The Invalids: Punker Than Me (1995)

East Bay pop-punk band The Invalids (Tony on bass guitar, Sean on drums and Scott on guitar and vocals) really wanted to be Green Day. While they may have failed as imitators, they did succeeded in creating their own micro-style. That fast, sarcastic and catchy sound they hit on, ended up resembling a cross between the cow-punk of fellow East Bay'ers Sewer Trout and the gruff pop-punk of Chicago's Screeching Weasel, both fellow Lookout Records (more HERE) artists. Their 1995 single, Punker Than Me, is jam-packed with sing-along choruses, off-kilter lyrics, stripped-down chord progressions and the whole damn record clocks in at 6:42!

By the way this is one record that my friend Andy O. who used to work at a music store called The Cellar, put on and said, "Jeff, you're gonna love this" and I bought it before the end of the first track:





Scott has re-activated The Invalids and they recorded a cool new album, Still Sick, in 2010.

So tell us what you think of these Invalids in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Punker Than Me link).

                                                    

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P.S. Once I've done this much upgrading on a three year-old post, it's hard to call it a 're-post'.

The Max Levine Ensemble: The Elephant in the Room 7" (2011)

Y'know, former Lookout Records (more HERE) mogul Lawrence Livermore's can still spot a great pop-punk band, though I did balk when he first raved about The Max Levine Ensemble due to a lack of the sort of full-out hooks that power the genre. Now, a few years later, I've come around to their brand of pop-punk, which is musically idiosyncratic enough to be hated by disgraced punk singer Ben Weasel. The Elephant in the Room (my first purchase from Bandcamp) is a great single which shows off the band's musical versatility and lyrical smarts.

ADVENTURES IN PETSITTING

i feed the cats, they do nothing for me.
just fucking whine and complain a lot,
and feign disgust at the glow of tv.
it's a cold hearted caveat
i scratch their ears and they sink in their teeth.
though overwhelmed by the stink of it,  i clean their shit up
before i take off for work in the morn.

i feed the rats, and the roaches,
and these are just the vermin i know about
and this old dog she's been losing her teeth.
it's so sad they grow up so fast
her body's old, overrun with disease
i stick the pills down her throat and then,
she spits 'em up again... as if to say "let me die."
as if saying "please let me die."

the alarm's off and then i'm headed off to work again.
from the pounding in my head, to the notes left on your desk,
i think i'm cracking from the stress.
and you're greeted by the creeps in the street,
and they treat you like a piece of meat.
the fucking assholes in the bars,
driving drunk home in their cars…
i walk their dogs around the park…

i feed the cats, they do nothing for me,
just fucking whine, but i'm used to it.
the difference is with the creeps on the street there's no excuse
but the truth is that i find scum wherever i lay my feet,
i'm picking fleas off the dog and then you're mopping up again,
cleaning up the puke of the damned…
it's simply how we learned how to live in this land.





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Mega City Four Mania!

YouTube user acceptable76 has been posting all manner of Mega City Four (more HERE) live videos. Some has dubbed sound, some get cut off by slack cameramen and some have less-then-perfect quality but it's all testament the mightiness of the sadly-departed Wiz (not to mention his much alive band-mates!). Many of the videos still have low views, so go check 'em out and leave a word of thanks behind!











As mentioned in the comments section, Spencer Chase (a.k.a. acceptable76) has been building a fine MC4 Facebook group, which all interested readers should join forthwith! 

This One Time at Bandcamp...

I hate sending MRML readers to MySpace because it's a near-dead social networking site that gets worse with every upgrade. But MySpace still manages to have information AND sample songs for just about every musician ever born and so I'll still link to it at times. iTunes is a clunky place to visit and fairly unfriendly but since it offers a place to actually BUY music, I'll link there often too. I'll also frequently link to mail order places like Amazon and Interpunk, even though their selection varies widely. Of course, I also send people to musician's homepages or, on occasion, their Facebook page. Damn, I know there's a million more destinations but I'm always left wondering, do they help 'support the artist'?

One of the sites I'm most comfortable linking to is Bandcamp, which is becoming a better musical destination all the time.

Right now the homepage is still too focused on getting bands to sign-up and not enough on user-friendly features. There still needs to be more curating (some of which is done at sites listed here). I know some people dig just poking around but there are way more potential customers who will appreciate some further organization, such as being able to subscribe to certain genre tags. Regardless, I know from now on I'll try to make Bandcamp one of my go-to links for bands. Here's hoping more and more artists will pitch their tent there.

So readers, whether music sellers or musical consumers (or both), what do you make of Bandcamp and the various ways to make music available on-line?

Tilt: Self-Titled 7" (1992)

During their almost-decade long lifespan, nineties pop-punks Tilt never hit it big. They never seemed to escape their reputation as a second-string band Lookout Records (see HERE) band (even when they emigrated to Fat Wreck-Chords early on). Their lack of strong success is wholly unfair considering the quality of the band's work, though it's interesting to note that their strongest asset may have also been their Achilles Heel.





Back in the seventies, Blondie had to make buttons saying, 'Blondie is a Band' due to the overpowering presence of frontwoman, Deborah Harry. Tilt could have had similar problems due to the strength of presence of leader, Cinder Block. Block's hooky melodies, distinctive lyrics and forceful vocal style sometimes made it seem like she was the 50 Foot Woman and everyone else was the motorists below. Of course, that view overlooks the fine noise Jeffrey Bischoff alongside bassist Pete Rypins and drummer Vince Camacho created. In fact, Bischoff and Rypins wrote Tilt's music because, like Blondie, Tilt were a band. However, Block being such a towering figure did bring out some ugliness familiar to women who choose to stand out. More on that tomorrow...


Tracklist
A1         Addiction     2:10    
A2         Redemption     2:12    
B1         One Day     2:20    
B2         Locust       2:20

What do you think of Tilt and Cinder Block? Let us know in the COMMENTS section. (where you'll find the S/T 7" link).

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This post was updated on Thursday, August 9th, 2012.