GDAC Playlist: King Prawn - The Dominant View

I can't overstate how big the p-rock channel was for me. It was the rabbit hole that I fell into to find punk rock and ska, providing a soundtrack to my teen years. Years later and my friends and I still revert to these songs when drunk or road tripping.



The Dominant View was a song I'd forgotten about until it was played at a house party a few years ago. This song was typical of British p-rock bands; though predominantly (heh) ska and punk, it has a pinch of nu metal. And of course they have a midget playing the bass.

Hallowe'en is coming..Misfits time!

If you like Misfits and aren't a douchebag then you know that Danzig and Graves were both excellent frontmen, with fine singing voices, and to say that the 'only Misfits is a Misfits with Danzig' is unfair and pretty short sighted. However it's perfectly fine to say Misfits without Danzig or Graves isn't really the Misfits, but I'd still go see the Frankenstein's Monster of a band that plays today, just for fun.

With Hallowe'en on the way, here's a sample platter of the ghoulish guys that inspired a generation of goth punks with Mypspace names like NightShayde. They are possibly known for their skeletal merch as much as their music - I distinctly remember a teenage neighbour of mine being in shock that they were a band and not a clothing company - but they have some good tunes too y'know. And to lay all my cards on the table - I prefer Graves-era to Danzig-era. Why? I just prefer things like good production, songwriting and superior singing..

I Turned Into A Martian



After hearing about the Misfits for a long time through the late 90s/early 90s punk bands I listened to, I finally got the album Walk Among Us. I was horrified. Not because of their imagery/lyrics, but because of the production quality. I had been raised on 90s production and this harsh noise was too much for me at first. But slowly the hooks embedded themselves in my brain and I began to appreciate a good 'woah' with this song.

Skulls



This was by far and away the standout song on Walk Among Us for me. I could see a direct link to Alkaline Trio (then and probably still now my favourite band) with deep, melodic pop-influenced vocals contrasting with dark lyrics. The chorus is a punk-hook masterclass; no woahs needed here.

Bullet



Ok, so here goes. Misfits recorded an album called Static age in 1978, which wasn't released until 1997, when some of the guitars were re-recorded. This is why it has an old-Misfits feel (including that 50s Rock N Roll vibe y'know) but the production doesn't sound terrible. This is the perfect bridge between old and new Misfits and Static Age is probably my favourite Danzig album.

Dig Up Her Bones



Oh yes. That's more like that. You hear that kids? That's good production! You feel how it caresses (sorry) your eardrums instead of stabbing them? And that's before the gloriously warm vocals of Michael Graves enter the fray. For some American Psycho was the death of Misfits, I thought it was the beginning of a new era. *insert Graves/Death/Undead/Zombie reference here* Now the riffs were heavier (and could be heard properly), the lyrics were still campy and horror influenced and the vocals were both familiar and fresh.

Scream!



Following American Psycho was Famous Monsters, the last album with Graves on vocals. Scream! is one of many songs that sounded instantly recognisable (the repeated 2 lines of the chorus, slightly altered each time echoing Skulls) while still feeling like a different beast to Danzig fare, through the energy and metal-influenced guitar tones.

Saturday Night



I couldn't leave this one out. 50s crooning that Danzig leant towards but never fully committed to. Never go full 50s crooner rock and roll ballad? That's a matter of opinion. One thing is for sure though, the ladies love it.

Halloween



And of course...for the month that's in it!

There was a rollerblading version of Tony Hawk's called Aggressvie Inline

Ah the early 2000s.. A time when pop punk and rock were kings of the soundtrack, and extreme sports games like Tony Hawk's and SSX were heavy hitters in the gaming world.

So gritty! Mom's not gonna like this one!

It seems that somewhere in a meeting room a gaming company decided to jump on the extreeeeme bandwagonto be down with the kidz. But instead of picking one of the cool X sports, they went with rollerblading, beloved sport of homosexuals, nerds and crazy middle aged women who really should know better.

'Rollerblading man' on google. Says it all, really.

The gameplay actually looks like it was pretty good, despite my misgivings, and word on tha streetz is that Tony Hawk's stole incorporated some better elements in the game. Even better though, the game came with a sweet soundtrack, typical of the time and filled with punk, nu metal and a bit of ska and hip hop.

This video gives a good taster of what the game was about, including all the Tony Hawk's-like elements and the soundtrack, in this case from a band called Student Rick. NOT TAKING BACK SUNDAY as the uploader of the video angrily proclaims. JEEZ U GUYS, KNOW UR MID-TABLE POP PUNK ALREADY. He also left the character dialogue in, which ruins the song, but it does stay 'honest to the Aggressive Inline experience' according to uploader MexiricanBassMonkey. LOL.

To keep true to the punk roots of inline skating, The Vandals were adding to the soundtrack. All aboard for the non stop to Irony Town! As if The Vandals ever cared about punx roots.

There was also some reaaaally dodgy emo and nu metal, but I'll leave that for now.

Good Days And Cliches Podcast e02: Karaoke Karnage

This week we piece together a weekend that saw our Irish friends visit. One particular night culminated in 5 of us on stage singing karaoke... There's the usual music talk, some film talk, culture difference talk and of course shite talk. Special guest appearance from our friends Brendan and Ciaran.



Songs from Buck-o-Nine, Electric 6, Motorhead, Goldfinger, The Front Bottoms, The Suicide Machines, and an old man singing Gangsters Paradise. Fo' REAL.