various artists - Power Flush: San Francisco, Seattle & You

The rare "two cities' scenes" compilation, spread between Seattle and San Francisco, courtesy of Broken Rekids in San Francisco, and the Emerald City's Rathouse Records. There are some strong contributions here, provided by the Gits, 7 Year Bitch, and Alcohol Funnycar from up this way, and J Church, Naked Aggression, and Bedlam Rovers from the land of the Golden Gate. There are a pair of contributions from S.F.'s Mudwimin, including a collab with Steel Pole Bath Tub. Mudwimin were one of those mysterious bands that my riot grrrlfriend had dubbed tapes of, but I had no recollection of ever hearing. 

If there's one thing that comes to mind while I was listening to this, it was, "god DAMN I'm getting old!" I'm sure I could find distro lists from Broken inside 7"s I've owned for a quarter century without even really looking. Just about every band on this list was someone whose records I priced and shelved before the year 2000. It doesn't feel that long ago, but that copyright date doesn't lie. This came out 29 years ago.

The fact that I published "Power Flush" less than 12 hours after most people consumed mass quantities of food during Thanksgiving is mere coincidence, I assure you.

Discogs

Click here to download.

Swank - Bound

Most of us didn't grow up on the Upper West Side, or taking the train into Boys Town, or sneaking in from the Valley. Mostly, we lived in small towns, on farms, in suburbs without distinction. We felt "off", which is why so many of us caught the first thing leaving town to chase a punk rock dream come true.

Not long after I learned about Fugazi and Bad Religion in the early 90s, I got turned onto what was happening in my town. There was Surge, whose singer was in my drama class with me. There was Suppression, who had two songs on a cassette comp with Surge and whose power violence made Megadeth sound like baroque pop. And then there were Swank, who all went to different high schools from me, but were literally the band to see in Roanoke. They became the link to the outside world; if they played with an out-of-town band, I checked them out, because they probably were awesome. When I moved from southwestern Virginia to suburban Baltimore, they became a bona fide. I could tell another kid who was into Maximum Rock 'n' Roll or Flipside that they were who I went to see back home. They were a common point of reference.

Their second full-length, "Bound", came out the fall I graduated from high school. I saw a Whirled Records ad in HeartattaCk promoting it and an Action Patrol record, and plunked down $10 to get both. They were the first people I'd ever met who put out a CD! So cool! And they'd play alongside all these bands from Florida and New York City, who ended up putting out records with No Idea and Moon Ska. I last "saw" them on a bill in College Park, MD, in 1999. They opened for (ahem) Leatherface, Hot Water Music, and Panthro UK United 13. I was broke as shit, so I sat outside during their set, listening in, then split and drank alone.

All of this is a long way around the block to mention that Swank got back together last year and released a new record, sans saxophonist and The Fest founder Tony Weinbender.. I just ordered a copy, unheard, because that's what you do when a band from 25+ years in your past puts out a new album. While I wait for it to arrive, here's "Bound" in its entirety. You'll probably dig it if you enjoy 90s punk weirdness, early 3rd wave skapunk, or kids channelling the Big Boys.

Get your nuts off.

Discogs / Bandcamp

Click here to download.

Minutemen - The Punch Line

Boon & Watt, L.A., 1984

I remember how excited I was when I found a slightly watered damaged copy of The Punch Line on CD in the now-defunct CMart in Forest Hill back in 1995. There's an excitement that I've been missing a lot over the past five years in discovering something brand new. My roommate and I were talking last night about going out on Tuesdays and getting knocked out by a band you've never heard before. I'd say it's a function of getting older, but it doesn't ring quite as true as I'd hope. I want desperately to have that nervous, right-before-the-first-kiss feeling again, the way I did the first time I heard Out of Step or A Love Supreme or The Punch Line.

I don't know what else to say about this, other than the Minutemen have always been one of those bands I'd want to emulate if I were in a band. There is no bullshit here; just the sound of D Boon, Mike Watt & George Hurley getting to the point. It fucks me up knowing that a lot of younger folks have missed out on this (and other SST back catalog) due to Ginn's mismanagement of the catalog. I have loved this band for a long time, but still choose this as my sentimental favorite.

"...I'm already on someone's list as a casualty..."

Minutemen - The Punch Line

(click the record to DL)

RIYL: one liners, fucking corndogs