Thursday, October 31, 2013

Chubby Chris of Combat 84 is dead


Unconfirmed rumours sais that the controversial singer "Chubby" Chris Henderson  in one of the first wave of british Oi! bands Combat 84 have died.
How, where and when is still questions that are unanswered.

Besides being a singer in the band Combat 84 he was also found in the circles of Football hooligans.

The Pretty Reckless - My Medicine


The Pretty Reckless - My Medicine (US)
From the EP "The Pretty Reckless" (2010) Official video release (2012)

The Pretty Reckless - Kill Me

The Pretty Reckless - Kill Me (US) Single (2012)
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Sunday, October 27, 2013

R I P LOU REED




REST IN PEACE LOU REED

INSPIRER, PIONEER AND THE GRANDFATHER OF PUNK ROCK!


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Saturday, October 26, 2013

Fat Four Tour - a Live Review

The Event
The Crowd


Bunker Bar is a new punk stage in town. Basically the punk hangout Jameson opened a bar in the basement and now they engage bands. As a concert place it isn´t optimal. But the fine thing is that the lazy punks in the Jamson bar can´t make up sorry excuses such as it is too far to the concerts.

The place was crowded as there was a spectacular 4 band night on. The Fat Four Tour containing bands from the west coast, east coast and down south of Sweden.The tour concept (I guess Divan in Headons wants me to credit him for it) is that the bands shall play in every city the band resides. Last night Stockholm was on the schedule.

The Bunker bar was, as I told, well crowded, full of both punk scene regulars as well as new faces. The regulars, however had a tricky choise because the exellent band Saturday´s Heroes and Faster Pussycat Kill Kill was playing at the KGB bar at the same time. So some choosed that event and I guess they didn´t got dissapointed from what the rumors been telling me.


Headons

First out was the Halmstad based band Headons. A scruffy rock n roll infested punk rock that mix both English and Swedish as their laguage of choise. The Swedish lyrics are very angry and upset with our right wing government. And they dedicated the song Fuck You to the right wing party and our prime minister as well. Actually this was band that I came here to see. They got the uneasy task to open up it all. I don´t know why they were choosen to be the first. Because this was a 4 headline band night. Headons didn´t spare anything and went into a wild and frenetic gig with all their hearts and punk attitude. Wow, they are quite good on record but live they geared up a few gears.
Unfortionately the sound wasn´t matching their effort. Partly it was a bit numb I think. But that didn´t seem to trouble them too much. This was punk in it´s essence, good contact with the still rather stiff and shy crowd. I wouldn´t be the man that would go on stage after their appearence. I wondered how on earth could the rest of the bands match this?


Suicide Syndicate

Next in line was the Scania based Suicide Syndicate (from Malmö) that had no choise than to go up and play because they´re ”in it for life”. In studded black jeans jackets full of band patches they looked like a buch of savage barbarians, not least because the main singer Bengtsson´s necklace made of bones. And with their Street Punk they continued where Headons started. Actually they proved that they could match Headons. Shame on me, to even think they couldn´t. Slowly the crowd woke up a bit. The sound was a bit better but still not to good. After some violent slamdancing infront of the stage a microphone pole went to hell. That´s punk rock!


And then there was technical troubles, the PA went dead so there was some times to have a chat both with the regulars and the band that visit us. And refill our glasses with more brew.


Smash it up

Smash it up is from Gothenburg containing both the guitarist from Troublemakers as well as Roger from Stockholm who sings like his last breath is near (desperate and shouting in a punk rock way). He was on home turf so to say, as well as they used a amp with the Troublemakers logo all over it. Maybe because the two ingrediences they got both the crow going and the best sound all night. Or was it because their carismatic singer was all over the place and their catchy old school punk rock tunes. I realized during their set that despite technical problems and partly bad sound, I was really in for a good time. Their excellent tunes in combination with the crowds reactions and the hard working band on stage was taking this to the hight that I hoped for.


Spotlicks

There was no way out for the last band and also the band that was the hosts for the event, Spotlicks. Last time I saw them they broke up the gig halfway through because of a diabetic incident on stage. That was a total ”no no” last night, total unthinkable. It was up and defend Stockholm against the hillbillies that just rocked our brains out. And they did.
Except Bass player Rikke, as usual, not knowing how all their tunes starts, there was no mess ups. As the only female singer last night Elin sounded sparkling. It was refreshing to hear a ranting female voice after all the ranting males.
Spotlicks got the best song among their set list. ”Fatta att du duger”, that gives me 1979 vibes in a nice way. And they closed the party in a way that summed it up real nice.



And so

120 SEK did I pay for four classy punk bands. That was real cheap. The beer was at decent prices and I really had a good time, my only grief last night was that I missed Saturday´s Heroes, but you can´t have it all, can you?

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Brocker - One Man Mosh Pit



Brocker - One Man Moshpit (UK)
From the Album "Out of Order"  (2013)



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Monday, October 21, 2013

Turbonegro on a stamp




Norwegan Death punk band Turbonegro is becomming a stamp i Norway.
Turbonegro comment it on Facebook with the words..."Yes, but I´m on a fucking stamp, so your argument is irrelevant".



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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Troublemakers - Nu kommer dom / Det kommer dagar Single reviews



Troublemakers

Det kommer dagar (2013)        
Nu kommer dom  (2013)




Swedens most underrated punk band, is in my eyes, without any doubt Troublemakers from Gothenburg. Formed in 1981 as a second generation Gothenburg band with members from the first generation of bands (GBG Sound, Perverts). Then the band has been around in various constellations with members from Anti Cimex and Attentat etc.
After a short break up in the 90ies that was only a short pause in the bands history. Then it was Punk Rock as business as usual from one of this country´s most reliable bands. Live they are a safe card with their punk classics “Staden Göteborg”, “Dom ljuger”, “Grogg och parabol”, “Vill du bli millionär” and the singer, Blomman´s finest moment in the tune “Ronka” (originally played by Perverts) etc and the crowd going ballistic to it.

Now they have released two new songs as digital 1 song singles, “Nu kommer dom” (Now they are coming) and “Det kommer dagar” (There will be days).  Two songs that are total different within the Troublemakers universe, still typical Troublemakers tunes. In a band that been around for more than 30 years, making 
records there must be a point when they realize that they can do anything that comes into their mind. I guess this is a result of it. The catchy radio friendly car stereo tune “Det kommer dagar” is possible NOT the most angry punk tune recorded, and it´s far from their best tune. Not that it is bad in any way, quite opposite. It sticks and it is such tune that you find yourself humming after a while. I like it even If I liked last year single “Stockholm” much more.

“Nu kommer dom” is much darker and harder. Here the Troublemakers take a stranglehold on the illusion of that everything is fine. The lyrics take stance in bad news. It might be about a conflict in Congo or Syria or a coming conflict just around the corner. It is very clever written and I can make up my own mind what the song is about. It is hard and heavy in the harder tradition of Troublemakers.
Worth buying? Of course should you buy it and for different uses.
Both songs are within in the Troublemakers territory so there are no surprises here. It is however good tunes, but possible not in the top rank of the Troublemakers top list. Still, after more than 30 years of doing this there are no signs of they are getting tired of this. They are as I wrote above one of the most reliable bands I know. And the most underrated.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Vi är bäst! Lucas Moodyson new film about 13 year old girls struggling to form a band



International Trailer




Swedish Trailer

A scene from Lucas Moodyson´s new movie "Vi är bäst" (We are the best)
based on his wifes Coco Moodyson´s comics. A autobiographical story about Coco´s own
way of life at Södermalm in Stockholm. She was 13 and wanted to start a Punk band but everybody
told them that Punk was dead.

Swedish punk legend Johan Johansson (of KSMB) have commented (on Facebook)
that he was "teenage idol stalked in a cute way" by Coco and her friends as the punk rock star he was.

KSMB (Johan Johansson´s band) have some music in this movie. And there are of course
Ebba Grön music in it as well.



A scene from the movie

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Monday, October 7, 2013

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Vänsternäven - Välkommen hit (Album Review)

Vänsternäven
Välkommen hit
(Spotify) so far
2013

Review made from listening to Spotify


Let´s face it, punk is so much better if it is ridiculous angry. Gatans Lag´s total angry eruptions against everything and everyone makes them one of the best bands in Sweden today. Another is the ultra leftist band from the rural part of Sweden the Province Västergötland, the land of the old Vikings. There most similarities between the two brilliant bands ends.

Vänsternäven (Left fist) is very angry about everything today, but with difference. Where Gatans Lag go for the drunken brawl in general, Vänsternäven wave a red banner first, after being  slaving in the factory for hours(?), just before they go for a good fisticuff party or something. At least in their lyrics. OK, you have to filter some of it. I seriously don´t think they wanna do all the violence they sing about.
 Why do I say so? Because I knew the people from my old hoods, I can spot some as a member in Vänsternäven. I can spot the irony and the local jokes in some of it. I met people like “King of Störd” (King of Disturbed) at parties back in the days and I really can see the nude old gentleman “Naken Moderat” (The Naked Conservative) before me, both just excellent songs in different ways.

The lead singing have gone from shouting to singing since the last album. Normally I don´t like such a move in directions but here it is a brilliant move. And the huge chorus that sometimes was a bit tone deaf on the “Vänsternäven” (2012) album have been trained to perfection on this production, well almost at least. The chorus gives the songs the extra power to be real good punk and brings an Oi! feeling to it.
It has been some criticism about their goofy hillbilly commie image from some parts of the big city. I can understand it because it´s very local kind of irony in it many ways that the Stockholmers don´t get or appreciate. Not to mention that they sing in a very heavy hillbilly kind of Swedish dialect that most of us from that part of the country feel a bit embarrassed about and tries to hide (it´s one of the Viking dialects but will put you low on a trendy list). But on the record I find it cool. It´s full of pride.

On their covers they have Chinese communist inspired pictures, both on their debut full length “Vänsternäven” as well on this new “Välkommen hit”. In my opinion that is pretty much all the Communism that is. Or at least it´s not an intellectual leftism that is presented, more a drunken chant of a frustrated worker.  In reality the lyrics is pretty much a from a working class gutter perspective that pours over in an angry frustration over the fact that life is unfair like in “Knegare” (Worker). It´s about hating a pestering neighbor (Grannjävel/The Fucking Neighbor)  and that they  wanna turn the back on people that change opinions like other change shirts (Kameleont/Chameleon). Pretty much common people´s anger.
Well if you´re are a conservative or liberal, in short, bourgeois scum, (to use Vänsternävens way to put it) you might not like the message the send in the one minutes songs. And of course they give an extra boot to the racist Sweden Democrat party.  But the rest of us might feel it’s a bit of truth told as well as some drunk goofing around in it in general just because that is what the seem to be ramble about while having a beer or 200. How many punk bands do songs about failed Water Parks like they do in “En meter Kört”?


“Molotov” and “Bränn ner Kungahuset” (Burn down the Royal Family) is a bit more problematic to feel sympathy for because of the ultra violence it proclaims (yes, me, the soldiers son doesn´t like killings). But I put it on the Irony account, the not to be taken to serious account. Just as I know that Ligisterna won´t be killing the vultures as the sing about. This record should be treated like a Ligisterna record from the countryside.
And there is a Stockholm reference on this record, “75” is a brilliant rewritten cover on “Grisen Skriker´s” ” (Sthlm band) 1979 tune “65”. It´s up to date and political in a way most of the Swedes can agree on.




My only negative feeling against this record is that many of the songs been around for a while so it doesn’t feel like a new record.
But that is just a bit of spoiled whining.
In fact I rank this record very high, possibly the best this year so far, in competition with Asta Kask, Alonzo Fas 3 and Gatans Lag.
Note that Asta Kask, Vänsternäven and Gatans Lag are from the same Province.
This is a must buy, if you ask me.

Sad Society - Helter Skelter



Sad Society - Helter Skelter (UK)


From a Sound Cloud release and mini album that will be handed out at concerts. (2013)

Friday, October 4, 2013

Punk band shoots porno on Westboro Baptist Church front lawn

The contfrontalist extremist church of Westboro (US) have made it a legio to fuck with war veterans, gays and you name it. And their claim of freedom of speach went up to bite them in the tail in the end.
Follow the links for some fun and whitty ways to fuck with them. And literary fuck at their places.


http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2013/10/punk-band-shoots-porn-on-westboro-baptist-church-lawn

http://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2013/07/a-group-of-satanists-performed-a-gay-ritual-on-a-westboro-baptist-church-gravesite/

https://www.facebook.com/getshotkicksass/posts/519319074820814