Project 175: The Battle Begins

Losing weight, no matter how interesting you try to make it, is not nearly as fun as gaining weight. Operation 200 was ultimately a failure, but boy did I enjoy it! It was ten days of unrestrained gluttony in the American Midwest as I freely indulged in all three of my essential food groups: the meat group, the beer group, and the sweets group. I laid around, relaxed, and fattened myself up with great diligence. Having missed the milestone 200 mark by approximately two pounds, I was unable to raise my fist in the air victoriously. But no worries! A new endeavor begins on this day - the first of “fall” 2011 on the Rutledge calendar (which revolves around my wife’s teaching schedule). Project 175 commences, and it will be far tougher than Operation 200. The task is to “cut down” to 175 pounds for a couple reasons. #1, I am a man of 40 and need to worry about such things as cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. #2, my wife and I are planning to partake of a Caribbean beach vacation early next year, and I want to be shredded for the beach (because, you know, I’m a vain, self-obsessed A-hole).

And so it goes. I arose this morning and weighed in (198 on the home scale). My waist line measured an out-of-hand 36 ¼ inches. I turned on my XM radio and tuned in to Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel. For the purposes of ceremony, I blasted the rock n’ roll and shaved my nine-day-old beard. My cat walked by and meowed out of respect. The game face is on. It’s time to get down to business. I will hereby be limiting myself to one beer per day. Sweets are out. Pop is out. Late night snacking is out. Branched chain amino acids and whey protein will be purchased in bulk. My first objective is to get down to 190 within three weeks. Workouts will no longer be devoted to hoisting ego-boosting poundages. I’m training for function. I’m training for performance. If Armageddon comes between now and the end of the year, I will be fit for hand-to-hand combat. Mad Max would understand. So would Rambo.

If you hear a scream around 9:30 Eastern Time tonight, it’s just me jonesing for oatmeal raisin cookies.

- L.R.

The Beaten Hearts rock!

Ever notice that the long-running joke about Canadian bands sucking doesn’t pertain to punk music? I don’t know what it is about Canadians, but they’ve always “gotten” punk rock. Maybe there’s something in the water. I once knew a guy who came back from a trip to Canada and swore that the beer tasted different…

Hailing from the beautiful Maritime province of New Brunswick, the Beaten Hearts are the latest in a long line of excellent punk bands from north of the border. Featuring the talents of lead singer Brian LaManna (ex Valentine Killers), Ray Auffrey (ex Bad Luck #13), Fear of Lipstick’s Derek Lounder and Jeremy O’Neill, and red-hot lead guitarist Tyler Boutilier, this Moncton five-piece is not exactly a gang of newcomers. And it shows in their music. Remember good old “punk rock n' roll”? It was kind of a happening thing circa the early to mid ‘90s when the likes of the New Bomb Turks, Humpers, and Devil Dogs reigned supreme. The Beaten Hearts take me back to those days. And, damn, they do this style well! Blending elements of early rock n’ roll with the flamethrower ferocity of its ‘70s punk antecedents (Dead Boys, Saints, Teenage Head), the Beaten Hearts make no attempt to be current or cool or progressive. They just put the pedal to the medal and rock. And while the cliché about bands of this particular style is that they’re “a lot of fun live”, what I appreciate about the Beaten Hearts is that they know how to make good records as well. Like any band with a ‘50s influence, they really understand the importance of a simple and well-written song. Debut single “Red Line Gurls” is one of the catchiest tunes of this (or any!) year. It’s full of tasty guitar hooks, handclaps, and ooh-and-ah backing vocals. Hear it once, and it'll be stuck in your head all day. “Rhonda Lynn” is another revved-up toe-tapping rocker, while second single “Badlands” shows a harder, nastier edge a la the Pagans/Rocket from the Tombs. And for something completely different, “Red Line Gurls” B-side “(This Is) How It Ends” slows the tempo for a melancholic but ballsy pop vibe. It’s pretty “rock”, but in a really good way. Cool tune!

Without a doubt, this is one of the best of the new bands to come on the scene since I stopped doing Now Wave. So you can see a big reason why I’m writing again - because it’s exciting to know that there’s great rock n’ roll out there. And if you have the good taste to like great rock n’ roll, check the Beaten Hearts out! The “Red Line Gurls” 7” is out Sonic Jett, and “Badlands” is out on the band’s own Maladroit Records. So hey, go buy some vinyl!

- L.R.

http://www.myspace.com/thebeatenhearts
http://www.myspace.com/sonicjettrecords

Modern Pets are not so tame!

If you’re like me and make no apologies for loving tried-and-true pogo punk, Germany’s Modern Pets are probably already on your radar. Formed around Stuttgart two years ago and now terrorizing the great city of Berlin, the Modern Pets combine the best elements of early Briefs and later Stitches. If that doesn’t sound completely awesome to you, then why are you reading my blog?! The band’s latest EP, “Vista Alienation”, is out on Modern Action Records here in the States. Hot damn, is this thing ever a jolt of energy! Spin it a couple times, and you won’t even need that can of Spike Shooter! Wild, crazy, and snotty as fuck, all three songs burn it up at just over two minutes a pop. I’m reminded a little of primo mid 2000s French bands like the Hatepinks and Neurotic Swingers – and that can only be a good thing! Now it’s the Germans’ turn to seize the stripe-shirted torch. These lads from the land of brats do the memory of The Pack and PVC proud. They have cool names like Automatic Axel, Toby Dishrag, Jay Hell, and Hustler, and they come up with highly sensitive song titles like “Killing Sounds for Rotten People”. But what really matters is that their music is freaking great! The style is basic, but it is executed with manic gusto and maximum catchiness. This sort of herky-jerky, “’77 punk on amphetamines” trip may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But I’ve always been a sucker for an unbridled pogo party. And the Modern Pets are one of the best bands in this vein to come down the pike (or autobahn!) in quite some time. A full-length album is in the works and will surely blow all our sorry asses away. In the meantime, order “Vista Alienation” or download it off iTunes if you’re “modern” like me (ha!).

- L.R.

http://www.reverbnation.com/modernpets
http://www.myspace.com/modernpets

http://modernactionrecords.com/

The Faster and Louder readers' poll!

So perhaps you read about the Rolling Stone readers' poll. Readers of the venerable rag were asked to select the greatest punk bands of all-time. Demonstrating what a bad idea democracy can sometimes be, RS readers named Green Day the greatest punk band of all-time. Hopefully this honor does not come with certain benefits – like a large cash prize or an arsenal of super powers – that should have gone to the Ramones estate. But come on. Can anybody actually say they’re surprised by the selection of Green Day? It was, of course, a poll of RS readers, not writers (who probably would have picked an even worse band for #1!). The shocking thing, considering that this was the general public making the call, is that they got so much of the list right. The Clash, Ramones, Stooges, and Sex Pistols, who’d all make my list, made this one too. Misfits and Black Flag were solid choices. I can even abide Bad Brains cracking the top ten. Some selections made me shake my head a little (Social Distortion?), and others were easy to predict (Dead Kennedys). But, you know, it could have been so much worse. I would have bet money that Rancid was going to come in ahead of The Clash!

Listing the ten greatest punk bands of all-time is probably not as easy as it sounds. What the heck, I’ll give it a try:

1. Ramones

2. Clash

3. Stooges

4. Sex Pistols

5. Buzzcocks

6. The Damned

7. Avengers

8. Stiff Little Fingers

9. Pagans

10. Saints

If I re-did the list tomorrow, it would probably be slightly different. Clearly I played it safe, picking no bands from the ‘90s or even the ‘80s! I considered Black Flag, The Misfits, X, and a few others from that time period. I would not have ruled out Cock Sparrer. I considered Teengenerate from the ‘90s. But when it comes to punk music, I’m most definitely a traditionalist. Guilty as charged! You know what I’m asking for next: your top tens. Come on…let’s have it!  

- L.R.

Neighborhood Brats are where it's at!

If you’re into classic female-fronted hardcore punk, you’re gonna go apeshit for San Francisco’s Neighborhood Brats! Jenny Angelillo (ex Orphans) and George Rager (Roofie and the Nightstalker) teamed up with Jasmine Watson and Kirk Podell (Neo Cons) late last year to form this fearsome foursome, and already the band’s got an EP out on Modern Action Records. And by the way, it’s great! Song titles like “Fast and Loose” and “Trampage” are not ironic – this is full-on blistering old school hardcore in a Circle Jerks/early Black Flag vein, with the vocal feel of The VKTMS. Good stuff! Available in CD, digital, and one-sided 12” formats, this five-songer flat-out rips. Every song is right around one minute and forty-five seconds long, and nothing is held back! I am talking total smash-you-in-the-face ferocity, but with catchy tunes a la Deadly Weapons. The Orphans were cool, but the Neighborhood Brats are twice as good and still on the rise! Dig “Lurking the Loin”, which will get you off if you like, uh, OFF! From what I’ve been told, this band absolutely destroys live, so it seems likely you’ll be hearing a lot more from Jenny and co. And by all means, check out Modern Action – the best new label going! It’s run by Johnny (The Bodies/Radio Records) and friends, and they are quickly cornering the market on all the best bands out there! They’ve already done releases for Smogtown, The Stitches, the Modern Pets, and Sharp Objects among others. Coming next is an Amoebas full-length!

- L.R.

http://modernactionrecords.com/

http://www.facebook.com/neighborhoodbrats

http://www.myspace.com/neighborhoodbrats

Dead Boys or The Pagans?

Time for another band battle. And let me tell ya, this one is tough. I’ve lost sleep over this decision. I consulted my therapist, my parents, and Dick Clark, and still no one could help me. I knew I was on my own. Cleveland’s greatest beer is Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Cleveland’s greatest athlete is Jim Brown. Cleveland’s greatest actor is Paul Newman. But who’s Cleveland’s greatest band: the Dead Boys or the Pagans?

I’m guessing that if you polled the public, the Dead Boys would win in a landslide. But given my highly informed and most specific readership, I’m anticipating a photo finish. Unlike the Dead Boys, who recorded two LPs for a major record label, The Pagans never even made a proper album during their 1977-79 heyday. Their legacy is an extraordinary run of self-issued singles that rate with the best 45s of any early punk band. The Dead Boys may have coined the phrase “young, loud & snotty”, but the Pagans were just as loud and no less snotty.

Any way I look at it, it almost itself feels like it has to be a tie. I’d list Mike Hudson amongst the ten greatest punk singers of all-time. But I’d say the exact same thing for Stiv Bators. “Sonic Reducer” is one of my favorite songs ever, but I can’t say I like it any more than “What’s This Shit Called Love?” or “Street Where Nobody Lives”. The Dead Boys are to me the definitive American-style ’77 punk band with their flamethrower guitar leads and degenerate rock n’ roll stylings. But the Pagans, with their thumping ferocity and guitars that spewed noise like alien destruction machines, were the archetypes of Midwestern punk. I maybe give the Dead Boys a slight edge in terms of quantity of killer tunes. But then again, I can’t really say they had a third-or-fourth best song as good as “Eyes of Satan”, “I Juvenile”, or “Boy Can I Dance Good”. The Dead Boys took the influence of the Stooges and New York Dolls to the logical next step. The Pagans played rock n’ roll as if inspired by a chemical-induced rendezvous with God or perhaps the devil. But who was better? Hmmm.

Oh well, I guess it’s just like choosing between kielbasa and bratwurst. There is no wrong answer. I love both bands. But if you put a gun to my head, I’ll cast my vote for the underdog Pagans. The ball is in your court, dear voters!

- L.R.

The Boulevard Beat = Power Pop

There’s a really unfair stereotype about power pop bands from southern California being lame and superficial and poser-ish. And although I “get” where it comes from, it’s a really dumb generalization. Good music is good music whether it’s from New York City, the Trans-Siberian Railway, or Paducah, Kentucky. L.A.’s Boulevard Beat is the real deal. These guys don’t have a 16-page press kit chock full of professionally spun superlatives. They don’t sound like Third Eye Blind. If they look “cool”, it’s more in a throwback, Plimsouls sort of way. And even then, that’s not the focus. It’s really about the craft of classic power pop, with a bit of a modern interpretation to make it interesting. I first came to know of this band because friends of mine with 100 percent impeccable taste – like Peter from Jukebox Zeros and Pat from Pelado Records – “liked” them on Facebook. And if you also consider that they’re doing a record with No Front Teeth - one of the best “old school punk” labels in the world – it all adds up to the Boulevard Beat being the opposite of lame and superficial and poser-ish! 

Formed just two years ago, the Boulevard Beat sounds like a band that’s still working out its sound. I kind of like that. They show all the classic hallmarks of power pop – the sing-along choruses, the vocal harmonies, the guitar-driven songwriting aesthetic, etc. But there’s still a nice rawness to the songs. These guys don’t come off polished or “slick”, and I can just sense that they’re really in their element rocking out live. Soon-to-be single “8 Track Breakdown” is their signature tune and a cool one at that. It’s kind of like an old LA power pop sound meets the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait”. The real hook is a super-catchy lead guitar part that keeps coming back and lodging itself deeper into your head. Heck, all the lead guitar work on this song is killer! All in all, “8 Track Breakdown” is not really a wow-you-off-the-bat type number but rather a subtle grower that really shows a skillful sophistication in the writing department. It’s four minutes long but doesn’t drag – a very good thing in my book! I also really like “Call the Doctor”, which is so raw that it sounds like a demo. Sure, it may not be radio-ready. But it’s really in the right spirit of power pop – fun and catchy but with aggressive, ringing guitars and a loose rock n’ roll feel. Think early Cheap Trick or even mod-era Who! I’m reminded quite a bit as well of a band I used to love back in the late ‘90s called Pat Dull and his Media Whores.

I think you’ll be hearing a lot more from The Boulevard Beat in the coming months. They look to be major up-and-comers in the power pop world, and what’s not to love about that?! EP out soon on No Front Teeth!

- L.R.

http://www.reverbnation.com/theboulevardbeat
http://www.facebook.com/boulevardbeat?sk=wall
http://www.myspace.com/theboulevardbeat