Thanksgiving Grab Bag - Big Dipper, King Tuff, Peter Buck, Les Sexy, The Disciplines and more

A friend of mine recently suggested that rock was dead. Well, maybe some rock. But on this day, I want to give thanks for those who still rock that I haven't got to sharing.

Crocodiles - Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9). These guys' fuzzy brilliance knocks me down every time.


Redd Kross's triumphant return Researching the Blues, pounding, slap-happy, scowling, excellent distortion control. Nice Gil Morgan, too. Stay Away From Downtown is here as well so you don't think the album is a one-trick pony when it is actually a whole race-track full of trick ponies.

Social Distortion 's Gimme the Sweet & Lowdown. SD have been epitomising rock and roll since you were digging Olivia Newton John or Corey Hart or whatever, diving into your Lik-m-Aid, Twizzlers and Mr. Big bars, and the band hasn't swerved much from their thing. Why should they?

The Disciplines, Emily. Just one of Ken Stringfellow's fine projects, one for which he lets out his inner rocka rolla man.

Big Dipper is back! With a tune named after the prolific Guided by Voices mainman! Yowza!

King Tuff - Screaming Skull: The singer's voice reminds me of Mitch Easter (Let's Active), and the simple guitar and garbage-can drums are a perfect backdrop.

An old classic by Lloyd Cole gets the rock treatment by...Lloyd Cole and special friends.

Midnight Spin can get the blood up with Neuroin.

Chappo - Come Home: Nice wordless chorus!

Gloryhound's TKO Tokyo. Because we all need big dumb rock sometimes.

I know people have picked up on Japandroids, but some of you may have missed this older nugget, Art Czars. Perfect snotty noise.

Les Sexy - a double-shot of francophone punk from Winnipeg, St. Boniface to be more specific. "Fables" and "Chasseur" are simple, raw and have no need for backing tapes or auto-tuning. They remind me of my youth, before punk became pop, over-produced and weighted down with style and fashion. The album versions sound even better, seek them out.


Ruby by Cheap Girls, fine power pop + garage rock = perfect rock and roll.

Deer Tick's Born at Zero reminds me of the Replacements, not so much the sound as the attitude.

Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless. A primal chorus, a great bridge.

No Age - Fever Dreaming and You're a Target. Like Japandroids, I like to go backwards with No Age. Scuzzy gut-bucket ferocity with one, sped-up shoegaze with the other?.

Peter Buck's 10 Million BC might not be what one would expect from the former R.E.M. guitarman, but that's good, innit?

Photo at top of page by Slideshow Bruce.

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Social Distortion Signs With Epitaph, Readies New Record

photo by Julia Zave

Social Distortion recently signed to Epitaph Records, the label that has released musical time bombs by Bad Religion, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, The Refused, The Hives, All, The Donnas, SNFU, The Offspring, L7, Descendents, The International Noise Conspiracy, Joe Strummer - in other words, many of the punk rock-flavoured frisbees that have coloured the world we know today. So Social Distortion seems to have come full circle from early punk roots, to major label rock heroes, and back to a label that's had big successes bringing punk to the masses. No word on a release date yet, but SD main man Mike Ness has been talking up the recording process and his influences, telling Spinner.ca that the album sounds like a cross between The Dead Boys and The Black Crowes.


View this video at Hurley.com

Scoial Distortion's web site has some interesting video links, with Ness perfeorming with members of Pearl Jam and some rocking live stuff. There's also this one of Ness doing Bad Luck with Springsteen. It's not really the best version of the song, but I think it's amazing that his Bruceness is aware of SD's greatness, saying he's been a big fan for a "long, long time". Springsteen has previously called Social Distortion "one of the not-heralded-enough great American rock bands", even going so far as to appear on Ness's solo album Cheating at Solitaire.



Some people think the new album will include a song called Bakersfield, a tune that has been played live a fair amount. I can hear Springsteen doing this one, I'd like him to record it too so Ness can afford to keep doing what he does.



Ness has said that the new album reminds him of 1992'2 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, which I'm pretty sure is a lot of people's fave SD record - I know it's mine. Here's the opening track from that one.



Buy Social Distortion here.