Playlist:
Goldblade “Mutha Fucka”
Mad Sin “Point of No Return”
The Bones “Dead End Cruisin”
The Dwarves “I Will Deny You”
Eagles of Death Metal “I Want You So Hard”
Groovie Ghoulies “A New England”
Hot Water Music “Prince of the Rodeo”
Lars and the Bastards “My Life to Live”
Joe Strummer “Silver and Gold”
Mercy Killer “Blood Love”
Le Butterface “Tallboy”
Rancid “Sound System”
The Heart Attacks
“Hellbound and Heartless”
Hellcat
The Heart Attacks bite at your central nervous system with like a hyena hopped up on a gallon of nitrous and too much caffeine. They rock uncontrollably, like a fuel-injected funny car whose pilot died mid-ride. The guitars are raw and feisty, breathing fire with every riff, and alternating between Johnny Thunder-style punk and catch glam pop.
Songs like “Travelin’ Band” come off like vintage nugget classics with horns and a Chuck Berry groove. Meanwhile, tunes like “Guilty” sound as grimy as anything the Turbo A.C.s have ever released. More than anything else, the Heart Attacks are a fun rock band that never let up. They never get boring, and most of all, they never suck.
Filthy garage punk about drugs, whores, and rock ‘n’ roll–What more could you ask for?
Doesn‘t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks
Dot Dot Dash
by Robert Klanten (Editor), Matthias Hubner (Editor)
DGV
I Am Plastic
by Paul Budnitz
Harry N. Abrams
This is the year of the designer toy. Dozens of toy companies have been flooding the market, attempting to sell the coolest, most limited, and most expensive art toys. How massive is the vinyl toy scene? Case in point: Three years ago, the only real literature on the subject was courtesy of “Vinyl Will Kill,†a cohesive photo journal spotlighting the toys and artists that called this burgeoning scene home. The book was short and sweet, and what it lacked in substance, it made up for with decent interviews. Fast forward to 2006, and a few thousand toys later, and the latest documentation of vinyl art comes in the form of two monstrous tomes crammed with enough toys to make a vinyl fan drown in their own saliva.
On first glance, both books are insanely similar in page count, dimensions, and style. Both covers are stark white with a minimalist approach to design. While not exactly déjà vu, the guts of the books tell a similar tale. Both “Dot Dot Dash†and “ I Am Plastic†read like Sears catalogues for vinyl toys. “DDD†is a far bigger culprit, as many of the toys are shown in miniature in order to cram as many objects as possible. This choice of design is a cruel catch 22. Sure, the readers get a lot more toys to look it (hell, they even have the Gwins in here), but it’s at the cost of reducing Mr. Bunny to a two-inch by two-inch picture.
On the bright side, “DDD†has a few stellar interviews with artists scattered throughout its pages, and a wealth of custom designs. In addition, the photo art of McCarty Photoworks is spotlighted through out the book, adding a little more artistic merit to an often drab design.
When I first heard of “I Am Plastic†I assumed it was an autobiographical novel about Kid Robot, particularly because Bunditz had his name on the book as author. I thought, how cool would the story of one of the fastest growing DIY toy companies in America be? Alas, this is simply a photo album of the best of the best in designer toys. Not that that’s a bad thing. The focus is not on Kid Robot, which is a smart thing. Bunditz shares space between his competitors, choosing to show the vinyl toy movement as a scene, and not as a bunch of toy companies charging $100 for a chunk of vinyl.
Too bad, Bunditz put zero thought into reading material. Besides a mildly entertaining foreword, the only editorial in the book is a bunch of god-awful interviews in the back of the book, all featuring the same asinine questions.
So the big question now is which book to get? It’s really a toss up. Neither book provides a ton of new information, but both give a comprehensive view of the vinyl toy industry, and serve as a primer to new fans and a reference to long-time collectors. “DDD†and “I Am Plastic†should serve as bookends to the flood of vinyl books that are bound to be released as the scene gets even bigger in the coming years.
Goldblade
“Punk Rockers in the Dancehall”
SOS
Goldblade’s heyday may have been in the late ’90s, but this band of brit bandits are still waving their punk flag a decade later. “Punk Rock in the Dancehall” is pure Clash-style punk rock. Sure the band might try a little too hard to capture the spirit of their heroes, but there are way worse bands to sound like.
This record is actually a US-released compilation of the best tracks the band has released on the other side of the Atlantic. For most of the album, the band stay true to punk form, with machine gun fast riffs, bombastic drum beats, and immature yet fun lyrics. “Hairstyle” is the exception–The band sound like they were teleported to a ’70s porno when they made it. Lots of funky rhythms and a wah wah that just won’t stop.
The record works nicely from front to back. The first few tracks sound like a mature band that has clearly found its voice, while the latter songs (working backwards through their career) come off sounding like the bands they wanted to emulate. What is impossible to ignore is the British influence. “Punk Rockers in the Dancehall” is a definitive soundtrack of British punk, from the cockney accents, to the catchy rhythms, to the snot-nose arrogance. This doesn’t sound like a band that was taught how to rock, they sound like band born to rock.
Kid Robot just released their latest offering of Dunny fun. Following up last year’s Humbug Dunny by Frank Kozik, Kid Robot has gone frosty with a limited edition 3″ Mr. Shivers dunny courtesy of Sket One. Just like the Humbug Dunny, each Mr. Shivers is blind boxed and one in ten is a limited glow-in-the-dark chase. Unlike Kozik’s Dunny, this one looks like it’s not going to be an instant sellout. Good for people who don’t want to kill for a stocking stuffer.
Next up is the horribly over-priced 8″ Dandy Dunny, limited to 1,000, and costing $85. Why is it so expensive? It’s by clothing designer Paul Smith. What that means for vinyl fans, I have no idea, but the design features some pretty slick line work. Too bad it’s made out of ABS plastic and not vinyl. In addition, Kid Robot has teamed up with Paul Smith for a super-limited 3″ version of the dunny that’s being sold with a rare Smith T-shirt. Expect it to cost around $130 and it will only be available on the Web.
