In the early 1980s Los Angeles was the centre of a ferocious musical revolution. Bands such as The Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, The Germs, Black Flag and Bad Brains shook the foundations of popular music, storming the scene with a new style of hardcore punk music that attacked the political aspirations of post-Vietnam America and refused to conform to the new world order. They then went global, sharing their ideology and anti-conformist ideas, inspiring youth movements and punk bands across the world.
Now, for the first time since the early ’80s, the international music community is again being drawn to Los Angeles. Punk rock is having a revival, led by a swell of bands based around cult LA venue The Smell, owned by local legend Jim Smith. No Age, The Mae Shi, Mika Miko and HEALTH are among the bands leading punk rock’s timely revival, all touring extensively, gaining publication credits and inspiring young bands throughout the world. Proof of the revival can be witnessed on the pages of LA magazine Maximum RocknRoll, started in 1977 by LA’s original punks. For the first time ever, the magazine nicknamed ‘The Punk Rock Bible’ has featured an all-girl band on its cover; the band was Mika Miko.
Randy Randall and Dean Spunt took a totally different approach to this song when they recorded it back in 2008. Bjork’s original version of ‘It’s Oh So Quite’ was backed by a full orchestra, but the LA duo took an axe to that idea, instead smashing it to pieces with their minimal guitar and drums set-up. No Age’s version appeared on a Stereogum compilation paying tribute to the Icelandic queen. The original version was responsible for breaking Bjork into the American pop market, largely thanks to the Spike Jonze-directed video that accompanied it. Strangely the song itself is actually a cover, Bjork renamed Betty Hutton’s ‘Blow A Fuse’ from 1946(?).
If you want to get things done today and you haven’t listened to any music yet, let this track from London’s Male Bonding blow the crust from your eyes. Kicking with delirious pop-punk glee, "Pumpkin" is a rush: American Hallowe’en as seen through the eyes of film-watching English suburbanites.
PENS. What can I say about PENS? I use one every day and I don’t really have any feelings or emotions for them. That was, until, I discovered a band who share the name of said writing instrument device: PENS. Now what do I think of PENS? They’re fucking awesome. Period.
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted give us their take on the top tracks of 2008 from Estelle to No Age
Seems to be the thing everyone’s into nowadays. Obviously there’s No Age and Abe Vigoda and all those other bands who hail from California but I’m goin’ even deeper with the scuz.
No Age + Panda Bear made for a pretty tight double bill last night at the Nike Sportswear party for Miami’s Art Basel. HUGE thanks to readers Manuel Vigo and Stephany Kaye, who were in attendance (but not together, as far as I know) and took the following shots for us.
I want to post something that’s a bit different from my usual electronic escapades.
is a one man project out of California, and if I ever said that distortion had to die, I was terribly wrong (or just tired of french house… choose your own answer).
2. No Age - Nouns
For an aging punk like myself it’s sometimes difficult to pull myself away from the classic punks and get down with what the kids are considering punk these days, but somehow noise punk brings me right back to my roots of punk rock and maybe even out does some of the classic stuff when it’s done as well as No Age does it on Nouns…
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A few years ago, if Pitchfork had given an album a 9.2 rating, I’d be all over it in no time. I wouldn’t necessarily like it, but a high score at least meant it was worth trying. Now I drop in on Pitchfork about once a week, skim read the reviews of bands I already know, and leave it at that. Which meant that No Age slipped entirely under my radar. That is until they were announced as part as Los Campesino’s Shred Yr Face tour.
Photos from a recent FOE gig - a friend of our friends Hold Your Horse Is - she’s gonna be big!!! Read the gig review after the jump.
Shots of North Carolina’s folk-rocking Avett Brothers’ stop in Glasgow - 22.08.11
Read the review of the gig here.
Take a look at the acts and art on offer at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Included are the likes of Fight Like Apes, Lykke Li, Sea of Bees and Seasick Steve. Photos from our own...
Good time with Bad Guys. Photos from the May 29th gig at the Old Blue Last. Read the review by the Bad Guy himself, Stuart London after the jump.
Artrocker.com exclusive: for fans of White Lies and Crocodiles we’ve got some fresh pictures from their UK show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this month, courtesy of Alessandro...
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