Toni, I think

Listen up scally wags

Hey grubs

Listen to this grub,

This is Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” (1979). A disco/pop classic LP that hits with the strength of a thousand cars, each song catchier than the last. I love every song on this LP, I hum their melodies and lyrics here and there, but a track from this masterpiece I could never forget in a hundred years is “Walk Away.” The transition from “Love Will Always Find You” to this track gives me goosebumps and encapsulates (intentional or not) the heartache that comes with opening yourself up to love only to get hurt in the end. This album is rollercoaster of emotions and it will run you over. I would highly recommend this album to anyone into ‘80’s pop and or just looking for something to listen to while either crying or girlbossing.

Listen up grubs,

“Plastic Surgery Disasters/ IN GOD WE TRUST, INC.” (2001) is a reissue of “Plastic Surgery Disasters” (1982) that included “IN GOD WE TRUST, INC.” (1981). Both of these albums shine on their own, each of them packing mountains of Jello Biafra’s sarcasm, comedy, and storytelling. Plastic Surgery introduces itself with a song about how schools program children to be obedient, fearful, miserable, robots and follows up with the track “Government Flu” which I will never forget getting goosebumps over on my first listen. The rest of Plastic Surgery was no joke either with tracks like “Terminal Preppie” and “Buzzbomb” with their ear-worm melodies; I especially loved the small choir of the band members vocals during each stanza on “Buzzbomb” it makes the song feel more manic and mesmerizing. After Plastic Surgery’s finale, “Religious Vomit” picks up where “Moon Over Marin” left off. In God We Trust has some great tracks as well, my favorites being “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” and “Kepone Factory.” I even love the cover they preformed of Rawhide’s main theme. I would recommend this album to anyone looking to get into punk, I believe this is a star example of a great punk album.

Listen up folks,

“Teen Idles” (1996) is a self titled mixtape(?) that showcases the beauty of something being short and sweet. This mixtape(?) contains two remixes(?) of songs from an album they had released in ‘80 titled “Minor Disturbance.” This self titled is a bit of a mixed bag for me, like trail mix, all the good stuff is at the bottom. The last two tracks “Trans Am” and “Fiorucci Nightmare/ getting In My Way” are the best tracks to come out of this project. Both songs tackle minor inconveniences to life, such as jackasses with fast cars and overpriced clothes, but they present these issues with such energy and vigor that it doesn’t sound whinny or lame. I would recommend this album to anyone who likes hardcore punk or garage punk

Okay…listen,

“E.S.B.K.” (1994) is one of the most aggressive grind core albums I’ve listened to in a while. The production quality feels like it was made out of pure spite and I think that feeling really helps with the albums tone. A lot of the songs are considered by many grind core, but I would also recommend this album to any harsh noise enjoyers since there’s a lot of ear ringing moments on this album. If you’re looking for something to listen to when you’re speeding down a highway maybe don’t listen to this because you’ll want to rear end the car closest to you. (I don’t know what the rules for censorship are so excuse the weird edits)

Listen up crubs,

If you’re a big fan of Boston punk and hardcore, you’ll definitely dig “Do We Really Want To Hurt You?” (1984). This entire project is a great example of how great the Boston area punks were in the 80’s and 90’s. A lot of the songs shine in their own light but the track that takes the spotlight for me personally is “Pennies From Heaven.” The energy is at full blast here and the melody is so indescribably catchy it’s easy to miss out on the other aspect of the song that make it bang, I love the fact that the guitar follows the vocals like it’s singing as well. I highly recommend this album if your looking for some good hardcore or Boston punk. I also recommend looking at more bands that are in the TAANG! Records family, they rule!

listen up grubs,

“Play fast or die” (1998) is a solid album by the electro hippies. The production is raw and the songs truly live up to the album’s name, each song is around 1-2 minutes of pure aggression. Every song sounds like a blast of wind from 3 jet engines, except the engines are dishing out hardcore UK punk sounds. I would say the shining star of this project is “Am I Punk Yet?” On my first listen, those 13 seconds of pure chaos that served as the intro to the song are beautiful. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone that’s into hardcore punk or UK punk.