Nervebreakers "Politics" EP, " Hijack The Radio" b/w "Why Am I So Flipped"

(Get Hip) (Guest Review by Gentleman John Battles) Get Hip originally did the CD version of the Existential Vacuum release of "We Want Everything,” The Nervebreakers' posthumously released debut album. Reissues of local Punk pressings were barely in vogue in the early Nineties, and the Punk Revival's lone safety pin was being used to hold up it's diaper. Don't believe me? Then I wish you could have joined me and all 150, or fewer, punters at The Dictators' 1990 Chicago gig. Anyway, The Nervebreakers recorded voraciously all through their career, but it took a few years to release their debut, a four track 33 1/3 RPM EP called "Politics.” The title track is NOT a Punk Rock political call to arms. Far from it. The song sneers at politics, especially when used for self-advancement. "It's politics, not what you know, but who....No more politics! No more politics!” Of course, real Punk bands like The 'Breakers were soon nipped in the bud by more politically minded Hardcore bands, but, as Babe Ruthless from Ft. Worth punkers, Cringe once asked me, "Remember when it was just Punk Rock? It was a lot more fun, back then. "I Can't Help You" carries on in much the same way, dealing again in personal politics. Both songs bear a nice sharp crust to go with the engaging melodies. The Nervebreakers' roots ran deep (you would have been hard pressed to find a band in the late 70s-early 80s who could claim The Troggs, George Jones, Kevin Ayers, and The Chocalate Watchband as influences), and a hint of 60's melodicism runs through these numbers. Perhaps their best-known track, "My Girlfriend is a Rock" is more of a nod to then-modern kingpins like The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and The Clash (all of whom The Nervebreakers opened for), with their own unique sense of humor. “All the neighbors stop and stare, can't understand what she's saying there, they don't understand Rock! It's only Rock, Rock....My girlfriend is a rock, she looks like a piece of chalk, she really likes to pogo to the beat, dances pretty good for a piece of concrete, what the heck, she's just a rock.” “My Life is Ruined" is a complete departure, with an obvious "Spaghetti Western" feel, acoustic guitars and even castanets. It builds up a head of steam, as it goes. It's not a pretty picture, but, maybe, a word of warning to any would-be badasses who think they're immortal.  "Hijack The Radio" is The Nervebreakers' big "anthem" song. Radio was in a sorry state at that time (You mean, it isn’t, still?), especially in primary markets like the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. Disco was only a small part of the problem, regardless of what revisionists think. The Rock stations were saturating the airwaves with Boston, Journey, REO, Fleetwood Mac (Without Peter Green.) and Pink Floyd (Without Syd Barrett.), and even The Stones and The Who taking a backseat to Led Zeppelin. And, New Music? Forget about it. DJ George Gimarc was just getting his thing together when this record came out. Gimarc, a good friend of The 'Breakers (He'll even admit he knows me, too) had THEE only radio show that would play Underground music at the time in Dallas. There was no local public Radio, yet, nothing remotely similar to then-progressive WXRT, and College radio had a long way to go. The Nervebreakers swore that only Gimarc and his program, "The Rock'n'Roll Alternative" (that word used to MEAN something.), would be spared in the Revolution against The Radio. OK, so it happened,  but as a statement of purpose, "Hijack The Radio" beats 100 Che Guevara backpacks every time, from the updated New York Dolls two guitar attack from Mike Haskins and Barry Kooda  to T.Tex Edwards' spitfire delivery to Kooda's hilarious Rock DJ rap ( Don't  make me call the station manager!). "Why am I So Flipped,” you may have read my comments about, before, when it appeared on the Rave-Up Records Nervebreakers comp from Italy ("My Girlfriend, She's a Rock, No?"). But it's got to be the most crazed thing the band ever did, or, at least, it's in the top three, I'd wager. "Crusher" Carl Giesecke plays so hard and fast, you'd  swear you could hear bits of his drumkit hitting the floor. Bassist "Bar B Q " Bob Childress anchors this unholy mess like The Grim Reaper with a score to settle and a quota to fill. Once more, The Kooda/Haskins Guitar Aggression Pact makes sawdust out of the air, and an ass out of any young   punk upstarts who figure they can match their draw.  Edwards, meanwhile is propelled, the wrong way on Central Expressway, by the barely contained musical chaos. Someone even blows a whistle, but, it's too late. CAR CRASH!! Don't you love our Western ways?

It's a pretty surefired bet you won't be seeing the reformed Nervebreakers at Morrissey's Meltdown or even All Tomorrow's Parties with lyrics like this, but...Nervebreakers Walk Among Us. Be a-scared. The original band, since reforming in earnest (T. Bass) a few years back, have played out in Austin, Ft. Worth, and their native Dallas (where Jack Ruby may have languished in prison, but, Porno Theatres and adult book stores took up much of the downtown landscape in the heyday of Punk and Post-Punk.), and have had a new fished album, "Face Up To Reality" in the can for some time. I've heard a good portion of it, and, dammit, I want more! Somebody, pick this up, pronto! 

The Hussy "Cement Tomb Mind Control"

(Slow Fizz) This awesome slab of two person trash genius is guaranteed to cause mass Huss-teria at your high school dance, book club, circle jerk, PTA meeting, rumble, yoga class, or any other gathering where you are ready to get things batshit out of control. Best thing created in Wisconsin since they constructed the turrets on the Mars' Cheese Castle.

Bunnygrunt "Lady You Just Got Von Damaged!" ep"

(www.pancakeproductions.net) I never really thought about how this veteran act's twee pop sounds kinda like the murky, off-kilter girl group sound that helped the Dum Dum Girls sell the 21st Century indie record equivalent of a zillion copies (what would that be 8,000? 23,000?). But you hear it here and I hope these fun Bunnys sell an era-adjusted 2 zillion copies that with this gem!

The Mushuganas "Lows in the Mid 90's"

(Beercan) As you get older every band you remember that wasn't terrible starts to seem like they were great, just because they were memorable enough to remember and because nostalgia tints everything. I definitely enjoyed some Mushugans shows back "in the day" and listening to this collection of nasty, fun tunes makes me semi-sincerely believe I really liked them. Most pop punk in the 90s was cookie cutter, but these cats were more like oatmeal cookies, splotched down on a tray with mushy, odd shaped edges, a blob of a treat more fun that a precisely cut cookie.

Mickey "Rock n Roll Dreamer"

(Hozac) This dangerous and disturbing record sounds like a vinyl copy of Best of the Sweet got left out in the sun to warp, but you played it anyhow.  Over and over. This makes you feel like you just freebased glam. This makes you feel like you shot up a syringe full of glam through a dirty needle. This will discombobulate you in ways that music this catchy should not.

Dex Romwember Duo "Is That You in the Blue?"

(Bloodshot) Even at the heart of his Flat Duo Jets glory days there was always something kind of worn and weary about Dex...like I seem to remember that after every furious song he would look kinda spent and older than he shoulda look, like he had gone beyond what his body wanted him to. He gave it all for rock 'n' roll, Dex was willing to die for us! Well, somehow, decades later, he's more furious, more powerful, and more lively! This heaping helping of vaguely rockabilly/spy rock/torch music has some amazing components...including a sax solo of X-Ray Spex "quality"! But note the spare, solo resonating guitar and the spooky, eerie songs that haunt corners of this record. Don't they seem kinda...ghostly? Maybe he did give it all in the 90s!

Razorcake #62, #63, #64, #65, #66

(www.razorcake.org) The highlight of #62: Obviously having Rev Norb make fun of post-princess-pummeling Ben Weasel is like having a Navy Seal sniper shoot fish in a barrel, but it sure is fun to read! #64 features a genuinely awesome photo of Shannon and the Clams rocking – if Shannon isn’t your current rock n roll crush you need to get your wiring checked. And #65 has them celebrate a decade in publishing the best way anyone could…risking Canadian Ragnarok by putting Nardwuar and Geddy Lee together! And #63 is awesome because Roctober is all over it! They rave about our new book and Roctober contributors put together an amazing history of Tutu and the Pirates! If there’s one thing I love about other magazines it’s being sort of like this magazine! Which points out something interesting about issue #66. In addition to presenting a bushel of contemporary band interviews with better layout and graphics than MRR has set precedent for, they also slyly let us know that they are five times better than us by putting out five issues to every one that we put out in the last 10 months!

Werewolf's "Sobering Up the Wolfman"

(Cassette Deck) Ugly-angle rock 'n' roll that features pelvic-born lupine howling so harrowing and powerful it would make Teen Wolf miss his free throws.

The Listener by David Lester

 (Arbeiter Ring Publishing,) GUEST REVIEW BY ROBERT DAYTON

If you don’t think that art and politics should mix, then vamoose with you. Wait! Come back! Sit down and listen…I mean, read this new graphic novel called The Listener. Yeahhh edutainment! David Lester is known in music circles as  the guitarist in the longtime legendary Vancouver intense avant rock duo Mecca Normal , he is also an artist and graphic designer, The Listener is his first graphic novel, eight years in the making, it is 300 pages long! Black and white and heavy washes ranging all over the grey scale taking stylistic risks that borrow from German Expressionist cinema- often this works, occasionally the odd visual element can be difficult to discern.

This is the Personal as Political. The central character is an artist named Louise. After one of her art pieces spurs a man to take a political action that accidentally causes his death, she leaves Canada and heads to Europe. There she meets numerous people, some of a romantic nature, as they muse and discuss the meaning of art and the power it has. Most impacting is her chance meeting with an elderly couple who saw Hitler’s rise to power firsthand via the 1933 German Elections. At this point flashbacks entwine with present day probings. These rarely told details of the 1933 elections (which David Lester extensively researched) tellingly correspond with the current Canadian political climate showing how certain figures can rise to power, when less than forty percent of the populace vote for them, due to flawed political voting structures and party take-overs. This connection is never made explicit, of course, Lester is too smart for that because nowadays everything gets compared to Hitler, including my delicious breakfast.

It is this encounter that helps Louise work through her guilt. The Listener can cause one to use what personal power they have to try and create a difference. Of course, this graphic novel is realistic enough to show that there will always be naysayers and those who simply just do not get it (nor try to get it). Through acknowledging that fact, it makes utilizing the power of creativity a little easier.

Hellberta by M Comeau

 (Koyama Press) (Guest Review by Robert Dayton) There’s something to be said for residing in the public domain, a certain freedom. Take super heroes for example. These are figures of modern myth . The new gods! And now that copyright law no longer exists one can get rather gnostic and explore the inner light within. Take the mutant Wolverine. He’s been given a sweeping batch of origin stories that are supposed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. In the so-called ‘official continuity,’ he might not even be Canadian anymore. He most certainly is in Hellberta! From Alberta! Hellberta. If you are from Alberta and had the urge to escape its’ maw then you would call this frozen redneck prairie ‘Hellberta’. Comeau certainly comes from there, it shows. This distinctly Canadian comic book fractures the narrative in several places below the belt whilst the nastiest of all Prime Ministers, the Neo-Con and Neo-Citran Stephen Harper, is cast as perpetually charmless villain. Nasty representatives of the big C church fight Wolverine as he avenges the death of his best friend, a sweet deer named Mertle, from an exploding gas line.

Red and green scrawled linework is silk screened on yellow paper as Comeau attacks the story with a child-like abandon. The contrasting colour imagery causes mad play on one’s eyes as the story is resolved in a way–gone time flash-forward (Wolverine can live on long time).