Bleedin' Out

Everybody Knows

2012-01-27T09:39:00.001-05:00

It would be refreshing if one of the scumbag Republican candidates just sang this at the next debate.

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich

That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes

Everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows

And everybody knows
And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows
And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows

A Heartwarming Story

2012-01-23T23:48:00.001-05:00

So it was the summer between high school and college and I was a full on drug and punk freak.

Things were going OK- I had my college plans (far far far away from home) and I had a bit of money through my gas station job. I was going to go to party in the neighborhood and meet my "girlfriend" ("girlfriend" with the quotes because I hadn't fornicated with her. I had met her at a Ramones concert and made out with her- whats better then locking lips during "She's The One"!!!). I still remember the taste of Benzoil Peroxide on her zit covered cheeks and the faint smell of vinegar. To a 17 year old,,, it was a heady bouquet.

So, young Nazz had a pocketful of white cross hits of speed and blotter acid and hurriedly gobbled a bunch en route to the soiree- which was in walking distance of my folks house. I left about 3 pm or so- saying I'd be gone for a couple of hours. The party begins, the drugs kick in and I am hanging out on some swings in a playground with the girlfriend. "Nazz- I wanna break up" she utters. And in THAT MOMENT the drugs kicked in, my brain boiled over and my heart broke. The old triple play.

She left me there on the swings, as I tried to stuff all the sense back into my mind. Didn't work. Nope not at all. So now, with the insult and surprise of getting the "Dear John" oration, I had to figure out what to do for the next 12 hours or so until the dope wore off.
Soooo, I went back to the party. After all... hey had weed and booze.

Now, the attendees of the party and I shared exactly one thing in common- we were human beings. Actually 2, if you count that we all did drugs. But that was about it- they were all college folks, mostly gay and into the theater. I was a dirty high school punk who made fun of their Jackson Browne records and drank all their liquor.

But, having little choice- I stuck around, all the while watching my mind melt from the outside and my soul melt from the inside- of course everyone knew that I was a: just used as an emotional tampon and b: tripping balls and in an extremely sensitive state; so they did what they could.
Like: "Nazz whatever you do, if you go into the bathroom do not look into the mirror."
Which ... I ... immediately ... did ... of ... course!

After about 30 minutes someone noticed I had been gone a long time and pulled me out of the mirror- where I had effectively climbed through my dilated pupils and into the psychedelic tunnel of horrors that my mind had decided to construct for me. By the time they knocked down the door, I was foaming at the mouth and screaming that I was like Mr. Spock and no one would ever love me.

At this point it made the most sense to get me to go for a walk- so a couple of baby sitter types (300 lb asian chicks) allowed me to walk 4 miles barefoot and set up shop in a graveyard, overlooking the Long Island Sound (think Jimmy on the White Cliffs of Dover in Quadrophenia). So adding things up, it made perfect sense to in my twisted mind to try to dive from a 150 foot rocky cliff into the water. Which, I was forcibly stopped from doing, as a pair of 300 lb asian women can output a lot of torque on a 140 lb raving lunatic.

Eventually I settled down around dawn shirtless and shoeless, and the aforementioned Asian lifesavers got me home. Whereas my mom opened the door and threw a right hook to my jaw.

I never got those sneakers back.

"Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth"

2012-01-20T17:27:00.000-05:00

So said Iron Mike Tyson.

Words to live by.

How are YOU taking the hits?

With your hands on head or on the trigger of a gun?

NYG + NN = MLK

2012-01-16T17:51:00.000-05:00

As long time readers might know, I have a major love jones for the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS.
So, yesterdays' ass kicking of the Green Bay Packers was very enjoyable. What really surprised me, however, was that I am on the road (ummm... my name IS Nomad) and spent the game in a Pennsylvania watering hole, surrounded by Eagles fans. And I didn't get into any fights!!!!!!! And I even played peacemaker breaking on up! Say what you will, but $5 Yuengling pitchers must bring out the Martin Luther King in me!

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

2012-01-13T11:25:00.000-05:00

I've had a couple of business setbacks today- suck city. Is it because it's Friday The 13th? And, since the world is supposed to end this year- wouldn't it make sense that it would end on a Friday The 13th?

Yeah- sure...

It's the 21st freakin' century and we're still afraid of this nonsense...

From Medical News Today:

The Friggatriskaidekaphobia phenomenon is a phobia for Friday 13th, a superstition that has existed for hundreds of years in virtually every corner of the world. In India's movie industry, they try to avoid releasing new films on Friday 13th because of a fear it will do badly. Even stock markets around the world tend to see less activity on this date. Typically, airlines also report a drop in passengers.

Between 17 and 21 million Americans have a phobia of Friday 13th, according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina.

According to the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics, fewer accidents and fires occur on Friday 13th, probably because people are more careful or just stay at home.

Redd Kross Live

2012-01-09T17:36:00.003-05:00

And here's some Redd Kross live!

From 1982 (30 years ago?????!!!!!)

2008 (give or take a year)

Redd Kross (as Red Cross- the original spelling of the band) performing mega old school - the songs from their first album Born Innocent:

and lastly, as the second greatest power pop band ever:

More Redd Kross Rarities

2012-01-06T00:30:00.002-05:00

Hey kave kids, here's some more cooler than thou stuff from Redd Kross!

Here's a quick Redd Kross story. Back in the 80's around the "Teen Babes From Monsanto" era- RK played a NYC show with the Circle Jerks, Toxic Reasons and DOA. I still have the poster from the show. So me and Davey snuck backstage (it was at this old theater/club called The Ritz- now known as Webster Hall). We were pretty "enhanced" and struck up a convo with the bros McDonald that focused mainly on mushrooms, stealing liquor from our parents stash and of course "Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park". After awhile we noticed that there were girls around so we 2 obvious Noo Yawkers started hitting on the gash, making up stories about how we were surfers from Redondo Beach in Cali. The girls called us on our shit and I had to improvise, saying I used an ironing board as a surfing device because I was just so fucking punk rock.

We did not get laid.

But it was a bitchin' show.

Covering The Carpenters... so sweet!

And ABBA

Redd Kross paying tribute to Shonen Knife

Quid pro quo- Shonen Knife does a tribute to Redd Kross:

Redd Kross rarities

2012-01-03T13:00:00.003-05:00

Jangle jangle jangle... it's 2012.

It's time for some Redd Kross--- one of my all time fave bands- early so-cal punk to KISS worshippers to power pop legends.

Here some pretty rare (shit- I hadn't seen this stuff before on-line) of the McDonald Brothers and friends...

starting off with the classic DESPERATE TEENAGE LOVEDOLLS- the story of Bunny, Kitty and Patch.

Desperate Teenage Lovedolls by crazedigitalmovies

The "Third Eye" incarnation got to perform on a couple of NBC late nighters:

and a crucial cover of a great song from Queen:

more to come!

Better Things

2012-01-02T12:43:00.000-05:00

All the best to all of you for 2012. And better things.

Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

Here's hoping all the days ahead
Won't be as bitter as the ones behind you.
Be an optimist instead,
And somehow happiness will find you.
Forget what happened yesterday,
I know that better things are on the way.

It's really good to see you rocking out
And having fun,
Living like you just begun.
Accept your life and what it brings.
I hope tomorrow you'll find better things.
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the drudge and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

I know you've got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
The past is gone it's all been said.
So here's to what the future brings,
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

21st Century Digital Boy

2011-12-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

Armageddon must be around the corner- I just got a MacBook Pro. Hey, my company wanted me to get a laptop (and footed the bill), so why not go for it? I'm making dick money, might as well get a perk.

Now I am truly a tethered 21st centruy boy- I got the 'droid phone, the desktop and the laptop. I might as well get one of those tracing collars for around my neck and the RFID chip embedded in my forehead.

Of course, with 2012 breathing down our necks, I'm rootin' for the apocalypse... when all these toys will be worth little but scrap metal.

Biohazard covering Bad Religion??? WTF?

For my pal Jon from Poetry Is For Assholes

I'm a sucker for group harmony's.

And this is Punk as fuck!

My Top Ten For 2011- pt deux

2011-12-26T22:02:00.000-05:00

5 more songs that were better then anything this pustule of a year brought. Interestingly enough, these songs put together form a pretty apropos statement:

It's obvious; black and white. We're getting nowhere fast... sitting still. So what!

Humbug

2011-12-25T00:01:00.008-05:00

Christmas is hell on earth, I know nothing worst
then being depressed and told to be happy.
The season of su-icide, I know why they died
Christmas reminds me I have nothing

I've got no girl there's only me
no friends or family, another Christmas alone
Got no food to eat, no ornaments or wreath
so I'll hang myself from the tree

Christmas is dark and wet, so I can't forget
Christmas reminds me I have nothing
this is the end of hope, I won't write a note
because it would be addressed to no one

I've got no girl there's only me
no friends or family, another Christmas alone
Got no food to eat, no ornaments or wreath
so I'll hang myself from the tree

Now I will say good-bye, no one will cry
Christmas goes on without me
My life is now complete, so I'll go to sleep
Forever and ever and ever...

I've got no girl there's only me
no friends or family, another Christmas alone
Got no food to eat, no ornaments or wreath
so I'll hang myself from the tree

MyTop Ten For 2011

2011-12-21T19:52:00.000-05:00

Notice a trend? That's because 2011 fucking sucked!

Best version of the old Ike & Tina toon.

Given the context, as Punk as fuck.

A song that makes me wanna jump and down and yell 'NO"!!!!

Nick Cave will kick your ass.

Ted Nugent exemplifies the year 2011. He's a tremendous asshole.

Next 5 to come...

Songs About Syd

2011-12-16T14:23:00.000-05:00

The madcap laughed. But when did the laughter find no escape? The old parable about burning out before fading away found Syd Barrett with a foot in both camps. The legend lived on, ever brighter; but the man himself diminished. What could have been going through his mind? Bitterness at being pushed out of one of the biggest bands in the world? Or relief at becoming only a footnote?

We're all on thin ice, indeed.

Nobody knows where you are,
How near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers
And I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
And we'll bask in the shadow
Of yesterday's triumph,
And sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child,
You winner and loser,
Come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine!

The More Things Change...

2011-12-15T16:04:00.000-05:00

In honor of our once liberal and sane President deciding that detaining and torturing American Citizens is a good thing...

I'm not quite sure I understand why Obama is increasing his "asshole quotient", especially as the Repugnikkkan candidates seem to be on a "can you top this heinous statement" tactic.

Unless of course, Obama is planning death camps for the extreme right wing!!!!!

Monster Magnet

2011-12-08T17:09:00.000-05:00

These guys kick such major ass. I heartily recommend you listen to a fuck-ton of their stuff. Before you do- make sure you drink some Nyquil and take some cold pills. Chasing it back with a couple of shots of bourbon is cool too. A few bongloads couldn't hurt.

Then, play this shit real fucking loud.

"bought another copy of zoso, seeds were bustin' up the spine"

Song Of The Year

2011-12-02T20:50:00.001-05:00

Forget everything that you've listened to in 2011- THIS IS THE REAL DEAL!

Welfare Cheats to Treatment Bound

2011-11-28T07:36:00.004-05:00

The official Welfare Cheats guitar

When i was a kid, me and some of my good friends started a band called Welfare Cheats. We couldn't really play at all (well, our guitar player could play), but the rest of us had no clue. Except we were punk fucking rock.

It was in response to reagan (back than of course, everything was). I was selling my hepatitis tainted blood (until they caught on) for beer money and stealing student funds from our school to buy more beer. Some of this beer was used to put out the fire in my engine when my ('68 Plymouth Fury) car blew up driving home from a Minutemen / Husker Du show during a snowstorm.

Our music can best be described as a bass, 2 guitars, and a broken down drum set all tuned to different keys (because we didn't know how to tune them) and noise that would make Sonic Youth vomit. Hey, Punk Fucking Rawk.

We never quite got any gigs, but our graffiti was in every club in NYC- from CBGB's to the Dive to the Peppermint Lounge to severe damage we did at Danceteria and an especially particularly heinous nite at Limelite- where we did things that I still can't admit in print to doing. We even got written up in various local rock newspapers.

I miss those guys- we did more with attitude and energy than any band ever- considering we never got any real gigs.

But, it did get some of us knee deep in females a few times and into alot of shows for free. It's too bad we were never able to get our shit together and do something - we certainly had some connections from our friends in local NYHC bands like ISM.

Maybe that's why I'm still chasing this stuff. I got a new band (Post Caterwaul Of Sound) in the works... and the direction of the band is definitely looking "old school"- (influences of the Ramones/Clash/Misfits/Dead Boys/Replacements/Johnny Thunders/Stooges, MC5) rather than the "shock hard rock" of my previous band. It will be nice to sing songs that I am not ashamed of the lyrics for.

But the day's still young... we'll see what happens.

The Product

2011-11-25T11:58:00.000-05:00

Today is the holiest day of the year for the USA- Black Friday- the day where the orgy of capitalist consumption is consummated in a desperate attempt to lure the masses to BUY, BUY, BUY. Stores opened at midnite to hook the suckers into buying crap they dont need.

I saw one moron has been camping with her tots since last week to be first on line to by a TV. If you have to live outside and involve your kids in this nonsense... perhaps you have other issues to address that are more important than a TV!

As The Nomad clan has bigger issues on what to spend our money on (for starters- food and our mortgage) struggling, the decision on what to buy is easy- NOTHING!!!!!!

A Thanksgiving Prayer

2011-11-23T17:30:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Prayer

For John Dillinger, In hope he is still alive

Thanks for the wild turkey and the Passenger Pigeons, destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts

thanks for a Continent to despoil and poison --

thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger --

thanks for vast herds of bison to kill and skin, leaving the carcass to rot --

thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes --

thanks for the AMERICAN DREAM to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through --

thanks for the KKK, for nigger-killing lawmen feeling their notches, for decent church-going women with their mean, pinched, bitter, evil faces --

thanks for "Kill a Queer for Christ" stickers --

thanks for laboratory AIDS --

thanks for Prohibition and the War Against Drugs --

thanks for a country where nobody is allowed to mind his own business --

thanks for a nation of finks -- yes,

thanks for all the memories... all right, let's see your arms... you always were a headache and you always were a bore --

thanks for the last and greatest betrayal of the last and greatest of human dreams.

-----William S. Burroughs-----

Tolling for the outcast, burnin’ constantly at stake...

2011-11-21T17:50:00.000-05:00

Motherfucker had it right in 1964- and nothing's changed.

Chimes Of Freedom

Far between sundown’s finish an’ midnight’s broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing

Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
An’ for each an’ ev’ry underdog soldier in the night
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

In the city’s melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden while the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin’ rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an’ forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burnin’ constantly at stake
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
An’ the unpawned painter behind beyond his rightful time
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Through the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an’ blind, tolling for the mute
Tolling for the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an’ cheated by pursuit
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Even though a cloud’s white curtain in a far-off corner flashed
An’ the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An’ for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Starry-eyed an’ laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an’ we watched with one last look
Spellbound an’ swallowed ’til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an’ worse
An’ for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Zero Percenter

2011-11-18T16:42:00.000-05:00

"If there has to be a bloodbath, then let's get it over with."
--Ronald Reagan (Governor of California), cited in the San Francisco Chronicle, early morning edition, May 15, 1969

"But when you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out (in)"
--John Lennon

"I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member"
--Groucho Marx

I've been bouncing back and forth occaisionally into the Occupy Wall Street foray over the past couple of months... most recently the other day. OWS is certainly my ballywick. Afterall, I'm a New Yorker, been burned by the economy, and struggling to keep up with payments on my bills. The bereft middle class... once "middle" middle class and not plummeting towards the bottom. Plus, my punk rock dissident background certainly makes me exhibit 1-A for this movement.

Except... I don't feel part of it. I don't know if it's the drum circles, my age or just the daily hassle of trying to keep the Nomad's heads above the rising red tide. Christ, I wanna see the redistribution of wealth (especially if it means I can get some). And I'm all for hanging the bankers and fuckers that have helped make this "too big too fail" scam a reality. But from what I am seeing at OWS, I do know this... about 40% of the folks down there are legit. The other 60% are assholes. Yeah, assholes. The types that are co-opting this movement by just being violent troublemakers. Scenesters, hipsters and douchebags. They'd be protesting free beer, clean air or whatever else they could.

I fully understand why the NYPD mobilized and got rid of the tents and generators. You've pretty much got a bunch of people who decided to move-in to a privately owned park permanently with no motivation for any sort of hygiene or public responsibility. And they spend the day making it hard for their working brethren to get back and forth to their cubicle hells. What if they moved across the street from YOUR house or job. Add to this NO ONE taking ownership or control and a whole lot of combustible dynamics (not the least of which were gallons of kerosene and gasoline for generators). Plus inherent violence (yeah- for real) and you've got the makings of an incendiary holocaust down there. Anarchy is a wonderful concept- until someone loses an eye.

I know in a lot of cities the police and "authorities" have been completely out of control, but here in New York, the City and the NYPD have shown remarkable restraint down at "Liberty Park". They are faced everyday with the lower elements deliberately provoking them into reactions. Mayor Bloomberg has been a great leader through this... showing maturity and consideration.

It's a shame that so many of the demonstrators fail to understand that (and refuse to emulate it).

Mistakes Were Made

2011-11-15T12:29:00.000-05:00

Apropos of nothing persnaps, but the following toonage has been resonating a little close to home lately.

Some of the anger I have been feeling towards others has dissipated. My understanding of matters has calmed me down. Never forgive, never forget fer sure, but I'm trying to grow beyond the rancor.

Pulpy blood stained knuckles are cool when yer 18, when yer double that age... not so much.

Self awareness is not very fun.

Man, it's tough being a grown-up.

Whistlin' Past The Graveyard

2011-11-08T11:39:00.001-04:00

I hit another birthday today. I've decided to take my age into my own hands and have deducted a few rings off the old tree trunk. I certainly feel a fuckload younger than my chronometer, so what the hell. Besides, anytime anyone guesses my age, they go about 10 years younger than I am. I figure this won't deter the grim reaper, but I've been playin' with the houses money since I was about 20 anyway.

A quick check finds me far in the red with regard to where my financial prospects were supposed to be. As my income has reduced by about 70% (thanks to the economy) over the past 2 years, the struggle to keep up the payments, etc is a neverending nightmare. Healthwise, I'm about as good as can be expected, given the lack of exercise I get lately. Lookswise- let's just move on. From the long haired moron of my youth to the shaved head misanthrope I've become. And I still have my music- the man can't take that away!

The important thing of course is family. After 20 plus years, Missus Nomad and I (the aughts version of Sid and Nancy/ Kurt and Courtney/ Keef and Anita) are still going semi strong- despite the usual speed bumps. Marriage ain't what I thought it would be, but we still love each other (at least I think we do). The kids are (thank the lord) healthy and good natured... and so far don't seem to be falling into the traps that so many stumble into (yours truly included).

I have been adament about not wanting any gifts from mi familia. I got everything I want already.

Woo Woo Woo (You Know It)

2011-11-07T18:57:00.000-04:00

Nazz Jr is big time into Professional Wrestling (WWE for the most part). Being that he's 13, I am OK with that. What scares me is the amount of adults that take the shit seriously. Especially with regard to action figures. Nazz Jr shows me these websites that have fans putting thousands of dollars into collecting figures (and even doing movies with the figures).

Being a worldly kid, Nazz Jr has long known about the "scripted" nature (in other words...IT'S FAKE!!!) of wrestling and can laugh along with the storylines. He likes the guys that can both wrestle AND do promo's (ie talk) for the most part: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes (the new Dr. Doom version), Booker T and for nostalgia's sake, the ancient Rick Flair. He eschews the "conventional" ie John Cena and Alberto Del Rio (the latest manufactured "superstar".)

CM Punk (yeah- he's really into Punk and being straight edge) has been the most interesting character lately. He's been doing a shtick with a focus on calling out the bullshit around him (they call it the "reality era"), but it's now becoming the conspiracy era, with corporate shenanigans getting alot of play; and after a couple of months in the spotlite, his star is fading again.

But the guy we both really dig is Zack Ryder. Aside from being from our hometown, he's a total underground goofball (his character is sorta vacant brained Long Island trash). He's also propelled himself into the spotlite by naming himself "Internet Champion". By judicious use of great videos, Ryder has propelled the WWE into the social media age and become the "peoples champion".

Every Monday nite we're watching RAW on the tube...Once again, it's spending time with your kids that's the best thing of all.

The Most Magickal Day

2011-10-31T09:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!

I Am A Huge Fan Of Bad Religion

2011-10-27T15:55:00.001-04:00

So sayeth Fat Mike and NOFX.. and Yeah- I dig em. I like the NOFX song too. What's not to like about Bad Religion? Great lyrics. Anti-authority. Great chorus's. I love the harmonies. They're old and pissed, just like me. And I learn new words when I decipher their songs!!

They've got the punk rock cred (and that's not even taking account Greg Hetson's Circle Jerkdom and Brian Baker's Minor Threat service). When did How Could Hell Be Any Worse come out? 1938?

Besides, I took Princess Nomad to see 'em when she was 13 and she actually loved it. And Nazz Jr has been known to wear a Bad Religion shirt to middle school!

Punk rock!

It's The Muppets world, we just live in it

2011-10-24T14:14:00.000-04:00

Clearly this is the greatest thing of all time.

or is this?

or this?

Comic Con 2011 (NY)

2011-10-20T23:27:00.001-04:00

Nazz Junior and I attended the New York Comic Con and had a blast. It was packed to the gills with freaks and geeks and cosplayers. I'd say about 20% of the attendees were dressed up as anything from CM Punk (wresting icon worship at Comic Con?) to lots of Asian teens in various anime to the tried and true super heroes (heavy on Cap America and various X-Men). One guy was decked out as Professor Xavier - complete with wheelchair. I wasn't going to be the douche that asked Prof X if the wheelchair was for sizzle or part of his daily steak.

A blue chick and a frozen in carbonite space cowboy

The only goal for me was to get some contacts that would buy my old comic collection. Times are tough, and if I can get some dough for my old 1960's-70's Marvels, all the better.

The big downer was that many of the sessions were closed due to overcrowding at least an hour before the scheduled start. We missed all the cool zombie stuff. The Walking Dead preview, a premier of some movie called Zombie Apocalypse (with Ving Rhames) and The Avengers preview were all out of reach for us.

Mr. T and Hulk Hogan. Not.

However, we got totally stoked with The Marvel TV and Marvel Games previews. And Nazz Junior grokked on the Halo panel. They had the developers of the game talking about the new version (which basically is a higher tech reboot of the original game. And there was a woman on the panel!!!! Which got most of the fanboys very excited. The q & a for the Halo panel consisted mainly of guys asking the woman on the panel if she would be their prom date! OK- that didn't really happen.

Missus Nomad's favorite picture. A Yip from Sesame Street

Another amazing event was the Dragonball Z panel- which capped the evening. The panel consisted of three guys that did the voices of the cartoon, and they were greeted by several hundred devotees as if they had cured cancer. Even the panelists were shocked by the adulation. Then one of the old Dragon Ball Z cartoons (they've all been restored for hi-def) was shown and it was like watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show, witht he audience participating. My son looked at me and said "You have know idea what's going on, do you?". And I didn't.

And then of course, there was this. Archie meets Kiss. WTF? Is nothing sacred?

For me, the best part was spending the day with my kid. I hope he looks back on it in a couple of decades and smiles.

Wanted: Martyrs

2011-10-12T09:46:00.000-04:00

With the Occupy Wall Street movement spreading to other cities, the media is paying a modicum of attention. Unfortunately, peaceful demonstrations are not going to get anything accomplished. Now that some Unions are involved, hopefully there will be some long term organization and goals. Demonstrations at the Koch brothers and Rupert Murdoch's mansions are nice, but burning em down would be better.

However, what will really get the media involved will be violence. As abhorrent a concept it is, cracked skulls and riots will be what really starts the ball rolling.

Bloody violent revolution- telegenic and exploitative.

That's what will get heads turning.

Talk minus action equals nothing

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

Do You Remember When You Were Young And Wanted To Set The World On Fire?

2011-10-08T19:53:00.001-04:00

Walked past the Wall Street demonstrations again. Sound and fury symbolizing everything and accomplishing nothing. How about we all stop buying shit for a week from some companies? It's called boycotting. That's the only way the fuckers will ever notice... if it hits em in their bottom line.

We pay tribute to Steven Jobs by queuing en masse for the latest gadget. How about we pay tribute to "think different" by NOT buying shit for the week.

I've been listening to Against Me lately. Third or fourth or ninety seventh generation punks that wear their hearts on their sleeves. Anthemic ringing guitars and earnest lyrics.

I think Saint Joe (Strummer) would approve.

Highly recommended!

Marriage Is swell, and for the most part better than Wilco

2011-10-04T17:54:00.000-04:00

"What kind of face is that?"; Missus Nomad said to me yesterday over dinner. "Umm, my normal face?" I answered. Then in the middle of the night, she woke up and looked at me and screamed.

Hey honey, get used to this mug, you've had 20 plus years to accept it and I ain't going nowhere.

Wilco has a new album out and I am as ambivalent to them as always. I gave the lp a couple of spins on Spotify and immediately forgot every song. I do like that Jeff Tweedy and his band have been able to fashion a semi lucrative career and also become darlin's of the NPR crowd. They seem to be one of those bands that I'm supposed to like, but they just bore the shit out of me. My big Wilco experience seeing em live was drinking myself into oblivion and staggering out of their show a few years back. Blind drunken stumbling seemed like a better choice than standing and watching em.

I wouldn't put them in the same slot as a band like Pavement. I really hate Pavement. In fact, if one of the guys from Pavement came up to clean my windshield, I'd put my car into drive and run em over.

Jeff Tweedy on the other hand, I'd ask him to jump in on the passenger side and we'd go for a beer. He seems like a really cool guy. As long as don't have to listen to his band.

Maybe there's something wrong with me (and not just my face).

Wilco has "curated" a "YouTube channel" with some of their favorite other bands and I prefer 90% of the stuff on it over Wilco's own stuff.

Here's my favorite Wilco song. It's Closer To Fine, by The Indigo Girls and has nothing to do with Wilco. I'm pretty sure Amy Ray would kick Jeff Tweedy's ass.

Actually- I like this Wilco song alot. Probably because my friend John used to play it on his acoustic guitar and I always thought it was his song. And it's about being a fuck-up. And I bet the character in the song got asked alot about his face too.

Baseball Altamount

2011-09-29T15:58:00.000-04:00

My buddy Davey sent me the above graphic. I can dig it. I used to start out on my escapades at around 11 pm... nowadays I can't motivate myself to do much of anything.

Except of course to gloat over the demise of the Boston Red Sox! Last nite was one of the most incredible juxtapositions of baseball craziness ever. Between the Sawx going down the crapper and the player with the worst batting average in baseball hitting a home run to keep his team alive with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the bottom of the ninth, it was truly an unforgettable evening! First time I ever rooted against my baseball team!!!! Nazz junior is a Red Sox fan (despite the beatings I have given him) and he stoically dealt with the carnage. If it was the Yankees, I woulda punched holes in my wall.

Shout!

2011-09-28T13:51:00.000-04:00

and of course:

Pissing In The Wind

2011-09-27T19:07:00.001-04:00

As I was wandering around lower Manhattan, trying to squeeze blood out of a stone, I walked past a demonstration (or protest or circle jerk or whattever ya wanna call it). There were several hundred people protesting... well, they were protesting EVERYTHING! You had dozens of signs, against everything from Jesus being on the Internet to the economy to the Government to the IMF, etc, etc, etc. The only thing everyone had in common was that they all were able to have the time to spend the day pissing into the wind.

As I walked by with my uniform (briefcase and suit), I thought about how it would be wonderful to have the hope and free time to protest against (insert your cause here). Unfortunately, my mortgage and increasing bills do not allow for the luxury of having the time to advocate (insert your cause here). I'm not proud of that, but I made my choices many years ago and that's my fate. I'm pretty sure most of the people protesting have a lot more financially than I do, and I know that to them, I must represent the opposition.

Conversely, as much as I advocate free speech and protest, I know that it was futile what they were all doing. Nothing is going to change, and even the cops looked bored. Obama was the great hope, and guess what, it hasn't worked out so well.

A block away, the construction site where they are building the replacements for the World Trade Center was humming, with tourists gaping at the pit and the glass and steel towers being erected. As I watched for awhile, I felt nothing but sadness and pessimism.Build em up, knock em down, it's just a cash exchange when you get down to it.

I sort of felt like the people in this video must have felt (it's security camera footage of inside the Washington Monument when the earthquake hit last month.

On my way back uptown, there was a bum (or- for the politically correct, a homeless person) smoking a cigarette on the subway platform. For a second, I glared at him- after all, in Bloomberg's NYC, smoking is verboten. Then I thought how this was probably the only peace he's got, smoking a butt and not being hassled. I was ashamed of myself for being a douchebag.

Count Me Out (IN!)

2011-09-25T22:07:00.000-04:00

I have this very strange feeling that we are on the cusp of some very serious weirdness. The economy is totally tanking, Europe is about to declare continental bankruptcy and it's all up to Germany to bail us out.
Meanwhile here in the States, there are assorted lunatics running for the Repugnikkkan nomination for President. Watching their debates is like looking through a one way mirror into an insane asylum. And the current POTUS is begging his core voters for support.

And the market did a major dive last week, as demonstrators were beaten and tear-gassed. Granted, alot of em probably started shit with the cops, but still...

The stock market tends to go into major nose dives in October... 5 days and counting.

I Am An Industry Pillar (or something)

2011-09-22T14:06:00.000-04:00

I was at a big time industry dinner awards event at a real fancy NYC venue last night. ... 350 of the big boys in my chosen vocation... real big boys...owners of billion dollar companies, execs , pillars of the industry. Fancy finger foods, open bar, expensive suits.

And me.

My suit costs less than most of these fuckers hankies.

En Why See Police commisioner Ray Kelly was the honoree. He spoke about being vigilant in the post 9/11 era. Whoever wrote his speech did a fine job. Then he left for a date with Obama...who's in town for the United Nations clusterfuck/circlejerk.

So in my old poor age I find myself at an event wearing a cheap black suit paying homage to the chief of nyc cops (and I want to state that he does a motherfucking great job- and has saved our sorry liberal asses many many times over the last ten years), making small talk with a bunch of wealthy upper class people that wouldn't be able to name a Black Flag tune if they had a gun pointed at them. Don't get me wrong...everyone was very nice and pleasent.
People usually are when they are looking down at you.

If someone woulda told me 20 years ago that I would be on the legal side of the law, making small talk at an event honoring "THE MAN", I woulda either hung myself or told the guy he was crazy. But there I was, holding a Ketel One in one hand and a plate of fancy finger food in the other.

At least the booze was free.

All reminding me of a day a few years back in which I was the honoree of an award. I had to give a speech, and I was really nervous. Mrs. Nomad advised me to eat a Xanax, which would calm me down. So of course I ate two of them. They kicked in about a half hour before my speech. I remember nothing of the events that transpired, with the exception of a bright red L.E.D. light that was blinking on the podium.

I was not invited back the next year.

Read These

2011-09-19T17:21:00.000-04:00

Old Nazz has got some book recommendations for you. Hey- reading is fun-da-mental! Or something.

Last One To Die - Michael Essington: Mike E. is an old time West Coast (L.A.) punk and has written his "memoirs". Equal parts observations on family, the scene and his history in the maelstrom of el lay Punk, Mike's writing is thoughtful and even poignant. You come out of reading this book with the desire to know the guy personally. If only the East Coast and Left Coast woulda merged... I coulda called him friend. And you should be checking out his stuff on STRANGE REACTION too! Great articles on Punk and great stories about his past. Support your peers, ya scurvy dogs!

Speed-Speed-Speedfreak - Mick Farren: Of course you know who Mick Farren is. The guy has written more cool stuff than just about anyone this side of Terry Southern. Speed-Speed-Speedfreak is billed as a "Fast History Of The Amphetamine"; and it ties in Hitler, the military, JFK and the Hells Angels in telling the sordid and not so sordid history of Mother's Little Helper. Some of it veers into conspiracy history (but that's not unusual for Farren), but it's a fast paced treatise on a drug that has greatly influenced both cultural and political history. As a bonus, the book is shaped like a capsule! Click here for Mick Farren's website.

Violence Girl - Alice Bag: In which Alice Bag, the former lead singer of seminal L.A. punk band The Bags dishes on her somewhat troubled upbringing and the early days of the Los Angeles punk scene. Alice interacted with virtually every member of the early scene (Darby Crash, Belinda Carlisle, etc) and her experiences make for a fun read. While this book touches on some sloppy behavior (ie drugs, booze, etc) it isn't really an expose of the West Coast scene.

Reno 911

2011-09-14T18:14:00.001-04:00

I had the opportunity to spend the last few days in Reno Nevada for a business conference. For this Noo Yawk boy, the chance to breathe some clean air, win some money at the casino, dig some nature and drink my ass off was irresistible.

(I did not meet any of these guys)

Well, the air out there sucks, I lost every bet I made and I didn't have the chance do any communing with Mom Nature. At least I was able to drink.

I had to stop to change planes in Salt Lake City (home, of course, to the Utah Jazz- why didn't they change the name of the team when they moved to Utah?). I expected the airport to be crawling with Mormon's, wide-eyed and smiling. Yeah- I did experience that, but there were plenty of international travelers. I was able to imbibe at Dick Clark's American Bandstand restaurant. Dick wasn't there... but Wasatch Amber Ale was. Tasty stuff, and the by the time I was gonna hit my flight to Reno, I was ready to go look for the Book Of Mormon myself. Flying over the Rockies and the Great Salt lake was breathtaking, and seeing the Salt Flats from the aircraft was beautiful. There is a part of the Salt Lake that appears to be red from the sky... I figured it was mining waste run-off from a copper mine. Instead it was a result of bacteria in the water. Weird stuff.

The Great Salt Lake and the Salt Shore (that's not sand)

The view from 20,000 feet.

I lit out of the Reno airport, and the combination of being in thin air 6000 feet above sea level and fresh air coursing into my urban lungs almost put me on my ass. Somehow I survived, but I felt shortwinded the entire weekend. Additionally, as 95% of my time was spent indoors, the filtered air, heavily processed with cigareete smoke (everyone in the casino smokes and it permeates even the conference rooms) had me dizzy and coughing the whole weekend.

Part of the pool- Alot of kids- Who brings kids to a casino?

Gambling? Everywhere- at the airport there are slots, and the hotel we stayed at (The Peppermill is sorta 1/2 Caesers Palace and the other half looks like a gypsy wedding joint) is just ugly with 'em. And the people gambling? A real cross section of Americana- Bush country. Toothless, old Bush country to be exact.

I had real trouble with my room key- over the course of my first nite, the door kept refusing me entrance. I drunkenly huffed and puffed back to the front desk three different times (the hotel was huge and I was in the furhtest wing). Finally they changed my room- and upgraded me to a suite with a Jacuzzi- a sweet suite... And yes, I did use the Jacuzzi... but only after personally cleaning it to make sure that it was "love stain" fee from any other previous guests!

They gave me $10 free slot credit and I milked it over the weekend on 25 cent video poker- and grabbed every waitress possible for the gratis drinks (they'll keep bringing the booze if you keep at the machines or tables- so if you are smart about it, a pint of Guinness or Sierra Nevada ends up costing you only whatever you tip the waitresses). The casino's are built to keep you slightly off kilter and clueless of the time. There are no clocks or windows, the oxygen they pump in is to keep you awake, while the drinks are designed to keep you loose. The design of the place is all bells, whistles, lights and mirrors, to keep the excitement going.

A candid shot of a small part of the casino- if you take pix in a casino you could actually GET shot!

Over the weekend I was somewhat smart in my gambling, until I got stupid. I hit the craps table and the craps table hit me back. I was about even, and then dropped $40 on one bet- which was alot for me. The guy rolled a four and I bet against him rolling another one- so of course he rolled another four. Between that and a quick $20 dropped in BlackJack (the saving graces was the 3 Grey Gooses I was served), I had enuff of the gambling pretty quickly. Then I dropped $30 on some NFL picks ... they were parlays where you pick 4 games and win $130 for a $10 bet- I lost every game I picked!!!!!

So I decided to concentrate on business and drinking... because drinking is my business.

"Glow"

The coolest thing I did was attend the Great Reno Balloon Race and "glow" event. This was amazing. You get there at 4:30 am (I just kept drinking thru the nite because there was no way I was going to wake up - besides: how do you avoid hangovers? You stay drunk!) and there are thousands of people watching close to 80 hot air balloons. While it's still nite time, 6 balloons were deployed and the gases were fired up to make them glow. The sunrise coming over the mountains was spectacular. I had brought a bottle of Champagne (the good stuff- Andres) and popped it open to greet the dawning of a new day. Once it was light they raised all the balloons. You could walk right up to them. There was an enormous Darth Vader balloon that had trouble for awhile staying afloat- I guess the Dark Side doesn't play well with helium!

It is balloooooons!

This was the morning of September 11, and there were moments of silence for the murders of 10 years ago. One moment each for every tower attack, Pentagon attack, Shanksville PA plane downing and one each for the towers falling. Very emotional. As a NY'er, I represented with my Mets cap. The Governor of Nevada gave a speech, which was too long and was poorly read. He shoulda spoken "off the cuff".

Than the weirdest thing happened. There was a "missing man formation" flyover- that's when one plane veers off in another direction to represent those that were killed in combat. A minute later, a bunch of ducks flew over in the same formation and one veered off!!!!!

There was a "Pirate Club Crawl" in downtown Reno Saturday nite- lots of wasted teenagers and folks dressed up in Pirate garb. We grabbed some cloth hankies from a restaurant we dined at and pirated ourselves out.

I also met some very cool people. One of which was a guy working security. He was 20 years old, a former Army Ranger and he was all sorts of physically and mentally fucked up from 18 months over in Afghanistan. He got his discharge and Purple Heart from getting shot. What a cool guy, and at 20, he was already screwed. He walked really poorly, he was partially deaf due to concussion blasts and his memory was gone. And the fucking Government owed him $60,0000 on the GI bill and was not forking the money over.

So very sad.

And of course the other highlite was meeting this guy:

No, not Dean Martin... the amazing Jon from Poetry Is For Assholes. He drove 4 hours over mountains just to hang with lil old me for a spell. A way cool dude, impeccable music taste and an awesome blog- which you should be reading.

I'm still jet lagged. Fun time.

Some Music You Should Hear

2011-09-07T14:46:00.002-04:00

And it’s time for a record round up. All of the following are heartily recommended, and if you can’t trust your old pal Nazz, then all hope is lost!

The New Rochelles: “It’s New” - The second or third or fifteenth coming of the Ramones. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. 12 songs in 14 minutes. They cop every important aspect of Duh Brudders (same surnames, snappy toonage, whacked out song subjects) without the annoying stuff (oh wait a minute, there is no annoying stuff when it comes to The Ramones !!!!!). Fuckin’ A!

M.O.T.O: Pack Your Troubles In Dreams - Thanks to Brushback at “One Base On An Overthrow for reminding me how good this band is. 30 year vets of the lo-fi garage-punk scene. Funnier than a hemorrhage and the songs stick to you like ebola. Or something. Pick hits: “Satan Always Calls Collect”, “Radio Wall of Phlegm” and “Dance Dance Dance Dance To The Radio”.

The Okmoniks – Party Fever!!! – Cheesy keyboards, hot chick singing. Pure pop for now people. Kinda like the Mummies mate with The Muffs; but not really. Especially since there's only one girl in The Muffs, besides, how would that work... I mean with The Mummies wrappings and everything? Extra points because I think they named their band after the neighbors in ALF.

The Dwarves – The Dwarves Are Born Again: The band that wouldn't die. Advice of the day: “Let’s Get High And Fuck Some Sluts”. It’s The Dwarves. Nuff said.

Flip City – Demo’s: Elvis Costello’s band when he was still Joey Goldstein (or whatever his real name is.) Sorta like Springsteen, if the boss had no delusions of grandeur and was born in the UK. Interesting to listen to as it has early versions of “Radio Radio” (“Radio Soul”) and “Living In Paradise”

The Worlds A Mess (it's in my kiss)

2011-09-06T15:28:00.000-04:00

No one is united
all things are untied
perhaps we're boiling over inside
they've been telling lieeees
who's been telling lieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesss?
there are no angels
there are devils in many waaaaaaaaaaays
take it like a maaaaaan

the world's a mess it's in my kiss

you can't take it back
pull it out of the fire
pull it ouuuuut in the bottom of the ninth
pull it ouuuuut in chords of red-disease
drag on the system
drag on my head and body
there are some facts here
that refuse to escape
i could say it stronger
but it's too much trouble
i was wondering down at the briiiiickkkks
hectic, isn't it?
down we go craaaaaaaaaddddddddddddddle

(cue Billy Zoom!)

No one is united
all things are untied
perhaps we're boiling over inside
they've been telling lieeeees
who's been telling lieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeesssssss?
there are no angels
there are devils in many waaaaaaaaays
take it like a man

the world's a mess it's in my kiiiissssssssssss

and all the world's a mess it's in my kiss

go to hell, see if you like it
then come home with me
tomorrow night may be too late
both moons are full
dirty night dying like a lovely wife
goodbye my darling
how high the moon
well i wish i was

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(I've been playing alot of X on my bass guitar lately).

Shwag: The t-shirt in the picture with the lyrics can be found at X's on-line store: (click here)

ps- This song is much better without the Ray Manzarek wankery on keyboard coda

Dignity?

2011-09-05T00:14:00.001-04:00

I will not be in New York for the 10 year "tribute" next weekend. It's actually already started, as the local media is tired of reporting about the hurricane damage and the economy crisis is oh so boring and played out. I've seen "America's Mayor" (ie Giuliani) already weighing in. I guess no one remembers that at the time of the attack, the fascist motherfucker only had 2 months left in his largely failed administration... and if it wasn't for the attacks, he's be remembered as a tremendous asshole, and not some sort of (cough, hack, puke) "leader".

And Bush? And his recollections of shitting the bed that day? No thanks.

Prepare to be inundated with analysis of our "lost innocence" and how it was the day everything "changed". Being a New Yorker, I know all too well about the atrocities perpetuated by those monstrous murdering bastards with box-cutters and the damage they caused. And I am sure that you do too.

I really don't need 24/7 media coverage exploiting it and I am sure the rest of you don't either.

Fuck Art... Let's Rock

2011-09-02T14:48:00.001-04:00

Having a couple of pints with my pal Veronica Moser the other day and the following came up:

Upon listening to the bar playing the Lou Reed album Transformer, I commented with regard to what a truly pussy, weak-ass non rock album it is. Although it was heavily influenced by David Bowie, Reed should not have been pandering to the Brechtian school of non- r n r (what was the harbinger of his Berlin period). I also commented that I would prefer they had put on Metal Machine Music- which at least was obnoxiously punk. Mr. Moser commented that I hate art and that it was all about The Ramones as far as I was concerned.
Well... d-uh!

As we were in this downtown en why cee tavern, we started chatting with a gal who with-in 15 minutes name dropped that she personally knew every bo-ho/hipster influence of the last 40 years (the most reverent Saints Thompson, Ginsberg, Ramone, et al; along with such lesser lights as Patti Smith). Which was all well and good, until she related a story of attending a performance of David Byrne. She apparently had to leave the show early, and the next time she ran into Mr. Talking Head, he asked why she bailed.
I suggested that if it was me, I would have politely explained to Mr. Byrne that it was my belief that he had done everything in his power to kill rock n roll with his assorted forays into what I would consider unlistenable crap (everything past Fear Of Music)and that if I hadn't left I would have been compelled to decapitate him.

This did not go over so well.

I've been listening to John Cale as of late. His Sabotage/Live lp (recorded at CBGB's in 1979) proved that the elder race of man could still rip the shit out of the music. And more than 20 years later, he was still shredding with the Circus Live collection.

Yeah, I know- he's "artsy". And into classical music. And the avant garde.
Fuck it.

Here's the Sabotage/Live LP... see for yerself

Toonage:

John Cale - "Sabotage/Live"

The Damned Are Coming

2011-08-30T17:42:00.000-04:00

Well, at least the 2 main guys. Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian (along with some more than capable aiders and abetters) will be tourin' and playing DAMNED DAMNED DAMNED and THE BLACK ALBUM this fall. That's an interesting juxtaposition. Primal Punk and perhaps the first punk foray into Goth/Psychedelica in tandem.

Bitchin'.

The Damned 35th Anniversary Tour

Oct

20th - US - Cambridge, MA, Middle East
22nd - US - New York,NY, Irving Plaza
23rd - US - Washington DC, Black Cat
25th - US - Chicago,IL, Metro/Smart Bar
27th - US - Seattle, WA, Showbox at The Market
29th - US - San Francisco, CA, Slim's
30th - US - Los Angeles, CA, House Of Blues
31st - US - Anaheim, CA, House Of Blues

Nov

1st - US - San Diego, CA, House Of Blues
4/5/6 - Fun Fun Fun Fest, Austin, Texas - exact date and time TBA Sep 1st

Nov

9th - Bristol, O2 Academy
10th - Birmingham,O2 Academy
11th - Cambridge, Corn Exchange
12th - London, Roundhouse
13th - Brighton, East Wing
14th - Norwich, UEA
15th - Nottingham, Rock City
17th - Newcastle, O2 Academy
18th - Leeds, O2 Academy
19th - Manchester, Academy
20th - Edinburgh, Picture House

The Surfin' Dead

2011-08-26T17:37:00.000-04:00

If you want to hang with Nazz this weekend, I'll be on Rock Rock Rockaway Beach surfing the rightous hurricane waves.

I realize that every Mayor in the North East is shitting bricks about the possibility of Katrina redux; but did our illustrious en why cee Mayor Bloomberg REALLY have to shut down all mass transit and order forced evacuations? If this storm is anything less than Armageddon, I think not. What a bunch of fucking pussies we've all become.

And why is that old guy across the street collecting 2 of every animal?

Utter Stupidity part 7812

2011-08-23T14:09:00.000-04:00

It looks like my band Caterwaul Of Sound has had music sorta featured in a couple of more video projects. They are exactly in our "oeuvre", as you will see by investing a few minutes on either one. I can't believe 7 years of college amounted to this. I shoulda joined the Peace Corps.

Click here for "Dumpster Diving": (on Funny Or Die)

and than there's this:

"Psycho The Chef" - cooking up Shrooms and LSD

Oh snap- we just had our house shake from an earthquake!!!!!! Now, that's a unique feeling!

Suburban Fun

2011-08-21T23:11:00.000-04:00

plus

equals

We got these trees that are growing wild and drop huge caches of leaves into our pool. Which sucks. It also kills the sunlite in our backyard. Which also sucks.

Soooo, I got the rickety wood ladder out and my sawzall and decided to take down some of the bigger branches. This was going along pretty well, I was lightly buzzed and made sure everything was plugged in correctly.

I couldn't quite reach the highest branch I was targetting so I climbed on the top ring of the ladder- the rung that says- "do not stand on this". Even better, I was still holding the sawz-all. So... of course I slipped and fell down. As I was falling I threw the sawzall as far from me as possible and it landed a few feet away from me as I flopped off the ladder and landed asses up.

I sat there on the ground, a bit bruised, thinking about how no one would ever believe that I woulda cashed in doing tree work.

Bob Mould- "See A Little Light"

2011-08-18T13:45:00.002-04:00

Currently, I am reading and enjoying Bob Mould's auto-bio "See A Little Light". A fine book, not as heavy on the soul searching as I woulda thought, given his cathartic oeuvre of music, but some good insights nonetheless. He doesn't savage Grant Hart as much as you would expect, given their post-Husker relationship. Actually, he seems to think less of Greg Norton- basically describing him as superfluous to Hu-Du (except for his driving abilities).

Additionally, at least so far (I'm about halfway thru the book), Mould doesn't bury the book in overkill as far as his feelings about being gay. Of course he discusses it... but this is a book about Bob Mould, not a book about Bob Mould being gay (if that makes any sense- or makes no sense at all).

After finishing the whole book, I take back my initial perspective of Bob talkin about his sexuality. He lays it on pretty thick in the second half of the book and the second half of the book focus's much energy on his gay experience's (whether long term or "bumps in the night". He totally embraces gay lifestyle and is able to flourish in his adopted cities of NY, DC and Atlanta. Good for him- it certainly seems to make him a happier person. I think most people "back in the day" knew that the band was gay. It was a bigger shock finding out that Greg Norton with that handlebar mustache was straight! And despite the usual morons that were in any scene, I don't think that too many people particularly cared that Hu Du were gay.

I met Bob "back in the Hu Du days" a couple of times (and exchanged a couple of e-mails back and forth with him a few years ago) and he was always really really nice (as were Grant Hart and Greg Norton), so the "monstrous" anti-social behavior he describes in the book I never witnessed. There are some good insights into the Hu-Du songwriting and recording history, and I suspect the rest of the book will do the same for Sugar and his solo work. He talks about his drug use pretty candidly- ironically, the only time I ever saw him indulge was with a packet of powdered aspirin (we even asked him if it was coke and he showed us the envelope and it really was aspirin!)

It's also really cool to read his thoughts on some of the great shows that I saw the Huskers play- they were some amazing times for me, and it's always great to think about those old shows when both Bobby and I had alot more hair!

His stories about his subsequent efforts with Sugar and solo and with his electonica dj project "Blow-Off are interesting. After all Sugar was a bigger band than Hu Du commercially. And Mould's tales of working for WCW wrestling were great. Punk rock!

I am relieved this isn't a "grouchy" look at his past- I hate those kind of "I hated every moment of my life" books. For example, I worshipped The Ramones, but after reading the various "tell alls" that were written about the "brudders", my memories of all the great times I had at their shows and listening to their music are a bit ruined since I know what miserable people they were.

Despite some rocky self hating moments, Bob at 50 seems to be a happy, well adjusted guy. Good for him!

I am posting some covers of Bob Mould penned Husker Du songs today- some really interesting stuff that I hope you enjoy.

(according to the book, Bob smiles at Grant after the guitar solo because he was so happy he nailed it correctly!)

Toonage:

Anthrax - "Celebrated Summer"
Sick Of It All - "Target"
Alloy - "Out On A Limb"
Jonas Jinx - "Something I Learned Today"

Does Listening To The Cure Make Me A Pussy?

2011-08-16T16:31:00.001-04:00

I gotta admit, everytime a song that isn’t from The Cure’s first album (Three Imaginary Boys) comes on my iTunes, I feel a little less than the masculine, testosterone uber-stud that I truly am.

Just now, I was in the midst of a Rancid/Cramps/Ray Charles/Sugar (yeah- I know all about Mr. Mould) run and on pops The Cure’s “Lullaby”. It got me thinking just how many Cure songs (OK- I’ll give ya “Primary” – besides that whole lp is electro-pop so it’s robotic) are weak ass pussy crap. “Love Cats”, “Let’s Go To Bed”, “Friday I’m In Love” don’t even get me started on “Caterpillar”. “Just Like Heaven” is great, but the Dinosaur jr and Goldfinger versions shred the original.

Between Robert Smith’s penchants for make-up, black clothes and really bad hair, and all the goth wannabe’s that were late to the party and queued up for The Cure, what the hell was I thinking?

(Tongue In Cheek?)

Full disclosure- back in the mid-80’s, the “old enough to know better” Nazz wore eyeliner and other questionable attire to witness The Cure in person. My only excuse is that I was trying to bang this girl who I went to the show with. Of course, she turned out to be a lesbian, so Nazz’s physical needs were “c*nt-blocked”.

Thank Satan I was able to jump to the next song on my iTunes : Queen’s “Liar”.

Fuckin’ manly music!

Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite

2011-08-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

from the original Elvis inspired rockabilly meets British blues...

to the Scottish Punk rave-up...

to the bushman's holidays version of The Slickee Boys (aka The Wanktones)

to the inevitable Cali rendition

Well now the cats are rockin' and everyone is feelin' alright - alright!
Said on a Wednesday evening there's sure
gonna be a fight - be a fight!
Somebodys's gonna get their head kicked in tonight!

Well everybody's moving and everyone just wants more - more!
So there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor - floor!
Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight!

We're gonna rip up the chairs - rip off the walls!
Tear down the walls - Tear down the wall!
All my boys are in distress and
I hope that floor's a bloody mess

Said everybody's rockin' and everyone is feelin' alright - alright!
Said on a Wednesday evening there's sure
gonna be a fight - be a fight!
Somebodys's gonna get their head kicked in tonight!

We're gonna rip off the halls!
Tear down the walls!
All those boys, gonna be a big fight!
All my boys are in distress and
And the whole dance floor's gonna be a doggone mess

Everybody is rockin' and everyone just wants more - more!
So there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor - floor!
Somebody's gonna get their head
Somebody's gonna get their head
Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight!

Tribute Songs

2011-08-12T14:38:00.000-04:00

What could be cooler than having a band write a song about you in tribute? Well, as long as the song is complimentary of course.
Here's some toonage that fits the subject!

Toonage:
"Grant Hart" - The Posies
"Strummerville"- Stiff Little Fingers
"The Replacements" - Tommy Womack
"Johnny's Gonna Die" - The Replacements (live July 1982)

Here It Comes!

2011-08-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

By Friday afternoon the world will be in the midst of a full scale economic crash. By Monday, the rioting that occurred in the UK this week will be known as "the calm before the storm".
This is NOT a test of the emergency broadcasting system!

Wheeeeee!!!!!!!!

Hillbilly Hand Fishin'

2011-08-08T14:23:00.002-04:00

OK, I have no idea what the hell is going on in this country. Apparently, there are so many channels to fill up with product, that anyone can get a TV show.

The latest example of this is "Hillbilly Hand Fishin". this is a show where a couple of southern gents take people into a muddy river and instruct them how to pull catfish out of holes in the river bed.

Along with multiple shows on every "celebrity" in existence, storage auction shows, repo shows, and 7 million different food shows, it is apparent that Warhol was right about everyone getting 15 minutes of fame.

Of course now that this happened today... eating catfish might become a major luxury for most of us.

Embracing The Chaos

2011-07-31T20:59:00.000-04:00

I spent 10 hours in the Charlotte North Carolina airport last Friday (thanks to storms cancelling flights rather haphazardly). In this time, 2 hours were spent on a runway, before we went back to the gate. After scrambling and booking/cancelling/unbooking 5 different flights I finally made it back to NY at 2 am Saturday morning.

The whole time, I was rather bemused and enjoying the chaos of the situation. Embracing the madness. People were freaking out and screaming at the poor Airport staffers, as if it was their fault that Mother Nature was taking a giant piss on the eastern half of the U.S. of A.

I kept Missus Nomad updated on the goings-ons and she couldn't belief my sanguine calm. Especially when, the "old school Nazz" woulda probably been arrested for leading a riot. I had a few beers- without losing my shit. And I even socialized with my fellow travelers.

I felt bad for the people with babies and young kids, but eventually everyone made it out of the airport.

Besides, it'll make for a memory of some weirdness. And ya gotta dig the weirdness when ya can!

And then I spent the weekend on a float in my pool, roasting and burning my lazy ass!

Sometime To Return

2011-07-27T21:43:00.000-04:00

I was in the big city yesterday, lucky enough to have a bunch of meetings (meetings = hope for bizness) and I found myself around the corner from where an old friend works. This person was someone, who, for the past few years, I have been very close to. As a result of the last few months of jumping on and falling off assorted wagons of vice, I had cut off communication... as I had with virtually everyone I know (except for immediate family).

Aside from being on hiatus from my band due to the same reasons, this was the most drastic self-censure I had undertaken. This person had helped me thru alot of psychotic and personal "episodes" (and been honest enough to call me on my shit) over the last few years, but, when I cut people off, I REALLY cut them off.

I swallowed my pride and visited them yesterday. I figured, the worst they could do was have me physically removed from the premises (I hadn't done anything to this person except cease communication, but ya never know how people are gonna react). Surprised to see me, even shocked, but I was greeted warmly. We talked for about 30 minutes, with yours truly attempting to explain the craziness of the last few months. As this person is no stranger to some of the demons that have visited me, it was very helpful and even therapeutic.

It went well and hopefully, when I am ready to venture out into the world of socialization, I'll have a comrade in arms again.

It's nice to have some real friends that don't turn their back on you. T'is a rare and noble gift.

Sometime To Return (Soul Asylum)

I ran the way
I walked a fine line
Wasted time or need to find
You will call and I'll take mine
And to remind me
I am fine

What you are is
What you see and
You see me and we can be
Something we can call we
We are we are

Doing the what-we-can
Working without a plan
I'm beginning to understand
It's getting out of hand

I have seen these do-si-do's
I've walked up on this road before
Picked it apart for hours and hours and
Hours and hours
Of turning
Tossing and
Looking and
Listening
To you and all the fuckedd up things you do

But you're doing the best you can
With every grain of sand
That's trickling through your hands
So catch me if you can

If someday comes early
Comes whipping, comes whirling
To take you for all you have learned
The tables are turning
Your bridges are burning
My destination sometime to return

Throw away your calendar and
Sign up your salamander
Get up and get down
Right in the town and look around
Get up and do something
Your time to choose it
Do it do it do it do it do it!

Doing the best I can
Living without a plan
I'm taking what I can get
I haven't seen nothing yet
If one day you wake up and
Find what you make up
Come and get me
     Come and take me there

Into your illusion
I make my intrusion
Anytime, anyplace, anywhere
The hourglass is draining fast
It knows no future
Holds no past
And all this too will come to pass
Never forever whatever

If someday comes early
Comes whipping, comes whirling
To take you for all you have learned
The tables are turning
Your bridges are burning
My destination sometime to return...

Too Much Too Young

2011-07-25T16:18:00.000-04:00

Princess Nomad came home from a party last nite and informed us that one of her peers is pregnant.

16 and fucking pregnant. We know this poor kid and we've known her parents since she was 3 years old.

Most of the kids she knows from school are into dope or drinking or fucking.

I thank (insert imaginary deity of your choice) every day that my children are L7 (squaresville). Straight Edge. Theater gleeks and xbox heads.

As fucking stupid, crazy and irresponsible as I am... I am ever grateful that it looks like it skipped a generation.

Hug your kids... it's a dark and bumpy ride.

All The News That's Fit To Print

2011-07-24T13:27:00.000-04:00

Reading the Sunday paper today, I commented to Missus Nomad that I would pay a premium to get a newspaper that only printed good news. She took the opposite view, that people read the paper because they WANT the bad news.
I barely read the front of the paper anymore. I don't want to know about this or this or (especially) this.

I stick with the Sports.

Although, THIS is effing awesome!

Hey check out these guys! A combo of Visigoth fashion, electric light orchestra and too many viewings of The Road Warrior! They think they're bad-ass, and then they have a chick playing accordion! Punk fucking rawk!

Soft Apocalypse

2011-07-21T15:48:00.000-04:00

There's an old urban legend of an experiment where a frog is put in a  pot of cool water. The pot is placed on a  stove and the heat is turned up slowly over a period of time. By the end  of the experiment the frog will have boiled to death without its  knowledge. 

A metaphor for our economy and America in general.

It must be nice to be that frog. Not having panic and anxiety over supporting a family and future income.  That's where all of my anxiety is these days. 

I suspect it's the same for many of you. 

In the "new america" many of us are working harder, more stressfully and making less money. It's gotten to a point that the "FEAR" is overriding everything. Trying to find the help to whistle past the graveyard works sometimes, but it tends to also eliminate creative urges as well... hence the scarcity of posts (you've noticed????) as of late. 

Hopefully, this fog will lift. And that light at the end of the tunnel won't be a train coming.

Reading: "Soft Apocalypse" - Will McIntosh - File under "Dystopian future reality" - A group of ordinary folks circa 2025-2035 try to survive in a dying America where unemployment hovers around 60%. Things only get worse.

What the world needs now...

2011-07-18T14:06:00.000-04:00

is some of these guys.

Ladies & gentlemen:

THE MC5

Spotify

2011-07-15T12:20:00.000-04:00

Spotify finally came the US of A yesterday and I was able to snag an invite.

For those who don't know, Spotify is a "cloud based" music server that functions as competition to iTunes (as it indexes all of your hard drive music files and works as a player). The difference is that you can also stream virtually any music that you don't own as well! Unlike Pandora, which works to "recommend" music based on your preferences, you can actually search for bands and play whatever you want.

For example, I have a couple of the three million or so Guided By Voices lps on my hard drive. When I plug in "Guided By Voices" in the search field on Spotify, I can stream many of their albums, plus compilations and the service recommends "like" artists such as The Replacements, Built To Spill, Dinosaur JR, etc.

Their are levels of service that you can pay for, but I am finding the "free" service just fine. I haven't figured out if you can actually download and save the songs (like on Napster), but this entire concept removes the need to "own" the music.

Additionally, you can make playlists, post them and others can share your lists- so we are all now our own personal radio stations. It links into all the "social" networking sites as well.

Is this the "game changer"? It just might be. I assume at some point Spotify will remove the free option, but for now it's free.

And it's awesome.

Live For Today

2011-07-09T11:47:00.000-04:00

From the always excellent site Willard's Wormholes, comes sad news that The Grass Roots' singer/bassist Rob Grill is in a coma and not expected to survive.

One of the great "singles bands" from the 60's, The Grass Roots have had a lasting legacy, with cover versions of their songs done by such alt legends as The Replacements, and Stiv Bator's Lord's Of The New Church.

The "walking bass line" on "Midnite Confessions" has always been a source of amazement for me.

And dig Jimmy Durante doing an intro- holy retro!

And here's the 'Mats covering "Temptation Eyes"

Real American Heroes

2011-07-01T15:52:00.000-04:00

Today we focus on some real American Heroes:

Hunter S. Thompson

Paul Krassner

Ed Sanders

and, of course... THE RAMONES!!!!!

Enjoy Your Weekends!

The Big Man

2011-06-22T17:16:00.000-04:00

As we raise a glass to the late great Clarence Clemons, whats left of my mind drift's back to a fun evening back in the early 80's.

The Big Man had a club in Red Bank, New Joisey (if memory serves called "Big Man's West"- I wonder if there was an "East" too).

One night my sorta girlfriend and her friends were heading from our Noo Yawk (ie Forest Hills- NY- home of the Ramones- you got a problem with that?) environs to the club in NJ, as one of her friends was engaged in events of a carnal nature with some mope who was playing in a band that night. As I was in contact range, she asked if i wanted to go along, as there was a rumor that The Big Man and The Boss were going to appear and play that nite.

Your humble narrator, being Mr. Asshole Punk Rocker, wanted no part of seeing Mr. Springsteen, but went along, as the lure of a road trip, alcohol, messing with peckerheads from NJ; and a big white van proved irresistible.
Looking back on it, some of the best times of my life were because I was lured into a big white van by teenage girls with alcohol. Kids... don't try this anymore.

So we load into the van, whose driver (who we'll call "Charlie the douchebag drummer" - mainly because he was named Charlie, a drummer and a total douchebag) absolutely hated me (later discovered because he had the hots for my girl). Charlie was not thrilled to have me as a passenger, but it was sorta tough crap on him, as I, being Mr. Asshole Punk Rocker, was needed for this trip into the "swamps of Jersey" (registered tm).

So, off we go, in a big white cargo van (ie- no seats, being jostled on a 2 hour ride). The air was thick (think Cheech And Chong's "Up In Smoke") and many beverages of an adult nature were consumed. Finally, nature called, and Charlie the douchebag drummer WOULD NOT PULL OVER. At some point, I threw open the loading doors and pissed out the back; only to discover that we were flying on the New Jersey Turnpike and I was baptizing the car in back of me.

Rock n roll.

We eventually make it to "Big Man's West" and hang out drinking by the bar, ignoring the stupid band (and all things New Jersey). People in NJ were big, and despite my drunkenness, I was still sane enough to want to avoid becoming a grease smudge in a back alley.

Eventually, it's announced that St. Bruce and Clarence would be taking the stage to play a few songs. I had just thrown a couple of bucks in the jukebox (and it was probably my last 2 bucks.)

So while everyone else rushed to the stage, we hung in the bar area and listened to the Jukebox. The song playing was The Turtles' "Happy Together". After the songs played, we went over to the stage and watched Springsteen and Clarence tear the roof off the joint.

I ended up marrying that girl. Still am, in fact.

Rest In Peace, Clarence

SUCK

2011-06-14T18:11:00.000-04:00

Old Nazz caught this movie on the telly the other note called "SUCK". If you like movies that feature cameo's by such diverse rockers as Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper, Moby, Iggy Pop and Alex fucking Lifeson; then this flick's for you.

The plot of Suck is about a shitty Canadian band that has to decide whether turning Vampire is a good career path to rock n roll stardom. Their are overt references to the old "Crossroads" Robert Johnson tale, with Alice Cooper as Satan (or a reasonable facsimile). The other cameo's are a little more out of character. And watch for Malcolm McDowell as "Eddie Van Helsing".

Hey, Suck ain't gonna win any Academy Awards, but I'd rather see the hot chick in the film "vamp out" than watch Meryl Streep suck face with Dustin Hoffman (or something) any old time.

As an added bonus, watch for all of the rock n roll references - both audio and visual.

Suck has been making the rounds on cable, and it's highly recommended.

Serenity Now, Insanity Later

2011-06-13T12:15:00.000-04:00

Hey Nazz, since you are frustrated and unfulfilled in your job... why don't you just get another one?

Of course! Why didn't I think of that!!!!!!!!

Count to 10, slowly.

Download:

Very calming music (it's a surprise)

My Name Is Legion

2011-06-11T11:04:00.000-04:00

BWM (Beached White Male) is a new term for the “displaced” increasing number of Americans who are largely over 35 and either unemployed or working at jobs that are paying a fraction of what they used to make. The other day, as I was at my first med exam in over a year (now that my crappy paying job at least has good health benefits), my Dr. actually had a copy of Newsweek on the exam room table describing this phenomenon.

per the article:

"Through the first quarter of 2011, nearly 600,000 college-educated white men ages 35 to 64 were unemployed, according to previously unpublished Labor Department stats. That’s more than 5 percent jobless—double the group’s pre-recession rate. That might not sound bad compared with the plight of younger, less-educated workers and minorities, but it’s a historic change from the last recession, when about half as many lost their oxford shirts. The number of college-educated men unemployed for at least a year is five times higher today than after the dotcom bubble. In New York City, men in the 35-to-54 kill zone have lost jobs faster than any other group, including teenage girls, according to new data from the Fiscal Policy Institute."

Seems I’m not the only one freaking out about low pay and dwindling prospects. Meanwhile, as I went to pay my deductible, there was a Pharmacy Company rep at the receptionist’s desk, buying lunch for everyone (something that happens 15 times a month, apparently).

Because, that’s where the money is… in pushing drugs to Doctors… who then in turn get US hooked.

Meanwhile, it’s a game of ruses at home; trying to keep the bill collectors at bay (that’s got to be a terrible job, calling people up for unpaid bills) and projecting an air of nonchalance to the kids. I crunched the numbers, and, we’re looking at a huge plunge into the red over the next 18 months. And we have always lived very economically, no vacations, no outlandish spending. Which is a relief, since our somewhat frugal lifestyle has resulted at least in savings to burn. According to a survey, over half the familys in the U.S. of A. have less than $2000 in the band in case of an emergency.

Of course, Princess Nomad is starting college in another year and we’re gonna have squat to offer in terms of $$$ for tuition.

None of this was in the “middle class white guy brochure” I was given as a teenager, that’s for sure.

The American Dream is now a Pharmaceutical aided coma (so states Captain Obvious).

This Is Not A Song Of Hope

2011-06-09T17:10:00.000-04:00

But it sure makes me feel better.
Celebrate the ugly things... cause all the beauty's fucking gone

SOMETIMES IT'S SIMPLE THINGS THAT MAKE IT HARD
SPOILED BABY T's WITH CREDIT CARDS
OVERTIME ALWAYS ON MY MIND
COULD HAVE BEENS EAT AWAY INSIDE NOW

PRAISE GOD AND PASS THE BOTTLE OF BEAM
BECAUSE TONIGHT I CAN'T SEEM TO SAY WHAT I MEAN
DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD, EVEN IF I COULD, AMEN

SOMEHOW THIS SEEMS LIKE BORROWED TIME
PAY IT NO MIND, EVERYTHING IS FINE
BUT SOMETIMES I'D RATHER HEAR LAUGHTER
WHILE THIS WHOLE PLACE DIED.

A JOHNNY JUMP-UP IS A LOVELY THING
A PINT OF CIDER AND SOME WHISKEY
I HAD FOUR DEAD INSIDE OF ME
JUST TO HEAR THIS JACKASS SING HIS LINE ABOUT
HOW HE USED TO HANG OUT SOMEWHERE "BACK IN THE DAY"
KNOWING TERMS ONLY AN ASSHOLE WOULD SAY
SO I SAT THERE DRINKING MORE

THINKING ABOUT DRINKING MORE

NELSON ALGREN CAME TO ME
AND SAID CELEBRATE THE UGLY THINGS
THE BEAT UP SIDE OF WHAT THEY CALL PRIDE
COULD BE THE MEASURE OF THESE DAYS

GOD SAVE OTIS REDDING BECAUSE I KNOW HE'S NEVER GONE
AS SICK FALLS FROM THIS MOUTH HEAR ME SING IT WRONG
IS IT "CIGARETTES AND COFFEE" NOW OR DREAMS TO BE REMEMBERED
I'LL LEAVE REGRETS FOR DEAD AND SING ALONG

SO I'M REACHING FOR THE PHONE, I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE
I WANT TO GET SOME FRIENDS HERE TONIGHT
I GOT A BASEMENT FULL OF BOOZE AND SOME BLUES TO LOSE
I'LL IGNORE THE WHOLE WORLD TONIGHT
IT WILL BE ALRIGHT

Toonage:
Dillinger Four - Doublewhiskeycokenoice

Buy Dillinger Four stuff here

This Is A Song Of Hope

2011-06-07T23:16:00.000-04:00

This is really great. You should spare 4 minutes and listen to it.

Download here:
The Gits - A Change Is Gonna Come

Buy The Gits here:
http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/thegits/

Stiff Little Fingers

2011-06-01T23:34:00.004-04:00

Going to see Stiff Little Fingers in some shithole Polish disco in Hipsterville Brooklyn that my band has actually played. It's sad that they have to take the same stage that we disgraced.

Stiff Little Fingers were the shit to me. Growing up... seeing them during the Nobody's Heroes Tour in NYC in '81 or so. Their songs were part of the beat that kept my heart pumping.

A Pale (but tanned) Copy

When I finally got my own band, the first song I sang myself was "Wasted Life". If they play "Johnny Was", I might break down. I'm attending with my buddy Dave (reference the song "Thick As Thieves" from The Jam for a full decryption of THAT relationship.)

He's actually my last living usher from my wedding. The four of us: Me, Dave, Kim, Vin... and now only Dave and I left. A bike accident and an aneurysm... and then there were two,,, probably the two that the smart money would have been on croaking first.

The Real Thing

report on show- they fucking rocked it- they played everything much faster and harder versions than on any of their live output- maybe because original bass player ali mcmordie is in the band again?

and the couple of hundred fuckers who were there knew every fucking word of every fucking song. which was extremely heartening to have a 90 minute singalong.

they concentrated mostly on the "Nobody's Heroes" album. a definite greatest hits show- the newest thing they did was the joe strummer tribute "strummerville". although i gotta admit that jake burns is looking a bit william shatner-ish these days. but who isn't?

(from a show earlier in tour)- Suspect Device

Summer Toonage

2011-05-31T10:24:00.000-04:00

Shits real complicated lately. Here's some summer toonage to brighten your days:

I Was A Teenage Guinea Pig

2011-05-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

Way back in Nazz's young teen years, he was a poor white boy looking for some money. My mom heard about a facility in the area that would pay $20 a week to kids who would allow various substances to be applied to their backs and checked a day letter for "reactions". Yeah, cosmetic clinical testing. SO, I became a Teenage Guinea Pig!

Now... before you look away and say "what the Fuck is wrong with Nazz's mommy for letting her son do this"?; remember, this was the innocent days of the 80's and out there in the hinterlands, people weren't quite so suspicious of big business (or, for that matter, men in white coats and facemasks in labs). Yeah- I know. Not too smart.

So, every week, I would go in, and the nice attendants would apply a pad the size of an open palm to my back. This pad would have whatever lotion or concoction that they needed to make sure wasn't too lethal to humans. One would assume this was after the bunny rabbits and chimps had survived; but, really, who knows? After all, teenage boys were made of far sturdier stuff. The next day, the pad would be taken off and my skin (funny, they never worried about anything but the skin- so if I had any toxic poisoning or nerve damage... too freakin' bad...) would be checked for outbreaks.

I did this for about three months.

Every week, when I got my crisp $20 (always in cash) - I would take it to the local record shop. They had a tremendous used vinyl area (this WAS the 80's) and for anywhere from one to three bucks, I could buy "rescued" albums from the 60's and 70's and further my musical education.

Ya see... you young whippersnappers, what we had to do back in the day for our rock n roll? Now it's all easy peasy to download anything you like in 5 seconds.

Weird, I had completely forgotten about this until last nite, when the head that grew out of my back reminded me.

One day, I'll tell you the story of when we got the bright idea to sell our blood in college for booze money.

Keef Richards - "Life"

2011-05-06T00:10:00.000-04:00

Here's my review of the Keith Richards auto-bio "Life". It's taken awhile to bother reading it since I wasn't going to fucking pay for it, and I had to wait until all of the Rolling Stones' fans who were too cheap to spend the cay-ish were done and I could get it from my library.

The following is the short review:

Fuck you Keith Richards and stick the 550 pages of this up your ass; where I hope it backs up your bowels and causes your entire body to explode like Mr. Creosote in "The Meaning Of Life".

BECAUSE- You're the coolest multi-billionaire muthafucka out there and I... Am... Very... Jealous.

I wanna hang out with Keef. Of course, trying to impress him, I'd end up acting like an asshole and being a douchebag.

On the other hand, I'm a nice guy... aren't I? WHY WOULDN'T Keefy wanna hang with me?

Hey Keef- call me... I'm listed.

Oh yeah, can I call you "Keef"?

Keef at the Beggars Banquet

The longer synopsis:
In which a hatchet faced, former pop icon, who has been trading on past glories since 1973 ( don't confuse this with Patti Smith's new book as I didn't say 1978), writes of his addictions and foibles. He rips on "Sir Mick" (newsflash- Keefy is not exactly a fan of "Sir Mick" - but when yer married for the money, you gotta put up with it), and tells stories of fun times with Gram and Brian and Bobby Keyes, etc. There's some references to drug problems too. Keef was into drugs???? Who knew? Next thing yer gonna tell me is that Glenn Danzig used ta be in da Misfits!

The auto-bio for those with short attention spans:
I was legit, I worshiped Chuck Berry and Jimmy Reed. I put in my time. I hated wealthy people, I was from the wrong side of the tracks. I was cooler than shit. Ya know, back in 1965, I wrote really good stuff. Than a few more cool songs, until I was led by the vein for the past 40 years by my banker. I'm taken out every few years for a billion dollar tour, where I play several chords and mug for the camera. I've fucked alot of hot chicks, taken alot of drugs and gotten into all sorts of hijinks. And I still hate rich people! And, open G tuning is the answer to everything. And... "Jumping Jack Flash" is the same riff as "Satisfaction"... backwards! Oh yeah... I owe everything to Chuck Berry... and Chuck Berry's a dick!

Mr. Butinski responds:

All with-out doing a single thing of musical interest since "Some Girls"... and you can probably back that up to "Exile" anway, since Keefy was probably too wasted to even remember his very first disco sell out elpee.That's what I wanted more of... some apologies for squandering what was one of the world's greatest r n r band's legacy.

On the other hand:
Muthafucker is rock n roll incarnate (for good or bad- I never saw the rulebook that sez r n r has to be altruistic). He can sit on his pile of money, shooting up and pissing down on everything single one of us if he wants... ps- Jerry Fucking Garcia never gave away his $$$$ either... and wasn't even a good enough junkie to survive. Although, I think the chocolate donuts killed him, not the China White.

Keef did it "his way" (as long as Sir Mick and the moneychangers said it was O-Tay). And the book is pretty savage and open and (I assume) honest.

Who ever transcribed Keef's 'umblings into this lively and highly entertaining book should be knighted. Or something. At least given access to Keefy's private stash.

The dude gets major props for killing Brian Jones and screwing Anita Pallenberg and Patti Hansen. I used to have a Patti Hansen poster. Eventually, it was able to stay to the wall without the benefit of tacks or any other "unnatural" substance. Just a little epoxy from the young Nazz's gonads. Get it- another pun!!!!!!!
Remember having posters on yer walls? I had the Farrah one too.

I spent alot of time in my bedroom. Than, I put up a fucking Jethro Tull poster. Ian Anderson, in some sort of "Men Without Dicks" Safety Dance jester's outfit. Or something. Playing a flute. I HAD A POSTER OF A GROWN MAN PLAYING A FLUTE ON MY WALL! Why my dad didn't come in and beat the shit out of me on a nightly basis until I removed that poster is something I will never understand. Let me tell you, if MY KID puts up a fucking Thom Yorke poster, I'll knock his fucking teeth out. I don't care if it's a Thom Yorke poster showing him drinking the blood out of George Bush's skull with a straw made from Nancy Reagan's windpipe... I'll still beat the crap outta him.

Keef got to bang these chicks when they were hot.
Keef wins.

Summation: Great book. Could have done with more drug and sex tales. Maybe a mud shark or two. Hope the sequal is a 500 page transciption of Cocksucker Blues. Though Keef doesn't really remember any of that era. Perhaps a diagram on how to main-line. Only other book that comes to mind that was more drug oriented was "Please Kill Me". And that book doesn't make the life of excess sound as much fun as Keef does.

Like I said, Keef- call me!

Bands That Suck

2011-04-30T23:05:00.004-04:00

The following bands can blow me. Short of that, and having them show up at my doorstep on their knees with mouths agape ready to swallow the issue of my fetid seed down their mouths, they can simply eat the rotted remains of Jim Morrison's esophagus.

Radiohead- Mopey asshole whiny-fuck-pop-star wannabees from the land that saw fit to perform a country wide circle jerk for the union of two horse faced douchebags who would just as soon have the entire nation die of starvation if it meant that they could garner one more crown jewel. Thom Yorke should have crushed up poodles shoved down his gullet. I would wish harm on the rest of the band, but I don't know who the fuck they are. At least Pearl Jam are American and probably get to fuck alot of real hot mid-western chicks who dream about sopping up Eddie Vedder's ejaculate with their flannel shirts. I mean, do they even sell flannel shirts in the UK? Real flannel... not that bullshitty new wave plaid stuff.
Notable exception- Paranoid Android... only because it's a Pink Floyd song.

Genesis - Anyone who debates the "era's" of Genital-cyst (that's pretty farking clever) for relevance and quality (ie Hackett vs Gabriel vs Collins vs who gives a fuck) should stop wasting their time and start instead pondering the stages of anal cancer and how one stage is better than another.
Notable Exception - The future death of Phil Collins

Bon Jovi- As an American I fully support the rights of money hungry cock suckers from New Jersey to make a buck off of the teeming masses whenever possible. Oh, my mistake, I confused these A.O.R. hacks with Snooki and The Situation. Jon Bon Jovi is musical AIDS.
Notable Exception- Richie Sambora dropped his load into Heather Locklear for a long time and still keeps going to rehab.

Kanye West- Would it be racisty to say that this guy is a non-rappable self absorbed publicity whore who actually was offended when he lost a meaningless award to Taylor Swift? Guess what, fuck face, at least she has two tits and a vagina... which gives her three things alot more useful than anything you have or have ever done.
Notable exception - He's tappin' Beyonce. Damn, got him confused with that Jay Zee guy.

The Pixies- Whaddya get when you up: a pussyass band name + a fat fuck + the only woman in the world I wouldn't fuck + 2 guys who I wouldn't recognize if I was running them over with my gas guzzling SUV? The world's most favoritist college band (trademark). That is, if you were in college in the 90's and never got laid. Ooh, I'm a Pixie. Kill me now. The same folk who wear Pixies shirts also stick gardenias up their ass and pretend they're Morrissey.
I saw their movie (I think it's called Suck Eat Suck) and Black Francis was lying on a hotel bed in his skivvies. I may never get an erection again.
Notable exception - Awaiting Black Francis' appearance on The Biggest Loser (or whuddevah that fat person losing weight show is).

That's it for now... I'm going back to my steady regimen of Minor Threat, early Black Flag, Motorhead, The Stooges, Killdozer. And RUSH. PS- Fuck you- RUSH FUCKING RULES! And I've gotten laid when 2112 was on (of course that was back around 1986) Oh yeah, download my band's new rekkid (STABBY ROAD) fer free. (shameless plug).

THESE ARE THE STOOGES- THEY FUCKING ROCK, AND THAT IS A NEARLY 800 YEAR OLD MAN WITH HIS PANTS DOWN.

No Future

2011-04-29T09:09:00.000-04:00

Every one of us geeks has got plenty of cover songs of our favorite bands. Out here on the internetweblands, are plenty of sites that actually feature nothing but covers.

In fact many of us have played in bands that paid homage to these bands. Of the 18 songs on here, I personally have been in bands over the years that have performed 7 of em.

A guy I see in the mirror every morning is playing bass on this one!

NO FUTURE (Released Emotions U.K.)
takes the approach of a “tribute” to the Big 3 of UK old school punk: The Clash, The Damned & Sex Pistols. On one hand you have the slavishly devotional, such as Sex Pistols Experience, with their riff cloning ersions of “Pretty Vacant” and “Anarchy In The UK”. The Pistols have turned into self parody, so why bother as a tribute to the originals?

Ladies and germs, the originals, 20 years past the point

The conflict to me is: Punk is spozed to be doing yer own thang, so I am far more impressed by the adventurous rather than the dogmatic. The techno-rappy “Submission” by The Blaggers ITA or the metallic “Silly Thing” with it’s AC/DC tease by Identity are the lure. Sometimes it backfires, ala The Bolsheviks rap of “Holidays In The Sun”, but respect for the attempt. I’d rather hear a car crash than a clone.

The concept works best on The Clash covers. Perhaps because the original band was so diverse and insistent in terms of wearing their influences’ on their sleeves. The versions of “Capital Radio” (Steve Drewett) and Attila The Stockbroker’s “Washington Bullets” take excursions into world beat- certainly something that mssrs’ Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Headon were no strangers to. These songs totally work- with logical and relevant reworkings. Again, on the covers of “English Civil War (my favorite cover on the album) and “Guns Of Brixton” the songs are re-imagined. “English Civil War” actually sounds like it should pre-date the Clash’s version, taking the song back to it’s 19^th century roots.

The only tunes that fall flat are another clone- “Bankrobber” Anhern & One Steady MDV add nothing (except a Paul Simonon aping of the vox maybe). Bleach sounds remote on “Complete Control” (pun intended), a miscalculation, as the original is as pissed off a song as there ever was.

There are already couple of really good Damned tribute comps out there, and as the least familiar of the three classic bands, I was a little nervous that the Damned selections here would not be thought as out as well as the band deserved. Leatherface’s version starts off baroque of “Melody Lee” before going full force with Frankie Stubbs' whisper/gurgle vox.

I was blown away by the Malcom Owen lament “The Limit Club”… very compelling and different- totally no frills, compared to the lush original. Still, very moving. “Plan Nine Channel 7” is one of those “holy songs" to me. My only hope was that Exit Condition didn’t fuck it up. They don’t, but there’s nothing particularly adventurous here either. On the other hand, “New Rose” is done as a piece for strings by The Urchin String Quartet. Cool. “Love Song”… well, Adrenalin AOD did the definitive cover version about 30 or so years ago. So, I wouldn’t have even bothered if I was Red Letter Day.

“Thanks For The Night”, by Robb Johnson totally acoustic, serves as the coda to the album, a complete 180 from Captain Sensible's’ original.

All in all… more hits than misses on some of the greatest songs ever. Worth checking out.

Toonage:

Leatherface - Melody Lee (Damned Cover)

Gimme Gimme Gimme

2011-04-25T09:22:00.002-04:00

I need some more.

One of these things is not like the others. Can you guess which one?

(this picture has nothing to do with anything... but Britney's sure got a nice rack here. Much nicer than Henry Rollins' rack).

Correct! Uncle Tupelo is the one that doesn't belong... because they are alt-country pussyfucks!!!!!!!

J is for Jesus

2011-04-22T09:05:00.000-04:00

Had a fight with the missus. I claim that Lady Gaga is a derivative, unoriginal hack without a shred of credibility or musical worth. And that she exists only due to the short memory spans of the populace and an innate ability to rip off Madonna. And how, despite her new "hey being gay and different is cool" song is a nice sentiment, the very fact that she is allowed to pollute the status quo with her face, voice and assorted "fashionista" trends makes the "hoi polloi" that much lamer.

The wife disagrees.

Enough of the pop crap, it's Good Friday, so I am going to take a non-secular approach for a change and offer up some cool toonage that actually has got some of that spritual stuff in it.

Or something like that.

So, have at it.

Toonage:

Iggy Pop - Jesus Love's The Stooges
Dillinger Four - Mosh For Jesus
NOFX - Leaving Jesusland
The Birthday Party - Big Jesus Trashcan

Joey Ramone- 10 Years Gone

2011-04-15T02:20:00.000-04:00

There is nothing I could say that would overstate the importance of Joey Ramone to the music that I hold dear to me, the lifestyle I have led and many of the good things in my life. It's a loss that I suspect many of you also feel.

Rest In Peace. I look forward to seeing you on the other side.

Our New Video!!!!!

2011-04-12T23:54:00.002-04:00

Just because I love you all so, here's the second video from our new album STABBY ROAD (what??? you haven't downloaded it yet??? GO HERE RIGHT NOW! IT'S FREE!).

This video might take you back to your TV viewing habits of yer yoots (youths?)

and as always, please don't sue us

ps- this Friday nite, in NYC- at Fontana's (105 Eldridge Street) come see us play at our record release party! We're gonna have rice pudding for everyone!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, everyone loves rice pudding!

It's Here!!!!! Our New Album!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-04-06T10:56:00.000-04:00

Finally!!!!! STABBY ROAD--- CATERWAUL OF SOUND (Yeah- My band!!!!!) has arrived!!!!! 10 slabs of mind numbing gonzo garage! Songs about serial killers! Teen prom abortions! Fecal matter raining down! Revolution! And some choice covers that will totally disgust the original songwriters!!!!!

Download it for free!

Send it to your friends! Play it loud and watch all the sheep in your town die!!!!!!!!!

This album is "wrong" on so many levels it's astounding. We're so proud.

We play both kinds of music: PUNK & RAWK!

Go to our website for a free download and lots of other hijinks

or

Download CATERWAUL OF SOUND: Stabby Road here!!!!!!

PLEASE... Leave a comment and let us know if you love it, or if you love it.

PS: Please don't sue us

Enjoy Yourself

2011-03-31T11:16:00.000-04:00

It's later than you think.

(Each dot represent one nuclear facility)

Toonage:

The Busters - Enjoy Yourself
The Specials - Enjoy Yourself

Cuckoo

2011-03-27T05:41:00.004-04:00

Take it away Scotty, here we go!

Get Happy

2011-03-24T10:22:00.000-04:00

Man, things have been getting pretty heavy here lately. War, natural disasters, kicking drugs.

It's time to get GET HAPPY!

and... what are YOU happy about these days?

Toonage:

Elvis Costello - GET HAPPY (BONUS DISC)

Body Bagger In Iraq - A "Must Read"

2011-03-21T15:11:00.000-04:00

The following is reprinted from Truth-Out (http://www.truth-out.org/). It's not very rock n roll, but it's damn more vital. I'd like to see the war-mongers in DC perform this job for ten minutes.

______________________________________________________________________________

Jess Goodell enlisted in the Marines immediately after she graduated from high school in 2001. She volunteered three years later to serve in the Marine Corps’ first officially declared Mortuary Affairs unit, at Camp Al Taqaddum in Iraq. Her job, for eight months, was to collect and catalog the bodies and personal effects of dead Marines. She put the remains of young Marines in body bags and placed the bags in metal boxes. Before being shipped to Dover Air Force Base, the boxes were stored, often for days, in a refrigerated unit known as a “reefer.”. The work she did was called “processing.”

“We went through everything,” she said when I reached her by phone in Buffalo, N.Y., where she is about to become a student in a Ph.D. program in counseling at the University of Buffalo. “We would get everything that the body had on it when the Marine died. Everyone had a copy of The Rules of Engagement in their left breast pocket. You found notes that people had written to each other. You found lists. Lists were common, the things they wanted to do when they got home or food they wanted to eat. The most difficult was pictures. Everyone had a picture of their wife or their kids or their family. And then you had the younger kids who might be 18 years old and they had prom pictures or pictures next to what I imagine were their first cars. Everyone had a spoon in their flak jacket. There were pens and trash and wrappers and MRE food. All of it would get sent back [to the Marines’ homes].”

“We all had the idea that at any point this could be us on the table,” she said. “I think Marines thought that we went over there to die. And so people wrote letters saying ‘If I die I want you to know I love you.’ ‘I want my car to go to my younger brother.’ Things like that. They carried those letters on their bodies. We had a Marine that we processed and going through his wallet he had a picture of a sonogram of a fetus his wife had sent him. And a lot of Marines had tattooed their vital information under an arm pit. It was called a meat tag.”

The unit processed about half a dozen suicides. The suicide notes, she said, almost always cited hazing. Women, she said, were constantly harassed, especially sexually, but it often did not match the systematic punishment and humiliation meted out to men who were deemed to be inadequate Marines. She said that Marines who were overweight or unable to do the physical training were subjected to withering verbal and physical abuse. They were called “fat nasties” and “shit bags.” The harassed Marines would be assigned to other individual Marines and become their slaves. They would be sent on punishing runs in which many of them vomited. They would be forced to bear-crawl—walk on all fours—the length of a football field and back. This would be followed by sets of monkey fuckers—bending down, grabbing the ankles, crouching down like a baseball catcher and then standing up again—followed by a series of other exercises that went on until the Marines collapsed.

“They make these Marines do what they call ‘bitch’ work,” Goodell said. “They are assigned to be someone else’s ‘bitch’ for the day. We had a guy in our platoon, not in Iraq but in California, and he was overweight. He was on remedial PT, which meant he went to extra physical training. When he came to work he was rotated. One day he was with this corporal or this sergeant. One day he was sent to me. I had him for an hour. I remember sending him outside and making him carry things. It was very common for them to dig a hole and fill it back up with sand or carry sand bags up to the top of a hill and then carry them down again.”

The unit was sent to collect the bodies of the Marines who killed themselves, usually by putting rifles under their chins and pulling the trigger.

“We had a Marine who was in a port-a-john when he blew his face off,” she said. “We had another Marine who shot himself through the neck. Often they would do it in the corner of a bunker or an abandoned building. We had a couple that did it in port-a-johns. We had to go in and peel and pull off chunks of flesh and brain tissue that had sprayed the walls. Those were the most frustrating bodies to get. On those bodies we were also on cleanup crew. It was gross. We sent the suicide notes home with the bodies.”

“We had the paperwork to do fingerprinting, but we started getting bodies in which there weren’t any hands or we would get bodies that were just meat,” said Goodell, who in May will publish a memoir called “Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq.” The book title refers to the form that required those in the mortuary unit to shade in black the body parts that were missing from a corpse. “Very quickly it became irrelevant to have a fingerprinting page to fill out. By the time we would get a body it might have been a while and rigor mortis had already set in. Their hands were usually clenched as if they were still holding their rifle. We could not unbend the fingers easily.”

The unit was also sent to collect Marines killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The members would arrive on the scene and don white plastic suits, gloves and face masks.

“One of the first convoys we went to was one where the Army had been traveling over a bridge and an IED had exploded,” she said. “It had literally shot a seven-ton truck over the side and down into a ravine. Marines were already going down into the ravine. We were just getting out of our vehicles. We were putting on our gloves and putting coverings over our boots. I was with a Marine named Pineda. I was coming around the Humvee and there was a spot on the ground that was a circle. I looked at it and thought something must have exploded here or near here. I went over to look at it. I looked in and saw a boot. Then I noticed the boot had a foot in it. I almost lost my lunch.”

“In the seven-ton truck the [body of the] assistant driver, who was in the passenger seat, was trapped in the vehicle,” she said. “All of his body was in the vehicle. We had to crawl in there to get it out. It was charred. Pineda and I pulled the burnt upper torso from the truck. Then we removed a leg. Some of the remains had to be scooped up by putting out hands together as though we were cupping water. That was very common. A lot of the deaths were from IEDs or explosions. You might have an upper torso but you need to scoop the rest of the remains into a body bag. It was very common to have body bags that when you picked them up they would sink in the middle because they were filled with flesh. The contents did not resemble a human body.”

The members of the mortuary unit were shunned by the other Marines. The stench of dead flesh clung to their uniforms, hair, skin and fingers. Two members of the mortuary unit began to disintegrate psychologically. One began to take a box of Nyquil tablets every day and drink large quantities of cold medicine. He was eventually medevaced out of Iraq.

“Our cammies would be stained with blood or with brains,” she said. “When you scoop up the meat it often would get on the cuffs of our shirts. You could smell it, even after you took off your gloves. We weren’t washing our cammies everyday. Your cuff comes to your face when you eat. Physically we were stained with remains. We had a constant smell like rotten meat, which I guess is what it was since often the bodies had been in the sun and the heat for a long time. The flesh had gone bad. The skin on a body in the hot sun slides off. The skin detaches itself from the layer beneath and slides around on itself.”

Truthout sustains itself through tax-deductible donations from our readers. Please make a contribution today to keep truly independent journalism strong!

“Our platoon was to the Marines what the Marines are to much of America: We did things that had to be done but that no one wanted to know about,” she said. “The other Marines knew what we did, but they did not want to think it could happen to them. I had one female Marine in my tent who would talk to me. The rest would not give me the time of day. The Marines in Mortuary Affairs knew that any day could be our day. Other Marines, who have to go out on the convoys, who have to get up the next day, have to get on with life.”

Her unit once had to recover two Marines who had drowned in a lake. It appeared one had leapt in to save the other. The bodies, which were recovered after a couple of days by Navy divers, were grotesquely swollen. One of the Marines was so bloated and misshapened that the body was difficult to carry on a litter.

“His neck was as wide as his bloated head, and his stomach jutted out like a barrel,” she writes in the book. “His testicles were the size of cantaloupes. His face was white and puffy and thick. Not fat, but thick. It was unreal. He looked like a movie prop, with thick, gray, waxy skin and the thick purple lips. We couldn’t stop looking at these bodies because they were so out of proportion and so disfigured and because, still, they looked like us.”

It was hardest to look into the faces of the dead. She and the other members of the mortuary unit swiftly covered the faces when they worked on the bodies. They avoided looking at the eyes of the corpses.

Once, the unit had to process seven Marines killed in an explosion. Seven or eight body bags were delivered to the bunker.

“We had clean body bags set up so we could sort the flesh,” she said. “Sometimes things come in with nametags. Or sometimes one is Hispanic and you could tell who was Hispanic and who was the white guy. We tried separating flesh. It was ridiculous. We would open a body bag and there was nothing but vaporized flesh. There were not four hands or a whole leg in a bag. We tried to distribute the mush evenly throughout the bags. We were trying to do the best we could sorting it out. We had the last body bag come in. We opened up the body bag and it was filled with the heads. I looked at four before looking away. Not only did we have to look at them, we had to pick them up and figure out who it belonged to. The eyes were looking back at us. We got used to a lot of it. But the heads worked the other way. They affected us more strongly as time passed. We saw on the heads the expressions of fright and horror. It made us wonder what we were doing here.”

She processed one Marine whose face was twisted at the moment of death by rage. The face of this Marine began to haunt her.

“I had this feeling that something awful had occurred,” she said. “The way he had come in and stiffened he had this look to his face that made my stomach curl. It looked angry. Often expressions on bodies would look fearful and hurt. The faces looked as though they had received death. But this face looked like he had given death.”

She and the other members of the unit became convinced they could feel and hear the souls of the dead Marines they had processed and housed in their reefers.

And then there was a body that was brought in one day that was not stiff.

“He was fully dressed in his cammies and his whole body was intact,” she said. “His hands were lying folded across his stomach.”

She and the others noticed that the Marine on the table was breathing lightly. The chest was going up and down. They frantically called their superiors to find out what to do. They were told to wait.

“Just wait? Wait for what?” she cried.

She remembers the doc saying: “There’s nothing we can do. Just wait.”

“People don’t wait for this sort of thing,” she protested. “What are we waiting for? What if this Marine was your brother, would we wait?”

They stood and watched as the man died. Goodell stormed out of the bunker.

“There was always a heaviness in the air,” she said. “It felt like I was being watched. We would feel hands on our shoulders or hands on our heads. Everyone had stories of sounds they heard or things they had felt. I was on watch at the bunker and I heard the back door open. I assumed it was one of the Marines coming in to use the Internet or the phone. I waited for them to come up. They would always come up. But no one came up. I got up and didn’t see anyone. I went back to my duty hut and I heard footsteps walk across the bunker. This kind of thing happened often.”

Her return to the United States was difficult, filled with retreats into isolation, substance abuse, deep depression and dysfunctional relationships. Slowly she pulled her life back together, finishing college and applying to graduate school so she can counsel trauma victims.

“Every single Marine I know goes to Iraq to help,” she said. “While I was there that is what I thought. That is why I volunteered. I thought I was going to help the Iraqis. I know better now. We did the dirty work. We were used by the government. The military knows that young, single men are dangerous. We breed it in Marines. We push the testosterone. We don’t want them to be educated. They are deprived of a lot and rewarded with very little. It keeps us at ground level. We cannot question anyone. We do what we are told.”

“I am still in contact with most of the people I knew,” she said. “They are not coping. One lives in VA [Veterans Affairs] constantly seeing psychologists and psychiatrists. One was kicked out of the Marines for three DUIs. Another was kicked out of the Marines because he took cocaine. Those who have gotten out are living below the poverty level. And what people do to cope is re-enlist. When they re-enlist they do better. They function. I am the only one who went to school of the 18 Marines in Mortuary Affairs. But I am in counseling at the VA. I have been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, depression and substance abuse. What separates me from them is that I have a great support system and I found my salvation in my education.”

“War is disgusting and horrific,” she said. “It never leaves the people who were involved in it. The damage is far greater than the lists of casualties or cost in dollars. It permeates lifestyles. It infects cultures and people and worldviews. The war is never over for us. The fighting stops. The troops get called back. But the war goes on for those damaged by war.”

Not long ago she received a text message from a Marine she had worked with in Mortuary Affairs after he tried to commit suicide.

“I’ve got $2,000 in the bank,” the message read. “Let’s meet in NYC and go out with a bang.”

Chris Hedges’ column appears every Monday at Truthdig. Hedges, a fellow at The Nation Institute and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is the author of “Death of the Liberal Class.”
____________________________________________________________________________

What Are We Fighting For??????

2011-03-20T11:34:00.000-04:00

Yes, Qaddafi is a madman. Yes, the world would be better without him.

And YES, he has been a trusted business partner of the USA for many many years!!!!!

Why are we sending missiles in? For the U.N.?????? For "peace"?????? Have we learned NOTHING about intervention??????

Let the shitstorm settle WITHOUT us!!!!!!!!!!

President Obama (I know you are a loyal reader here)... you are supposed to be one of the "good guys" -

WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR???????????

4 Year Anniversary

2011-03-14T11:17:00.001-05:00

Just noticed that BLEEDIN OUT hit it's 4th year anniversary. 300,000 hits (of course- it could be just one person (thanks mom) hitting refresh 300,000 times) over that period. Not bad.

Considering that I started this thang to exorcise; and quite often, exercise my demons; it's been a long strange trip. Or something.

4 years of (as someone once so aptly described it) of 1/3 music, 1/3 bitching about the government and 1/3 whining about my life. On the bright side, I've cyber-met some great people. I've also been able to write... which back in college was supposed to be my vocation. And, I have no doubt that this here outlet has kept me on this mortal coil, as the "bad thoughts" have had somewhere to be deposited.

Thanks to (any?) all of you who have commented, downloaded and read this stuff.

It's been "Bleedin Out" of my mind, heart, soul and veins. Hope I never run out. And long may YOU all run.

Toonage:

Replacements - Left Of The Dial
Adverts - One Chord Wonders
Husker Du - Everything Falls Apart (live in Tuscon)
Ramones - Slug (demo)
Grateful Dead - Attics Of My Life
Girls At Our Best - Getting Nowhere Fast

地震と津波

2011-03-12T17:04:00.000-05:00

Prayers and best wishes to Japan. It's not even 2012 yet and between Japan, Chile, Haiti and New Zealand, it appears that the Earth is pissed off. Or something.

Now we'll have endless news stories in the U.S.A. about what would happen if the "big one" hit (insert your city here).

As I live in New York, it's just another unpleasant possibility to ignore. Tsunami's, earthquakes, nuclear attacks... we're all dead pretty much instantly; why bother stressing.

Kill Someone You Hate

2011-03-09T13:19:00.000-05:00

It's so weird how the blood turns from oil slick slippery to tacky  sticky and to finally just a big dried mess. And of course, it stains  everything. You can wash and wash and wash, but it's better to just  bleach the floors and walls and burn everything else. Old Willie The  Bard had it right with Lady MacBeth.  What a mess. I should have planned better. And, the taste is so thin.  And salty. It's not sustaining at all.  I have no idea how those  wanna-be "vampires' are spozed to get their fill from it either.

The  body itself wasn't a problem. One of the benefits of living near a  large body of water. The key is to remember to puncture the lungs and  chest cavity repeatedly. Otherwise, the body will float back to the  surface. And of course, removing the hands and teeth. Those go somewhere  else. Scattered like dust.

The Strokes Suck

2011-03-07T17:30:00.000-05:00

It had been a long time since I had had to even think about The Strokes. But there they were, on this past weekend's Saturday Nite Live (and might I add, that Miley Cyrus was wonderful and actually can act!). Billy Ray... our little girl has grown up.

The previous time I was exposed to these hipster cumwads was at Little Steven's 2004 Underground Garagefest, in which they opened for The Stooges and proceeded to disgust most of the 10,000 plus people who were trapped on Randall's Island with them. Perhaps it was because I spent most of the program playing Ramones songs on my bass, but the second The Strokes, in their sunglassed glory, appeared, I immediately wanted to take my bass and smash it thru the television. I can't stand smug little New York muthafuckers, and The Strokes exemplify everything I hate (and so do you) about New York bands. And, as I have spent my entire (up to now) life in eN whY Cee, I've seen my share of these bands. Additionally, as an added bonus, both of the songs they played absolutely sucked.

I would like to take a sardine can opener and start peeling the lead singer's skin off'; starting from his hipster haircut lined skull down to his knees. I can only pray that these fuckers catch ebola from their model girlfriends.

Anyway, as previously mentioned, I have about 25 Ramones songs to master. And ya know what? They're not all three chords!

Below you'll find OI The Album. Download it and dream about smashing The Strokes skulls in.

Toonage:

Various Artists: OI -The Album

Songs About Fucking- GO ALL THE WAY

2011-03-02T09:52:00.000-05:00

The Raspberries great 1972 hit (#5 on the Billboard Hot 100) was banned by the BBC due to it's sexually implicit lyrics. Awesome chunky chords and an almost chorus like intro by Eric Carman on the vox. As fantastic as the song is, (I almost) prefer the 2009 Matthew Sweet/Susanna Hoffs duet, in which Hoff's singing makes the song oh so hotter.

I never knew, never knew how complete love could be
Till she kissed me and said

“Baby, please, go all the way
It feels so right being with you, here, tonight
Please, go all the way
Just hold ‘me close don’t ever let me go “

I couldn’t say what I wanted to say
Till she whispered “I love you so, please, go all the way”
It feels so right being with you, here, tonight
Please go all the way
Just hold me close
Don’t ever let me go

Before her love I was cruel and mean
I had a hole in the place where my heart should have been
But now I’ve changed and it feels so strange
I come alive when she does all those things to me
And she says, “Come on, come on, come on
I need you, I love you, I need you”

“Baby, please, go all the way
It feels so right being with you, here, tonight
Please, go all the way
Just hold ‘me close don’t ever let me go “

Toonage:

Raspberries - Go All The Way
Matthew Sweet / Susanna Hoffs - Go All The Way

Next Stop: Tiger Beat!

2011-02-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

We spent Saturday shooting our album cover. Way freaking cool. One of our friends (forever known now as "Damsel Adams") is a professional photographer and worked with us. And it WAS work. As were shooting in NYC, on an unclosed street, we constantly had to stop and scramble as cars drove by (we were shooting in an intersection). It would ruin the surpirse, but the cover is an homage (or blatant rip-off) of a rather well known classic LP.

We WERE going to shoot it exactly where The Ramones first album was shot, but decided against it. However, we did do a classic "band against a brick wall" shot that will soon be posted up in this here gallery. And of course we did the obligatory tribute shot to these guys.

It was really hard work to be a model. Avoiding the self conciousness of being in the camera eye is tough. Especially as how we were all having trouble taking the whole thing seriously. Especially on the "candid" shots that will be for Tiger Beat. Originally I was going to pose with no pants on, but it was damn cold. And shrinkage is a bad thing.

But it was soooo cool as passersby kept looking at us and some people even came up to us and asked if we were a band.

No One Loves You...

2011-02-24T12:12:00.001-05:00

... And you wonder why

Descendents Website

The Revolution Will Be Televised

2011-02-21T22:08:00.000-05:00

But it will be a moot point, since Twitter, The 'Net, Facebook and You Tube will have already broken the news.

Bahrain, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, WISCONSIN! Who's next?

Toonage:

Leatherface - Talkin' About A Revolution (Tracy Chapman cover)
The Clash - Revolution Rock - (Vanilla Tapes)
Youth Brigade - What Will The Revolution Change
Billy Bragg - Revolution (Beatles cover)

The Politics Of Addiction

2011-02-16T17:21:00.000-05:00

When does self medicating become addiction? Is it possible to keep up a regimen of alcohol and other intoxicants without it becoming a problem. Now, I am not referring to the underlying cause that necessitates such activity. I'm talking about whether this method of silencing the voices in one's head is a possible benefit, or is it a problem?

Toonage:

Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Coming Down
Blind Willie McTell - I Keep On Drinking
The Damned - Drinking About My Baby

Love Stinks

2011-02-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

I think the following songs sum up my view on Valentine's Day this year.

Toonage

The Pagans - What's This Shit Called Love
The Dirtbombs - Your Love Belongs Under A Rock
The Cure - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)
Van Halen - Ain't Talkin About Love

Condemned To Life

2011-02-10T23:58:00.000-05:00

Anytime some fucking little whiny bitch starts complaining about life and how they want to die; just take them to a cancer ward. Ask them if they wanna trade places with anyone in a room. Or for that matter, ask them if they want a heaping dose of cancer via syringe.

Of Lux & Ivy and Pill Misadventures

2011-02-07T15:01:00.000-05:00

Here's one for ya's... last week I coughed right as I was swallowing a capsule. Instead of going down the gullet, it went up my sinus cavity. Where it proceeded to lodge for a couple of days, inflaming my head and causing me to intermittently blow out tiny time release pills and ultimately, a viscous gooey ball of blue gelatin.

I have also been a fair amount of pain due to my back issues and have been on a rather unhealthy regimen of vicodins lately. Which is fun and all, but I'd rather save my meds for recreational purposes. It does make listening to these guys pretty interesting. Just pop a vic and zone out.

Oh, and I heartily recommend Wolaver's Organic Brewing - Vermont made and their Wolaver's Alta Gracia Coffee Porter.
Holy cow, is it good! Dark beer, with the hint of coffee and vanilla beans.

Hey, it was Ronald Reagen's birthday this weekend, and all sorts of media outlets were fellating him. I will celebrate the 100th anniversary of that asshole's death, not his birth.

And here's something that you should all download! Some enterprising soul has put together an incredible compilation of crazy rock n roll, rock a billy and, well OMFUG. It's called Lux & Ivy's Favorites and it's 12 volumes of audio goodness. It's the kind of stuff that woulda been on The Cramps jukebox. You can access them here:

I've been cranking the pharmies and the toonage from this collection. It'll keep ya bizzy all day. Or something.

Muffalicious

2011-02-01T16:02:00.001-05:00

What a treat this past weekend to see The Muff's! Kim Shattuck and mates Ronnie Barnett-Bass and Roy McDonald-Drums put on a swell show (Kim told me she loves the word "swell") at Maxwell's in Hoboken.

I actually hadn't been 'cross the river to Maxwell's since the late 80's. As far as I can tell, it hadn't changed at all- except the beer prices were higher! Thinking back to the shows I saw back then... Redd Kross, The Replacements, Dream Syndicate, and so many more. Why haven't I been back in 20 years? 'Cause I'm white and lazy!

Back to The Muff's... is there anyone more darling and sweet than Kim Shattuck? I think not! She led her band into a playbook of all of their best loved tunes (and no, they did not play their cover of "Kids In America") plus some new ones from their forthcoming unreleased elpee (being shopped around with da labels currently). Kim's duality of sweet wholesomeness and the gutterall growl she can bring forth were perfect with the three chord garage/punk/pop goodness. And plus, she's just as nice in person!

The crowd (sold out) was extremely enthusiastic. And, as a bonus, I even got to break up a fight! Because, now that I look like this guy, no one messes with me.

When Kim came out to sing "Rock N Roll Girl" with opener Paul Collins' Beat (Paul of course being The King Of Power Pop!- and jee-zus, he and his band kicked ass too!), the circle was complete! Paul blushed when Kim hugged him. And the rest of us just stared jealously!

Here's a live Muffs show from the good folks over at Music Ruined My Life. Enjoy it.

The Greatest Band Performance On TV - Ever!

2011-01-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

Back in the mid 80's (January 1986) as they were being "pushed" towards commercialization by Sire. The Replacements came back on later in the show to do "Kiss Me On The Bus". Westerberg, Tommy and Mars swapped clothes. No one wanted to wear Bob's jumpsuit, which at that point had ripped down to his pubes. Between the drunkenness and the cursing (right before the guitar break, Westerberg yells "motherfucker" at Bob), it would be a long time until they were asked back.

Tater Totz - Mono/Stereo

2011-01-24T15:15:00.001-05:00

Today's selection goes out to Jeffen at Music Ruined My Life. They posted up some awesome REDD KROSS stuff lately and here's something unhinged and Redd Kross related. It's the Tater Totz - which is the McDonald brothers from Redd Kross plus the Runaway's Cherie Currie and White Flag's Pat Fear. I assume it's Cherie doing the wicked Yoko Ono impersonations on this album, but I'm not sure.

On this album (Mono/Stereo) - they embark on some seriously acid crazed deranged versions of Beatles and solo Beatle work. And by solo, it's stuff like "The Luck Of The Irish" and "Two Virgins".

plus, as an added bonus, you get 2 Os Mutantes songs.

So... download, do some bongloads, and enjoy!

Toonage:

Tater Totz - Mono/Stereo

An Open Letter To Steven Tyler

2011-01-19T20:47:00.000-05:00

Dear Steven Tyler: BLOW ME. Eat my ass and suck my dick. You motherfucking asshole.

It's pathetic enough that you have have inflicted Diane Warren and Desmond Child penned treacle on Aerosmith fans (and Joe Perry and the other three relics in the 'Smith stand accused as well). However, your appearance on American Idol is the last straw.

Now, don't get me wrong, I could care less if you performed on national TV in a fucking tutu and fellated Jennifer Lopez's 2 inch cock while licking Ryan Seacreast's twat. Or did Tampax commercials. Or for that matter, ran for vice president of the USA on a Palin/Tyler ticket. Well, maybe that's a little too far. Palin's worse than AI.

However... WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU to deem what is and what is not "star worthy" or acceptable in music? Do you think that your rubber lipped persona circa 1971 would have even made it based on looks or for that matter "talent"? No fucking way. And yet, you sit on a panel crushing people's dreams. And, even worse... ridiculing them!!!!! Some of the poor bastards might have even picked up a guitar or dreamed of making it because Aerosmith music inspired them! And you lord yourself over them and, like a twisted 21st century Pontius Pilate, give these wretches a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Why????

Do you need the money that badly for your next excursion into rehab? Are your alimony and child support payments too high? Or are you just another old and sad fame whore?

You piece of shit scumbag. You've destroyed your rock n roll legacy. I hope this insures you burn in Hell forever.

Meanwhile GIRL IN A COMA should find you and kick your lame wrinkled ass.