, and at times old metal songs that many wish had never been unearthed, and that is the sole reason why Punk Goes Metal succeeds. Enjoyable and often humorous, this is a compilation that fans of '80s metal or '90s punk should own.

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Tracks

Title Performer Time 1 Breakin' the Law Divit 2:09 2 Talk Dirty to You Jughead's Revenge 3:25 3 My Michelle AFI 3:33 4 War Ensemble Bigwig 5:10 5 Heaven Isn't Too Far Away New Found Glory 3:30 6 Bark at the Moon Strung Out 3:31 7 I Remember You The Ataris 3:38 8 Harvester of Sorrow Link Eighty 4:31 9 Sexual Abuse Guttermouth 3:56 10 TNT Dynamite Boy 3:19 11 Little Fighter Death By Stereo 4:08 12 Youth Gone Wild Swindle 3:01 13 I Don't Know Turnedown 4:38 14 Looks That Kill Diesel Boy 3:46 15 Holy Wars Rx Bandits 5:10 16 Love Songs Ten Foot Pole 2:35 17 Why Rock? Aquabats 4:52

Jellyroll Rockheads - 2006 - Wake Up, Music

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Bad Brains

By melding punk with reggae, Bad Brains became one of the definitive American hardcore punk groups of the early '80s. Although the group released only a handful of records during its peak, including the legendary cassette-only debut, Bad Brains, they developed a dedicated following, many of whom would later form their own hardcore and alternative bands. As for Bad Brains themselves, they continued to record and tour in varying lineups led by guitarist Dr. Know into the late '90s yet never managed to break out of their cult status. Dr. Know (born Gary Miller), a former jazz fusion guitarist, formed Bad Brains in 1979, inspired by both the amateurish rage of the Sex Pistols and the political reggae of Bob Marley. Realizing that the lines between punk and reggae were already blurred in the U.K., he set out to replicate that situation in the U.S., and he recruited several similarly minded musicians — vocalist H.R. (born Paul D. Hudson), bassist Darryl Aaron Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson — to prove his point. Bad Brains quickly became one of the most popular punk bands on the East Coast, particularly in their hometown of Washington, D.C. Their live performances were legendary, but their recordings were difficult to find. Their debut single, "Pay to Cum," was pressed in limited numbers, and their 1982 debut album was only issued in cassette form by ROIR. In addition to the Bad Brains tape, the group released a handful of other EPs in 1982, finally moving to PVC for 1983's full-length debut, Rock for Light, which was produced by Ric Ocasek. The handful of indie recordings Bad Brains left behind, as well as their live shows, made the band legendary in American hardcore, yet few potential fans could actually hear the band due to poor distribution and erratic touring. The band took three years to deliver the follow-up to Rock for Light, finally releasing I Against I on SST in 1986. In those three years, the group developed more heavy metal leanings, and the resulting record received mixed reviews. More importantly, it divided the band, with Dr. Know and Jenifer wishing to continue to pursue heavy rock, and H.R. and Hudson wanting to devote themselves to reggae. Over the next three years, the latter pair frequently left the band to make reggae albums before finally departing in 1989. They were replaced by Israel Joseph-I (born Dexter Pinto) and Mackie Jayson, respectively. In the wake of the alternative rock boom of the early '90s, Bad Brains were finally offered a major-label contract in 1993, releasing Rise on Epic later that year. The album bombed and the group was dropped. Maverick Records offered the group a contract in 1995, provided that the original lineup reunited. They did so and released God of Love that summer, to mixed reviews and poor sales. H.R. and Hudson left the band shortly after the album's release, and the band was dropped by Maverick. In 1998 the band again reunited and began touring under the name Soul Brains. In 2002, Reggae Lounge compiled remixes of Bad Brains' '80s hits and released a full-length dub album titled & I Survived. The following year Caroline released Banned in DC: Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs, a solid anthology compiling songs from their first album up to Quickness. For the next few years, the group members concentrated on solo endeavors, with a few scattered guest appearances on other bands' albums or live shows. In 2006, Bad Brains reunited for a few shows at CBGB's, which quickly sold out. With a resurging interest in the band, in early 2007, Megaforce announced that they had signed them to their roster. Under Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's studio supervision, the original band went back to the studio for the first time in over a decade and recorded Build a Nation, an inspired attempt at returning to the band's hardcore roots.

1980 - Pay To Cum

1986 - I Against I

X

X were the quintessential L.A. punk rockers before they grew into a world-class rock & roll band and live band; however, enthusiasm for their unique, intelligent and humorous work never quite reached critical mass.

Formed in 1977 after songwriter and bassist John Doe (b. Feb. 24, 1956) met (and later married) Exene Cervenka (b. Feb. 1, 1956) at a Venice poetry workshop, with rockabilly veteran Billy Zoom (b. Feb. 20, 194?) on guitar and D.J. Bonebrake (b. Dec. 8, 1955) on drums, the band garnered an immediate following. "Discovered" by ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, he took the band into the studio for the recording of Los Angeles in 1980. It was curious, at a time when punks were supposed to hate hippies, that X's merging with an ex-Door was not only tolerated, but earned them stature as California's preeminent punk band when the record earned across-the-board raves. 1981 saw the release of the similarly punked-up Wild Gift, while their 1982 album, Under the Big Black Sun, began what would be a long career in merging hard rock, country and folk into their fiery mix. The band successfully began to mix in their populist politics with an eye toward matters of the heart.

As the band began to reach wider audiences, both Doe and Cervenka enjoyed outside careers in the arts -- he as an actor in films like Great Balls of Fire and Roadside Prophets, and she as a poet and spoken-word artist, collaborating with Lydia Lunch and Wanda Coleman.

In 1983, the rootsy songs on More Fun in the New World lent themselves to acoustic performances which the band had taken to trying live. They took it one step further on their side project, the Knitters (with Dave Alvin) which yielded one Slash album, Poor Little Critter in the Road, in 1985. Ain't Love Grand was a harder rock album in 1986 and was followed by Zoom's departure. He was momentarily replaced by Alvin, but for recording purposes, the band recruited Tony Gilkyson (formerly of Lone Justice) for See How We Are, the band's most decidedly hard-rock record in the catalog. Gilkyson stayed for the recording Live at the Whisky A Go-Go in 1988 before the band took some much-needed time off, although they never broke up. In the interim, Doe and Cervenka had since divorced, and the pair continued to work as solo artists, releasing Cervenka's Old Wives Tales (Rhino, 1989) and Running Sacred (1990) and Doe's Meet John Doe for Geffen in 1990.

By 1993, the band got together for the recording of Hey Zeus!, a collection of new songs, but the response was underwhelming, and it was back to solo work. Doe released Kissingsohard for Rhino in 1995. Exene also released Surface to Air Serpents for the 2.13.61 label, as well as a reading of the Unabomber Manifesto, after changing her name to Cervenkova. During their frequent hiatuses, X would occasionally appear in Los Angeles and San Francisco and during one stay, recorded a live album in San Francisco in 1995, Unclogged, and self-released it. Cervenkova's latest project is Auntie Christ with Bonebrake and Matt Freeman of Rancid. Gilkyson also works as a solo artist. X also appeared in three films: Penelope Spheeris' punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, Urgh! A Music War, and a documentary of their lives and times, The Unheard Music. Beginning in 1998, founding member Billy Zoom returned to the fold for a series of on-again/off-again shows and limited touring; a pair of 2004 Los Angeles concerts were recorded and videotaped for Live in Los Angeles, released both as an audio CD and video DVD in the spring of 2005.

1981 - Wild Gift

X - 1981 - Wild Gift

For X's second release, 1981's Wild Gift, the quartet followed the same path they had taken a year earlier on their debut, Los Angeles, creating another batch of timeless compositions that merged the energy of punk rock with other musical styles. Former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek reprised his role as producer on what would turn out to be X's last independent release before signing to Elektra. Included are such eventual punk standards as "We're Desperate," the melodic hookfest "White Girl" (sampled years later by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in their song "Good Time Boys"), and "Beyond and Back" (which would serve as a title for their 1997 two-CD anthology). Other highlights include the '50s-prom feel of "Adult Books," the punk-pop composition "In This House That I Call Home," and the rapid "Back 2 the Base." While it may be a shade less exceptional than its predecessor, Wild Gift is nonetheless a classic effort. [In 1988 Los Angeles and Wild Gift were combined as part of a CD reissue by Slash Records.]

		1		The Once Over Twice	Cervenka, Doe
		2		We're Desperate	Cervenka, Doe
		3		Adult Books	Cervenka, Doe
		4		Universal Corner	Cervenka, Doe
		5		I'm Coming Over	Cervenka, Doe
		6		It's Who You Know	Cervenka, Doe
		7		In This Hosue That I Call Home
		8		Some Other Time	Cervenka, Doe
		9		White Girl	Cervenka, Doe
		10		Beyond and Back	Cervenka, Doe
		11		Back 2 the Base	Cervenka, Doe
		12		When Our Love Passed Out on the Couch	Cervenka, Doe
		13		Year 1	Cervenka, Doe

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Bad Brains - 1980 - Pay To Cum

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Pere Ubu - 1977 - The Modern Dance

There isn't a Pere Ubu recording you can imagine living without. The Modern Dance remains the essential Ubu purchase (as does the follow-up, Dub Housing). For sure, Mercury had no idea what they had on their hands when they released this as part of their punk rock offshoot label Blank, but it remains a classic slice of art-punk. It announces itself quite boldly: the first sound you hear is a painfully high-pitched whine of feedback, but then Tom Herman's postmodern Chuck Berry riffing kicks off the brilliant "Non-Alignment Pact," and you soon realize that this is punk rock unlike any you've ever heard. David Thomas' caterwauling is funny and moving, Scott Krauss (drums) and Tony Maimone (bass) are one of the great unheralded rhythm sections in all of rock, and the "difficult" tracks like "Street Waves," "Chinese Radiation," and the terrifying "Humor Me" are revelatory, and way ahead of their time. The Modern Dance is the signature sound of the avant-garage: art rock, punk rock, and garage rock mixing together joyously and fearlessly.

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