We hear ya here at The Bad Penny: We cover too much metal, not enough metal, etc. One common denominator across all genres is that artists are capable of creating captivating, innovative, original, hilarious and harrowing music videos regardless of genre. With that in mind, here are the clips we enjoyed the most in the month of September, two thousand whatever.
1. Peter McPoland’s “Last Looks”
How you likin’ Authoritarian America now? To all the conservative “disrupters” out there, The Bad Penny hopes this is what you were wishing for – and (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) that the wave of tyrannical terror sweeping the nation doesn’t drown you in its wake.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you; after all, we launched this On Tyranny franchise in December. But rather than subject you to “I told you so examples” from our 25-part series, we’ll instead suggest some of our favorite contemporary protest records that you can serve as your soundtrack for the weekend. Here goes, in chronological order:
Refused‘s The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)
System of a Down’s Toxicity (2001)
Earlier this month saw a new release by Point Break 2 – no, not a sequel to the immortal 1991 surfing-undercover-cop-thriller-pseudohomoerotic-unintentional-comedy-action masterpiece starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, but rather a fresh record by a band using that amusing name as its moniker. Featuring members of Brooklyn indie bands These Are Powers and The Flag including Ted McGrath, Point Break 2’s self-titled EP dropped on Naturally Records.
McGrath originally assembled Point Break 2 to bide his time while The Flag’s second LP was in the works. But he hit it off so well with Flag bandmate Ryan Crozier, Jason Robira of Sunwatchers, Fixtures’ Kris Liakos and Billy Bouchard (Ice Balloons, Dancehall Crashers) that they decided to formalize Point Break 2 as a full-fledged project.
And how could they not, with a fuzzy, skronky song as infectious as lead single “Hall of Justice”?
(Note: The number of releases and duration of time spent by the bands on the label factored into this ranking. Nor did it take into account bands that issued records through Touch and Go‘s sister label, Quarterstick Records.)
1. Shellac
2. The Jesus Lizard
3. Big Black
4. Slint
5. Scratch Acid
6. Die Kreuzen
7. Don Caballero
8. Girls Against Boys
9. The Black Heart Procession
10. The Delta 72
11. Killdozer
12. Blonde Redhead
13. Didjits
14. Quasi
15. The New Year
16. Silkworm
17. Man or Astro-man?
18. Laughing Hyenas
19. Brick Layer Cake
20. CocoRosie
(PS: Fuck Butthole Surfers)
We hear ya here at The Bad Penny: We cover too much metal, not enough metal, etc. One common denominator across all genres is that artists are capable of creating captivating, innovative, original, hilarious and harrowing music videos regardless of genre. With that in mind, here are the clips we enjoyed the most in the month of August, two thousand whatever.
1. Packaging’s “In Your Pocket”
Because I said so. Order never subject to change.
1. “The Grudge”
2. “Invincible”
3. “The Patient”
4. “Sober”
Reading is such a bummer, man. Supposedly it leads to blurred vision and other maladies. Rock videos, on the other hand, are so much more fun – and, according to America’s beloved and revered Secretary of Health and Human Services, actually regenerate eyesight instead of damaging it. With that in mind, here’s a test-pilot of a potentially recurring series on The Bad Penny: The 10 most entertaining, hilarious and depraved videos of the month. Here are the ones that captivated us most in July:
1. Spinal Tap’s “Stonehenge” (feat. Elton John)
2. Orbit Culture’s “Hydra”
Congratulations to Alice Cooper for cranking out the first album in a half-century with the original lineup of his band last week! As expected, The Revenge of Alice Cooper is a rollicking (or should we say “ROlliCKing”?!) good time. Album highlights include “Crap That Gets in the Way of Your Dreams” and “Intergalactic Vagabond Blues.”
But, sadly, the reunited band’s got nothing on the crowning achievement in Coop’s career (which, fun fact, got rolling in 1964, three years before Ozzy’s). That feat of cosmic — oops, “intergalactic” — magnificence is, of course, Hollywood Vampires.
In case you’ve been living in a cave, or better yet a mansion, Hollywood Vampires co-stars Johnny Depp and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry along with studio musician Tommy Henriksen, the guy who, of course, famously played bass for German power-metal band Warlock from 1987 to 1988). The “supergroup” — and, honest to God, has that term ever been used more loosely? — assembled in 2012. In what must be a shock to the “King of Shock Rock” himself, they’ve never broken up.
In honor of … I dunno, whatever … here’s a list of all the original songs Hollywood Vampires have composed in their 13 years of existence, over the course of two studio albums, ranked below from “best” to “worst.”
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Because I said so. Order never subject to change.
1. “Gladiator”
2. “Destroy Before Reading”
3. “Monkey Trick”
4. “Boilermaker”
5. “Dancing Naked Ladies”
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