How many times can this be posted? Something I Learned Today and Toestubber have posted it. So is there need for a third post? Apparently.
Maids super catchy two sider that’s on my Top 10 of all time faves. From the intro of Back To Bataan with Chuck Menses drumsticks fumbling till the homoerotic lyric to the incredible great guitar sound it’s as hard to resist as Baccaras Yes Sir I Can Boogie or Abbas Dancing Queen.
A must read is the incredible story that was featured in LA Weekly:”From start to finish we were in the studio for four hours, and the session cost us a total of $82. We were now ready to conquer the Mabuhay.“. This was the Maids one and only studio recording that finally got it to vinyl.
Country: USA
Year: 1979
Label: Anemic
Format: 7″
Songs:
Back To Bataan.mp3
I Do I Do.mp3
The guitar sound on “Back to Bataan” is incredible as is the “guitar solo”. Great lyrics too.
This is actually so great that I’m thinking of doing my own post of it.
Looks like Peter’s invested some money in hard-oil (pvc) lately. :-)
this record is so fucking great, it should be mandatory that ALL websites post it!!
Dammit! “Back To Bataan” is such a perfect song- the incredible guitar sound, the drums that sound like a set of kid’s toy drums, etc. If someone asks “What is KBD punk?” I would play this song for them. For my ears, “I Do I Do” is limp, especially when he starts singing “Born To Be Wild”. Lame!!! Yuck!!! It sounds like a filler track to me. I’m surprised that L.A. Weekly article about the band is still online- I remember reading it for the first time over 6 years ago. Have to thank the booter of KBD#7 back in ’93 (Bryon Coley supposedly), who comped “Back To Bataan”. What a perfect KBD volume (Maids, Ice 9, MD, Village Pistols, etc, etc), the best one next to KBD#2.
Funny that a copy of this record now costs more than it did to record it.
This song is about the Japanese soldier that refused to surrender after WW2 ended and did not give up living in the jungle until the 70s. I am surprised the Philipinos treated him so well when he gave up. The Japanese were sadistic bastards toward the people and POWs. The POWs died at a rate of 1.2% in Germany, they died at a rate of 37% across the Pacific. As to Maids both tracks are killer.
“Back to Bataan” was a movie from 1945, Pogel, starring John Wayne. The song is about this movie and threatens it in a pretty damn ironic sense.
Let me just say too that the sound on these Maids mp3’s is wonderful! I don’t have an original copy of this 7″ so for years the only place I’ve had “Back To Bataan” is on KBD#7 which was mastered and/or pressed with kinda crappy, muddled sound (a boot so I guess I wasn’t going to get anything close to “audiophile” sound quality to begin with, duh).
Not that I want to spoil the party, but actually the sound on these rips is surely very good and better than all other versions online – yet it’s not as good as it could be if recorded in 24 bit depth and with (hear me, Jason) decent cabling. Peter and I compared just yesterday.
I really enjoyed the article in the L.A. Weekly. It’s a great story of how this band came together and how the record got made. It really captures the DIY spirit of the day.
Absolutely Amazing.
Does anyone know the lyrics to the part right after “I asked his name, he answered ‘Bill’. Remember then there wasn’t a pill?” I can’t hear this part, but I think he lists his kids’ names and then says “He even taught me a Japanese chant. It goes ‘How are you, sir? Can I open the blinds?'”. I can’t tell what he sang after this part either. Thanks!
it goes, “We remained friends despite his slant, he even taught me a Japanese chant–it goes, ‘O-hayo sir, can I open the blind? The ducks are here but for a short time.” And I think his name is “nil,” not “Bill.”
yes absolutely their song BTB is something to play to someone who wants to know what that KBD-PUNK thing is and KBD 7 can be rated as the MOST CRUCIAL US-PUNK -KBD imho (too bad KBD 6 US,not OZ version from 1994 never came out….)
6-7 yrs ago when it turned out that apparently more copies are in one members closet that article in L.A. Weekly was written by John Ritalin which is great (esp. the part how they lose the cash while driving to the pressing plant and return the route untill they find the cash again)
i was told ALEC EMPIRE made a techno-version of BTB,not sure however
most people seem to think I DO I DO is not as good
…okay maybe not AS good but still i love it and if you are lucky to have gotten the xeroxes of the two variations of inserts you can sing along to their CLEVER lyrics
b e h j a n
Great songs. The lyrics for “Back to Bataan” don’t seem to match the movie, which is about Allied troops going back to Bataan to undo the Japanese occupation. The song is about a lone Japanese holdout in the jungle.
Did The Maids do anything else, evolve into another band, or anything?
One of my all time faves. Always finds it’s way on to mixtapes!
Absolutely brilliant. Blueprint for KBD indeed. Thanks for the linkback cuz I missed it before.
I agree, this is a classic slab of vinyl…I should have purchased it when I had the chance.
Funny. i remember hearing Back to Bataan while driving through a rain storm to a party in Davis in my buddy Ron’s old Valiant around 88 or so. We were undoubtably drunk and stoned. The song was pretty epic KDVS played punk records. I remembered Ron and i were asking each other “who the fuck is this?”. The dj (maybe high as well) never said who it was. like over 20 years later…….. ohh woow thaat fuuucken song! the maids!!
the lead singer/songwriter of btb, john mccormick was in a band with me in nyc after the maids called the fabians. our first gig was at max’s kc in dec 79 and john left for film school in la about a year later and we got a new guitarist. we used to cover btb pretty regularly in our set. i still play with him when i’m out in la.