Killed By Death Records

Here’s one of those great records that makes you shake your head and wonder if you just heard it or if it was a dream. Ronny is such an amazing song it’s almost unreal. Fast and driving drums, a great guitar riff and one of the weirdest synthesizers in the history of punk! The only downside is that it makes the b-side less interesting, even if it’s still a pretty catchy song as well.

The main guy behind the band, Ola Löhman, is now known as the guy who introduced ethic pension funds in Sweden and he’s a popular business lecturer. ABKK released another 7″ in 1982, but by then they were more of a dark wave band and not very interesting.

Country: Sweden
Year: 1981
Label: EFMD
Format: 7″
Songs:
Ronny.mp3
Morker.mp3

If there’s such thing as the best of KBD then Big Money by Village Pistols has to be included. Those two chords in the intro coupled with a fabulous furious guitar sound reveal what is about to come. And they don’t let you down. Mike Nicholson vocals sounds like he could swallow you in one bite. Incredible! The piss take of Beatles classic is hmmm fun? I wish they had an original on the flip instead.

Read more at Break My Face:
http://www.breakmyface.com/bands/villagepistols.html 

Country: USA
Year: 1981
Label: Nylon
Format: 7″
Songs:
Big Money.mp3
Strawberry Fields Forever.mp3

I really WANT to recommend this compilation. It’s greatly designed with a cool looking photo on the front of…yeah who? It’s small details like this that is missing here. A detailed story about every band and the recording is also missing. Too bad. Some interesting and fun stories by Duane Travis of Wax Trax and others is in the 6 page booklet.

My biggest concern about this release is the quality of the mastering job though. I’m sorry to say that it’s horrible done compared to the originals(those records I own and can compare with like Frantix, Defex, Bum Kon and White Trash). Listen to I Hate Toes here to the one ripped from the vinyl a couple of weeks ago. The difference is just too big. It’s noisy, thin and too much treble. Sounds like it’s a 128 mp3 rip. Sad sad sad cause I really want to recommend this comp to everyone since it got the whole EPs from Frantix, Bum Kon, White Trash, Your Funeral, Young Weasels, Gluons with Allen Ginsberg, Jeri Rossi, Rok Tots, Defex and Nails.

Get it from www.smoochrecords.com

Gluons with Allen Ginsberg - Sue Your Parents.mp3
Frantix - My Dad’s A Fucking Alcoholic.mp 3
White Trash - I Hate Toes.mp3

It’s a mod world. As you all know I have a weak spot for high quality powerpoop and mod bands. Start from the land of the wonderful food chain the Hooters dosen’t try to hide that they love Jam on their mod toast. But who cares as long as they crank out nuts like No Direction. Invisible Man start out great but just as with GG & The Amputators b-side they get lost in some psychedelic rush and drag on for 4 minutes and 44 seconds. During the song I managed to do my laundry, drink coffe, take a look at my willy(3 inches) and call my soul mate Sid Vicious and tell him to fuck off.

Start where from from San Francisco which might explain the length of the b-side.

Country: USA
Year: 1981
Label: Win
Format: 7″
Songs:
No Direction.mp3
Invisible Man.mp3

Oh how I mourn for the non Swedes who can’t understand the magic poetry in Kat katt i mars. If there’s any Swede who can translate the lyrics so that the rimes and the meaning don’t gets lost please do so in the comment section. Two ultra great and short,just slightly above 1 minute each and that’s right up my ally, tracks with a bass sound that makes me think of the Offenders. And you know by now that Mikey “Offender” Donaldson has been reported dead.

On the back of the lyric sheet they describe exactly how much this record of 300 copies costed, where the labels where printed etc all in a real DIY fashion. Nice to see that the prices haven’t changed that much since the early 80s.

Country: Sweden
Year: 1981
Label: EFMD
Format: 7″
Songs:
Jag vill ma bra.mp3
Kat katt i mars.mp3

So here’s two great songs by The Lizerds. Is It Late? being a punker with some hints of HC. Amazing stuff in my book. Out Of My Hands is where the pop meets the punk to deliver a song just as great as the a-side but with a much less desperate touch. Hell yeah this rocks! You can read some stuff about The Lizerds here. Among the trivia is that Bruce Brink from The Rotters where in the band while recording these two scorchers. May the punk god be with you.

Country: USA
Year: 1981
Label: Demos-Tones
Format: 7″
Songs:
Is It Late?.mp3
Out Of My Hands.mp3

Two absolutely awesome tracks: Life Is Cheap which kills and Expectations who destroys. Why did Teenage Popeye have to ruin it with the two other completely shit tracks: Peter Principal = worthless cock rock without the big dick just a moist little penis and She’s Only 16 = crap poop without the hooks. Schizo band indeed. Sad they didn’t stick to what they where good at namely cranking out awesome punk rock.

The sleeve is actually florescent green but my scanner can’t handle it so black and white is what you get.

Pierce McDowell who plays bass now has a project togheter with the former Gong(they did some good stuff back in the 70s) man Gilli Smyth.

Country: USA
Year: 1981
Label: Alien Nation
Format: 7″
Songs:
Life Is Cheap.mp3
Peter Principal.mp3
She’s Only 16.mp3
Expectations.mp3

Not as catchy and intense as their first killer that will be posted later on. In the meantime you can check out Erik of Something I Learned Todays post of it: Ultimate Orgasm. Still this has its moments. While I Used To Know You is poppy and soft Quick To Compliment got some more distorted guitars. I like both of them and they got that special NCM sound: weird stuff that roles in and out here and there and the knack for hooky melodies.

Country: USA
Year: 1981
Label: VVV
Format: 7″
Songs:
I Used To Know You.mp3
Quick To Compliment.mp3

Had to watch American Hardcore for the second time today. There’s something I really like about the movie that the book didn’t accomplish: I get inspired when I see it. And as long as a movie does that to me it serves it’s purpose. Yeah, I know we all miss some bands in there. Government Issue is one of them. I can’t recall their name being mentioned one time. Remember the first time hearing this. It was so atonal much due to John Stabbs vocals. But it was just as great as the Teen Idles, played the same night, which I heard for the first time in 1981 on Radio Ryd a student show hosted by Mats Nilsson from Massmedia/Huvudtvatt.

Found this podcast interview with John Stabb that might be interesting:
http://dissonance.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=187184

This piece really offended me back then:
“Groups like Crass still believe in it
That’s why their music’s fulla a shit
It’s not music is just a sermon
Groups like Crass are all just vermin
Anarchy is dead!”

Ha ha!

Country: USA
Year: 1981
Label: Dischord
Format: 7″
Songs:
Religious Rip Off.mp3
Fashionites.mp3
Rock And Roll Bullshit.mp3
Anarchy Is Dead.mp3
Sheer Terror.mp3
Asshole.mp3
Bored To Death.mp3
No Rights.mp3
I’m James Dean.mp3
Cowboy Fashion.mp3

Yeah I know the title track is terrible!! Flip the plastic around and you’ll get Chinese Chive which is a great hectic weirdo synth punk track. Their debute shall be great too but I haven’t heard it. If anyone knows about temporary bands that plays this kind of stuff please let me know.

Take a look at the back of the sleeve. I swear to god it’s Sty Terrarie from Kriminella Gitarrer etc second from the left. And the first guy from the left has to be Binke from Garbochock. What did they do down in Austria?

And by the way I don’t know a thing about Chuzpe. Do you?


Country: Austria
Year: 1981
Label: GiG
Format: 7″
Songs:
Charlie Chan.mp3
Chinese Chive.mp3