Do It Yourself! Volume #9


Stiff Little Fingers
"Guitar and Drum"
These working class punk elders attack the music establishment with a catchy ferocity that the fresh faced youngsters out there will most likely never fully understand. I mean, it's all about the love of underground music as a forum for making a statement. These days... that's what the internet's for.

The Stingers ATX
"China Dread"
These guys rock the breezy love song with ambiguous Jamaican overtones. It's organic, unpolished trad. ska from the southwest U.S. Who new this existed outside of NY and the West Coast?

The River City Rebels
"No Easy Way Out"
Take one part G'N'R, one part The Cure, and one part big band horns and blend thoroughly. It's sleazy. It's brooding. It's the new face of rock and roll.

The Briggs
"Waiting in the Shadows"
Here it is. The obligatory oi/street punk track. But this one's got it all. Sing along chorus. Galloping rhythm. And an irresistable "Whoooah, Oooh" coda. Makes you wanna shave your head and embrace your lower-class roots, no?

Dan Potthast
"They're Talking"
This one's the antithesis to the previous track. It's all about the problems that plague the suburban, shopping-mall set. But, I'll be damned if it isn't a great tune. Damned near poetry, this is what the youngster should be listening to. No such luck. Clocking in at under two minutes, this one'll leave you wanting more.

The Lillingtons
"X-Ray Specs"
Good gravy! This is straight ahead punk rock in the Ramones mold that drops issue specific comic book references. Plus, it's got an instant-classic chorus that reaches out to the antisocial geek in all of us.

Arcade
"Bank of America"
I downloaded this track a while before I decided to include it on a comp. I thought that it was pretty good stuff and was especially impressed that these ladies come outta Muncie. When I found out that it was written about a kid that the lead singer went to school with who flew that plane into the Bank of America shortly after 9/11 (remember that?), it became ten times cooler.

Phonocaptors
"Kiss Her Lips"
Lo-fi, garage rock might be on its last legs, but this track makes me think of everything that I actually like about The Rolling Stones. It's smokey, bluesy rock that always seems on the verge of a trainwreck. Plus, it's just a little bit shocking... for the sixties.

Hepcat
"I Can't Wait"
This is what traditional ska is all about. Sweet, soulful and infinitely danceable. I triple dog dare you to keep still for this one. The best the mid-ninties boom has to offer.

The Epidemic
"Frustration"
This is simply filthy, eighties-style hardcore punk rock. The kind that makes you wanna shower after listening to it. It reminds me a bit of Minor Threat, but slightly more threatening.

!!!
"Hello? Is This Thing On?"
First off, I think that I read somewhere that you pronounce the bands name like tongue-clicking noises. You know, like the African tribes in "The Gods Must Be Crazy." As a side note, the guy that starred in those movies was named, N!xau, but I digress. The sound here takes a lot of inspiration from the British, post-punk, dance music scene as portrayed in "24 Hour Party People." You know, Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, etc... Long song, but you gotta stick around and hear this guy go nuts at the end.

About the Artwork:
I took my inspiration for this from those pin-up calendars that popped up in gas stations in the fifties and never made it down from the wall. At least that was the case in Cammack. I remember thinking that it was kinda pervy back in the day, but these days they're like fine art.