I'm not quite old enough to have got punk first time around - although older cousins had all the records. I got post punk - mid to late '80s, The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Fall etc. Then the Ramones hit me - '60s pop melodies with super fast guitars and drums; US punk was more attitude than politics, which I prefered. The best UK exponents of melodic punk (later known as pop punk) were The Undertones and local band the Buzzcocks - both heavily influenced by da brothers. This is a classic
I remember a landlord in a boozer we used to use banned blackcurrant from any drinks but had absolutely no problem selling the locals Barley wine , a drink that took so many to an early grave , the other weapon of choice for some was the BnB , Brandy and Benedictine supposedly a concoction brought back by the troops in the 1st WW , a nice end to the evening but not to be taken all day every day like some of the locals did
"God is dead and no-one cares. If there is a hell, I'll see you there." Not quite Nietzche, but it works.
Classic song with an AI generated music video. Some of the images are incredible and some are just accidentally funny. Bridge? Have a bridge. Cow bell? Half cow, half bell. La, la, la, la, la? Lots of Los Angeles!
This band ruined my hearing, my brother was 15 and I got tickets for us to see them at the Hammy Odean , 10 days later my ears still whistled and my brother was diagnosed a couple of years later with severe hearing loss as well, he had to wear a hearing aid from the age of 25 and refused an apprenticeship in the merchant navy
True mate, it was so loud some people were sick because of the bass vibrations , I think at the time the NME did a piece on it some of the plaster work in the Hammy was damaged and not long after the local council insisted on noise limiter switches for venues
I'm lucky enough to have avoided any hearing damage, despite having seen Motorhead several times. Anyone out there that's still regularly attending gigs or planning to should get protection, though. The rules are more sensible nowadays, but it's just not worth taking the risk.
I suffer from fairly bad tinnitus and wear ear protectors for support bandsand some main acts. Most of the bands I go to see are trying to protect what's left of their own hearing. This week, Paul Gray posted details of his most recent hearing test and it was a flat line. Poor bastard. I hope it doesn't see him retire from live performances
I've seen motorhead, the Grateful Dead at ally pally , they played from 7.00pm until midnight and the pa system was from floor to ceiling, I've even stood next to the speakers at an early Quo concert , a recent occupational hearing test the guy doing it said " basically your hearings ****ed " although I did get my ears syringed at a clinic that specialises in it and I was amazed at the improvement, £65 well spent , had it done by the NHS a couple of times with no noticeable improvement
I missed the news of the passing of Ramsey Lewis this week , I sometimes think someone's flicking through my record collection to see who's next
My respect for Mark Hollis has just gone up tenfold as I've just found out he was a Spurs fan when I listened to a review of a new book about him
