Borci protiv pokvarenog sistema - Diskografija

I've been away from the blog for a while, so this is sort of a "comeback" post - and what should a punk rock comeback be like? Judging by most historical examples, it should be... shitty. Hence, my band from the turn of the century, Fighters Against the Rotten System, or Borci protiv pokvarenog sistema. I played bass, wrote lyrics, sang a little, and masterminded the whole shenanigan, and the story goes something like this...

Back in 1998, Croatian punk rock scene consisted almost exclusively of anarcho bands, who were mostly nice people and had completely laudable goals; however, in mine and my friends' opinion, they played generic music and wrote inept, naive and boring lyrics, aimed at people who already knew and agreed with everything they sang about. That's why we decided to start the most retarded and generic anarcho band there ever was, probably hoping to prove something, and to master our instruments enough to start a "real" band someday. The real band never came to be, my bass guitar got sold for 100 deutsch mark when money ran out on a summer vacation, and all that remains of my musical career are two demo recordings, two atrocious live shows*, one sadly prophetic song title, and fun memories. Here for the first time (and I know you've been craving this since you first heard about this strange thing called "punk rock") is the complete B.P.P.S. recorded legacy, for the whole world to see, hear, and dismiss as stupid childish prattle that it was. What the hell, we've had fun!

You can find the complete lyrics at the B.P.P.S. web site, proudly not updated since 2001, here. They're not great but they certainly beat the music - and that approach worked wonders for Anal Cunt, didn't it? There's also a completely fictitious band history, which a surprisingly large number of people took seriously - I guess you really can't make a parody obvious enough.

And yeah, if you can't speak Croatian, forget about the whole thing. Did I mention the music was shitty?

"Anarhija uzvraca udarac" - full band demo + assorted bonus tracks

1. Intro - PMS (Ramones) (1:33)
2. Najbolji hrvatski pankeri (Psihomodo pop) (1:42)
3. Ne jedite zivotinje (1:41)
4. Revolucija kao nacin tvoga razmisljanja (1:35)
5. Homoseksualci su dobri (1:43)
6. Nalocimo se alkohola (1:20)
7. Moja mater pece langose (1:39)
8. Zelim biti skinhed (2:24)
9. Moras slijediti Fistru (2:31)
10. Bojkotirajmo proklete multinacionale (2:36)
11. Outro - PMS (Ramones) (0:53)
12. Tucimo sminkere (2:25)
13. Blues mlade pankerice (1:26)
14. Ne jedite brze zivotinje (0:53)
15. Borci luda vojska (live) (The Exploited) (2:44)
16. Can't Truss Da Pozeurz (Public Enemy) (2:18)
17. Hajde da pogujemo (Tatjana Matejas-Tajci) (1:30)
18. Moras slijediti Fistru (super anarcho mix 2000) (3:58)
19. Green Power (Skrewdriver) (1:43) **
20. McDonald's Blues (Traditional) (3:39)

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"Rarities" - original acoustic demo + live shows

1. Nalocimo se alkohola (1:22)
2. Najbolji hrvatski pankeri (1:42)
3. Homoseksualci su dobri (1:35)
4. Moras slijediti Fistru (2:19)
5. Bojkotirajmo proklete multinacionale (1:00)
6. Blues male pankerice (1:27)
7. Policija ne voli Gigu (1:40)
8. Tucimo sminkere (2:27)
9. Lale seljacino (2:59)
10. Intro (live) (1:25)
11. Nalocimo se alkohola (live) (2:08)
12. Najbolji hrvatski pankeri (live) (2:30)
13. Revolucija kao nacin tvoga razmisljanja (live) (3:15)
14. Borci luda vojska (live) (2:46)
15. Ne jedite zivotinje (live) (3:07)
16. Zelim biti skinhed (live) (2:27)
17. Moja mater pece langose (live) (2:06)
18. Bojkotirajmo proklete multinacionale (live) (5:07)
19. Intro (live) (1:13)
20. Revolucija kao nacin tvoga razmisljanja (live) (1:56)
21. Ne jedite zivotinje (live) (2:40)
22. Zelim biti skinhed (live) (2:23)
23. Homoseksualci su dobri (live) (3:35)
24. Najbolji hrvatski pankeri (live) (2:20)
25. Moja mater pece langose (live) (2:47)
26. Nalocimo se alkohola (live) (2:30)
27. Bojkotirajmo proklete multinacionale (live) (0:42)
28. Green Power (demo) (2:18)

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* The first show was delayed for a week because our president/dictator died on the day of the show. How punk rock is that?
** I must admit that even after all these years, I'm still a bit proud of writing a pro-vegan cover of a Skrewdriver song. If we don't free our cattle, indeed!

Slayer - Live at Olympic Stadium, Moscow, 15.03.2011.

Slayer in Zagreb.

Here's a rather good sounding show from the current Slayer tour, European Carnage 2011. I was lucky to see two shows on the tour, one in Rome with Gary Holt replacing Jeff Hanneman, and the other in Zagreb, with Pat o'Brien replacing Gary replacing Jeff. Both shows were absolutely wonderful, and so is this one - the set list differs slightly from the one at the shows I saw, with "Snuff" and "Seasons in the Abyss" replacing "Hallowed Point" and "Mandatory Suicide" in the latter part of the tour, but most of it is the same. With the last two Slayer albums being an incredible return to thrash metal form, because of me never having seen them before, and after all the hassle of getting into the sold-out show in Rome (through a hole in a fence, across a tennis field, by the roadies, through the kitchen, and into the first row!), I will always remember that evening.

And the Devil saw that it was good.

Track listing:

1. Intro (1:31)
2. World Painted Blood (4:59)
3. Hate Worldwide (2:58)
4. War Ensemble (5:19)
5. Postmortem (3:44)
6. Hallowed Point (3:33)
7. Dead Skin Mask (5:53)
8. Silent Scream (3:13)
9. The Antichrist (2:57)
10. Americon (3:43)
11. Payback (3:10)
12. Mandatory Suicide (4:16)
13. Temptation (3:32)
14. South of Heaven (4:23)
15. Raining Blood (3:08)
16. Black Magic (3:42)
17. Angel of Death (6:10)

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Sonny Vincent - Three Covers

Here's a small update as an excuse for a couple of advertisements.

One, Sonny has a new album coming up and a record release show that I would love to attend, as it features the wonderful Guitar Gangsters as the opening band - one of the three criminally underrated British punk rock bands (alongside The Crack and The (Newtown) Neurotics - you really should check out all of these bands).

Two, the Testors are reuniting for a couple of American shows, one in NYC and the other at the Atlanta Mess Around festival. Some more gigs I won't be attending!

Finally, here's the short EP I made out of the three cover songs released on various compilations. The originals are by Johnny Thunders, the Ramones and Chuck Berry, respectively, but you knew that. The Chuck Berry cover utilises the talents of the late, great Mr. Arthur "Killer" Kane, whose unlikely life story was made into a beautiful and poignant documentary which you absolutely need to see. The movie is called "New York Doll" and here's its trailer. From playing bass for the world's most outrageous rock'n'roll band to employment at a Mormon library and back - wow.

Track listing:

1. Sonny Vincent & the Safety Pins - Chatterbox (2:06)
2. Sonny Vincent - I Just Want to Have Something to Do (2:37)
3. Sonny Vincent, Arthur Kane & Clem Burke - Carol (2:25)

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Grant Hart - Live KST Beograd 17.,18.11.1995.

Picture taken at one of the shows.

Four days ago, on his fiftieth birthday, Grant Hart was supposed to play the KSET club in Zagreb, Croatia, and I was looking forward to seeing him for the second time; sadly, it was not to be, and Grant has spent the night in a Croatian jail for reasons too ridiculous to write about (but which could be described with the term "bureaucratic over-eagerness and stupidity"). Here, for all the other fans who were hoping to see this show, is a soundboard recording from his two shows in Belgrade fifteen years ago, containing an hour and a half of wonderful acoustic versions of his Hüsker Dü, Nova Mob and solo material. I don't know which songs come from which show, but I assume the author of the tape that was uploaded somewhere on the Internet has picked one version each of all (or at least most of) the songs played over the course of the two nights. It's too bad the shows aren't complete but this is still much better than nothing. Here's hoping we will be able to see Grant some time again soon...

:(

Disc One:

1. She Floated Away (2:41)
2. The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill (2:44)
3. Remains to Be Seen (2:52)
4. Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely (3:01)
5. Sorry Somehow (3:16)
6. She's a Woman (And Now He Is a Man) (3:22)
7. Admiral of the Sea (2:17)
8. Ballad #19 (2:55)
9. 2541 (3:32)
10. Charity, Chastity, Prudence and Hope (3:20)
11. Please Don't Ask (3:11)
12. Pink Turns to Blue (2:14)
13. Never Talking to You Again (1:58)
14. You're the Victim (3:26)
15. Keep Hanging On (4:06)
16. Back from Somewhere (2:40)
17. Over My Head (3:24)

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Picture taken on the 19.03.2011. Belgrade gig by a friend. http://www.andrejgodjevac.com/

Disc Two:

1. Anything (3:48)
2. She Can See the Angels Coming (2:20)
3. The Last Days of Pompeii (3:16)
4. Introduction (2:43)
5. Diane (4:25)
6. Come, Come (2:30)
7. You're a Soldier (2:14)
8. The Main (3:28)
9. Green Eyes (2:14)
10. Old Empire (2:32)
11. Flexible Flyer (2:14)
12. Books About UFO's (2:18)
13. Signed D.C. (2:55)

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Various - Sides 1-14

This is a series of 7" singles with AC/DC covers and songs "inspired by" AC/DC, performed by artists such as Shellac, Killdozer, Mule, and other great bands. I have never seen the actual singles, but the pictures found on the Internet show that they are probably beautiful - they are way too expensive for me to ever own them, too, so here's an MP3 compilation of all the songs, featuring the driest production sound ever heard on a Shellac recording (which is saying quite a lot), beautiful acoustic-ballad reconstructions of AC/DC by Mule and Will Oldham (here under the moniker Palace Contribution), and a great song title in Denison/Kimball Trio's "Back in Blanc" (also one of their more listenable recordings, in my opinion - I was never able to get into them, although Duane Denison is without a doubt my favourite guitar player). A nice listen.

Track listing:

1. Shellac - '95 Jailbreak (4:25)
2. Big'N - TNT (3:34)
3. Brise-Glace - Angus Dei Aus Licht (3:29)
4. US Maple - Sin City (5:40)
5. Palace - Big Balls (3:15)
6. Zeni Geva - Let There Be Rock (4:33)
7. Mount Shasta - Whole Lotta Rosie (4:14)
8. Denison-Kimball Trio - Back in Blanc (2:32)
9. Zeek Sheck - Wowy, the Love Song (5:58)
10. Killdozer - Let Me Put My Love into You (4:19)
11. Yowie - Dunderduck (3:09)
12. Colossamite - Anti-Christ Devil Child (5:03)
13. Pre - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (2:47)
14. Mule - Have a Drink on Me (5:05)

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The Jesus Lizard - Live Primavera Sound 28.05.2009.

As much as I get annoyed by the whole recent fad of every band that has ever existed reuniting, being able to see the Jesus Lizard for one and only time in my life has made all the other half-assed reunions slightly more bearable. I was at this show, which was recorded for posterity by the great WFMU radio station, who had it available for download on their site for a while. What can I say about finally seeing a band I have always thought to be the most perfect musical combo ever to walk this Earth, or at least one of the two most perfect ones (the other being Fugazi)? I was so overwhelmed that I can hardly remember it, mostly in short disconnected fragments - Yow leaping into the crowd during only the second or third bar the band had played; Duane having a series of LED's on his amp that for some reason spelled "Happy New Year"; Mac looking exactly like Jeremy Irons, and playing his drums in the most amazing way imaginable; all the other hipster bands that played the festival looking even more foolish when compared to such a display of sheer musical FORCE. Scratch out that earlier sentence, Fugazi were great, but the Jesus Lizard were the GREATEST. Thank you for reuniting for me and other kids that were born too late to witness your original tenure - your namesake might be late for his Second Coming, but yours was quite enough for me.

Where's Laldo?

Track listing:

1. Intro (0:48)
2. Then Comes Dudley (4:20)
3. Boilermaker (2:26)
4. Mouth Breather (2:26)
5. My Own Urine (3:20)
6. Dancing Naked Ladies (2:59)
7. Fly on the Wall (3:01)
8. Glamorous (3:13)
9. Puss (3:34)
10. Thumbscrews (2:45)
11. Bloody Mary (2:11)
12. Seasick (3:19)
13. Nub (3:08)
14. Blockbuster (3:17)
15. Gladiator (4:13)
16. Monkey Trick (4:31)
17. Chrome (3:57)
18. Wheelchair Epidemic (2:15)
19. 7 vs. 8 (4:14)

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Psihomodo pop - Live Lapidarij 26.10.1986.

Psihomodo pop are one of the more popular Croatian rock bands, which is not surprising, as their singer is a great showman, they write funny lyrics, and their songs are some of the best rock'n'roll songs ever written. OK, so that's because they steal riffs from famous rock'n'roll songs and then write their own lyrics (and songwriting credits)*. But still! They began in the early Eighties, released their first LP in 1986, were great until around 1995 (at least if you were a kid then and hadn't heard all of their material before, on Ramones, Velvet Underground and Blondie records - I was and I hadn't), and then proceeded to become a completely washed-out, unfunny joke band which just won't quit. I saw exactly one good show of theirs in the last ten years, and even that was just because they were supporting Marky Ramone, so 1) they only had some 40 minutes to play, 2) they picked their most punky material for the show, and 3) Marky's show sucked so badly that it readjusted the universal criteria for "good" and "bad". Anyway, their first three or four records are still very well-recorded, well-produced and passionately played power-pop/glam/punk-rock, and this show I am sharing contains my four favourite songs of theirs ("Kad places", "Sve je propalo", "Leteci odred" and "Ja sam"), two songs they have never officially released (one of them quite good - "Istocni vjetar"), a fun, trumpet-aided version of "Zar nebo...", and amusing stage banter, all recorded in quite high quality a quarter of century ago for your present-day enjoyment. Here it is:

Track listing:

1. Evropa (2:14)
2. Ja sam (2:34)
3. Dizanje (3:46)
4. Kad places (2:34)
5. Istocni vjetar (5:21)
6. Leteci odred (3:53)
7. Sve je propalo (4:19)
8. Zar nebo... (3:52)

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* I stole this from somewhere, didn't I? Mark Prindle probably?