Entry date: 8-27-2024 – So, this is a new Tuesday – Letters to My Friends
Dear Friends,
Last week was a contemplative Tuesday. I was thinking about the concept of time and impermanence and my place in the universe. Today I am still thinking of these things because I think about them daily, but I’m also considering two New Times articles I need to write and what my students will be like today.
Yesterday, they were wound the eff up. I had to ban talking in the classroom. They could not stop talking without me cracking down on them. So, I banned talking for the last 45 minutes before lunch and for much of the afternoon. It was nice.
They are struggling to get the concept of rounding and that is baffling to me. It seems like it is an easy one, but apparently not. I’m going to have to work on it with them for the next few weeks, I think. I’ve got about five students who have it down and the rest of them just can’t seem to understand two simple rules.
I’m not going to bore you with those rules here, but it’s pretty damn simple. Nine-year-olds try to complicate things a lot, so there is that. I need to let them be comfortable in the simplicity of it…maybe that is it. I need to embrace the stillness of their water.
That’s hogwash.
*****
Today will be a new day.
(repeat that mantra)
*****
When I first heard Better Youth Organization’s (BYO) stellar compilation, Someone Got Their Head Kicked In!, I thought I had found another one of the punk rock pantheons. It turned me on to several bands that I had only heard of but never actually heard. To say that it changed my perspective on things is an understatement.
If I’ve listened to this compilation once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. For a long time, I wanted to organize a show with local bands where everyone would cover the songs on this record. It’s such a tasty selection of tunes. The Stern brothers at BYO did a stellar job picking the tracks for this one.
I’m guessing I bought this one because of seeing Youth Brigade in the summer of 1985. I may have already had this record by then, but I really can’t say for sure. It feels like I’ve always had this vinyl. After hearing it, though, I fell in love of Adolescents, Agression, Battalion of Saints, and The Joneses. I was already a devout Social Distortion fan, and out of all the bands on this comp, the only one that I never got into was Blades.
I do like the Blades’ tracks. I mean, “Don’t Wanna Dance With You” has a great riff and “False Face” is also a good song, and I also like “Had Enough” but those tracks never stood out to me the way the other bands have over the years. I think the vocals never really worked for me either in the way they were mixed. I’ve listened to records by all the other bands, but I have never listened to a Blades’ record.
Even the one Bad Religion song (“In The Night”) is pretty tasty. The early years of Bad Religion are by far the most interesting to me. Everything up to Suffer is very listenable, but I’ve never become a big fan. I’ve seen them a few times, but I don’t own any of their records.
“Wrecking Crew” by Adolescents is one that has always reverberated inside my head. There were a lot of times when I thought that line, “Can’t find a girl/because they’re all out chasing heroes” was written just for me. Many of the girls I really liked in 1985 only had eyes for the bad boys. I don’t think I ever really fit that mold.
“Who is Who” is another good one by Adolescents. It wasn’t long after hearing this compilation that I added the “Blue” album to my collection in some form. I think it was a tape that someone made for me. Good stuff and I always enjoyed seeing Adolescents play live.
The Youth Brigade tracks here are top notch. I loved them so much back then. “Violence” kicks things off (See what I did there) and Someone Got Their Head Kicked In! never really lets up after that. “Boys in the Brigade” is pretty standard Youth Brigade and a good singalong. The last one of theirs, “Look In The Mirror” is probably my favorite of the three. It’s got the good flow.
Now, I think Agression was the next of these bands, other than Social Distortion, that I saw live when they played the Mason Jar in 85 or 86. They were great live and, to me, they just looked like a punk rock band. I love the Nardcore.
“Intense Energy” took on even more meaning once I really got into skateboarding and started riding pools. The song is one of the best songs about skateboarding that I know of and that includes JFA and Agent Orange. “Dear John Letter” is fucking fantastic, too. Such a great sound and a great band. I wish I had gotten to see them in the last decade when they played a few shows here and there in Phoenix. “Rat Race” is another foot stomper, too.
The three Battalion of Saints tracks, “Beefmasters,” “No More Lies,” and “Cops Are Out” are kind of all over the place, but I grew to appreciate them more over the years. Battalion of Saints is the only band I got to see at CBGB, so they will always hold a special place in my heart. There was hardly anyone there, but it was still amazing. “Cops Are Out” ends the compilation really well.
“Mass Hysteria” is still among my favorite Social Distortion songs. I think it appears on a few things now, but back in the day, you had to have this record to be able to hear this version. I think it came out on something else later on, but I can’t remember what.
The Joneses provided my favorite single song on the comp with “Pill Box.” That one was just great garage, cow punk and it kind of sounded like they could have been a Phoenix band. I was partial to it from the get-go, and I still love it. “Graveyard Rock” is fun, too, but “Pill Box” just rules. I’ve always wanted to be in a band that was able to do a good cover of it. The lyrics are pretty sweet.
Ultimately, this really is one of the best punk rock compilations. I have the vinyl and a CD, too. The CD also contains the sequel, Something to Believe In. That one has its moments, but kind of pales in comparison in my opinion. I highly recommend picking up that CD if you still have a player because, now that I think about it, both records are really good. I just love Someone Got Their Head Kicked In! more.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Dig the AI family.
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