Punk

SOME PUNK AND PUNK POP GOODIES FOR YOU ALL!

Happy Thursday. I’ll be back live on Saturday. Until then, please enjoy some seriously nice punk and punk pop tunes. That should carry you through until Friday!

MY MID-VACATION PLAYLIST

It’s the middle of my vacation, and even though I am writing this on Monday morning, I’m pretty sure by now I’m actually itching to get beck to work. What ever. I never claimed to be very bright. Like I said last week, when I’m at work, all I think about is vacation, and when I’m on vacation, all I think about is work. Such is my life.

No particular theme to today’s list, just some great music. Enjoy.

MUSIC WITH ATTITUDE, DAY 1

This past Monday, I mentioned that I was back, and with more attitude. Well, today I finally come through on the promise, and throw out a little music with some attitude to it. Hey, I got pressure out the ass, and I need some way to get my ass back to sanity. This is the best way, outside of a firing range, to burn off all that stress. Music tames that wild beast and all that you know.

Anyway, I am finally taking some time off next week, and going to visit my family in Ohio, and showing my daughter around my home town. Yes, I will post. I kind of missed doing this non-sense during my 2 week absence. I’m going to kick around Kent, maybe go have lunch at what was once one of the great music clubs of the US mid-west, JB’s Downunder. I hear it’s now a sandwich shop. Not all progress is good, thats for damn sure. Enjoy the tunes!

What Happens When Punk Rockers Get Old? An Edupunk Looks at 40.

What happens when punk rockers get old?

Well, they change, right? And they start country bands, take side gigs as movie and t.v. actors, and become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens. Oh, and they do spotlight interviews for the Sundance Channel.

Uh-huh.

Well, if you don't already know of him, meet John Doe.

John fronted a band in the early 80s called "X." Their sound was rich, snarling, ready for a fight. The first time I heard X was on MTV when I was 15. I had learned to play the guitar well enough to put together a handful of bar chords. And while I tried to emulate Jimmy Page and Angus Young, X stepped on stage and rearranged what rock music was in my mind. They weren't punk in the sense that they threatened "Anarchy in the USA," but their music, lyrics, and stance were clearly a reaction to the music heard on Top 40 radio. While punk music packed a lot angst, it was music aimed straight at the kids. It said, "Hey you! You don't have to listen to that shit on the radio. Rock the f_ck out! We did it. So can you." Bands like X, the Minutemen, the Dead Kennedys, the Clash, started as art school boys and girls getting together and finding a means to express themselves through a web of music and recordings, creating a platform to spread their message world wide.

This sense of youthful idealism, this sense of me and my mates against the world, against the system, against the improper use of power and authority, could be channeled through amplifiers, through the gift of music. What fun! I subsequently started and/or joined a number of musical outfits all in the name of Do-It-Myself. Similarly, it was this same ethos, this same sensibility, that led me to teaching, of changing the world one or two kids at a time.

I also bring this story up as it relates to changing the face of education through participatory media. The changes many of us want to see, have to come from the kids. They start small as garage bands playing locally. Like musical hits, some changes take immediate traction and spread far and wide quickly, ushering in wider audiences and broader acceptance. Thus, the key to educational change, I believe, is one band of kids at a time. They don't need me or you or any educational technologist to tell them what to do. They will simply do it.

The same goes for you, you old puke.

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, PART 2

Day two of a few of my favorite things. Basically, it’s all about the music I’m currently listening to. One of these days, I’m going to throw the old iPod on random play, and list the first ten songs that pop up. But for today, this will have to do. I actually got the inspiration for the list from my work out today. It seems that somehow, my 44 year old body forgot that it’s supposed to shed the weight it put on in the winter. So, I find myself in the nice position of having to beat the hell out of it…unfortunately, it ain’t working too well.

So, I’m doing three things to try to loose the pounds. First, I’m running, 2 miles 4 times a week. I’m also lifting, much as I’ve always done. Third is that I’m doing a six week program that supposedly works you up to 100 push-ups at the end of the program. Plus, I’m out shooting baskets at night. All of it, I have the trust iPod playing….and this week is some of the stuff I’m jamming to. Enjoy!

PARTY PUNK FOR THE PEOPLES!

Happy Monday. To help get the week started on the right foot, I’m rocking a little “party punk” today. My love of great, old school punk is both obvious and well stated elsewhere in this blog. To me, punk is not noise, or screaming, or any of the other terms that the haters love to bandy about to describe it. Punk is, to me, just about the truest form of music there is. It’s not a romanticized version of what like should be, or a fantasy version of what like can be. It’s all about what life is. And sometimes it’s angry and full of angst. But sometimes, it’s also aggressive in a wild, fun kind of way. That’s what today’s list is. Great, fun, wild, aggressive music to grab you and get the week started right.

Two of the bands here that are among my favorite are Sham 69 and X-Ray Spex. Germ Free Adolescents is one of the top five punk albums from the 70’s, and I would doubt a month goes by I don’t crank it up a little and give it a listen. Of course, not when my wife’s at home. Unfortunately, she’s not as enlightened to the glory of punk as we are. I try, but she just doesn’t get it. But hey, lets not let that ruin our good time! Enjoy!

STRAIGHT TO THE FACE: ROUGH LOUD AND ROCKIN’ TUNES!

After yesterdays screed about the grate state of California (NO, I DO NOT mean great!), I figured I would follow up with a play list that offered a little attitude. Well, OK, a playlist that has a LOT of attitude. I think I’ve managed to crank it up a bit, and produce one with the subtly of a sledge hammer to the face. It’s actually, I think, my best playlist in an extremly long ass time. But I warn you…if you do like a very rough, punk sound, you might want to move on a bit, and come back later. There ain’t no Smiths music here today!

Anyway, I’m sure by the time your ready this, I’ve had a thoroughly delightful and stress free day of travel, and am sitting at home looking forward to drinking even more than I have this past week. To everyone here in the states, happy Memorial Day weekend. Workers of the world unite, indeed. Enjoy.

NME CLASSICS: 3 DECADES OF THE GREATEST MUSIC EVER!

I was shopping around online, and came across a box set called “NME Classics: 61 Classics Tracks from the History of NME”. Being a lover of boxed sets that cover punk, post punk, new wave and 90’s alternative, I had to throw down the cash for it. Overall, it’s one hell of a boxed set, along the lines of the “Left of The Dial” boxed set, or the “No Thanks!” box set devoted to punk. In fact, it’s a combination of the two, covering punk, post punk, new wave, and beyond. Like I said, it’s a great set.

I’ve listed a lot of the songs here in the past, but there are a few that I’m pretty sure I’ve never posted. So I thought I would bring you a few of them today for you all to enjoy. Like I said, it’s a great boxed set, from a great magazine. For those not familiar with MNE, it’s a British music magazine that gave the world the legendary C81 and C86 cassettes. And if you don’t know what those are, then you need to head over Rave and Roll, and read all about it.

The video is of the New York Dolls. All I can say is that David Johansen is one but ugly woman, although I do like the jacket, and my wife loves the fashionable pumps. No matter, they were a great group, and put out some great music in the 70’s. It was a little before my time, but thankfully, I’ve been able to catch up. Enjoy!

Download iPod Video:New York Dolls - Personality Crisis

PUNK, POST PUNK AND NEW WAVE HITS, VOL. 3

Day three, and the last day. It’s been busy on my end…we’ve had construction people here fixing some stuff around the house that was damaged during some wind storms we had a few weeks back, plus some other cosmetic stuff. Pretty much sucks trying to work (I work at home) while banging and pounding and sawing is going on. So of course, the old earphones come out, and I actually listened to all the posts from the past few days. I really like the way the posts have been sounding. I think today is no different.

Hopefully, today flies by, and Friday comes and goes so I can get back to a little weekend fun. I think tomorrow is going to be another addition to my tribute to the John Peel sessions. Enjoy!

Download iPod Video:Aztec Camera - Oblivious

PUNK, POST PUNK AND NEW WAVE HITS, VOL. 2

More goodies for everyone today from that good old punk 77 sound. Including another band I’m not all that familiar with, and one that I absolutely love. The one I’m not real familiar with is 999, even though I have a few songs I’ve collected off the net. But what I have, I’m lovin’, for sure. So it goes on the list of bands I need to get more of.

One of the reasons I love this music so much, I have to admit, is that the people who played it wasn’t content to take American blues and rearrange it. These bands actually rewrote all the rules, and you can trace that from punk to post punk to new wave, to the sounds of bands like the Smiths, who totally rejected the idea of blues based music. Now, it’s not that I hate the blues. just the opposite. I love old blues. But not when it’s shoved down my throat, like the labels of today to.

Now, on the other end of the spectrum is Sham 69, one of my favorite punk bands from the 70’s. If there was a band I would love to sit and drink with, Sham 69 is it. First, they were totally a blue collar band, with what sounds like pub songs being sung to punk beats. One of my favorite tunes from the 70’s is “If The kids Are United”. The song reminds me of sitting in a bar in Mallorica, Spain, listening to the British guys singing the hell out of songs and getting drunk as hell. Meanwhile, the British girls were sitting in the back of the bar, easy targets for American sailors. Not so much me, for two reasons. First, the Brits tended to get a little…rowdy…when they drank, and the sight of American sailors hitting on their women tended to piss em off a bit. But secondly, I much preferred to hang out with the Norwegians in Magaluf. The Norwegian girls…well, I’ll admit, I had a weakness for em. But I did enjoy drinking with the Brits, and trying to learn their songs!

The video today is one of the best songs of the 80’s, by one of the better bands. XTC’s Senses Working Overtime is almost the perfect new wave song. I somehow can’t believe the song is 26 years old…first, I refuse to believe it’s been that long, but secondly, the song could absolutely be a hit today. Especially today, since most of the crap out now is complete rubbish. Just my 2 pence, mind you, but there it is.

Download iPod Video:XTC - Senses Working Overtime

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