Hub City Stompers w/ King Django (Show Review 3/27/09 with setlist!)

Last Friday (3/27/09), I headed out to North Philly's 941 Theater (and wound up stranded up there for a good 2 hours at 2am... fuck you SEPTA). I've never been to the 941 Theater before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It definitely looked like an old warehouse with a knee high stage made of plywood on cinder blocks. Hell yeah!

The Forthrights:
First up were New York's reggae band The Forthrights, and the place was still relatively empty during their set. They played more traditional reggae music, and definitely had talent and solid songs, but with the complete lack of interaction with the crowd made for a boring set. If they could manage to get the crowd more involved, then definitely expect to hear about these guys more often.

Wareika Hill:
Straight up easy skanking! Playing a decent amount of covers, the band got the majority of the crowd dancing to their sweet ska beats. The band was definitely "on", and played damn tight.

King Django:
King Django is sort of a New York ska legends. Playing in various traditional bands including Skinnerbox and Stubborn All Stars, he and his massive amount of bands mates had some trouble fitting on the cramped stage (the band consisted of all the usual instruments including some extra horns, a ukelele, and a keytar). Their style ranged from traditional reggae, two tone ska, to dancehall, and had the entire crowd getting their groove on to the king. Definitely check him out if he comes to your area.

Hub City Stompers:
Yeees! The easy skanking crowd was definitely not prepared for the NJ skinhead ska punk and the rowdier crowd of the Hub City Stompers. The second the first note of opening "WTFIU?" was hit, a huge pit space was cleared in the middle that consisted of some violent skanking and thrashing about. Hub City definitely played a tight set, although a bit shorter than usual. This show was SUPPOSED to be their cd release show, but of course, their album got delayed (again).

Setlist:
-WTFIU?
-Trojan Night
-Where's My Hooligans?
-Johnny Date Rape
-Skins Don't Cry
-Clutch Tango
-Pants Music
-Chatterbox
-Skinhead Boi
-Mass Appeal
-Phantom
-Ska Train To Dorkville
-I've Got A Boot
-Ska Ska Black Sheep

MP3:
Hub City Stompers - WTFIU?
Hub City Stompers - Johnny Date Rape

Also Check Out:
Ruder Than You - Big Step
The Slackers - Self Medication
Ska, Nickelodeon Style

Buy
Hub City Stompers

Merit - Arson is For Lovers (For fans of Say Anything, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tsunami Bomb)

Every review I've read said Merit sounds like Bayside mixed with Say Anything and a touch of Paramore... so why the fuck do I like Merit's "Arson is For Lovers" when I can't tolerate 2 minutes of any of the previously mentioned bands, or any poppy slightly emo tinged music for that matter?

The biggest difference between Syracuse NY's Merit and 99.99% of those other bands are the vocals. Frontwoman Brenna has a nice polished voice that actually compliments the pop hooks as opposed to other bands that just has some whiney ass dude crying into their microphone.

Now, there are some songs on here that are a little too slow for me , and I find myself skipping quite a few on the album (except Mourning Dove... that song rips). But the majority are catchy poppy mid tempo rock tunes that may be able to capture the ear of anyone who is a fan of Tsunami Bomb's slower material. Merit definitely has mainstream appeal, and I wouldn't be surprised if they completely exploded in the next few months, but their music still sounds more sincere and legit than the contrived forced whines that plague the majority of other bands who play the poppier style of music.

Also, one has got to respect their DIY ethic: their webpage has the entire album for download for donation.

Mp3:
Merit - Cut And Run
Merit - Arson is For Lovers

More music for wusses those in touch with their emotions:
The only good Saves the Day Album
Some band about Blinking and 182.
Jup

Donate:
Merit Webpage

A "My God I'm Definitely Not Prepared" Mix!

(Photo by Michael Simonic)

So apparently, if I lived in New Orleans, I probably would have just noticed now that there was a flood a few years back... I have an article written up that I was excited to post today (I couldn't sleep last night because I wet the bed since I was so excited!) But I totally forgot to rip the album to my machine, and don't have it on me now, so this post will need to wait a bit.

So all you procrastinating, lazy mo-fos out there, this one's for you!

MP3:
Bomb The Music Industry - Ready...Set...No!!!
The Deviates - I Remember
Gorilla Biscuits - Forgotten
Millions of Dead Cops - I Remember
NOFX - Lazy

More Mixes that I actually was prepared for:
Housewives World Tour: Virginia! Mix
Holy Crap It's Friday!!!
A Tribute to All You Bored At Work Or School
President's Day Mix
Darwin 200th Birthday Mix
Dumbass Yuppies Thinking I'm Trying To Break Into Their Car (A Mix)
Songs To Piss Off The Personal Trainer Below Me Mix
Fuck The Flu Mix
Intermission (A Short Mix)

Buy:
Interpunk
Smart punk

Ruder Than You - Big Step (For fans of The Specials, The Slackers, The Pietasters)

It's hard to believe that Philly ska/reggae legends Ruder Than You released their debut "Big Step" back in 1992 (that's 17 years... don't worry mathaphobes, we got your back).

While it took a few live renditions of the songs to fully appreciate it, Big Step is a ska revivalist masterpiece. Pulling influences from all waves of ska, reggae, and even some funk thrown in here and there, I honestly haven't been able to stop listening lately (especially to "Swallow Blood", what a damn catchy song!)

For some reason, Ruder Than You never gained the same popularity of other contemporaries such as The Slackers or The Pietasters even though they've toured and opened for The Skatalites, Bad Manners, and even Desmond Dekker. "Big Step" is one of their strongest releases, and should definitely be part of any ska fan's collection.

MP3:
Ruder Than You - Swallow Blood
Ruder Than You - Future Girl

More Housewives Than You:
The Slackers - Self Medication
Ruder Than You - God's Ghetto (Their funk cd)
Pietasters - Willis
Two and A Half White Guys

Buy:
Good luck trying to find it, you can probably buy it used somewhere.

Discharge - Self Titled (For fans of Amebix, Aus Rotten, Disfear)

I remember picking up Discharge's Self-Titled album about five years ago. The college radio station that I had a show with was giving away all of their unwanted music, and allowed anybody to take a total of like 2 albums. Never hearing of Discharge before, the cover looked intriguing (and by intriguing, I mean looked like a punk band), so I picked it up. Thank god I did.

Discharge was a legendary British hardcore thrash punk band who pretty much created a new sub-genre known as "D-Beat" (defined by the intense drum beats). Originally formed in the 70s, Discharge re-united to record the self titled back in 2001.

Back in the 80s, Discharge was put into a box without any social interactions or cultural influences. In 2001, they were finally let out and recorded their ferocious hardcore punk of the 80s without changing up their style at all. What we are left with is furious hardcore recorded with better equipment. I'm pretty sure this is how the Self-Titled came to be.

If you're looking for something heavy and fast, definitely give Discharge's Self-Titled a listen.

MP3:
Discharge - Corpse of Decadence
Discharge - Trustem

More facemeltings:
Propagandhi Supporting Caste
Toxic Narcotic
Witch Hunt
Disfear
Raised Fist

Buy:
Interpunk
Smartpunk

Housewives World Tour: Virginia (A Mix)

Welcome! We got bricks, lots and lots of bricks!

Ahh Virginia, my college state... I lived there for a few years, and besides the initial culture shock of people actually saying hi to you on the street (I was convinced they wanted to mug or rape me), confederate flags (you lost over a few hundred years ago, quit being such sore losers), and "missionary position only" laws (which I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to enforce my a mandatory camera in every bedroom)... I do honestly love it down in Fredericksburg.

After visiting this weekend with some friends, I've forgotten how much I really miss that place. So, lets listen to some bands that started in VA!

MP3:
Avail - Simple Song
Inquisition - Open Letter
Municipal Waste - The Art of Partying
Strike Anywhere - Refusal

More Housewives World (or more like east coast US) Tour:
Boston
New Jersaaaaaaay!
Killadelphia

Buy:
Interpunk
Smartpunk

The Slackers and Ruder Than You Live (3/19/09)

I had a tough decision last night... I could go see Less Than Jake, who I haven't seen in years... or go see The Slackers who I saw a few months ago. After much debating with myself (I won), I decided to go see The Slackers, on the principle that Less Than Jake tickets were at a LiveNation venue and were charging over 32 dollars with fees.

I arrived at West Chester's "The Note" not really knowing what to expect since I've never been there. It was a laid back, kick ass bar that even had free water and a chill little atmosphere to it. For one, the crowd was mostly over 21 (which is just weird at a ska show).

Last Martyrs of a Lost Cause:

I showed up towards the end of Last Martyrs of a Lost Cause's set. Hailing from my current city of Philly, I've seen these guys on fliers all the time, but never got around to seeing them. With their horn section consisting of two trombones, the band played really tight with each other. They reminded me a bit of Edna's Goldfish (unfortunately, I do not like Edna's Goldfish), the band had a few in the crowd singing along.

Ruder Than You:

2008 Joy Moody Photographer

Philly ska legends that I haven't seen in 6 years! First time I saw them back in 2003, I had no idea who Ruder Than You were... Recently, the band has made quite a name for themselves in the Philly ska scene. They were having some mixing issues in the beginning (feedback, vocals too low), but eventually they overcame it and had most of the crowd skanking along. Their music transcribes much better live than it does recorded, and I would definitely recommend checking them out if they play a show near you. I grabbed the setlist, but they started taking requests, so it may not be accurate.

Setlist (what they had written, but they played requests so it may be wrong):
Not Deaf Yet
Baby Tonight
On A String
Creation Sounds
Drive Your Car
Reggae Rub-A-Dub
Brand New Day
Swallow Blood (Request)
Paranoid
Future Girl
Meet The Beat
Yo Ho Down
Justice

The Slackers:

Do The Slackers ever put on a bad show? Everytime I've seen them, The Slackers completely own it live, and I've always had an awesome time. Last night of course, was no different. They brought West Chester (and Philly... since half the crowd drove from the city to get there), their sweet, sweet style of revival ska, and the crowd skanked through their entire set.

At one point, Victor (vocalist, keyboardist) said it was kind of nice to be in the bar as opposed to the sweaty Philly church basement for once, although kind of weird. Halfway through their set, they decided to just play a bunch of requests, and so the setlist I have is definitely not accurate, but what the hell:

Setlist (Missing some since they just played request halfway through)
-Rider
-Married Girl
-Eviction
-Keep Him Away
-Every Day is Sunday
-Fried Chicken
-Wanna Man
-Old Dog
-Please Decide
-Rude And Reckless
-Sarah
-Have The Truck
-Been Waiting
-Happy Song
-Feed My Girl
-WWW
-The Fool
-Pedophilia

MP3:
Ruder Than You - Swallow Blood
Slackers - Everyday is Sunday

Rude Housewives Articles:
The Slackers - Self Medication
Slackers Live In Philly (9.5.09)
Ruder Than You - God's Ghetto (Their funk cd)
Pietasters - Willis
Two and A Half White Guys

Buy:
Interpunk

The Dead Pets Haiku (Fans of Less Than Jake, Against All Authority, River City Rebels)

Furious punk rock
Horns are mixed in to rip face
These Brits tear shit up

Mp3:

The Dead Pets - W.M.C
The Dead Pets - Tokyo Crush

More Sweet Haikus By Shel "silverunity"stein:
Municipal Waste Haiku
SNFU Haiku
Good Clean Fun Haiku
Violent Society Haiku

Buy:
Interpunk

One Win Choice - Define\Redefine (Hardcore for fans of Kid Dynamite, Static Radio NJ, Paint It Black)

Growing up in New Jersey up until I was 18, I've always had a love/hate relationship with NJ hardcore. On one hand, there are definitely some solid ones (Vision anyone?).

On the other hand, when I was growing up there, most Jersey "hardcore" bands were actually screamo, tainted with "oh so emotional" breakdowns that every douche bag in NJ started listening to because their girlfriend liked Finch and From Autumn To Ashes. These kids would go to shows with the intent to pick fights with everybody (including some dude's mom, who was hit in the back with a chair) trying to impress their girlfriend in some sort of tough-yet-emotional mating ritual.... (I wish I was making this shit up).

Needless to say, although I love my homestate and most of it's music, I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth as far as hardcore goes and whenever I saw flyers for One Win Choice, I simply assumed they were one of those screamo bands. One listen to Define/Redefine blasts those assumptions right out of the murky Jersey water.

Playing hardcore in the veins of early Static Radio NJ (think "One For The Good Guys" EP), Define/Redefine adds a bit more melody than the average hardcore band. While their newest EP isn't exactly groundbreaking, with every band trying to be "something different" these days, it is kind of refreshing and groundbreaking in it's own way to just listen to some straight up hardcore. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of melodic hardcore.

MP3:
One Win Choice - Failure To Quit

More Melodies, More Hardcore:
Bars (Members of Give Up The Ghost and Hope Conspiracy)
Comeback Kid
Kid Dynamite And The Art Of Moshing Everywhere
Static Radio NJ

Pre Order:
Jump Start Records

Saint Patty's Day Throwdown!!! (A Mix)

"Driving out pagan bitches so you could get wasted and wear tacky green beads since 387 AD."
(Photo By sicarr)

Alright all you Irish people, Catholics, and people who pretend they're Irish so they have an excuse to get wasted... Today's your big day!

So go grab a cold one (or if you don't drink like me, drink some kiwi juice or something), wear something green, and wear those shamrocks!

MP3:
Real Mckenzies - Bugger Off (Irish Drinking Song)
Dropkick Murphys - Amazing Grace
Flogging Molly - Light of a Fading Star
Smoke or Fire - Irish Handcuffs
Greenfire - The Knocknaboul

More Mixes To Get Your (Non-Alcoholic) Drink On:
Holy Crap It's Friday!!!
A Tribute to All You Bored At Work Or School
President's Day Mix
Darwin 200th Birthday Mix
Dumbass Yuppies Thinking I'm Trying To Break Into Their Car (A Mix)
Songs To Piss Off The Personal Trainer Below Me Mix
Fuck The Flu Mix
Intermission (A Short Mix)

Buy:
Interpunk
Smartpunk

Propagandhi w/ Paint It Black (with Setlist!)

Oh my god... let's just say I've been waiting since nearly the Clinton administration to see one of my favorite bands, Propagandhi (to the point that I wrote the band as a young-un... bitching about how they never come to the States... which Todd graciously replied "one of these days, we will"). So on the day the 3/14/09 show was first announced back in January, I actually jumped out of my seat, left in the middle of work, and sprinted 20 blocks over to the Trocadero to buy a ticket (I wanted to leave no chance of the show selling out).

When I arrived at the Trocadero on Saturday night, I had such a stoke-ness for the show that I haven't felt since the first time I caught the Bouncing Souls back in 2003. First thing I noticed upon entering the venue, was that for once, I was one of the younger ones in the crowd (and at 23, that doesn't happen too often at a punk show).

Witch Hunt

(photo by Jon C)

First up was Philly's own crust punk quartet: "Witch Hunt". More brutal than those Mexican cartels with their guy/gal vocal duties, Witch Hunt shred through a bunch of their songs with relatively little stage banter, and unfortunately, relatively little stage presence. Witch Hunt however, is one of those bands who's music is so damn heavy that it speaks for itself, and even with little moving around on their part, the set stands on it's own. The crowd finally broke out into a full fledged pit once the band ripped into "Blood Red States", and that set the stage for the rest of the night.

The band played some new material that they are currently recording, and it sounds much more melodic than anything they've ever done before, so I'm pretty stoked to hear the new album whenever it comes out.

Paint It Black

I've seen Philly hardcore legends a number of times: in the basement of a church, in the middle of the street with kids diving out of trees, but never behind a barricade. And for those who've never seen the band, Paint It Black is not one who feels at most home behind a barricade.

Ripping straight into Nicaragua, both the crowd and the band seemed excited to reunite back home. Dan Yemin was gorilla like as ever on stage, and did his best to break down the barriers by performing most of the set directly behind the gates. We did our best to pile on, pass the bouncers, and reach the stage, but there weren't many stage dives this show. Still, Paint it Black played one hell of a set, and even introduced a new song that will be on one of their upcoming 7 inches (it sounds heavy as all hell by the way).

Setlist (not in order, and may be missing one or two):
-Nicaragua
-Past Tense, Future Perfect
-Cannibal
-Atticus Finch
-CVA
-Ghosts
-Short Changed? (I think they played this one)
-The Ledge
-We Will Not
-Gravity Wins
-So Much For Honor Among Thieves
-Shell Game Redux
-Pink Slip
-Exit Wounds

Propagandhi:

Finally... after all these years, the band took the Philly stage, with the crowd bursting with excitment and anger ("fuck you guys for taking so long!"). After some basic tuning, the Canadian legends ripped straight into "Supporting Caste", instantly followed by "Tertium Non Datur", which the crowd instantly broke out into a pit that wouldn't let up for the rest of the night. By the lack of singing along (except by a few individuals... including yours truely), it was pretty obvious that not many in the crowd knew any of the new material. After some short greetings, the band then blasted into my favorite track off of "SC", "The Bangers Embrace".

Surprisingly keeping the stage banter to a minimum (only to occasionally make fun of The Flyers, Sarah Palin, and how we should be allowed to eat humans), Propagandhi played a tight ass set that many of us have been waiting years to hear (there was one guy I was talking to who was 30, and has been waiting 12 years to see the band). When the band finally finished up, Todd said "see you in another 150 years". My two biggest complaints of the show? Todd messed up his voice and so there weren't any "Todd" songs, and Propagandhi didn't play every single song they ever wrote.

Setlist: (not in complete order... but I think it's complete)
-Supporting Caste
-Tertium No Dafur
-The Bangers Embrace
-...And We Thought Nation States Were A Bad Idea
-Speculative Fiction
-Hajlllie Sellasse, Up Your Ass
-Back to The Motor League
-Dear Coach's Corner
-Less Talk, More Rock
-Rio De San Atlanta, Manitoba
-Bringer Of Greater Things
-Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes
-Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz)
-Mate Ka Moris Ukun Rasik An
-Anti-Manifesto

Encore:
-Apparently I'm A P.C Fascist
-Fuck the Border (with Dan Yemin doing vocals)
-Purina Hall Of Fame

Mp3:
Witch Hunt - Obscenity
Paint It Black - The Ledge
Propagandhi - The Bangers Embrace

Read These Articles Or Die (or... be lame forever):
Housewives Interview Propagandhi
Propagandhi - Supporting Caste
Paint It Black Street Show!
Paint It Black - New Lexicon
Witch Hunt - Blood Red States

Buy:
Propagandhi
Paint it Black Myspace
Witch Hunt Myspace

Holy Crap It's Friday! (A Mix)

Some people take superstition to a new level (no pun intended)

Well, I had a review of a band I wrote up that took forever to write. Buuuut I just learned the album was released on an RIAA label (which we don't post) since we have had problems with them in the past...

God damn you Friday the 13th and all of your bad luck. (Do people still believe that stuff anymore?) Soooo, happy Friday the 13th Suckas!

MP3:
Flogging Molly - Black Friday Rule
Guttermouth - Good Friday
Whatever It Takes - Apt. 2, 4am Friday
Osker - Lucky

More Mixes Than DJ Kool (and all of his throat clearings):
A Tribute to All You Bored At Work Or School
President's Day Mix
Darwin 200th Birthday Mix
Dumbass Yuppies Thinking I'm Trying To Break Into Their Car (A Mix)
Songs To Piss Off The Personal Trainer Below Me Mix
Fuck The Flu Mix
Intermission (A Short Mix)

Buy:
Interpunk
Smartpunk

Torchbearer (NJ) - EP (Hardcore for fans of Hope Conspiracy, Nora, The Banner)

I wouldn't exactly call these brahs metal-core, but Torchbearer (the one from NJ, there's some Swedish metal band that goes by the same name) does play some heavy and reeeeally dark hardcore.

Hailing from New Brunswick, NJ, Torchbearer contains members from Nora, The Fire Still Burns, Low End Theory, and a crapload of other bands, so they definitely have the experience, and it shows through the polished, tight playing.

Taking cues from The Hope Conspiracy (think "Endnote"), definitely keep your eyes on Torchbearer, I foresee them getting relatively big in hardcore. Oh, and they give away this 7 song EP for free on their myspace... so that's pretty sweet.

MP3:
Torchbearer - Kuhlthau
Torchbearer - Punctuation Fucker

More Housewives...hardcore:
Bars (For fans of Fucked Up)
Killing the Dream
Give Up The Ghost (Best modern hardcore band ever... period)

Buy:
Torchbearer Myspace

Propagandhi - Supporting Caste

Wow, I didn't realize it's been four years since Propagandhi's "Potemkin City Limits" was released, until the band announced they were working on "Supporting Caste" a few months ago. It feels like yesterday where I was anxiously waiting for Potemkin to be released...or yesterday when I first heard "Today's Empires" when it came out... ugh do I feel old.

Propagandhi has always been one of my favorite bands, but oh my god... nothing could prepare for the complete shred-fest more commonly known as "Supporting Caste". The album marks a few notable changes for the band, with the addition 2nd guitarist David Guillas (Beaver) and the first full length that is not on Fat Wreck.

The new guitarist (well, he joined in 2006, but this is the first recorded work with his contributions) definitely brings a new level of thrash-melt-your-god-damn-face-shredding to the band, and it shows on tracks such as "Incalcuable Effects" and "Dear Coach's Corner". While over the years, Propagandhi has definitely gravitated in a more 'thrash' direction, the band pokes at our nostalgia and proves they could still write one of the best melodic skate punk songs I've ever heard in "Bangers Embrace".

Being that "Supporting Caste" was one of the most anticipated albums of 2009, it's not surprising that there are already a slew of reviews up even though the album was released yesterday (March 10th).

The two biggest complaints I've heard about the album are:

1. Too much thrash! We need less Todd.
Wrong... We actually need more Todd. I'm pretty sure that's the only thing that would make Supporting Caste better.

2. It's too much like Potemkin City Limits, boring and a lot of filler.
This is definitely not the case. I love Supporting Caste, and I really did not like Potemkin all that much. Sure there are some influences from Potemkin (most noticable on the title track "Supporting Caste"), but for the most part, the album's style is most like "Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes" with a little "Less Talk, More Rock" thrown in.

Definitely one of the strongest Propagandhi releases, and I can guarentee that this album will be on my top 10 of 2009. Definitely check it out. Oh, and why you're at it, check out our interview with Todd from the band.

MP3:
Propagandhi - The Bangers Embrace
Propagandhi - Dear Coaches Corner

More Housewives Articles:
Housewives Interview Propagandhi
Where Quantity Is Job #1
Less Talk More Rock

Buy:
G7 Welcoming Comittee

The Virus - Nowhere To Hide (For fans of The Unseen,The Casualties, Oxymoron)

The Virus is the definition of a good street punk band: fast, heavy, yet catchy as all hell... and some days you really just need some straight up street punk.

Possibly the most recognized street punk band from Philadelphia, fans of early Unseen and Casualties would definitely dig "Nowhere To Hide", although unlike the previously mentioned bands, The Virus doesn't sing about "upping the punks" or the "punk revolution" or any arbitrary crap like that.

A must for any punk fan.

MP3:
The Virus - Vicious Rumors
The Virus - Rats In The City (music kicks in around 1 minute... worth the wait).

24hr Housewives Punk Rock Articles:
Against All Authority
46 Short
Action
Adolf And The Piss Artists
Violent Society

Buy:
PunkCore Records

The Killdares - Secrets of the Day (for fans of Flogging Molly, The Pogues, Black 47)

With Saint Patty's Day right around the corner, I figured a Celtic influenced post would be appropriate. Texas doesn't exactly seem like a breeding ground for Celtic music to flourish (or any music besides country... city of Austin, you are exempt from this broad generalization), however, The Killdares bring their Celtic rock straight outta the Alamo state.

Playing traditional rock and roll mixed with bagpipes and violins, the music would appeal to anyone who is a fan of The Pogues or Flogging Molly. While a few of the ballad-esque songs are a bit too slow for my liking, the faster... err, ok mid tempo ones definitely make up for it.

Secrets of the Day starts out with some really strong tracks, but unfortunately, in the middle sort of turns into easily forgettable generic rock and roll. Luckily the album picks itself back up towards the end, and is a good listen if you skip the filler and are in need of a Celtic kick.

MP3:
The Killdares - Long Island High (Jigs) (Instrumental)
The Killdares - Closer Than You Know

More Sweet Celtic Sounds:
Ska Mixed With Traditional Celtic? Surely You Jest!

Buy:
Killdares Official Site

Bomb The Music Industry - Scrambles (New Album for fans of Big D and The Kid"s Table, Mustard Plug, Arrogant Sons of Bitches)

Love them or hate them, it's hard not to respect Bomb The Music Industry's DIY ethics. Releasing all of their material digitally (pay-what-you-want) on their own Quote Unquote Records, it's hard to believe that these ska-punk giants started out by one man recording a song on his laptop microphone as his other band (Arrogant Sons of Bitches) was breaking up.

While recording Scrambles, frontman Jeff described the new material as: "lots of piano. lots and lots of it. not much punk, not much ska so might as well stop listening? The next batch of songs will be about 68% as good as the last Defiance Ohion record". While there actually is some piano, the songs definitely are style the synth punk ska that has become Bomb The Music Industry's trademark sound.

Scrambles is definitely an improvement over Get Warmer (which was a solid album, but had too many of the slow songs for my taste), and actually the music seems much more similar to Arrogant Sons Of Bitches (which is never a bad thing).

MP3:
Bomb the Music Industry - (Shut) Up The Punx!!!
Bomb the Music Industry - 9/11 Fever!

24 Hr Housewive Articles:
One Cool Guy (Members of Streetlight Manifest0)
Bomb The Music Industry - To Leave or Die In Long Island
Culture Shock (for fans of Op Ivy)

Get Whole Album:
Quote Unquote

Kittens Ablaze - The Monstrous Vanguard (For fans of Ra Ra Riot, Defiance Ohio, Arcade Fire)

Kittens Ablaze are not your typical indie band. Implementing elements of punk similar to Against Me! and Defiance, Ohio, Kittens Ablaze keeps "The Monstrous Vanguard" interesting for a short-attention spanned punk fan like myself through catchy ass tunes using various instrumentation.

Sure, your standard guitar and drums drive the song like any modern band, but in between, I'm also hearing a cello, a violin, various percussion, and it may just be my imagination, but I think I'm hearing a sitar in one song. All these instruments give the music a sort of gypsy/folky feel to it, and the vocals remind me of John K Samson of the Weakerthans. Check it out, even if you're not usually a fan of this style, it won me over.

Mp3:
Kittens Ablaze - Gloom Doom Buttercups
Kittens Ablaze - This Machine is Dying

More Housewives Indie:
A Mix for the Bros Of The World (Who Will Probably Hate It)
Light Pollution
The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour

Buy:
Kittens Ablaze Myspace

Propagandhi (Finally) Streams Supporting Caste

At the risk of becoming "The Battle of Propagandhi", we have yet another update regarding the band. Propagandhi posted Supporting Caste in it's entirety on their myspace page (I didn't even know they had one?) It's an awesome album, check it out.

Oh, and check out our interview with Todd from the band.

Housewives Interview Propagandhi!

Photo By PaulGalipeau

Todd the Rod of Propagandhi was kind enough to trade some emails with us here over at Housewives. Read on to hear about Supporting Caste, filesharing, and some poetry! (Thank you Todd and Jess for making this happen.)

HW: I had a chance to preview the album, and I think it's possibly the strongest, thrashiest Propagandhi album yet. What was different while recording this time around?

Todd: Thanks, I'm glad you dig the new tunes. I agree that it's the best we've done so far. This time around we have Beave on guitar who adds a lot. We've all practiced very, very hard and worked really hard on the songs. We also recorded with Bill and Jason at the Blasting Room who are slave drivers when it comes to recording. They work very hard and make us work hard and it shows. We were having a really good time writing the songs and working together in a smoother way. It all worked out nicely in the end.

HW: You guys seem to be touring much more frequently recently, while I think it's awesome, it seems odd after such a long time of inactivity. Any reason other than any excuse to get out of freezing Winnipeg?

Todd: We are touring more because we have finally decided that we should give our band a fair chance and do the best we can rather than endlessly working so hard on the songs all the time and never playing them for anyone. We've never toured in winter before. We are frost bitten trolls who don't need to leave the icy orchards. It's just a little bonus...haha

HW: Propagandhi is known for touring spots that many bands don't even consider (South America, etc). Is there a difference in the way the crowd reacts? Also, what is your personal favorite place you have played?

Todd: My personal favorite shows in the last little while have been have been in Santiago Chile, Montreal Canada, Winnipeg Canada, Temse Belgium. The crowd are all similar everywhere we go. Some shows are great some are mediocre. We're lucky to not have too many train wrecks anymore. We've practiced some of that away.

HW: I'm sure you've been asked this 38745789245624 times, but why the switch from Fat Wreck?

Todd: We figured it's time to do our record with someone more interested and who's going to try their best. In fairness to Fat we didn't exactly give them our best either in terms of touring etc.. it all seemed to become a little stale. No hard feelings. We're just moving on. It seems to be a good idea so far.

HW: Looking through the set lists of recent shows, I see that you still play lot of songs off of your debut "How To Clean Everything". Do these songs still hold any meaning to you, or you throwing us schmucks a bone?

Todd: Ha ha.. there's a little bone throwing but we still like those song. We added some extra stuff to a couple of them. I'd rather play new songs. We're not a nostalgia act and don't have much interest in helping people relive their childhoods but the songs are good so we play them. It's alright to bone the dog or whatever it is you said... haha

HW: What are your feelings on file sharing and how the internet changed music as a whole?

Todd: I have mixed feelings. I find it annoying that people feel the need to endlessly take and take and not give anything back in regards to bands music. The bands pay for the recording, some practice and work really hard and people feeling like saving their money for beer or satellite T.V. so they don't buy the record. But on the other hand more people hear the tunes and hopefully come out to the shows, sing along and go berserk. I'd say if you support a band then buy the CD, unless you really can't afford it. Then everyone is cool.

HW: Your music has influenced a lot of people in becoming more politically aware, but aren't sure what to do for change. Any advice for all the disenfranchised wanna-be activists out there?

Todd: I think disenfranchised activists are maybe momentarily looking in the wrong direction for inspiration if they feel like they don't know what to do, then it's time to look closer at what may be available in your city or town. There's endless numbers of organizations and people who need someone with a little bit of time to spare. If there is nothing around all you have to do is think about something that interests you and get to work. The world is certainly not not fair, or just at this point. If you are reading, and you can't think of anything off the top of your head I'll mention that there has been more than 5 million people killed in the Congo with most of the world taking little notice. It is the most brutal war since World War 2. There is a lot of international corporations profiting from the misery as well as many different governments. Some survivors of this war may be living in your city. Maybe there's something you can do to support them and spread the word about the situation? Check your local phone book or the internet for any organizations that you can contact about it. If that doesn't interest you them there's certainly something else that might interest you. Whatever you like to do find a way for it to serve more than just the interest of a few rich people.

HW: I thought you guys might find this amusing... apparently someone contacted Sandor and told them about your song, and he responded. Someone posted the response up on: http://www.punknews.org/comment/32501/1204196 I don't know how true or not it is (it is a message board), but it's pretty hilarious if it is true. Figure I share it with ya.

Todd: the song is obviously satirical and clearly points out that the situation he described in his book is not humane. When we place him into the same situation as the animal into the narrative of his own writing it outrages him. This proves our point very well. He has some good things to say. We thought this issue deserved a response. Killing is not humane or good.

HW: Any final words/advice/poetry/damnations you want to share?

Todd: My advice is that your life will get better the more you do to try to make the world a better place. There is so many interesting and good people out there. There's no point sitting in your basement crying about it all. There's no point sitting around trying to be a misanthrope. haha... Let's get going!

Here's a nice poem...
I saw a bird up in a tree
who sang a song made just for me.

And one damnation...
If you go to a bookstore and the most interesting person you can find to read about is Anne Coulter than either the store is run by the biggest moron on earth or you are an idiot. haha...

MP3:
Propagandhi - Speculative Fiction (off of Potemkin City Limits)

More Propagandhi articles:
Propagandhi Releases 2 New Songs (With Strings Attatched)
New Propagandhi Song on radio show!
Propagandhi - Where Quantity is Job #1

Pre-Order Supporting Caste:
Straight From Propagandhi

Taking A Snow Day And Hopefully Not Getting Fired (A Mix!)

I don't know where you live (yet... muwahaha),but here on the east coast we are getting blasted by snow (it's whiter outside than a David Sedaris reading). I got a call from my boss last night telling me that we were having a snow day, so while I did a few victory laps around the house, I didn't bother to check my phone again until about 5 minutes ago.

Apparently she called again, and said she was wrong, no snow day... buuut fuck it! Snow day 09 (here's hoping I don't get fired).

MP3:
Atom and His Package - Snowshoe BBQ
Strike Anywhere - You're Fired!
Blanks 77 - No One Cares

More Mixes:
A Tribute To All You Bored At Work Or School (A Mix)
Happy 200th Birthday Darwin (A Mix)
Dumbass Yuppies Thinking I'm Trying To Break Into Their Car (A Mix)
Songs To Piss Off The Personal Trainer Below Me Mix
Fuck The Flu Mix

Buy:
Interpunk
Smartpunk