MOVED!!!

I now have my very own domain (although I’ll leave this one up for emergencies) – I just couldn’t resist the urge to use my own design, and it also allows me to host and share downloads temporarily should any of the free hosting services I use screw up.

So you’ll now find me at

http://oldpunksneverdie.com

If you link to me (or want to add me) please use this one from now on.

All of the posts on this site have been moved over and I’ve hidden all the free download posts here too, so you’ll have to go to my new place if you want to feel the noise 😀 I’m more or less finished with the new layout (any suggestions welcome) and it’s pretty usable from what I can tell. It’s all cosmetic mind, so don’t get overly excited – rest assured that the same low grade witterings from yours truly will still be in full effect. Hopefully the high quality downloads will make up for it.

The kettle’s on standby, see you there.

excess all areas

I like to fool myself into believing that I’ve got my finger on the pulse, sonically speaking. But, to be honest, underneath it all I’m aware of just how much self-deception is going on. The fact of the matter is that there are simply too many bands making too many good tunes (and a lot more making shit ones) for any human to keep up with (although the chimps might have a better chance). However, that doesn’t stop me getting a buzz the first time I come across a mob of musicians who grab and engulf my ears and brain with their audio extravagances, even if they’re already ‘out there’ and adored by thousands well before I find ’em.

One such mob are total mash-up terrorists Sonic Boom Six. Last week I heard my first track by ’em. This week I’ve got all of their tunes and am waiting for the t-shirt. According to the wiki entry they sound like ‘Notting Hill Carnival on a punk CD’, which to my mind is under-egging the pudding (moral dilemma – is it OK for vegans to use animal-based expressions?). Punk, ska, drum ‘n’ bass, ragga, calypso, dancehall, metal, hip hop, dub, samples and loops all fuse perfectly for a full-on booty-shakin’ experience, but that’s only half the story. The lyrics are just as fiery, fiesty and fun and make the whole package well beyond complete.

I can’t recommend any of their albums in particular, they’re all pretty much spot-on, just take a lucky dip and prepare to be impressed with whatever lands on your doorstep. Having said that, ‘Sounds To Consume: Champion Edition’ has the best version of ‘Safe European Home’ that I’ve ever heard, easily surpassing the original.

They’re some of the most intelligent, talented and up-for-it political partyheads I’ve had the good fortune to stumble across this year, so let your hair down and join in the fun.

OP’s opinion: @@@@@

Download sample tracks – ‘Monkey See Monkey Do’ (original version + Rogue Trooper’s Jungle Fever remix)

And if you’re in the Hull area around solstice time, check this out:

The best bargain of the season I reckon.

If you live further afield, they’re also playing these venues beforehand:

12 Dec 2007 WHITE RABBIT, PLYMOUTH
17 Dec 2007 BRICKYARD, CARLISLE
18 Dec 2007 BAR ACADEMY, BIRMINGHAM
19 Dec 2007 VIVAZ, SCARBOROUGH

Time to get yer dancing legs on.

hot off the presses

Just a quickie…Punk Torrents will be open for registration from sometime around teatime today until Sunday eve. It’s free, it’s friendly and it’s full of moist musical morsels.

And thanks to Burke for this email:

I just wanted to say thanks for posting this Culture Shock LP. I havent heard this in probably 12 years but has always been a record that I’ve been very fond of, although I unfortunately never owned it nor did I ever find it to buy.

Anyway, just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that you made my week by posting this.

Cheers!

Burke
Brooklyn, NY

My pleasure mate.

a bit of housekeeping

Over the next few days (or, more likely, months), I intend to take front and back photos of the covers of all of my albums and singles uploaded here. I’m also going to take one of the label, whichever side is more interesting. Then I’m going to edit and resize the cover pics so that they’ll fit in a standard CD case, and the label so it will fit on a CD label. Then I’ll zip and upload them somewhere convenient. Which means that you’ll soon be able to download them and print them off for use if you decide to burn any of the music to CD and want a fancy cover.

What a wonderfully selfless thing to do / I’ve got far too much time on my hands (delete as you see fit).

won’t somebody please think of the children?!

On a slightly-different-but-still-related tack to the post directly below, we had another international sports-and-socialising tournament over the August bank holiday earlier this year to celebrate our club’s 15th birthday. Over a thousand people turned up for a weekend of ball-related madness, musical shenanigans and the freak show known as ‘Shame Academy’.

My personal responsibility this time round was to get a team of young(ish) Lithuanians that I’d stumbled across over here. The total cost to bring 15 of ’em to Devon from Vilnius was about £1500 so, armed with my trusty sidekick Punky, we smiled sweetly and persuaded some sympathetic friends to put on a few benefit gigs and DJ nights, took full advantage of practical help and freebies directed our way, and accepted kind offers of money from events organised by our sporting friends Red Star Bedminster and Lunatics FC. Punky also decided to come up with something himself.

His ‘something’ turned out to be a rather fine (and slightly controversial with a few of the gentler / parenting Cowfolk) t-shirt that raised about two-thirds of what we needed on its own. If anyone’s interested, a few are still available for a tenner each and the cash will be used to help buy the Lithuanians an ethically-sourced team kit. Let me know if you want one and we’ll sort something out.

Risqué apparel (front and back)

Needless to say, our proto-capitalist enterprises worked out and the Lithualiens (as we quickly renamed ’em) were a lovely bunch indeed, so much so that a few of us are trooping out to Vilnius next spring to spend a few days there as their guests.

A fine weekend of fun and frolics was had by all concerned and the obligatory transvestism was top-notch. I’ve uploaded my fave pics of the debauchery elsewhere, so take a look if you’ve got a strong constitution and don’t mind images of men dressed as ladies and vice-versa.

a friendly request

A couple of the Blogger bloggers in my side bar don’t allow comments from non-Blogger bloggers. I’ve grabbed a few things from their excellent uploads but I can’t leave a thanks without signing up for a Blogger account. I can barely remember my own name sometimes, so there’s just no chance of remembering user names and logins for every social networking site out there (note the use of hip and modern terminology). So, if any of you ever find this post, ‘Cheers’ for the noise. And can I ask you ever-so-nicely to liberalise your comment regimes so I can leave a more personal response in future? Ta.

re-open for business

Punk Torrents has opened up registration again. I don’t know how long this will last for (in recent times it’s been 24 hours), so you may want to register quick if you want to jump on the BitTorrent bandwagon. If you use Windows I’d suggest using uTorrent as your client (I’ve not bothered or needed to update it since the 1.6.1. build 483 beta version), although I’m hoping that one of the open source options will soon match its specs.

You may also want to have a read of an older post I wrote that explains the whole kaboodle in a bit more detail.

(sub)human evolution

Subhumans – Internal Riot
Bluurg Records

More than twenty years on from their last studio release, the boys from Wessex have at last managed to drag their arses from the primordial punk slime to give us what we’ve all been waiting for. This record is, without doubt, their finest release to date. It’s like they’ve dissected everything that’s gone before, removed anything surplus to requirements and spliced the remaining material together again, capturing the very essence of the band in audio DNA.

As ever, Dick’s words form the solid backbone of the beast unleashed. Straining with tension and urgency, they concentrate the mind very much on the matter at hand. But not with any sort of preachy dogma. He’s much cleverererer than that, is Mr. Lucas. Instead they weave together some specifics of the moment (for example, the war in Iraq in ‘This Year’s War’) with a broader analysis of the deeper issues and concepts underpinning them (‘this year’s war against terror, like the war on crime, is war against anyone, anytime’). And everything is underpinned with an almost personalised invitation (the kind you can’t refuse) that drags you, the listener, right into the middle of the whole experience. It’s a record that insists on and gets your active attention from start to end.

Musically, it’s as flawless as the band have ever been. There’s variation aplenty but it’s as distinctive as hell. The bass and guitar trade witty and clever banter as they build their intricate wall of sound, while Trotsky’s complex beats provide the framework. Meanwhile, Dick’s voice cuts through at just the right volume to glue the whole lot together nicely. The power contained within this simple piece of plastic would give a thermo-nuclear device a run for its money (not that I’m suggesting you test this out in your living room).

I could rant on and on and on about this, but instead I’ll just say ‘Buy it. Buy it now, right this moment, before any other thought even has a chance to cross your mind’.

And in case you’re wondering about the different cover images at the top, the one on the left shows the original artist’s draft and the one on the right is the final version. To be honest, I think the draft is the better of the two except for the ‘Subhumans’ logo being too big (it’s just about perfect on the final one). I suppose I could always colour mine in to match the original, but I’m not that sad or wreckless with my records (not these days, anyway).

Download sample track – ‘Process’

OP’s opinion: @@@@@

smokey cider casserole

A recipe perfect for the winter months (with a small glass of cider into the bargain).

Serves 3-4 depending on how hungry you are.

• 1 block (approx 200g) smoked tofu, cubed and marinated in shoyu or tamari for a few hours
• 250ml dry cider (I’d recommend Westons Strong Organic Cider)
• 1 tin (approx 400g) tomatoes, liquidised
• 1 tin (approx 400g) baked beans
• 2 medium onions (red if available), halved and thickly sliced lengthways
• 2 medium carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 sticks celery, thickly sliced
• 4 medium potatoes, quartered
• 200g mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 125g sweetcorn
• 1 red pepper cut into 2.5cm chunks
• Bay leaf
• 1-2 fresh sage leaves, shredded
• Black pepper
• 1 tsp or to taste chili powder / flakes (optional)
• 1 vegetable stock cube (I use Kallo organic stock cubes)
• 1 tbs tomato puree
• 1-2 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional)
• 1 heaped tsp cornflour mixed into a thin paste

Preheat an oven to 180C (gas mark 4, 350F).

Steam the potatoes and carrots for 10 mins until just starting to soften on the outside. While they’re cooking, fry the tofu in a little oil until browned all over. If you don’t have tofu, use 4-6 vegan sausages or some Sosmix balls instead (cut sausages into quarters when cooked).

Put all of the vegetables, including the potatoes and carrots, and tofu into a large casserole dish and mix together. Add the tomato puree, stock cube (crumbled), mustard, chili and herbs, pour over the beans, tomatoes, cider, cornflour and enough water to bring the liquid to just below the top of the veg mix, and mix again. Add a good grind of black pepper and put a lid on the casserole dish.

Place into the oven and cook for approx 1 1/2 hours, gently mixing every 30 mins, until everything is soft and the liquid has thickened (you can add a bit more liquid during cooking if it’s getting too thick). I sometimes turn the heat down to around 150C (gas mark 2, 300F) after 45 mins then give it an hour and a half or so at this temp to really slow the cooking down and intensify the flavours. Drink the rest of the bottle of cider while you’re waiting.

Serve with steamed Savoy cabbage, a chunk of bread if you’ve got a healthy appetite, and another bottle of cider.

Tastes even better the next day, so try and save a portion. Difficult, I know, but your tongue and belly will thank you.

try before you buy

Reviews of music here at OPND will now include a free downloadable track from the release, so that you can get a feel for the flavour of the whole thing. I’ll do my best to select a track that sums up the overall vibe (if that’s possible), notwithstanding my own subjectivity. If you like the noise, just follow the link and buy the record 🙂

I’ve added tracks to all of the reviews I’ve done to date, so just click on ‘Reviews – Noise’ in the column on the left if you want to hear what I’m raving on about.