From my Favorite Clash album, Give 'Em Enough Rope:
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sean Demery on 99X's Demise
Sean Demery, one of the people who start 99X, one of the great alternative rock stations in the country, writes about its demise.
One of the better passages:
After Q100 was added to the Susquehanna Atlanta family, Leslie was upped to oversee both Q100 and 99X and Chris Williams became PD. During this time and in observance of emerging market conditions 99X took a harder male exclusive turn that began to alienate women and alternative lifestyle groups that the station was originally based upon. It was yet another calculated risk that just didn’t pan out. I can honestly say that if I had still been there during that time I might have strayed down that path as well. This new direction put 99X’s sound at odds with itself. In effect, for a time 99X lost its way. This happens to many radio stations as well as branded products in any industry. Once you alienate a treasured listener it is hard to get them back.
By the mid 2000’s, at least three different consultants had their fingers in 99X’s pie. The result of this guidance from three converse advisors was something I call “programming by consensus”. By doing this you get a down the middle compromise which ends up not serving any one listener with anything they really want. I’m guessing that it drove Leslie Fram crazy. She’s a smart programmer who had to spend daunting hours in meetings and on conference calls listening to multiple pundits postulate about what the station needed to do. Leslie spent much of 2000’s having to deal with outside help that management wanted as a pacifier, help she didn’t need. What she needed was to be left alone in the same way as when she helped create the station in the first place.
The more unfocused the station became the more the station took on a defensive posture. Defensive posturing is boring. No one throws a punch they just hold their hands in front of their faces and wait for the fight to end… and it has.
99X shut down this week, and sister station 100 something or something 100 moved onto it's signal. While the station was certainly not the powerhouse it was in the late 90's, and while I rarely listened to it because of how much better satellite radio is than terrestrial radio, it is a shame to see it go. The station entertained a lot of people over the years and broke a lot of new music and bands. Its DJ's knew their music and were given leeway to play it, until the later years. 99X actually introduced me to Bad Religion and Rancid. What are the odds of their music being played on the radio these days? Slim to none, and slim ran away from home. It is a fucking shame!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Punk Rock Thursday
No need to be meek today! Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards!
And just because I had trouble deciding which one to use, lets roll with a second one.
Sadly, Lars supposedly has no intention of creating another Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards album. Great stuff!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Punk Rock MLK Birthday
No video for MLK Day, but I will suggest you visit the MySpace Page for Black President. Not Obama's page, but a punk rock band out of Los Angeles. The band is a side project for four guys including Greg Hetson of Bad Religion and Charlie Paulson of Goldfinger. Check out the tracks they have uploaded. Very good stuff. And what brings these guys together to make some kick ass music? It's simple:
stark raving hatred of the bush administration...and a profound love for sanford & son
Thursday, January 17, 2008
I guess I missed this one.
(The high quality original here.)
There is a great "Total Eclipse of the Heart" version on YouTube as well as a hilarious outtakes reel.
And this version is really good! Word up!
Lance Gets Tall
Two-time Dauphine Libere winner Lance Armstrong enjoyed a beverage from a styrofoam cup along with three tall bike enthusiasts, and then rode their tall bike.
Have a few beers, maybe a few shots, and then ride a 7 foot tall bike welded together by a few hipsters! Hell, yeah!
Arc Angels
I was driving in from work this morning kicking my Sirius radio from the Punk channel to the Underground Garage and back, when I caught The Underground Garage playing "Sweet Nadine" by the Arc Angels. I have not heard one of their songs on the radio since the 90's. They were one of the most underrated bands of that period, breaking up after one album due to one members heroin addiction. That eponymous album is one of my all time favorites. I just read they are playing together again- finally!
The guitarist/singers are Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton. The rhythm section is drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon or Double Trouble from Stevie Ray Vaughn fame. Here is a recent video of them.
Here is a poor video, but it shows Doyle Bramhall and Charlie Sexton switch guitars mid song. This looks cool because Doyle is a lefty and Charlie a righty, but while Doyle plays lefty he uses a guitar strung for a righty with the low E on the bottom. Still, it is kind of neat.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Mavericks : It's On!
This Saturday!
Official site.
SFGate site.
Why it is what it is. Click thumbnails to advance the photo sequence. That little yellow thing? It is a fairly big surf board.
And December 4th 2007.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Punk Rock Thursday
The Riverboat Gamblers' new CD "To The Confusion Of Our Enemies" is currently my favorite. It is like being hit over the head with a sonic sledgehammer.
In the video, notice the singer's hand in a cast. They have a history of injuries from their energetic stage show. Also notice how he swings the microphone around. He took out the bass players two front teeth with it. Poor guy had to have oral surgery.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Punk Rock Thursday
A boot of American Steel doing "Sons Of Avarice." For a better sound quality audio, check out their MySpace page.
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