Jams, Kicked Out

Punk Rock Mondays

PRM

It's been awhile, so let's see if I remember how to do this. Live clips of some band, right? Of Montreal qualifies as a band, no? Okay then! Your last PRM of 2008!

"Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider"


"Lysergic Bliss"


"Gronlandic Edit"

PRM

Lips' latest mix directly inspired this PRM, making me dig around the YouTubes for some vintage Stevie Wonder. It also made me realize that we don't have nearly enough Stevie on hand around the casa de wobs.

"I Don't Know Why"


"Living for the City" - even Taylor Hicks couldn't ruin this song for me.


And a "Superstitious" that makes Sesame Street more funky than it has any right to be. Seriously, where the fuck are the 6+ minute funkathons on Barney?

PRM

What we really need around here (other than more cowbell) is some DEVO to liven the place up. How awesome are these guys?

"Mongoloid"


"That's Good"


"Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA"

PRLD

Happy Labor Day gang! In the spirit of the day, I've selected some prime "dude with an acoustic guitar hollering out protest tunes" to suit the occasion. Now, before you start going on about how unhip that is, would it help if the dude with the acoustic guitar was Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, under his nom de guerre the Nightwatchman? Of course it would!

"Road I Must Travel"


"Maximum Firepower" - and how cool is his mom?


And an old classic, with all of the verses, "This Land is Your Land"

PRM

Even when we're in the midst of a Democratic lovefest, it's important to remember there's still plenty of reasons to be bomb-throwingly pissed. Some Rage Against the Machine for your evening.

"Know Your Enemy"


"Vietnow"


"Killing in the Name"

Punk Rock Monday

$5 version.

Punk Rock Monday

In my immediate post-high school years ('90-'94), I picked up the nickname "Loser" as in "Loser Dave." Nominally, this nickname distinguished me from the 5 other Daves that flitted in and out of the social circle, but was also indicative of the twin facts that I didn't go to college and worked fast food for a living. Of course, these were the grunge years, so the appellation "Loser" had some positive cache. Anyway, the Descendents' "I'm Not a Loser" became my unofficial theme song, at least until Beck's "Loser" came along and I moved to Baltimore. That said, I was never a big fan of the homophobic message at the end of the song, although I think I recognized that the Descendents were making a statement about how the pain and anger of socital rejection can lead one to lash out randomly at something everyone hated more than you.



On the three occasions I was able to see either All or the reunited Descendents, this was the song I enjoyed moshing to the most. It kicks ass. Back then, I had that skater haircut where your hair was shaved aroung the sides and you let it grow long and wore it in a ponytail. Looked like a coonskin cap. Unleashed, my hair hung down about 6 inches past my chin. About the same length as my goat. I enjoyed flinging my hair around as I banged my head to "Hurtin' Crue." Go ahead, undo the ponytail and fling your hair around now.



This is simply my favorite song of all-time.

PRM

Have some tasty, delicious Wilco for your Monday evening.

"Passenger Side"



"Red Eyed & Blue/I Got You"



"Handshake Drugs"

PRM

Bowie.

"I'm Afraid of Americans"



"Heroes"



And one of my all-time favorite songs, "Life on Mars?"

PRM

So, if you haven't noticed (and there really isn't a reason that you should have), I've been kind of AWOL around here lately, mostly due to the "relaxing" summer running me ragged. I hope to make it up to you in the coming weeks before I go on vacation, when I really won't give a flying fuck that I'll be nowhere near the innerwebs.

So to begin my penance, I proffer you this epic PRM of all things George Clinton and George Clinton related. Warning: these videos should not be viewed by those with heart conditions, acrophobia, or congenital whiteness. People with hip problems should consult a doctor before subjecting themselves to the funk. The OG is in no way responsible for any injuries incurred while getting your groove on. Please view responsibly.

"Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give up the Funk)"


Holy shit, that was good. Plus, I love the shot of the horn section at around 4:50. I wonder what it was like to be "the white guy" in Parliament?

"Maggot Brain"


What's that, you say? Your mind is blown? Best that we ground you with some more protracted ass-shaking, courtesy of "Dr. Funkenstein"


OMG. I really cannot get enough of this.

PRM

The seed for this beautiful flower of a PRM had its genesis in a conversation about branding. Go figure. Have some B-52s.

"Hot Lava"


The mandatory "Rock Lobster"


And what qualifies for epic in the genre of New Wave, "Planet Claire"

PRM 2.0

Way back in the very early days of Punk Rock Monday I once featured the Flaming Lips. In the last few weeks, l'il wobs has to come fall in love with Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, so I just felt like revisiting some old friends here as well.

The Flaming Lips are by far the trippiest band I've ever gotten into. Not the most psychedelic, mind you - the trippiest. And there trippiness has been super fun to watch evolve.

Take, for example, "Talkin' Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants to Live Forever)." While the seeds of the epic guitar freakout that was to be In a Priest Driven Ambulance are clearly there, this song only hints at the musical weirdness that lay just down the road. [updated: OG PSA - the temporal matters, kids!] But the weirdness is just so goddamn earnest, you kinda got to love it:


Moving ahead to the Transmission era, you can see they've gotten more confident in their showmanship and have married their feedback-driven trippiness to really good, bubblegummy pop songs, like "Turn It On":


In the late 90s, the Lips dedicated themselves to putting on the trippiest spectacle in all of rock 'n roll (they succeeded), and their albums since this time have tended to have been informed by this spectacle, rather than vice versa. Pre-Soft Bulletin cuts don't often find their way into the current show, but when they do... check out the Ambulance era "Mountainside" performed last year: