Showing posts with label punk rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label punk rock. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Hit song of Summer 2026? 'Dracula'?


Back in August we asked the question, What will be the hit song of summer 2026? There are a few contenders, and the race is very close, but it would seem to be Tame Impala's "Dracula" (Jennie remix), which is still going strong. But still, in the office, we prefer "Lobotomize Me" by Rat Utopia!


What's a Tame Impala? (It's Kevin)


What'll be Song of Summer for 2026?

The new Ocean Way Festival of LA
Given the exigencies and erratic demands of the music industry nowadays, it is essential that one hit song be pushed to the top of the pop charts to rule each summer. A pop idol's shelf life could depend on it, or it might make an up and comer's career. This summer is tough because there's no obvious frontrunner. Taylor Swift? Yawn. Olivia Rodrigo has a new album, a new festival (Daisy Chain Fields), and everything she's done in the past has been so promising, but a runaway hit?

Who can win the music biz war battle by battle?
Not to our ears, not this time, not even "drop dead" or "the cure." Does it have to be a new song? Technically not because SAINt JHN had "Roses" due to a remix that went viral on TikTok or Instagram or my littler sister's cellphone and dance class. We used to be able to rely on Lana Del Rey to kick out the summer jams.
Maybe skate punk can make a comeback?
Editor's flashback pick: JFA "Beach Blanket Bongout"

Skate punks really know how to party on sand
LYRICS: Party on the sand/ Bring your van/ Tan girls, macho fools/ Fun!/ Punk outing, people shouting/ Lots of fun/ Drugs and sun/ Fun! [CHORUS:] Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ We're having the fun, wasted in the sun/ Purple boards, short hair/ We're outnumbered and we don't care// The hippies, they hate us/ We take their chicks/ They beat us up/ They're still the dicks/ Dicks!/ Surf punks, we're not/ Skateboard, we do/ We have the fun/ We're the new crew/ Crew! [Chorus]

(Aubrey Hobert) I have a new song, guys! It's out Aug. 7, 2026!
(DECESSUS) "The Hollow Descent" live at Pulsar Awards 2026: Who is this beauty queen? Death metal singer wins beauty pageant

Is rap most popular white art form?


Pretty Reckless: "Dear God"

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Punk rock: The story of the Germs

(Sound of History) The Germs: the most explosive punk band
The Germs: Bassist Lorna Doom; guitarist Pat Smear; drummer Don Bolles; singer Darby Crash
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Darby Crash, April 1980, L.A.
The most interesting thing about Irish American singer and lead vocalist for the Germs Darby Crash (Jan Paul Beahm) is that he was a Buddhist in 1970s Los Angeles. He alludes to it in the song "The Slave."

THE SLAVE: It starts in your head/ And moves to your hands/ Your body starts shakin'/ 'Cause you're in demand/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can-can/ You're lashed 'twixt the stars/ With your ice and motor cars/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can-can/ Oh yea! Yea! Pull out the Zen/ I've got a Buddhist principle in my hand

The Sound of One Hand Clapping | Medium
Your life seems wasted, your bodies laced in/ Don't stop now, you've got to trace it/ You put your hands together/ Writhe in the shackle/ You twist your body round/ 'Til it starts to crackle/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can-can/ You're lashed 'twixt the stars/ With your ice and motor cars/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can-can/ Oh yea! Yea! Pull out the Zen/ I've got a Buddhist principle in my hand/ Your life seems wasted, your bodies laced in/ Don't stop now, you've got to trace it// Right here right now, shake it in and out now/ Lights on, off now, make it spin and fight now.

So long before there was a Nirvana, long before Darby's guitarist and best friend Pat Smear began playing for Nirvana, there was already interest in bringing about "the end of all suffering," which is the literal meaning of the Sanskrit term Nirvana. Female bassist Lorna Doom went off into oblivion or obscurity, but drummer Don Bolles went on to local greatness with Goth punk 45 Grave. Of course, Darby was a troubled teen in Hollywood, California, so he had bigger things to worry about than ending suffering. He had addictions to develop, dysfunctional coping mechanisms, and remembering to use the microphone near his mouth during live performances on his mind.


He was clearly a very talented wordsmith on his way to a fabulous career if everything hadn't come crashing down around him. Drugs and drunkenness. They'll be the ruin of most rockers who think they'll be different and go untouched by the predictable three-stage tragedy of use, abuse, and demise. Good thing Joan Jett recorded and produced them so well before it was too late.

Don Bolles went on to play fastest song in world till then: "Black Cross"
(well, there was the lightning fast "Red Tape" by Circle Jerks, too)

Truth about Rock 'n Roll industry: fake

I inspired Nirvana and played with and for Kurt
(Rock N' Roll True Stories) Melvins' King Buzzo (Buzz Osborne): Rock's most brutal truth-teller?

Fecal Matter was a punk rock band from Aberdeen, Washington state. FM was formed in 1985 by Kurt Cobain, Nirvana's future frontman, along with Dale Crover of the Melvins and drummer Greg Hokanson. Melvins members Buzz Osborne (also known as "King Buzzo") and Mike Dillard appeared in a later version of the band during rehearsals the following year. The band was short-lived, disbanding in 1986. Songs from the group's sole recording session were issued as the Illiteracy Will Prevail demo tape.

addiction, band, corporate, drugs, ego, exposed, grunge, heavy metal, KISS, music, nirvana, profit motive, rock n' roll, selling out, sex industry

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Kiho, Rayna V, why do girls have to fight?


Kill or be killed? - Girl vs. Boys?



Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Olivia's Daisy Chain Fields Fest (8/29)

 
Olivia's Daisy Chain Fields Festival
Drop Dead? Bigger than Nazi Barbie Taylor Swift-Kelce? Olivia, what's a daisy chain? Miss Rodrigo, is sex what you meant? What is this, the rebirth of the Lilith Fair? Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac), Shirley Manson's Garbage, Chappell Roan (Chapel Rowing?), punkers Bikini Kill, The Breeders, Die Spitz, and a little band we like to call Katseye until they get too famous to take our calls once they're on the road opening for Black Pink and BTS. Doechii, Eli, Quiet Light, Santigold, Rachel Chinouriri. What, no Linda Lindas? Oh, and a special appearance by up-and-coming world superstar and Taylor Swift nemesis Olive Rodricklow (aka our favorite female popstar Olivia Rodrigo).

Making of a popstar (by design)

What is it and why?
I'm bigger than that b*tch Taylor now!
Daisy Chain Fields is an upcoming charitable music festival, featuring a women-led lineup at Great Park in Irvine, Orange County, California, founded by American singer Olivia Rodrigo in 2026. All net profits are to go toward organizations supporting females, both women and girls. (Trans womyn are on their own).

Background
Pop superstar Rodrigo appeared in Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (2025), a documentary about the women-led music festival Lilith Fair, which she cited as an inspiration to her music career.

I'm Number 1, b*tch! You'll see.
Lilith Fair co-founder Sarah McLachlan is one of the performers at Daisy Chain Fields. Rodrigo announced the festival on June 22, 2026, concurrently through social media, Pitchfork e-magazine, and radio station 88.5 The SoCal Sound.

In an interview with Shaad D'Souza for Pitchfork e-magazine, Rodrigo said that the festival was inspired by Lilith Fair.

She went on to share, "I just feel like we need something really positive to do and see, and young girls need awesome role models who are supporting other women and who are engaging in something that's really joyful and musical and community-oriented."

Will Oli Rod become a Blur?

Tickets
Spend it for Olivia, girls. She needs it for girls.
Tickets for the festival sold out within 30 minutes on June 24, 2026, which led to event partner Verizon issuing new tickets on July 9, 2026.

The festival's sponsors are Depop, Etsy, Taco Bell, and Verizon. Rodrigo co-designed a merch collection for the festival [to milk more money out of the event] with ten female entrepreneurs; the collection is available for online purchase exclusively through Etsy and will also be available on festival grounds. [So bring money]. More

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Kinky Sex Makes World Go 'Round (DKs)

(Tiago_R_Rebeiro) Dead Kennedys "Kinky Sex Makes the World Go 'Round"

"We've Got a Bigger Problem Now"

Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys
Once upon a time a singer named Jello Biafra had a lot of good ideas for a California punk band called the Dead Kennedys (a name indicating the decline of the USA). He made albums with them and contributed to other releases like Wargasm (1982, Pax Records, PAX 4, LP) with the American War Machine song "Kinky Sex Makes the World Go 'Round." The DKs released many great songs with many great ideas but became so popular with non-punks that punks started to criticize them for getting less funny (brilliantly sarcastic or ironic) and more serious (preachy rather than clever) as time went on. The band disbanded and reformed without Jello, who released a spoken word album, No More Cocoons, with the genius "Message From Our Sponsors."

The Strange History of the DKs
(The Punk Rock MBA, Finn McKenty) Strange History of Dead Kennedys

"Message From Our Sponsor"

Better obey or you will be shot
LYRICS: We interrupt this program with a special bulletin! America is now under martial law. All constitutional rights have been suspended. Stay in your homes.

Do not attempt to contact loved ones, insurance agents, or attorneys. Shut up! Do not attempt to think or depression may occur. Stay in your homes. Curfew is at 7:00 p.m. sharp after work.

Anyone caught outside the gates of their subdivision sectors after curfew will be shot. Remain calm. Do not panic. Your neighborhood watch officer will be by to collect urine samples in the morning. Anyone caught interfering with the collection of urine samples will be shot.

The original album version
Houses will be inspected for trace elements at noon. Anyone who fails to display the required embossed black velvet Mexican painting of Alexander Haig on their living room wall will be shot.

Cameras and surveillance equipment will be posted on all lampposts and streetlights.

Anyone failing to attend required worship services on Sunday will be promptly arrested and dispatched to a reeducation resort. Stay in your homes. Remain calm. The Number 1 enemy of progress is questions. National security is more important than individual will.

Sports make living exciting and worthwhile.
All sports broadcasts will proceed as normal
. No more than two people may gather anywhere without permission. Use only the drugs prescribed by your boss or supervisor. Shut up! Be happy. Obey all orders without question. The comfort you′ve demanded is now mandatory. Be happy. At last, everything is done for you. Source

"California Über Alles"

Friday, July 24, 2026

Warped Tour crashes into LA (7/25-26)


Now less warped for comfort and convenience!
It's time to don the Vans and get ready to slam. The Warped Tour is here! Vans Warped Tour Long Beach | July 25-26, 2026. The two-day extreme sports and music festival is back from the grave on the LA border town with the OC, Long Beach, what Snoop Dogg introduced the world to calling it, "The LBC." But T.S.O.L. and others were calling it home long before that. It's a big town. With stops in Mexico, Montreal (Canada), and Washington, D.C., and Orlando (Florida), it seems the tour is being cut short. We bet our very own Dukkha Girl will be running into a certain Punk Rock Girl there, as she vamps and acts out her attention whure aesthetic like she did when we last saw her at the private KROQ Social Distortion show. What a poseur, model, and music influencer she's turned out not to be. Right, Erin? We know what Wisdom Quarterly fans are probably asking, How do I get my band on this tour? Here's how: Ernie Ball Vans Warped Tour Battle of the Bands Powered by Guitar Center

2026 TOUR: Los Angeles (Long Beach), Mexico City, Orlando, Washington D.C., Montreal

It's been three decades of this punk madness