Ted Mulry Gang –Jump In My Car/Give It To Me –Philips 6000192 (1976 German issue)
Although it shares a common theme with the Prowler single, this is nowhere near as pervy. In fact Jump In My Car is a comforting automotive Pub Rock/Boogie ditty quite close to what Dave Edmunds/ Rockpile were doing around the same time featuring a very similar use of monkey beat guitar chugging. Chris Spedding’s cover on his first RAK album is probably better known over here, but this is the original “hitâ€Â version. What’s next? Stan Collymore covering Bird Doggin’?
Also, Dana Stevens brings up some good points about her knock on Knocked Up. Unfortunately, I still don’t buy the central premise that because Roe vs. Wade is under attack, a filmmaker with a pregnant character has an obligation to address abortion head-on. I think she’s right in saying that too many movies give it short shrift as an option, and probably so because of concerns about turning off a certain segment of their audience. However, there’s a huge leap from the notion that movies in general should be more mindful about what abortion rights mean to women and that this movie in particular should have tried to deal with it. The fact that this character in this movie didn’t seriously mull over aborting this (fictional) fetus doesn’t justify a bizarro inverse theory that any woman who has had an abortion has committed a horrible act. The mopes she mentions over at the National Review and the Atlantic Monthly who are politicizing a fictional young woman’s choice in a fictional comedy of manners that is, as I might have mentioned, a work of fiction: these are the jokers committing an act of regrettable behavior.
Last year the outstanding radio show ART FOR SPASTICS gave me my first taste of Los Angeles band the SILVER DAGGERS, and I very much liked what I heard. I know I’m lazy, and do this all the time, but why repeat myself – here’s what I wrote about them in March 2006:
“Los Angeles’ SILVER DAGGERS are part of a new breed of exploratory, pummeling agit-noise acts operating on the NOT NOT FUN label, and for my money, and based on the evidence, they’re the best of ‘em. This EP from last year is a strange mix of aggressive, guitar-heavy EX-style sturm und drang, and freeform honking and tooting. Since they’ve taken their name from an ELECTRIC EELS song, I’m sure you’re as curious as I was to know which era Eels they’re emulating. The early “Agitatedâ€Â, “Cyclotronâ€Â, “Refrigeratorâ€Â Eels? Or the later “Pleasure Boatingâ€Â, “Spin Age Blastersâ€Â Eels? I’d have to go with the latter, given the jarring sax and clarinet all over this EP, and if there’s not a serious STYRENES fan in the band then I’ll be damned. The lead track “We Didn’t Payâ€Â is a monster, and has got to be a nutbuster live for all of its 75 seconds of pound. This one in particular should win the band fans from those who refuse to believe that Amphetamine Reptile are no longer putting out records. Heads up on this bunch – I suspect they’re not done wowing us quite yetâ€Â
So here they are with a brand-new CD on Load Records called “New High & Ordâ€Â, and it’s got quite a bit of pummel to go round. The EX comparison is far more evident, even though I think even The Ex would not stoop to title a song “Governkkkâ€Â, even during the “No war/no KKK/no fascist USAâ€Â Reagan era. But that’s just kids being kids, right? It’s a solid CD – and I still haven’t seen them live. Here are my two favorite tracks (so far).
What’s the point? It’s everything you’ve read. Human, funny, and armed with an appeal for everyone…dirt dumb to smart (that’s the big feat). Pedestrian jokes, good jokes, great jokes, gross jokes, and some fantastic arguments. You’re supposed to hate the married sister, and boy did I, ugh, just broadsided by the realism of that character. Somebody did their research. Ha! I kid. No research needed, just find that irritating voice over there, complaining to the Whole Foods manager, or yelling at a Texas de Brazil waiter, or talking about taking fourteen Pilates classes in one day. ÂÂ
Over in the world of FUN, a title isn’t the only thing Slither rips from Cronenburg’s Shivers. What a romp!!
In order to convince my readers of Harsh Times‘ HILARITY value, I’ve grabbed some YouTube proof. The extra-ridiculous dialogue was hard to find (Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez chewing up the scenery with faux-cholo, decade-old street slang), but these present the basic idea. Enjoy.
As stated before, I’ve created the perfect 3.5 hours of entertainment: Assassination Tango/Harsh Times double feature. I will subject colleagues Bob Mehr and David Dunlap Jr. to the gauntlet.
No, not BL’AST, and not even SUNSHINE SUPER SCUM – I’m talking about this very recent (late 2006) 45 from Michigan’s RED RED RED, one of the most ripping, wild, noxo punk rock records of the 21st century thus far. Finding information on the band online was a bit of a chore, what with a malfunctioning band website, a poorly-updated page from their current label, and next-to-nothing written about them. After a bit of sleuthing I found their Myspace page, and from there learned that this project contains an ex-member of THE PIRANHAS, a band who, in retrospect, were pretty friggin’ great themselves. A must-purchase is their LP/CD collection of their first two 45s – I wrote about it here.
RED RED RED honestly sound like they were coughed from a rough night of coupling between ’81 BLACK FLAG (with Dez on vocals) and Michigan hardcore heroes THE FIX. It’s that intense and crazed, and I haven’t heard many punk rock tracks this great in a long while. There’s an LP/CD out right now called “MIND DESTROYERâ€Â (again, I had to work my ass off to find that out), and you can order it right here. I just did.
A little over a year ago I had the Showtime channel. It filled a void. The straight-to-VHS/DVD crime genre, roughly post Pulp Fiction to present day, entertains me to a troubling end. On-Demand is my current, and slightly costlier, way to deal with the separation anxiety. See last night’s Smokin’ Aces post. Today, in tidy portions, I consumed Harsh Times. This movie is unbelievable. Bob Mehr and I are planning a double feature with Assassination Tango. Both are essential to the quest for ultimate entertainment via very poor Hollywood decisions. I need to let the former sink in for a day or so. A more detailed post is forthcoming. Beats Dirty for hilariously misguided Training Day rips.
