Spend Some Time With You: fIREHOSE (Part 2/2)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am a firm believer in the idea that you must be in the right mindset at the right time to really understand and enjoy a band. It was the case in the Minutemen, and it was a similar case with its successor, fIREHOSE. Rising from the ashes of the Minutemen after the tragic death of guitarist/vocalist D. Boon, fIREHOSE found Mike Watt and George Hurley returning to music and forging a new musical path with newcomer Ed Crawford.

Devastated by the death of their bandmate, Watt and Hurley disbanded the group and considered retiring from music. However, Crawford, a young Minutemen fan from Ohio, heard a false rumor that the two were auditioning a new singer. He quickly packed his things and moved out to San Pedro, California to audition. Ultimately, his enthusiasm was able to wear them down and they decided to give him a shot, thus creating fIREHOSE. In the group's eight years, they put out five albums, including two on a major label, a far cry from the Minutemen's jamming econo.

Musically, the group has roots in the same funk and jazz influenced punk the Minutemen did, yet forged a sound unique to them. Generally, the songs were longer and featured more conventional song structures, similar to the latter day songs released by the Minutemen. However, the group pushed melody even further, incorporating elements of folk into the music, similar to R.E.M. Once they moved to Columbia Records, the songwriting became heavier, with a greater focus on distorted guitar almost drawing them back closer to their punk roots.

As blasphemous as it it may say to some people, when comparing the two, I actually prefer fIREHOSE. While I enjoy the Minutemen and frequently put their albums in rotation, I just have a greater appreciation for fIREHOSE's output. In fact, I came to like fIREHOSE first, and they served as my gateway to the Minutemen, much like how I discovered Husker Du through Bob Mould's band, Sugar.

In the past, I have gone online reading forums comparing the two groups and it annoys me when I see people criticize Crawford for not being D. Boon. In a sense, I feel bad, because he was able to start a band with members of his favorite band and convince them to stay in the industry, but some hate him simply because they did not see him as a contemporary/equal to either of his bandmates or Boon.

In the long run though, I shouldn't compare the two that much. Regardless of the musical pedigree the band contains, the band's music and identity truly are their own and the music is strong enough to stand on its own. Even within their community, I can't really find another band that has a sound like theirs. I think if a college kid is able to discover this group thirty years after this relatively obscure music has come out, then that is a good indicator that it has stood the test of time.

Breakdown of My Collection

Ragin' Full On (CD, 1986) - The group's debut firmly establishes their signature sound from the get-go. Generally, people tend to like the group's three albums on SST Records most, and while this is a strong album and a strong debut, it's probably my least favorite of the three. This was the last album I bought by them, and this is probably one of my least listened-to albums by them, but I still enjoy it when I listen to it.

Highlights: "Brave Captain", "Choose Any Memory", "Chemical Wire", "Relatin' Dudes to Jazz" "The Candle and the Flame"

If'n (CD, 1987) - The group's second album is considered one of their best, and I have to agree. This was another album that I was late to getting, but there are numerous songs I listen to and enjoy. Musically, this seems to have less of the youthful punk energy found on Ragin, Full On, and is generally more easygoing, with a stronger folk influence. If somebody asked me about this band and where they should start if they wanted to check them out, I would probably tell them to listen to this album and its follow up.

Highlights: "Sometimes", "Hear Me", "Backroads", "Windmilling", "For the Singer of R.E.M."

fROMOHIO (CD, 1989) - I love this album. It's my favorite of their albums and is probably one of my favorite albums in general. Musically, it is cut from the same cloth as If'n, but for whatever reason, I love the songs on this one more. I bought this album at the same time as "Flyin' the Flannel" and much like the Minutemen's Post-Mersh Vol. 2, I think back to working in my 2D animation class when I listen to it. Even if I didn't have that experience with it, I would still probably love this album simply because the songs are so good, especially "Time With You", which is one of my favorite songs by them altogether.

Highlights: "Riddle of the Eighties", "In My Mind", "Time With You", "Some Things", "Understanding"

"Flyin' the Flannel" (CD, 1991) - Even on the first song, you can hear that the group's major label debut is going to be different. The production and the music are more muscular and heavy, reigning in some of the folkier elements on earlier albums. However, despite being on a major, the group maintains its artsier, more experimental edge. This was my first fIREHOSE CD and it features some of the first songs that got me to like the group in general, such as "Flyin' the Flannel" and "Can't Believe"

Highlights: "Down With The Bass", "Flyin' the Flannel", "Epoxy for Example", "O'er the Town of Pedro"

Mr. Machinery Operator (CD, 1993) - The band's final album is generally viewed as a low point. While I don't necessarily want to say it's a bad album, I'm not going to lie. It's probably their weakest album. No doubt, there is good material on the album, but unfortunately, I feel like the good material is balanced out with filler, and a number of tracks are skippable, something I can't say about If'n or fROMOHIO. Even with the good tracks, the songs don't even really sound like fIREHOSE. With J. Mascis's production and occasional backup vocals, some of these songs sound closer to Dinosaur Jr songs. While I wish the band had ended on a greater note, there are still enjoyable songs on here.

Highlights: "Formal Introduction", "Blaze", "Witness", Herded into Pools", "Disciples of the 3-Way" "Hell-Hole"

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Minutemen (Part 1/2)

Listening to music, I have the philosophy that you have to be in the right mindset at the right time to get into a group. You may check out an artist or a band but something won't click. However, as time goes on, you may get into other stuff, and ultimately, you may rediscover the artist you passed on previously, finding the song that originally turned you off to now be catchy. This was the case for me with the art-punk band, the Minutemen.

Formed in 1980, the group was established by two childhood friends: guitarist/vocalist D. Boon and bassist/vocalist Mike Watt, drafting high school classmate George Hurley who they had previously played with in a band called the Reactionaries. Originally playing hardcore punk with songs averaging around a minute long, the group began to incorporate funk and jazz influences in their music. Towards the end of their career, they began to experiment more with conventional song structures and melodies, as seen on their last EP and final album. Another thing that defined the group was their habit of "jamming econo", which included recording at ungodly hours in the studio, using recycled tape, and hauling their own equipment to save money.

Unfortunately, the group's career was cut short in 1985 when D. Boon was fell out of the back of a moving van and was killed. Devastated, Watt and Hurley promptly disbanded the group and considered retiring from music before reestablishing themselves in fIREHOSE, which will be discussed in a later entry. Since then, the two have gone on to perform Minutemen songs together without a third member as a tribute to their fallen bandmate.

My first encounter with the group was as a freshman in high school when I first read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, which focused on the Minutemen in the second chapter. However, at that point, I had little to no interest in the hardcore they played. As time went on and my horizons expanded, I started to look them up, but again, the music just didn't click with me. I finally started to get into the group when I was in college, after getting into fIREHOSE. I wanted to see the origins of this band and finally started finding songs that appealed to me, and I ultimately bought the compilation Post-Mersh Vol. 2, which has the Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat EP and the Project Mersh EP. Since buying that, when I hear songs from either EP, I now think back to being huddled over the animation capture stations, shooting footage while listening to the compilation. Once I got home, I quickly acquired the rest of their catalogue and listened to several albums on vacation.

Musically, the band had a very distinct sound that set them apart from the rest of the contemporaries, featuring high-treble guitars that lacked distortion, basslines that went above and beyond the basic runs and a greater variety of rhythms. Where Black Flag was experimenting with metal and Husker Du and Descendents were playing around with pop melodies, Minutemen were going in a more artsy direction with funky, jazzy and later, psychedelic material. While these traits may have limited the scope of their influence and commercial success, we can see where it still is strong music that holds up.

Breakdown of My Collection

Post-Mersh Vol. 1 (CD, 1987) - The first Post-Mersh compilation incorporates the first two albums the band put out: The Punch Line and What Makes a Man Start Fires? featuring 36 songs in 42 minutes.

The Punch Line (1981) - The first 12" LP by the band shows the band beginning to round out their sound, going from the standard hardcore sound and incorporating the more artistic sounds. Despite being considered an album, the release is extremely short, featuring 18 songs in 15 minutes. Musically, the songs tend to flow into one another, with less variety that would be seen in Double Nickels on the Dime or Three Way Tie (For Last). Overall, it is a small stepping stone in their sound that is a good example of their early sound.
Highlights: "Search", "Tension", "The Struggle", "No Parade", "Straight Jacket"

What Makes a Man Start Fires? (1983) - The group's second LP features the band with their defining sound, which would carry on for several releases. Also sporting 16 tracks, the album is 10 minutes longer. Ultimately this release seems to be a precursor to their magnum opus, Double Nickels on the Dime, and is a strong example of their work. In fact, it might be my favorite album by them.
Highlights: "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs", "Beacon Sighted Through Fog", "The Anchor", "Sell or Be Sold", "The Tin Roof"

Post-Mersh Vol. 2 (CD, 1987) - The second Post-Mersh compilation features two EPs, Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat and Project Mersh.

Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat (1983) - This EP was yet another step forward in the band's sound. Recorded live in the studio on two-track tape, the music is slightly more accessible. Meanwhile, there are also two tracks I could consider to be disposable, "Dreams are Free Motherfucker!" and "Toe Jam". It goes to show the band's evolution in songwriting when we compare its 7-song tracklist running just as long as the 18-song Punch Line.
Highlights: "Cut", "I Felt Like A Gringo", "The Product", "Little Man With A Gun In His Hand"

Project: Mersh (1985) - This EP was a drastic change in the group's sound, with the band experimenting with higher quality production, longer songs, and melodic hooks, hence the "Mersh" title. While the music is strong on several songs, I would not recommend this as a starting point because it is so separated from the rest of their music.
Highlights: "King of the Hill", "The Cheerleaders", "Hey Lawdy Mama", "Tour-Spiel"

Post-Mersh Vol. 3 (1987) - The last compilation in the Post-Mersh series features a collection of several releases: four EPs, Paranoid Time, Joy, Bean-Spill and Tour-Spiel, as well as the compilation, The Politics of Time.

Paranoid Time (1980) - The band's very first release shows seeds of what would come. Pumping out 7 songs in 7 minutes, it is largely rooted in hardcore with early traits that would be prevalent in their later music. I definitely recommend this if you want to see the band's overall evolution.
Highlights: "Validation", "Sickles and Hammers", "Fascist", "Joe McCarthy's Ghost"

Joy (1981) - This very brief EP basically continues what was established on Paranoid Time, with little deviation.
Highlights: "Joy", "Black Sheep"




Bean-Spill (1981) - This EP was released at the suggestion of Joe Carducci, who was concerned with how many songs the band was giving away to compilations. Again, this carries on the sound that had been established on prior releases.
Highlights: "If Reagan Played Disco", "Case Closed"



The Politics of Time (1984) This collection compiles music from numerous sources, such as studio tracks for an unreleased album, live tracks, and recordings done on cassette recorders. Because of the variations in audio quality, this release is one of the most disjointed releases by the band and as a result, is among my least favorite.
Highlights: "Party With Me Punker", "The Process", "Working Men are Pissed"



Tour Spiel (1984) - The last EP in this collection features four live recordings of the band doing covers by bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and Blue Oyster Cult. Much like the Politics of Time, the poor audio quality hurts the release, however, two of these covers would be recorded in the studio for their last album, Three-Way Tie (For Last).
Highlight: "Green River"

Double Nickels on the Dime (CD, 1984) - Considered to be the band's magnum opus, this double album is the band's peak, packing in 43 songs into an hour and 15 minutes. When the group heard Husker Du was making a double album, they buckled down and doubled the number of songs for their next album. Musically, I see this as the band making the most out of their defining sound and is a neat album to listen to, but I don't know if it is my favorite. I think the way their music works, it fits better in 20-30 minute doses and the number of songs on this one was a bit much. Nonetheless, it is still considered among the band's best and I can't dispute that.
Highlights: "D's Car Jam / Anxious Mo-fo", "Two Beads at the End", "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing", "Corona", "History Lesson - Part II", "This Ain't No Picnic", "Spillage"





Three-Way Tie (For Last) (CD, 1985) - The band's final album stands out among the group's LPs in that it shares more traits with the Project Mersh EP. The production is more on par with that of mainstream releases, the songs were longer and featured more conventional song structures and melodies. This album also features several covers, including songs originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Meat Puppets. It also experiments with other styles such as spoken word and hip hop. However, for whatever reason, I have struggled to listen to the album all the way through. While there are songs I enjoy, I can't keep focused on the album as a whole.
Highlights: "The Price of Paradise", "The Big Stick", "Courage", "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", "What Is It?"

Everybody Says They Want A Million Bucks: ALL (Part 2/2)

When people look at the overarching career of the Descendents and All, many seem to only celebrate the Descendents portion, while viewing All as a substitute while Descendents frontman Milo Aukerman was working as a scientist. And while the group may lack the former's geeky, bespectacled vocalist, that does not diminish the group's overall musical output, and it tends to get overlooked as a result.

To sum it up, the Descendents were an influential punk band in the early-mid 1980s. However, by 1987, lead vocalist Milo Aukerman left the band to pursue a full-time career in biochemistry. Not wanting to continue under the Descendents name without Milo, drummer Bill Stevenson, guitarist Stephen Egerton and bassist Karl Alvarez decided to continue under a new name: All, taken from the most recent Descendents album. If you have not yet, I encourage you to read my previous post about the Descendents for additional background.

With the band now renamed All, they needed a new lead singer. Enter Dave Smalley, formerly of DYS and Dag Nasty (another personal favorite of mine). According to Smalley, as soon as he got off the plane and met up with the other members, they went straight to the restaurant, Alfredo's, and then to practice, highlighting the band's intense work ethic. By 1988, the band had already pumped out their first album, Allroy Sez... and was soon followed up with the EP, Allroy for Prez. However, the rigor of being on the road and performing with the band was beginning to wear on Smalley and he soon left the group. Smalley would go on to form his own band, Down By Law, and participate in two Dag Nasty reunions in the years following his time with All.

Smalley was replaced with Scott Reynolds, and the group began working on their sophomore album, Allroy's Revenge. For All fans, this seems to be one of the band's strongest albums, with songs such as "She's My Ex" and "Mary". Allroy's Revenge was soon followed up by Allroy Saves in 1990, and Percolater in 1992, which began pushing the band in a more experimental direction. However, by the time the group was touring for Percolater, conflicts began to arise between Reynolds and the other members, namely Alvarez, and it was decided Reynolds would leave the group following the European tour.

After the tour, Reynolds was replaced with Chad Price, who debuted on the 1993 album, Breaking Things. With the heavier instrumentation and Price's deeper voice, the new album gave the band a more muscular, albeit, less diversified sound.

By this point, alternative and punk had hit it big and countless bands were gaining mainstream attention. After being courted by major labels for a couple years, All signed a deal with Atlantic Records and put out Pummel in 1995. While the album had little commercial impact, Stevenson and Egerton decided to use the funds from the deal to build their own recording studio, The Blasting Room. Due to the limited success of Pummel, Atlantic dropped All from the roster.

By this point, Milo Aukerman was interested in performing with the Descendents again, and All went on hiatus for the former to put out Everything Sucks and tour. All benefited from this reunion, however, when it got signed with the Descendents to Epitaph Records, which had several successful releases in recent years and was doing incredibly well for an independent label. Once the Descendents disbanded again, All was able to ride the success of the Descendents with their newest album, Mass Nerder. However, by the new millennium, the group's success began to dwindle and the group ultimately went into hibernation.

After 2000's Problematic, the only release by the band was the split-live album with the Descendents, Live Plus One, from 2001. As the years went on, the members carried on with different projects and only resurfaced as All by the 2010s, with both Scott Reynolds and Chad Price fronting the band at different shows.

For me personally, I actually got into All before I got into the Descendents. And as much as I love the Descendents, I generally prefer All's output in the long run, no matter how blasphemous that sounds. By the time All was founded, had developed as songwriters to a point where they could largely avoid the growing pains early Descendents material had. However, despite sharing three of the four members, All is virtually ignored by most fans. If anything, it seemed to be derided for simply not being the Descendents. As a result, its discography has gone largely unnoticed despite it is largely on par with its Milo-fronted counterpart.

With the release of the Descendents' Hypercaffium Spazzinate, it makes me wonder about the future of All. The musicians are clearly active, but Milo also announced his retirement from science, which almost seems to put All in limbo. Nonetheless, I hope to see the groups coexist and both release albums.

MY COLLECTION

1. Allroy Sez... (CD, 1988) - The group's debut is not necessarily the band's best, but it's also not the group's worst. I don't have a whole lot to say about this album. I got it in January 2015, I can appreciate it because Dave Smalley is on it, there are some good songs, but I'd just rather to listen to some of the bands other works.
Highlights: "Pretty Little Girl", "Sex in the Way", "Sugar and Spice"

2. Allroy for Prez (CD, 1988) - This EP is probably one of my favorite releases by the group, and definitely my favorite of the releases with Dave Smalley. From what I remember, this is my second All album and it has some of my favorite tracks by them. In all honesty, the only track I don't particularly like is the instrumental, "Son-O-Qua". Regardless, if you wanted to check out this band, I'd say this is a good release to start on.
Highlights: "Just Perfect", "Skin Deep", "Daveage", "Wishing Well"

3. Allroy's Revenge (CD, 1989) - The band's first with Scott Reynolds, this album has some of the band's best songs. However, much like my initial opinion of the Descendents' I Don't Want to Grow Up, while there are a number of songs I love, I'm also not crazy about some of the other songs on this release. However, I still find it to be an enjoyable listening experience.
Highlights: "She's My Ex", "Mary", "Scary Sad"

4. Allroy Saves (CD, 1990) - Of all the albums by All, this is one I rarely listen all the way through. The sound on this album starts to push in a more diverse, experimental sound, which yields mixed results, and was the first All album to be produced by Stevenson and Egerton, which proves to be a drawback on this outing. While I can enjoy this album, I do not recommend it for someone just getting into All.
Highlights: "Educated Idiot", "Just Living", "Explorador"

5. Percolater (CD, 1992) - This album continues the more diverse experimentation All was playing around with, with better results in my opinion. The production is still not great, but is better than Saves. This was actually one of my favorite albums by All when I first heard it, and I can still enjoy it. I probably wouldn't recommend it to a new listener just yet, but it is still one that can be enjoyed.
Highlights: "Dot", "Nothin'", "Nobody's", "Breathe"

6. Breaking Things (CD, 1993) - With Chad Price now on vocals, the music on Breaking Things is much more powerful, with better production and heavier instrumentation. I know Bill Stevenson is actually disappointed this lacks the diversity of Percolater and Saves, but that doesn't really bother me. This album actually has a handful of songs that really got me into the group in the first place, such as "Guilty" and "Cause". It also has heavier topics such as "Birthday I.O.U", which really hits hard when you hear the lyrics and realize they deal with abortion. This was a fairly strong album in the long run and gives insight to what the band would do in the future.
Highlights: "Original Me", "Cause", "Guilty", "Birthday I.O.U.", "Shreen"

7. Pummel (CD, 1995) - All's first and only major label album has come to fall through the cracks of time, but that does not mean it is a bad album by any means. Much like Allroy Sez..., this album has several strong songs, which unfortunately seem to have been forgotten by fans, but it is also dragged down by others. One thing that really makes this album stand out from the rest of the band's discography is that it has some very angry, mainstream-unfriendly songs such as "Uncle Critic", "Stalker" and "Hetero". "Hetero" in particular bothers me due to its blatantly homophobic lyrics, which is saying something, because I am not particularly offended by political incorrectness. However, the good songs on here are still very enjoyable.
Highlights: "Self Righteous", "Million Bucks", "Long Distance", "Breakin' Up", "Black Sky"

8. All (CD, 1998) - This old, out of print compilation was one that I basically bought out of impulse for $20, but is also one I treasure. In essence, the band compiled a number of fan favorites and remixed them for one CD. This gives the songs a much greater sense of consistency and it almost sounds like songs sung by Dave Smalley and Chad Price could have been on the same album at one point. The remixing fixed many of the issues I had with songs on Allroy Saves and Percolater, such as the overabundance of reverb and making it sound much more modern. It also features a new version of the song "Just Like Them", from Allroy Saves. Originally written by Milo Aukerman, this version actually features Milo on vocals, and is a neat contribution. As of now, this CD fetches for about $33, but if you're a bit All fan or a completist, I'd recommend it.

9. Mass Nerder (CD, 1998) - After the success of the Descendents' Everything Sucks, this album gave All a good amount of publicity. Personally, it was my first All album. I found it at a Goodwill in 2014 for $2 and it may be one of the best purchases I ever made there. Musically it combines some of the heaviness of Breaking Things and Pummel with the melody of Allroy for Prez and is my favorite latter day albums by All. This is one I highly recommend.
Highlights: "World's On Heroin", "Until I Say So", "Honey Peeps", "Silly Me", "Vida Blue", "Until Then", "Silence"

10. Problematic (CD, 2000) - While I particularly enjoyed Mass Nerder, I was not a big fan of Problematic. It's not that the music is particularly bad, but it was just not as strong as previous efforts. I'm not crazy about some of the lyrics, and it's sort of a shame that this is currently their last studio album. In the long run, I'd probably say this is my least favorite album by them, and would only really recommend it to completists.
Highlights: "Carry You", "Better Than That", "Real People", "Drive Away"

11. Live Plus One (CD, 2001) - As I previously wrote about in the Descendents entry, this live album was actually a split album with the Descendents. While the Descendents disc was recorded in 1996 and was the real draw of the album, I was interested in the All disc, recorded on the Problematic tour in 2001. The most interesting thing to me is to hear songs initially done with Dave Smalley or Scott Reynolds sung by Chad Price, breathing new life into some of my favorite All songs. While I'm aware of another All live album, Trailblazer, I have yet to listen to it. In the meantime though, I seriously recommend this album, because it gives you a sampling of each band.

So why am I writing about All? Because in recent times, all the attention has been focused on the Descendents, and as much as I love them, I also want to give some love and attention to All, which I feel has been sorely lacking. So who knows if All will make any more music? In the meantime, for many listeners, even Descendents fans, All's material is a new goldmine waiting to be explored.

Couldn't Sell Out a Telephone Booth: Descendents (Part 1/2)

I don't generally buy new music the day it comes out. Most of the bands I listen to are long gone or they have reached a point in their career where they release music much less frequently. However, this year, there have been a couple of exceptions: Blink-182 and the Descendents, both of which impressed me. However, I will discuss Blink some other time and focus on the Descendents and its sister band, All.

Based on the bands I have discussed in the past, I think it's no surprise I tend to listen to the poppier, more melodic end of punk rock, and aside from the Ramones, the Descendents more or less kickstarted it. Coming up at the same time as more aggressive, rougher edged bands like Black Flag, the Circle Jerks and Minor Threat in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Descendents interjected a much stronger sense of melody and a much less serious demeanor, which helped set them apart from many of their contemporaries.

Initially formed in the late 1970s in Hermosa Beach, California by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson, the group put out a surf-y, new wave influenced single with Navetta and Lombardo singing on the each side. Soon afterwards, the band drafted Milo Aukerman, a friend of Stevenson's from high school, to front the band, a role he has had ever since. With Milo in tow, the band abandoned their earlier sound in favor of much faster, shorter, aggressive punk songs, which can be heard on the band's first EP, Fat.

After Fat, the band followed up with their first full length album, Milo Goes to College in 1982. True to the album's name, Milo would end up leaving the band to go to college to study biochemistry, and Bill Stevenson joined Black Flag, while the rest of the band largely went on hiatus. On the occasions the band would perform, they were fronted by Ray Cooper, unless Milo was in town. In that case, Milo would sing and Cooper would play rhythm guitar.

By the mid 1980s, Bill Stevenson had left Black Flag and presented Milo with some new songs, and the Descendents regrouped. However, during the group's hiatus, Navetta set all of his equipment on fire and moved to Oregon to become a full-time fisherman, and Cooper took over guitar duties. After rehearsing for two weeks, the band put out their sophomore album, I Don't Want to Grow Up, and Stevenson lined up a tour to support the album. This album would also be the last for Lombardo, who, already being close to 20 years older than the rest of the members, had a full time job and a new house. As a result, he had to reluctantly had to bow out of the band before the tour. To fill his place, Stevenson and Aukerman recruited high school classmate Doug Carrion and the tour commenced.

A year later, the band followed up on I Don't Want to Grow Up with Enjoy!, which included more experimentation with styles like heavy metal and relied more on toilet humor. After supporting this album, both Cooper and Carrion left in pursuit of different interests.

The band soon drafted bassist Karl Alvarez, who in turn recommended childhood friend Stephen Egerton to serve as guitarist. With Alvarez and Egerton, the band put out their fourth album, ALL in 1987, based on the concept of "All" by Stevenson and a friend. This concept, which meant you always go for greatness, has been part of the band since then. However, after this album, Milo backed out to resume his path towards a career in biochemistry, having always seen the Descendents as a hobby rather than a job. Thus, after the band's FinALL tour, the group retired the Descendents moniker.

With Milo leaving the band, Stevenson, Egerton, and Alvarez decided to carry on under a different name, donning the name, ALL, and initially recruiting Dag Nasty's Dave Smalley as vocalist and would release several albums with different singers from 1988 to 2000.

Our story with the Descendents resumes in the mid 1990s, when Milo, burned out from work contacted his former bandmates about doing some songs and shows. This resulted in the album, Everything Sucks, released in 1996. Due to the revived mainstream interest in punk at the time, Everything Sucks went on to be the band's first charting album. The album even featured guest appearances from Frank Navetta and Tony Lombardo. The band supported the album with a tour and even played on an early Warped Tour. However, much like before, Milo still considered Descendents a hobby and went back to work after the tour concluded.

After Everything Sucks, the band lied dormant until 2002, when the group reconvened in the studio. However these tracks would not see the light of day until 2004 with the album Cool to Be You. However, the group did not really support the album and the band went back into dormancy. Milo continued work as a biochemist while Stevenson and Egerton began careers as recording engineers. 

In the late 2000s, there were a handful of rough patches and tragedies that struck the band. Karl Alvarez had a heart attack in 2007. Frank Navetta died after going into a diabetic coma in 2008, and Bill Stevenson had both a meningioma (a brain tumor) and a pulmonary embolism. However, as Alvarez and Stevenson recovered, the band began to reconnect and began performing shows again, mainly performing one-off shows and festivals every couple times a year.

This tradition has changed as of 2016, as the band announced its seventh album, Hypercaffium Spazzinate, and Milo announced he was leaving his science career behind and playing with the Descendents full time. As I write this, this album has been out for less than a month and the band is on tour now.

When I first heard the Descendents in early high school, I wasn't very impressed, to be honest. Granted, at the time, I was much more picky in terms of what I listened to and I grew to love many of these songs later on. Ironically, I really got into the Descendents after I got into All, which is nowhere near as recognized or appreciated as the Descendents. As high school went on, I gradually began listening to them more often and really became a fan of the group around my sophomore year of college and began accumulating their CDs, as well as their documentary, Filmage. Since then, my appreciation for the band has only grown and have become a group I listen to routinely.

MY COLLECTION

1. Two Things At Once (CD, 1987) - This CD documents the band's early recordings, compiling both Milo Goes to College as well as the Bonus Fat record, which. in of itself, is a compilation in of the Fat EP and the group's debut single "Ride the Wild"/"It's a Hectic World". I got this compilation Christmas 2014 and I remember listening to it all the way through on the way up to my aunt and uncle's house for Christmas. Obviously being a collection of early recordings, it shows the band at its rawest. 

• "Ride the Wild" and "It's a Hectic World" (1979) are the only notable exceptions. These were written and recorded before Milo joined the group and the band had not yet solidified their sound. "Ride the Wild", penned and sung by Frank Navetta, has a new wave sound with some 60s influence, while Tony Lombardo's "It's a Hectic World" has more of a surf-y influence. This would be abandoned once Milo entered the fold.

• Fat (1981), the first release with Milo on vocals, highlights the band's new hardcore leanings, with two songs, "Weinerschnitzel" and "I Like Food" both being under 20 seconds. I almost never listen to these tracks, aside from "Mr. Bass", but they are the first steps towards the band's main sound.

• Milo Goes to College (1982) - The band's first album marries the melodic elements of the band's first single and the aggression of Fat in a fantastic 22 minute collection of pop-inflected hardcore. Seen by many as the band's best, this album is frequently listed as one of the best punk albums of all time and I wasn't that impressed the first time I heard it, but I grew on me and I now love it. The album has many fan favorites, and I have heard numerous covers of songs from this album, including "I'm Not A Loser" by Strung Out, "Bikeage" by Face to Face, and "Hope" by both Sublime and Blink-182. The only issue I have is with some of the lyrics, most notably on "I'm Not a Loser", which features some fairly homophobic lines during the bridge. Nonetheless, I still find it to be a very enjoyable album and recommend it to anyone interested in hardcore.

          Highlights include: "Myage", "I'm Not a Punk", "Hope", "Bikeage", "Jean is Dead", "Kabuki               Girl"

2. I Don't Want to Grow Up (CD, 1985) - The follow up to Milo Goes to College features a slightly stronger pop influence, while still retaining a lot of the hardcore sound. This time around, Milo seems to have a better control of his voice, actually singing rather than giving the tuneful adolescent bark we heard on College. I got this album the same Christmas I got Two Things at Once, and I remember listening to it on the same car ride. My impression of the album was that I liked a number of songs from the get-go, I disliked a handful of them too. However, much like Milo Goes to College, these songs grew and I enjoy many of them now. Maybe not as much as Milo, but I enjoy them nonetheless.

Highlights: "Silly Girl", "Christmas Vacation", "In Love This Way", "Good Good Things"

3. Enjoy! (CD, 1986) - I have conflicted feelings of this album. I guess I'd have to say it's my least favorite of all other their albums. However, that is not to say there are not good songs. On the contrary, there are some fantastic songs on here. However, I'm not crazy about others and I don't particularly appreciate the toilet humor on this one. Aside from the Fat EP, this is one of the my least listened to Descendents albums.

Highlights: "Sour Grapes", "80s Girl", "Get the Time"

4. ALL (CD, 1987) - The first album for Alvarez and Egerton, this album begins to branch out and feature more experimental songs and music, giving it a somewhat quirky sound. I first got this album for my 20th birthday, but one song from this album, "Clean Sheets", was the one that got me interested in the band in the first place.

Highlights: "Coolidge", "Clean Sheets", "Cameage", "Pep Talk"

5. Everything Sucks (CD, 1996) - After several years of inactivity as the Descendents, the band came back in full force and could almost be seen as a brief renaissance for them. They made one album, which garnered both acclaim from fans and even attention from the mainstream and then went back into dormancy. It also features guest appearances from former members Frank Navetta and Tony Lombardo on the song "Doghouse". Regardless, this album seems to be one fans revere as a high point. This was one of my first albums by them and some of these songs were what helped get me into them in the first place. While I tend to listen to Milo Goes to College more often, I highly recommend this album, because if College belongs among Black Flag's Damaged and Husker Du's Zen Arcade, then Everything Sucks belongs among Green Day's Dookie, The Offspring's Smash and Rancid's ...And Out Come the Wolves.

Highlights: "I'm The One", "Rotting Out", "When I Get Old", "Thank You", "We"

6. Live Plus One (CD, 2001) - I don't usually buy live albums, but being a split live album with All, I indulged and bought this double CD recently and I really enjoy it. The Descendents disc was recorded in 1996, while supporting Everything Sucks, and the band was playing in great shape. It was also interesting to hear the band play All's "Original Me" with Milo on vocals rather than All's Chad Price. I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the other two Descendents live albums Liveage or Hallraker, but I know this is a strong performance and recommend it.

7. Cool To Be You (CD, 2004) - This album was actually the first CD I owned by the Descendents, and it basically carries the same sound of Everything Sucks. However, the band didn't seem to be totally "there" and invested in the record the way they were with past albums. Nonetheless, there are some good songs on here. Not the very best, but it is still a fairly strong album. One particular highlight on this album is Bill Stevenson's song, "One More Day", detailing the strained relationship with his father in the year leading up to his death. Song lyrics don't usually affect me, but for some reason, the ones on this album really hit a chord with me, and it is one of the most emotional songs I've heard.

Highlights: "Talking", "Cool to Be You" "One More Day", "Tack", "Anchor Grill", "Dry Spell"

8. Hypercaffium Spazzinate (CD, 2016) - The first album in twelve years is a strong return for the group. With the issues the members has faced in the past several years, it seems to have brought the band back together, and on this record, they seem to be rejuvenated much like they were on Everything Sucks. My copy includes the Spazzhazard EP, which gives the album an extra five songs, and simply adds to the listening experience. It's rare that new albums meet or exceed my expectations, but this one certainly did.

Highlights: "Feel This", "Victim of Me", "Spineless and Scarlet Red", "Fighting Myself", "Beyond the Music", "Shameless Halo".

With the new Descendents album out and the band on tour, I hope to see the group carry on with even greater activity. With that, I also hope it gives more people a chance to see and experience the group firsthand and help spread their influence even more.

Bring Out Your Dead: Strung Out

Over the course of 2015, there were several cases that once I got into a band, it would basically open the floodgates and introduce me to other bands through their scene or members. Once case was when I got into Lagwagon, After I started listening to them, I began listening to other bands on the Fat Wreck Chords roster (except for NOFX, ironically). However, aside from Lagwagon, the group that stood out to me most was Strung Out.

While the band is ultimately rooted in melodic skate punk that would fit on any early Tony Hawk game's soundtrack, it incorporates strong heavy metal influences in their guitar work as well as progressive rock in their more technical moments, which lead to an interesting listening experience. These influences slowly shift over time, as their sound subtly moves from excellent mid-90s punk on their early albums to more experimental albums at the turn of the millennium to the more metal-inflicted works since the mid 2000s. However, through even their most intense, abrasive moments, the band maintains a strong sense of melody which always shines through.

After getting into Lagwagon, I was in a total skate punk phase. I quickly got into several other groups that would have fit the Warped Tour in the 90s and Strung Out was no exception. Without much thinking, I ordered a copy of their album Twisted By Design simply because that was the one most people seemed to highlight. It was pretty good, but it wasn't THAT impressive at the time. However, I liked some of the material found on other albums and I noticed their new album Transmission.Alpha.Delta on the new albums section of iTunes, which had some good songs on it. I ended up putting a couple songs on my iPod just in time for a trip down to Florida and listened to those songs a lot. On vacation, my family has a $50 souvenir budget. However, I didn't get any souvenirs for that trip, and instead used the money to order several CDs, among them, three Strung Out CDs. I ended going home earlier than my parents and would listen to these albums repeatedly throughout the house. Since then, many of those songs have been etched into my memory as part of that trip, and I was hooked on the band. I would then begin amassing the rest of their discography throughout the rest of the year.

Nowadays, when I think if I ever had to show someone an accurate representation of my musical tastes, I would probably play a Strung Out song. The group's music is largely fast paced and marries the energy and feel of punk with the intensity and intricacy of metal, yet remains catchy. One thing that I really love about this band musically is that the band takes advantage of the two guitarists in the band, Rob Ramos and Jake Kiley. While they tend to use a standard rhythm/lead dynamic, they can also craft interesting harmonies through twin lead guitar parts and punishing riffs when both play rhythm. This guitar interplay is crucial to the band's sound, as are Jordan Burns' rapid drum patterns and Jason Cruz's voice and vocal harmonies. One of the downsides to this band is that the tempos are often similar between songs, meaning there is less diversity among the songs. However, that is where Cruz's vocals and the guitar work come in to save the day, as they are able to craft unique melodies for each song.

Breakdown of My Collection

1. Another Day in Paradise (1994, CD) - The group's first album finds the group still just establishing their style. Here, we can listen to elements of their music that they would come to refine in future albums. As a result, this is the band with the their rawest and most straightforward punk output. It's not bad, but isn't as memorable as some of the band's other albums. That being said, "Ashes" is probably one of my favorite Strung Out songs.

Highlights: "Ashes", "Population Control", "Away"

2. Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues (1996, CD) - The group's second album is more focused than their previous album and the songs are more developed and memorable. While it is not my personal favorite, it is seen as one of the band's best, especially among their early albums, so this may be a good place to start with this band. There are a number of songs I enjoy on this, but I have a problem with the production on the album, which I actually consider to be a step down from Another Day in Paradise. In particular, I have a problem with the guitar tones. I don't know how to describe it other than the tones almost remind me of bees. However, some of these songs would be remixed for the best of compilation and sound better, but I will get to that in a little bit.

Highlights: "Firecracker", "Solitaire", "Bring Out Your Dead", "Wrong Side of the Tracks"

3. Twisted by Design (1998, CD) - My first album from the group and arguably one of their best. I know earlier I found it to be decent but not all that impressive, but that was more of my first impression. Over the past couple months, after I got into much of the band's other albums, I started listening to this album again and I have to agree with many listeners that this is probably their best. The songs are catchy, some are heavy, and is a strong album to conclude their early era. This was also the last album with bassist Jim Cherry, who was crucial to the band's earlier sound, both in terms of composition as well as how much of a role the bass played in the songs. It goes to show that this was as strong album, because it is both Jason Cruz's favorite Strung Out album and one of Fat Mike's favorite Fat Wreck Chords albums.

Highlights: "Too Close to See", "The Exhumation of Virginia Madision", "Deville", "Paperwalls", "Matchbox"

4. The Skinny Years... Before We Got Fat (1998, CD) - This CD is a compilation of early tracks pre-Another Day in Paradise. The songs were from before the band really found their sound. The songs are somewhat primitive compared to the rest of their work and the production quality is comparable to a studio demo. This is really only something for a collector, and is now included as part of the remastered reissue of Another Day in Paradise.

Highlight: "Support Your Troops"

5. Element of Sonic Defiance EP (2000, CD, Vinyl) - This EP marks a new era for the band. The music was still punk, but more experimental and abrasive than any of the band's previous works, but is an enjoyable listen. Some of the songs are slower, others incorporate more progressive rhythms or beats than earlier albums, and there is slightly more notable metal influence in the guitar work.

Highlights: "Jackie - O", "Everyday"

6. An American Paradox (2002, CD, Vinyl) - This album continues the somewhat experimental nature the band was playing with at the time, an is probably my personal favorite album by them. This was one of the albums I first bought during my trip to Florida when I first really liked them and it always stood out amongst the other albums. I probably listen to the more songs from this album frequently than any other albums by them.

Highlights: "Velvet Alley", "Kill Your Scene", "Alien Amplifier", "An American Paradox", "Dig", "Cemetery"

7. Exile In Oblivion (2004, CD) - From the artwork to the titles of the tracks to the music itself, this is the band's darkest output. This is the first album where the metal influences really begin to shine through. However, the melody is still there and there are several strong songs on this album. This was another album I bought while in Florida, but didn't pay as much attention to when I listened to it and isn't one that I put on as much as the others. However, any time I listen to it, I find more and more to like about it.

Highlights: "Analog", "Her Name In Blood", "Skeletondance", "Swan Dive"

8. Blackhawks Over Los Angeles (2007, CD) - This album reduces some of the dark, edginess of the Exile, and brings back some of the more direct punk sound, bringing a balance to the punk and metal sounds in the band's music. This is another album I don't listen to much, except for a handful of songs, but the songs I like are strong.

Highlights: "Calling", "All The Nations", "A War Called Home", "Mission Statement"

9. Agents of the Underground (2009, CD, Vinyl) - Much like Blackhawks, Agents of the Underground has a fairly even balance of punk and metal. This was one of my last albums to buy from these guys, but I listen to this album fairly frequently.

Highlights: "Black Crosses", "The Fever and the Sound", "Heart Attack", "Andy Warhol"

10. Prototypes and Painkillers (2009, CD) - This CD is another compilation, this time, incorporating b-sides, outtakes, compilation contributions, tracks from the Crossroads & Illusions EP, demos and a couple covers. The first handful of songs almost come across as a coherent album, while some of the demos could have made for interesting songs if they made it to any of their albums. Meanwhile it is interesting hearing early studio versions of other songs that sound like legitimate recordings, not demos.

Highlights: "Novacaine", "Novella", "Your Worst Mistake", "Don't Look Back", "American Lie"

11. Top Contenders: The Best of Strung Out (2011, CD) - While I don't buy best-of collections if I have the rest of a band's discography, this one stands out. Not only does it include three new tracks, all of the old songs are remixed, giving them a more consistent sound. This gives songs like "Bring Out Your Dead" and "Analog" new life and avoids the issue some greatest hits albums have where songs almost sound like they were done by different groups because of differing production values. Overall, this is a fantastic way to introduce someone to Strung Out's material.

New songs: "Saturday Night", "City Lights", "Here We Are"

12. Transmission.Alpha.Delta (2015, CD) - Even though I already owned Twisted By Design, finding this album is what really led me to love Strung Out. Musically, it carries on with the sound found on Agents and Blackhawks, and the group is strong as ever. This was the third Strung Out album I bought on that Florida trip, but the only one that actually showed up while I was away. As a result, certain songs like "Rebellion of the Snakes" and "Nowheresville" remind me of being down there.

Highlights: "Rats in the Walls", "The Animal and the Machine", "Nowheresville", "Westcoasttrendkill"

While there may be some more experimental bands that could qualify as punk in some way or another, I ultimately view these guys as a thinking man's punk rock band, at least in the musical sense of the Epitaph/Fat bands. If you want a good punk/metal band that can be catchy but not be lumped in with all the -core bands, I'd recommend these guys.

It's Just Another Saturday: Lagwagon

As I skim over my music collection, I have come to view certain bands as "bands of the year", where I view a band or artist as a major component of a year depending on how many albums I get by them and how often I listen to them. In 2013, there were Tool and Rush. In 2014, there were Jawbox and Dag Nasty. For 2015, there were a couple of groups that could serve as bands of the year, such as Hot Water Music, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Strung Out and Lagwagon, the latter of which I will be talking about in this entry.

I had heard of Lagwagon in passing every now and then for several years, but I never paid much attention to the name and never bothered checking them out. I knew they were associated with NOFX and thought, for some reason, they were some overtly political group like Anti-Flag, which made me even less interested in them. However, they piqued my interest when I was scanning a venue's website and saw they were playing a show in the next month. For whatever reason, I decided to check them out only to realize I had knew their song "May 16" in the game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X and liked it. Unfortunately I never got to go to the show, but nonetheless, I had become aware of the band and I knew I liked some of their work.

About a month later I was checking out the punk section at record store in Silver Spring. There, I came across a copy of Let's Talk About Feelings, the album that "May 16" originated from. By that point I was still only familiar with that one song, but for five dollars, I figured, "Why not?" and bought it. After a while, I grew to really love that album and began looking into the rest of the group's output. In fact, I got copies of the albums Trashed, Double Plaidinum and Hoss around the same time as Hot Water Music's Fuel For the Hate Game and have since associated songs from those albums with the trip to Disney World I took soon afterwards.

Over the course of the year, I became familiar with other projects led by the band's lead singer Joey Cape. These projects include the indie side projects Bad Astronaut, The Playing Favorites, and Joey Cape's Bad Loud, as well as his acoustic solo work which including two split albums with No Use For A Name's Tony Sly. I could go on about these projects, but want to focus on Lagwagon now and will likely do a post about these other acts in the future.

The band's sound is typically upbeat, peppy melodic punk rock that also takes cues from pop and occasionally heavy metal. While it is still punk, the band members are all skilled instrumentalists and the music is actually much more technical that what is expected of bands in the genre. This can be heard through the interplay between the two guitarists as well as the solos. With this group I soon became acquainted with their contemporaries such as Strung Out and No Use For A Name among others, which both follow the same general sound with their own signature flavor.

Breakdown of My Collection

1. Duh (1992, CD) - Compared to some of their later albums, I have not listened to Duh much. It was one of my later additions to the collection and I have only recently begun listening in depth to certain songs. The production is cheap and raw and the music seems a tad rushed, however, the more I listen to it, the more songs I like.

Highlights: "Tragic Vision", "Angry Days", "Beer Goggles", "Child Inside"

2. Trashed (1994, CD) - The group's second album builds off the first and begins really solidifying the group's sound, and is seen as one of the band's strongest efforts. That being said, I don't listen to this album much. While many fans seem to really enjoy this one, I struggle to find many songs that really stand out. However, it may be the case that if I make myself sit down and listen to it more, there will be more songs that create a lasting impression, but so far, not many have seemed to do so on this one.

Highlights: "Island of Shame", "Give It Back", "Coffee and Cigarettes", "Brown Eyed Girl"

3. Hoss (1995, CD) - It took me a while to really get into this album. When I first bought it, I like "Violins" and "Sleep", but it didn't stand out all that much. I only really came to like it once I heard some of the acoustic interpretations Joey Cape did on his acoustic album with Tony Sly. Since then, it's become one of my favorites by them. This is one of the band's highest points in my opinion.

Highlights: "Violins", "Move the Car", "Razor Burn", "Sleep", "Bombs Away"

4. Double Plaidinum (1997, CD) - When I bought this album along with Hoss and Trashed, this was the one that stood out to me the most. Of all the albums I listened to on that Disney World trip, I listened to this one the most and have the most associations with this one. However as I have become more familiar with the rest of the group's output, I left this album behind. As I look over the album, though, I am reminded of all the songs I enjoyed off it.

Highlights: "Alien 8", "Making Friends", "Unfurnished", "Choke", "To All My Friends"

5. Let's Talk About Feelings (1999, CD, Vinyl) - I love this album. Plain and simple. It's the one that got me into the group and it still stands out as their strongest in my opinion. The songwriting is sharp and is easily the most pop influenced. The only real downside is that the album is really short compared to some of their other albums, lasting only 25 minutes. If I ever need to recommend an album by these guys, this is easily my go-to album.

Highlights: "May 16", "After You My Friend", "Leave the Light On", "Change Despair", "Everything Turns Grey", "Allison's Disease (Bonus Track)"

6. Let's Talk About Leftovers (1999, CD) - In the couple years, Fat Wreck Chords reissued all of Lagwagon's albums with bonus tracks and demos. Unfortunately, all my copies are original editions. Instead, I have most of these songs on the compilation, Let's Talk About Leftovers. The first third of the album was recorded at the same time as Feelings and were left off, so there is some strong material. Overall, the album is comprised of b-sides and outtakes from their previous albums, contributions to Fat Wreck Chords compilations, covers, and early tracks. It's not a bad collection, but like I said, you can find the material on this CD spread across most of the band's reissues as bonus tracks, and there are even more bonus tracks on each album that weren't on this one.

Highlights: "A Feedback of Truckstop Poetry", "Burn That Bridge When We Get to It", "Narrow Straits", "Want",

7. Blaze (2003, CD) - Another late addition to my collection, and another album I have least listened to. That's not to say the music is bad, it's simply that I haven't been able to sit down and get a full grasp of the album and I can only identify a couple of songs.

Highlights: "E Dagger", "Falling Apart", "I Must Be Hateful"

8. Resolve (2005, CD) - This album was written and recorded in tribute to founding drummer Derrick Plourde, who recently committed suicide, and has a heavy tone, both emotionally and musically. That being said, the music is more inspired, focused, and memorable than its predecessor, Blaze. In the end, the music is a heavy hearted, yet strong tribute to a fallen friend.
Highlights: "Automatic", "Resolve", "Heartbreaking Music", "Days of New"

9. I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon - EP (2007, CD) - The final addition to collection, I have only really sat down and listened to this EP in full once or twice. With that in mind, I can't say much. The music is standard Lagwagon but the EP just seems to lack some of the pep and charm of the group's earlier output.
Highlight: "Memoirs and Landmines"

10. Hang (CD, 2014) - The first studio release after a seven year gap, the group returns with the a strong comeback. The songs are slower and heavier, and Joey Cape's voice has matured with time, fitting with the more serious nature of the music. As shown on the album cover, the album has recurring themes of death, hanging... and bees, representing mortality as well as hive mentality and conformity. While I feel like the group peaked in the 90s, this is probably my favorite post-90s album.
Highlights: "Made of Broken Parts", "A Cog in the Machine", "Obsolete Absolute", "Burnin Out In Style", "In Your Wake"

Since discovering Lagwagon, I slowly began to uncover other works and projects that Joey Cape has done such as Bad Astronaut, The Playing Favorites, as well as his solo work, all of which contribute to my notion that this group is one of my "bands of the year" for 2015. If you want strong 90s punk that isn't Green Day, Rancid or the Offspring, I'd recommend these guys. I don't think you'll regret it.

Walking Around With Your Head In The Clouds: Hüsker Dü

Last month, one of my favorite singer songwriters, Bob Mould put out his twelfth studio album, Patch the Sky. Normally, I would have preordered that sucker as soon as it was even hinted at, but alas, I never got around to this time. From what I've heard, I like it, as I like most stuff Mould puts out, but that is a post for another day. But for some reason, I started getting back into the seminal band he was a member of in the 1980s, Hüsker Dü.

The group was comprised of Mould on vocals and guitar, Greg Norton on bass, and Grant Hart on drums and vocals, with Mould and Hart splitting the songwriting duties. In the band's nine year duration, the trio evolved from a furious, intense hardcore punk band into a group that expanded the sound of punk through their incorporation of pop and melody, which would influence bands for years to come. In the midst of this evolution, the group put out several critically acclaimed albums on infamous punk label SST Records before jumping to a major label in 1986. However after two albums that failed to make a commercial impact or match the acclaim of their independent albums, internal tensions between Mould and Hart, as well as changing lifestyles for the members caused the group to dissolve. Norton would go on to be a restauranteur, while Mould and Hart would both establish solo careers in the late 1980s and bands in the 1990s.

I was first introduced to the group after reading about them in their chapter of Our Band Could Be Your Life, which dedicated each chapter to an influential indie band of the 1980s. However, when I first checked the group out, I was not super impressed. At the time I was looking them up, only their major label albums, Candy Apple Grey, and Warehouse: Songs and Stories were available on iTunes, which are not typically seen as the band's best. Instead, a couple months later, I took an interest in Mould's band from the '90s, Sugar. After I got a copy of Sugar's album Copper Blue, I realized how much I loved Mould's songwriting and was willing to give Hüsker Dü another shot. After looking up material from their SST catalogue, I was pleased with a couple songs, such as "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" and "Green Eyes". With that in mind, I decided to order copies of my first two Hüsker Dü albums, New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig. I loved both, Flip Your Wig in particular, and it became a staple of the music I listened to in the second half of high school. By September, I ordered a copy of what many call their magnum opus, Zen Arcade, and slowly began to accumulate most of their discography.

One of the key elements to Hüsker Dü was the songwriting skills of both Mould and Hart. Personally, I tend to prefer Mould's songs in the grand scheme of things, however, I feel Hart wrote some of the band's greatest songs. Once the band started to incorporate and become more melodic, Mould's songs developed a consistent pop rock sound rooted in punk that have carried throughout the rest of his career. Meanwhile Hart's material was much more diverse and varied, with more pronounced pop influences which again, and would be reflected in the eclecticism of his solo work.

On a technical note, one thing I should note about the discography is that their albums, in particular the SST albums, sound phenomenally better on vinyl. I'm not an audiophile and I can't usually tell the difference in sound quality but in this case, the sound on digital formats sounds much thinner and inferior. This is because SST probably just used the vinyl masters and put them on CD instead of mastering the music that would best fit the capabilities of digital equipment. Granted, this doesn't help much as the group's discography was marred with poor production. While the group's early material has the raw, somewhat muddy production that plagued most hardcore bands from the time, the later albums suffer from production choices that keep them stuck in the 1980s, and only the members' future projects would receive production values that don't sound so dated.

The group's influence is widespread, touching on famous groups that would rise to stardom in the years following the band's demise, such as Green Day and Foo Fighters. The group, along with the Descendents, Dag Nasty and others reintroduced melody into punk after the abrasiveness of hardcore.

A Breakdown of My Collection

1. Everything Falls Apart and More (1993, CD) - This album compiles the group's first studio album, Everything Falls Apart, the first two singles, Statues and In a Free Land, as well as a couple early tracks originally released between 1981 and 1983. The music here was made when the band was purely hardcore and has almost none of the melodic material they would be known for, minus a couple songs. The music is fast, angry, short, and at times, completely incoherent. This album is largely for collectors, if they can get their hands on a copy, and is the album by them I listen to the least.

Highlights: "Everything Falls Apart", "In A Free Land", "Gravity"

2. Metal Circus (1983, Digital) - Another release from the group's early hardcore days, however, this time the group is beginning to experiment with slower and more melodic material. It has some enjoyable songs, but in my opinion, the best had yet to come.

Highlights: "Real World", "Diane", "First of the Last Calls", "It's Not Funny Anymore"

3. Zen Arcade (1984, CD, Vinyl) - This album is considered both a punk masterpiece as well as the one of group's best albums. The album was far more ambitious than anything the group or their contemporaries had done before, with it being a two disc concept album that spans several different styles and influences not previously heard in punk. I have a personal history with this album. I ordered a copy of this album when I was a junior in high school in 2011 along with There is Nothing Left to Lose and the self titled album by Foo Fighters and Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The day before the album came in the mail, I was approached by a friend who had a band and needed a bass player for a gig. However, the catch was that the gig was the next day and we only had a brief rehearsal right before the show. While I was frightened, I was also excited and I can remember listening to this album the day of the show. To this day, when I hear the song "Turn On The News", I remember driving over to the drummer's house for rehearsal. Of all their albums, this is their best hardcore album and pushes the boundaries so they could go on to do even more on their following albums.

Highlights: "Something I Learned Today", "Broken Home Broken Heart", "Pink Turns to Blue", "Turn On The News", "Chartered Trips"

4. New Day Rising (1985, CD, Vinyl) - I first bought this album in spring of 2011 with Flip Your Wig and helped introduce me to the band's sound. While it retains some of the hardcore the band had done before, the album is really a transition, mixing both the group's established hardcore with full blown pop songs in greater quantity. Out of their albums, this album suffered the most from the shoddy punk production that plagued SST albums, yet thankfully, the songwriting shines through. All in all, this is a strong album to introduce a newcomer because it has both the punk energy and the quality pop songwriting that the group was famous for.
Highlights: "New Day Rising", "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill", "Celebrated Summer", "I Apologize", "Books About UFOs"

5. Flip Your Wig (1985, CD, Vinyl) - While I bought this along with New Day Rising, I always enjoyed this one much more. Much like the Ramones album Rocket to Russia, the opening riff to "Flip Your Wig" gave me the impression that this was going to be a good album, and boy, was I right. Bob Mould himself has said that this is Hüsker Dü's best album. Within a year and a half, the group had solidified its pop songwriting skills and they shine best on this album. That's right. It only took about a year and a half for the band to go from making furious, fast paced yet ambitious hardcore to catchy punk style that drew heavily from 60s pop. At the time, the group was being approached by major labels, with the band settling with Warner Bros. Records. However, in an act of loyalty to SST, the group chose to put this album out with them, which in hindsight, may have been a mistake, because who knows how the group would have been received if this was their major label debut? Could they have become alternative rock mainstays like REM or U2? Unfortunately we will never know and I doubt the group would have lasted long anyways even if they did achieve commercial success. Nonetheless, this album was the last group put out while at their peak and is my personal favorite of their output.
Highlights: "Flip Your Wig", "Makes No Sense At All", "Green Eyes", "Games", "Flexible Flyer"

6. Candy Apple Grey (1986, CD, Vinyl, Cassette) - For me, this album never really stood out or had many songs I putting on repeat. While some songs are enjoyable, the album has three ballads, which seems a bit much for an album known for high energy music. Also, while both Bob Mould and Grant Hart tended to have strong songs on each album, only Hart's songs tend to stick out to me on this album.
Highlights: "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely", "I Don't Know For Sure", "Sorry Somehow", "Dead Set On Destruction"

7. Warehouse: Songs and Stories (1987, CD Vinyl, Cassette) - While the group's last album may not get as much acclaim as the group's SST albums, I always enjoyed it. By this point, Mould and Hart were competing to one-up the other in terms of songwriting, and the prolific output of both resulted in this album being their second double album. The album can be bloated with filler at times, and would have likely benefited if they cut out some of the less essential songs, however the highlights of the album are strong. In terms of songwriting, whereas Hart shined on Candy Apple Grey, I feel Mould was able to outshine him on this album. Overall, the album is still a decent, enjoyable collection of songs that, while it was made past the band's peak, is still a fine swan song for the group.
Highlights: "These Important Years", "Ice Cold Ice", "Could You Be the One?", "She Floated Away", "It's Not Peculiar"

After Warehouse, the sounds Hart and Mould developed over their time in Hüsker Dü would carry over into their future output. Hart would go back to SST and put out his first solo album, Intolerance. I actually have a copy of this album but have never listened to it in full. After Intolerance, Hart started a new band in the 1990s with him on lead vocals and guitar, called Nova Mob. After Nova Mob, Hart would continue a solo career with sporadic studio releases over then next several years.

Meanwhile, Mould would put out his first couple solo albums before forming a group of his own in the 1990s, named Sugar. After a couple albums with Sugar, Mould would return to his solo career with increased experimentation. But I'll into detail in this entry.

Let's Wig Out at Denko's: Dag Nasty

I tend to spend a lot of my time on Facebook nowadays. I don't know why. I don't really pay attention to most pages I follow, I can't stand the condescending political views of many of my friends on Facebook, and I don't like seeing high school classmates going on to do bigger and better things compared to me. 

However, one thing that recently caught my attention is Dischord Records' Facebook page has recently been promoting a string of shows by the band Dag Nasty as well as a new single. Curious, I checked out the samples that were posted of the new songs and... they're okay. I guess. I'm not a big fan of Shawn Brown's voice compared to Dave Smalley or Peter Cortner, but it should please fans of the group's hardcore output. While I personally wasn't enthralled with it, it did make me want to go back and listen to some of their earlier works, and reminded me of how much I liked the group.

Dag Nasty was a punk rock band that was led by guitarist Brian Baker. Musically, the group initially carried on the hardcore stylings of Baker's former band, Minor Threat. However, with each album, the group incorporated more and more melody in their music and because a revolving door of musicians with Baker being the only core member throughout all the lineups. The group only lasted from 1985 until 1988, however, the lineup that recorded their first album, Can I Say, reconvened in the studio for two more albums in 1992 and 2002. Since 2015, the original lineup has been performing shows and is the lineup that recorded the new single.

It is an interesting experience to listen to the group and hear its sound evolve. In the group's three year run, we see the band start out as a hardcore group that had a touch of melody, and go on to experiment with softer elements and incorporate other styles such as heavy metal, pop, and blues. While their reunion albums more or less follow a straightforward melodic punk approach, it is neat to see the diversity of the songs released under the band name.

The very first thing I knew about the band was from the fact that the "Can I Say" tattoo on Travis Barker's chest was made in reference to an album by them. Other than that, I had never really listened to them until 2014, when I came across their second reunion album, Minority of One at the record store I go to. Once I saw it, I was curious, looked it up briefly on iTunes, and decided to check it out once I liked what I heard. I grew to really love that album and was happy to see that same record store got a shipment of Dischord vinyls, which included Can I Say and Wig Out At Denko's. After getting those, I then got the first reunion album, Four on the Floor. However, I was really happy when I got Field Day. To my knowledge Field Day has been out of print for more than 15 years, and I was able to find a copy for ten dollars, including shipping. As of now, the cheapest price on Amazon is $30. This is unfortunate, because not only is it out of print, it is also not on iTunes and, in my opinion, is one of their best works.

Much like Jawbox, I feel an attachment to Dag Nasty simply for how close to home they were. From what I have been able to gather, the original bassist and drummer, Roger Marbury and Colin Sears, respectively, were originally part of another group called Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, which had its beginnings at my alma mater, Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, even playing in the school's talent show (something I would do as well 28 years later). Also, I came across a letter Brian Baker from the mid-'80s. On the band's stationary, I noticed the street the band lived on was five blocks away from where my childhood best friend grew up. It's not much, but it's kind of a special feeling when you find out how close to home one of your favorite bands really was.

My transparent blue copy of Dag With Shawn

A Breakdown of My Collection

1. Can I Say (1986, CD, Vinyl) - This album is by far the group's most hardcore-influenced studio album. It's slower and has a greater reliance on melody than some of their contemporaries, but only hints at the melodic nature of the band's music on future albums and still draws most of its sound from standard hardcore energy and rage. I'm not a tremendous fan of hardcore, however, I do enjoy this album. I first bought it on vinyl in 2014 with Wig Out at Denko's and later bought at CD that combined the two a year later.

Highlights: "Values Here", "Circles", "Under Your Influence", "Never Go Back"

2. Wig Out At Denko's (1987, CD, Vinyl) - The first album with the group's third vocalist, Peter Cortner brings an even stronger sense of melody to the music. While the songs retain elements of hardcore, the emphasis on melody brings the group's sound closer to the Descendents or Husker Du than early Government Issue or S.O.A. This change is evident from the get go when we hear the melancholic guitar riff open up "The Godfather". The music was slower and more emotive than the material on Can I Say, and Peter Cortner's vocals were far more tuneful than Dave Smalley's barked vocals.
Highlights: "The Godfather", ""Wig Out At Denko's", "Safe", "Dag Nasty"

3. Field Day (1988, CD) - This album is a long forgotten gem. It's as simple as that. By this point, the group had abandoned the standard hardcore punk approach and crafted a fantastic collection of songs that span various influences and sounds such as blues on "The Ambulance Song", Latin music on "La Penita", and metal on "You're Mine". Aside from these songs, the band continues to push their material into further melodic territory, crafting a number of catchy pop punk tunes such as "Field Day", "Things That Make No Sense", and "Here's to You". In some ways, it's hard to imagine that this is the same group that put out Can I Say two years before, but at the same time, there was only member from that lineup still in the band. One song I want to highlight is the song, "Dear Mrs. Touma", which is about the death of a friend and how the narrator reacts to it. Not only do I think the music is some of the best the band composed, the lyrics really hit home to me. About a month before I bought this album, a childhood friend of mine died of a drug overdose. We hadn't spoken for years, but we were close as children and I could still relate to the lyrics. I don't normally relate to lyrics or even pay that much attention to them in general, but that may be why this song sticks out to me so much. It's a shame this album is so scarce, because if I had to recommend any of Dag Nasty's albums, this is the one I'd recommend.
Highlights: "Dear Mrs. Touma", "All Ages Show", "Here's to You", "Field Day", "The Ambulance Song"

4. Four on the Floor (1992, CD) - This short album was basically seen by the band as a fun little project the Can I Say lineup did when they all happened to be in Los Angeles at the same time. The music abandons the broader range of influences found on Field Day and plays more basic melodic punk like the Descendents and Big Drill Car. With his experience in All and Down By Law, Dave Smalley now performs with a more melodic vocal style than his bark on Can I Say. The music doesn't really stand out much compared to the past albums, but it's got some decent songs on it.
Highlights: "Still Waiting", "Million Days", "S.F.S."

5. Minority of One (2002, CD) - This was the second of the two reunion albums the Can I Say lineup recorded and was my first Dag Nasty CD. Musically, it follows Four on the Floor in playing straightforward melodic punk, maybe with a tad more hardcore influence in the music. I remember reading someone sum up this album as a cross between Down By Law and Bad Religion, Dave Smalley and Brian Baker's respective bands. The music is powerful, melodic and fast, and overall a very enjoyable album for a punk fan.
Highlights: "Ghosts", "Minority of One", "Twisted Again", "Wasting Away", "Bottle This"

6. Dag With Shawn (2010, Vinyl) - Before recording Can I Say, the band recorded the songs with their first lead singer, Shawn Brown. However, when Brown left, the group redid the album with Smalley. In 2010, Dischord remastered the tapes recorded with Brown and released it as Dag With Shawn. Listening to it, it's more or less the same album as Can I Say, but with slightly rawer production, and an even stronger hardcore sound. As a vocalist, Brown barks and shouts even more than Smalley and has less range as a singer. Again, I am not a fan of regular hardcore and if I wasn't a compulsive buyer at the time, I probably wouldn't have bought this album. However, this is an okay album for hardcore fans and completists for Dag Nasty's discography.

I Sunk My Eyes In Static: Jawbox

One of my favorite experiences when it comes to finding music is taking a chance on a CD or record I haven't heard before and coming across an absolute gem. I don't necessarily recommend doing this a lot, because for the number of gems I have found, I've also bought some pieces of crap. However, in a sense, that makes it all the more rewarding when you find something good. This was the case when I came across Jawbox: a post-hardcore band from the DC area that was around in the 1990s.

In the punk community, they are somewhat infamous for being the first of the only two groups to make the jump from DC's Dischord Records to a major label. However, despite the outcry from fair-weather fans who cried "sell-out", Jawbox actually put out two more albums that were acclaimed. Unfortunately, like so many other groups that made the jump in to the majors in the 90s, no matter how well received the music may be, they failed to break into the mainstream and called it a day before the turn of the millennium. Since then, there has been only one reunion: in 2009, the group performed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to celebrate the anniversary of their seminal album, For Your Own Special Sweetheart. They've basically said there won't be any more reunions, but I can always hope. One reason I feel an attachment to this band also is because of how close to home the group was, much like several other Dischord bands I listen to. Many of these groups are from around the D.C. area, and I read Jawbox at one point lived in Silver Spring, Maryland, which is adjacent to my hometown.

When I started going to community college, I made a habit of visiting the local Goodwill once or twice a week. I almost treated it like a game. You never knew if you were going to find a good quality Nintendo 64, a DVD of your favorite TV show, or a CD you had just contemplated ordering on Amazon. On one visit, I came across a treasure trove of alternative CDs, most likely from the same collection. As I was skimming along the CD section, I noticed a couple albums with a Dischord tag on the side under the title, Jawbox. There were three albums there, their two Dischord releases, Grippe and Novelty, as well as their major label debut, For Your Own Special Sweetheart. I had only really heard the name before in iTunes recommendations after buying Fugazi songs, and I had never heard the group other than a brief sample of "Savory". I couldn't remember what the sample sounded like, other than it wasn't bad, so I figured "Why the hell not? It's only $2, and if I like it, I might come back for the others" and grabbed the copy of Grippe, just because it was the first one I saw.

When got in the car, I stuck the CD in, eager to hear my new album. The album kicks off with the pounding intro to "Freezerburn" before settling into a grooving melody. Five seconds in and I already like it. This is good. The next thing to hear is the vocals. At the time, when I thought of Dischord bands, I did not think of very tuneful singers. I thought of Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto barking and hollering. However, when I heard J. Robbins sing the first verse, I was pleasantly surprised. I realized "Wow, this guy can actually sing!" I was hooked from there on out. Compared to what I was hearing in Fugazi and Rites of Spring, this group had much more melodic capabilities and I immediately wanted to hear more.

The next day, I went back to the Goodwill to pick up the other two Jawbox albums there. There, I was able to grab Novelty, but when I went for the copy For Your Own Special Sweetheart, the disc wasn't the case (always make sure to check for that if you buy stuff from Goodwill). While I was annoyed, I was happy to at least get a copy of Novelty and enjoy the two new albums I had.

A couple weeks later, I'm back at Goodwill, trolling around for another good deal. I had found a couple CDs and was just about to head to the register and leave when a woman came out of the back room with a cart full of more CDs. Figuring it wouldn't hurt to check out what else was in there, I started skimming through the new selection and was thrilled to see the band's fourth album, Jawbox in the pile and immediately picked it up. I would ultimately buy For Your Own Special Sweetheart and the compilation, My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents online in the following months, and a year later I came across a promotional single for the song, "Cooling Card". Along the way, I also picked up vinyl reissues of Grippe, Novelty and Jawbox.

Jawbox would go on to basically be the soundtrack for the second semester of my freshman year at college. The music could be noisy and abrasive, with guitarists J. Robbins and Bill Barbot creating contrasting guitar parts that played against each other rather than harmonized, backed by a powerful rhythm section that only became stronger with time. However, through this wall of sound, Robbins and co. were able to craft quirky yet accessible melodies as well as thick, heavy compositions.

Robbins would continue this style in his following bands, such as Burning Airlines (which would feature Bill Barbot on bass for the first record), Channels and Office of Future Plans, albeit with leaner compositions without the some of the noisier punk elements.

My pink vinyl copy of Grippe.

My clear vinyl copy of Novelty.

Breakdown of My Collection

1. Grippe (1991, CD, Vinyl) - Jawbox's first studio album as well as my first album I bought by them by chance. While not seen as a bad album, many fans don't pay as much attention to this one. In general, this album was recorded while the band was still trying to define its sound and is missing several elements that would be crucial to their later sound, such as the guitar interplay between Robbins and Barbot or the intricate drum patterns Zach Barocas brought to the group. The general sound is closer to simple melodic punk rock as opposed to the noisy post-hardcore they would be associated with. However, for me, this conventional sound made it easier for me to ease into the group's music, and because of the fond memories I have listening to it, I still enjoy it to this day. The inclusion of the band's earlier EP on the CD version is also a nice bonus.

Highlights: "Freezerburn", "Tools and Chrome", "Paint Out the Light", "Ballast", "Bullet Park", "Twister"

2. Novelty (1992, CD, Vinyl) - I bought this album the day after I bought Grippe and as soon as I heard it, I knew there were some differences. This was sound of the band finding its style. With the addition of Bill Barbot, we see the beginnings of the band's signature guitar work. At the same time, bassist Kim Coletta meshes better with drummer Adam Wade on this album, strenghtening the first incarnation of the group's rhythm section. When I first heard it, I wasn't as impressed the way I was with Grippe because of the increased abrasiveness, however, as I grew accustomed to their general sound, I came to enjoy this album.

Highlights: "Cutoff", "Tracking", "Static", "Tongues"

3. For Your Own Special Sweetheart (1994, CD) - This album is the band's major label and is seen as one of their best albums. Rather than trade in their sound for a sleek commercially friendly style, the group instead solidified their approach and made their arguably their most radio-unfriendly album. This albums marks the first appearance from drummer Zach Barocas, whose unique math-y, jazz influenced style added to the group's approach, as he clicks with Coletta even better than Adam Wade did. Like with Novelty, I was initially put off by the abrasive nature of the album compared to the previous one. However, this album ultimately rewards repeat listening. The reissue I have also includes the b-sides to the Savory single, including "68" which may be one of the best, most melodic Jawbox songs available.

Highlights: "Savory", "FF=66", "Cooling Card", "Chicago Piano", "Reel", "68"

5. "Cooling Card" Single (1994, CD) - This was a promotional single I came across in the budget section of the record store I frequent, and by budget, I mean I paid 10 cents for it. It has "Cooling Card", which is a decent song from For Your Own Special Sweetheart, "I've Got You Under My Skin", a Frank Sinatra cover, and "Thin White Line", a cover of a song by a punk band called Avengers. I like the first two but the third song is rather forgettable. It's only notable to me because I can't find it on any of the band's other releases.

6. Jawbox (1996, CD, Vinyl) - The eponymous final album by the band takes the group's signature sound and adds greater accessibility. The album opened is with "Mirrorful", which would probably be the most radio-friendly songs the band put out and apparently was a minor radio hit when it was released. This accessibility is also prevalent in other songs such as "Spoiler", "Livid" and the ballad, "Iodine". However, the group's signature sound is never compromised. In fact, songs like "Chinese Fork Tie", "Won't Come Off" and "His Only Trade" emphasize the group's signature elements such as Barocas' drum style and the quirky guitar interplay. When looking at all of the group's albums, I think I find myself listening to this one the most.

Highlights: "Mirrorful", "Livid", "Iodine", "Excandescent", "Spoiler", "Nickel, Nickel, Millionaire"

7. My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents (1998, CD) - This CD was a posthumous collection by the band on Coletta and Barbot's label, DeSoto Records, that compiled several live tracks, Peel Session tracks, compilation tracks and covers. I rarely listen to this album mainly because I have little interest in live tracks or covers of songs I don't know very well. However, the one new track that was recorded right before the band broke up, "Apollo Amateur" is a neat song.

Highlights: "Tongues (Peel Session)", "Static (Peel Session)", "Apollo Amateur"

On a side note: while this is more of a reflection of Dischord than Jawbox, one thing I thought was very touching was when I ordered my copy of Novelty from Dischord's website, I got a brief thank you note included in the box my record came in. It's not much, but I liked that someone cared enough to thank me when they were packaging my record and I think it goes to show the down to earth sensibilities of the label.