I got a fever! And the only prescription is more cowbell!

I just recently saw the SNL Blue Öyster Cult sketch for the first time and I gotta say that was the funniest thing I’ve seen in awhile. It’s a mock “Behind the Music” skit where BÖC is in the studio with producer Bruce Dickinson played by the genius Christopher Walken. Will Ferrell is in charge of the cowbell in “Don’t Fear The Reaper”, but his “style” clashes with the other band members. This was so hilarious that midway through the sketch both Jimmy Fallon and Ferrell almost lost their shit. You need to download this. Even if you’ve seen it, see it again…priceless....Oh yeah, thanks goes out to Think Tank for letting me discover this.

The cast was as follows:
Bruce Dickinson..... Christopher Walken
Eric Bloom.....Chris Parnell
Buck Dharma.....Horatio Sanz
Alan.....Chris Kattan
Bobby.....Jimmy Fallon
Gene Frenkle.....Will Ferrell

Click the cowbell to download.
The file is BIG, so I put it in a zip folder. Right click and SAVE TARGET AS.
You can also read the transcript here.

VSS and Abhinanda Sound Like Really Bad STDs

Ahh, 1997. That was 8 fucking years ago and boy do I feel old right now. Back then I was heavily into hardcore. I remember that the whole youth crew revival thing was going on strong with bands like Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes,

Rancor, etc…But also around this time at the opposite end of the hardcore spectrum, a more intelligent scene was happening. Bands like Saetia, Antioch Arrow, and The VSS were incorporating more artistic aesthetics and diversity into a stale hardcore scene. The VSS really stood out due to Sonny Kaye’s distinct vocals, haunting keyboards, and a rhythm section that would later go on to form the Slaves/ Pleasure Forever. Mix Ebullition style hardcore with some dark wave and you have The VSS. Their only full length record, Nervous Circuits, was released during this period and is now out of print. I was obsessively searching for this CD for a year until I finally found it in Amoeba’s used bin. So I give you two songs from this great record and a bonus extra song from Epitonic.com.

The VSS- Death Scene mp3
The VSS- Lunar Weight mp3

BONUS TRACK
The VSS- In Miniature mp3 (from Epitonic)

Abhinanda were from Sweden and played boring early 90’s hardcore ala Dayspring, Strain, and shit like that. But in 1998 they released an incredible record on Simba called Rumble. This was around the same time Refused released their epic The Shape of Punk to Come, and Abhinanda undoubtbly took cues from that record. Their guitarist Par even played with Refused during their early “hey look at us, we’re hardcore” years. On Rumble, the band experimented with different tones and harmonies which produced an angry, climactic, and rocking hardcore record. One minute you’re enjoying a Denver omelet, the next minute someone’s got a gun in your face.

Abhinanda- Showdown mp3
Abhinanda- La Musica Continua mp3

Cloudy Skies on a Sunny Day

I initially wasn't going to write anything for this post, but now I feel like the literary juices are coming out like the juices from a dead body on the slab for a week. I'm starting a new thing today. Whenever the D. Dagger "Bauhaus" logo appears, expect to hear some dark gloomy songs. I got goth tendencies, what can I say. I'm starting this off right with the appropriate Bauhaus classic, "Bela Lugosi's Dead". I love the way this song builds up, climaxes, then crawls back into the shallow grave from which it came. I guess this started the whole "goth rock" thing back in the late 70's. Good stuff.

And of course I had to put one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands of all time. "London Dungeon" is a classic Misfits song. It was recorded after the great rawness of Static Age and before the pop-punk catchiness of Walk Among Us. Dare I call this song "goth rock" too? The 'Fits always had a 1950's b-movie horror thing going, but "London Dungeon" had a way more serious/ eerie vibe to it. The song's about when Mr. Glenn Danzig got into a bar fight in England with a bunch of skinheads. Apparently the cops arrested him and gave him a hard time while locked up (hence the title of the song)....Anyway, enjoy this little piece of October in July and expect some more tasty treats tomorrow.

Bauhaus- Bela Lugosi's Dead mp3 (big file)
The Misfits- London Dungeon mp3

What If Corporations Owned Music

Due to the recent Nike/ Minor Threat controversy, ilXor.com has a new thread entitled "Nike and other evil corporations ruining famous album covers". They have received a shitload of submissions. Some are funny and some leave you scratching your head. Of course I couldn't resist submitting my own faux album covers with a corporate touch. Click on the images to zoom in.

America, Fuck YouYeah!!

How ironic that the day we celebrate our independence from foreign occupiers, we ourselves are occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope everybody ponders the role america is playing around the globe while we stuff our over-privileged faces with BBQ and watermelon. America, FUCK YEAH! (c’mon, sing along!!)

The Minor Threat Has Passed

Everybody, you can relax! The minor "major threat" of Nike has passed. You can put away the soapboxes and retract the self righteous "DIY" hate mail. Nike has apologized for....well, for being Nike. Let's not get all offended here folks. Corporations and the media have been exploiting "punk rock" for years now. That's why punk as we knew it is dead. Those old aggressive sounds and images of pissed off posturing are not a threat anymore to the status quo. It's all just marketing now.

Don't get me wrong. I respect Ian Mackaye and Dischord. I have the utmost respect for the convictions and principles that he has stood for all these years. But I mean really, it's not the first time company's have tried to make a buck off of Minor Threat.

Of course, how can we forget this Rancid record. Well, actually it was pretty easy to forget this record, but the cover looks a little familiar don’t it? Why should Rancid and their record company Epitaph get away with it? Because they're "punk rock"? Hardly. This is just an example of a so-called underground company trying to make a buck by using underground images. Epitaph wants to sell records, just like BMG/Sony, Universal, Warner, etc..

And how 'bout poor little Emily Strange. I don't think poor Emily and the corporation who owns her depressed little ass, Cosmic Debris, are really that poor at all. Why didn't Mr. Mackaye get all huffy puffy when Emily was using a Minor Threat image to sell back underground rebellion to countless Hot Topic youth?

Yes, yes, I know Epitaph and Emily don't come near the corporate atrocities of Nike. But if you're gonna bitch about 1 company using your shit to make money, then you gotta do it across the board. Punk has been bought and sold so many times over the years that it really doesn't matter anymore. And skateboarding is light years from its DIY beginning. Capitalism is capitalism, regardless if it’s mainstream or underground culture that’s being sold.