Searching For A Former Clarity

It's nearly Christmas, which means it's nearly New Year, which means it's nearly time to make a whole load of resolutions that I won't keep and that I'll re-read later and feel shitty about. Well how about cleaning the slate first? The main purpose of this whole thing was so that I could vent and whine and bitch and not feel like I'm burdening anyone. And to spread the wealth of any music I happened to have encountered along the way. If you're an Against Me! fan you already know that they're the subject of this one judging from the title.

NOTE: This entry was edited on March 21. I don't care enough to be angry with those people anymore, so I'm just forgetting it. :)

Now, Tom Gabel is a fucking genius. I love how he thinks, talks, sings, plays and writes.
I first heard Against Me! when I got hooked on Tegan and Sara. Yeah, you may have guessed this means I'm late to the game, but you can feel all superior and happy with yourself now.. shortly before New Wave came out, AM! were on T&S's top friends on Myspace. I checked them out, the first song I heard was Thrash Unreal.. and, well.. that was it. I bought New Wave and listened to it inside out. A few weeks later I met a guy I'd already met at a Rise Against gig, and he asked me (I'm guessing on the off chance.. he couldn't have known) if I was going to see AM! in a few weeks time. I hadn't known they were playing and of course I went.. and had one of those amazing moments where.. you thought you really liked a band before.. but then you see them live.. and it's special. I had to own everything they'd released. I don't know if I have favourite album.. because every time I think I settle on one I realise a song I adore is on another one. I'm aware of the whole "sell out" thing, and I get why so many people were upset that a band so full of integrity went back on their word.. but, as the old cliché[Guevara?..no] goes, there's more important things in the world like war and famine. And Tom Gabel would probably be the first to tell you that too.
I guess if I really had to pick an album it would be Searching For A Former Clarity. After AM! moved to Fat Wreck they encountered this "sell out" argument. [so yeah, nothing original there, New Wavers]. Weighing heavily on their song themes is public perception, the pressure of pleasing the fans and the strain of staying together. The title track is heart-wrenching in its undestated simplicity.. from Tom's voice to the beating drum to the intermittent strums. The song tells a story and the lyrics shine through. Also buried on this one are gems like Justin, Joy[some of Gabel's most beautiful lyrics], Pretty Girls, Don't Lose Touch and Even At Our Worst We're Still Better Than Most [which has my favourite closing segment.. apart from Violence, that is]. Even if you think Against Me! have "sold out", don't be an ass and deprive yourself of their earlier stuff. It's pure gold.
I would leave you with some lyrics , but I think this blog is long enough... ah go on then.. here's some"Joy"

All's quiet, except for this song.
So maybe while I'm not together I can feel like I'm not alone.
And somewhere off in the distance, rapidly advancing,
is an onslaught of sorts.
Young sirens wail in a skewed sense of glory.
And the lions in the cages roar at the memory of fight.

And there's a joy, a joy in all I can see.
A joy, in every possibility.

I Got Love

I've neglected this thing already. Fuck.

It's been a bit of a hectic week. It's still hectic.. I'm supposed to be doing assignments, but I decided that if I don't update this tonight it'll never happen. So what's been up? College is shit. I have to repeat an assignment for Radio Production. I fucking hate it. I have no interest in it at all. Yet if I want to pass the whole course I have to do this. Also, I have work at 8am tomorrow morning. In case I didn't mention, [which I'm sure I didn't] I work in a supermarket. I don't like it but my colleagues are legends and I'm too fond of clothes, alcohol, music and make-up to give it up any time soon. What's a girl to do?
Despite my impossible workload I went to a friend-of-a-friend's gig on Thursday. It was a Tom Petty tribute. As someone who only really knows "American Girl" I still thought it was good.. although that could be the tequila talking. No wonder I don't drink when I'm reviewing. I know Petty is a huge influence on The Gaslight Anthem so I gotta respect him for that. We hung out with my friend J's mates after. It's comforting to know that you can change the county, the venue, the music and the people; but all over the place kids are doing the exact same thing and talking about the same stuff. It was like a surrogate group for me. Apart from the little cunt not respecting J's boundaries. Die painfully, dick'ead.

So what was my point again? Oh yes.. I planned to express my love for the genius that is The King Blues. There's so much about this band I should hate.. the cheesy lyrics, the clichéd subject matter, the cockney accent and the reggae beats.. but somehow when it's all combined it's just magic. These guys were once again a recommendation.. from a few different sources. I don't think there's any other band that makes me so proud to listen to my own music. I've only so far bought Save The World, Get The Girl, so my opinion is solely based on this. Who knows, I could love or hate Under the Fog.. but anywho.
Each song is like an old-world ballad, and in some cases knocks the shit out of pretentious love-songs of late. There's no striving for poetic, flowery imagery here. Just songs you could've written yourself about last weekend.. if you had the talent that is. [I'm thinking of Underneath This Lamppost Light here].
If there's one weakness of mine in songs, it's when bands namedrop their influences. well there's plenty on here. "What If Punk Never Happened" is a spoken-word closer which gives me this indescribable feeling. A mix of pride, relief, nostalgia, love, hate,empowerment and hope. If I could write something half as amazing as this I'd be a happy girl. I think the best way i can convince anyone reading this is posting the lyrics. I urge you to read them all... I know there's a lot. Or better still, go buy the album and listen to it. It could be your best purchase of the year.

Well on a cold Tuesday morning, I was walking into town,

Had my headphones blaring, didn’t notice what was around,

I crossed the road, a car swerved and nearly ran me down,

Looked in the driver’s seat, I swear to God it was Doc Brown,

He said “Are you Michael J Fox?” I said “No I’m Jonny Fox”,

He said “Close enough, get inside,

I’m taking you with me to see another time,

A place you could only have dreamed in your mind,

An alternative reality situated just outside of Clapham,

So strap yourself in,

Cos where we’re going you don’t need roads,

To get to where punk never happened”

We landed in a concrete desert, rubble as far as the eye could see,

I says to Doc “Where we goin’?”

Doc says he’s following me,

We found the only building in the city that was left standing,

It was my local venue,

I know cos I recognised the landing,

And there’s a gig on tonight! This town ain’t so bad,

I got everything I need, right here in this pad,

So I pulled out a bottle and took a heroic swig,

Made myself comfortable and got ready for the gig,

Well an hour after doors and there was still no-one there,

The soundman was on acid, the fucking long hair,

The bands never showed cos they didn’t see the point,

When all the kids are at home still smoking a joint,

They won’t go out and do nothing, not on your nelly,

They’re just watching the telly and then feeding their belly,

Their parents listen to The Beatles, while they listen to Nirvana,

Cos Green Day and The Pistols, well they never heard either,

They got long sleeve T-shirts and they never shower,

They still believe in flower power,

The hippy dream’s faded but they got nothing new,

So they wear flares and slippers and burn incense sticks too,

The kids would rather skate than go out and smash the state,

While their parents sit still and meditate,

Action’s at a low when people just don’t care,

They zoned out to their surroundings, the anger’s not there,

And I’m stuck in this hippy, grunge reality,

Where the buildings are crumbling down from apathy,

They grab you at school when you’ve just turned 13,

And show you your brand new, life long routine,

You can sleep and work, and work and sleep,

So you can save up the money to buy a new jeep,

So you can sleep and work, and work and sleep,

Then sleep. Then work. Then work. Then sleep.

I pulled a fanzine out my back pocket, held it in my hands,

And watched the colours slowly fade away,

The words bled right off of the pages til it had nothing left to say,

I banged on the jukebox but it was useless,

It had no good records on,

Not even something weak like ‘The Best Punk Album In The World Ever Volume 1’,

Outside the windows, I saw the excavators coming to tear the place down,

No-one stopped them, for there is no community left in this town,

There’s no-one around to fight Margaret Thatcher,

The power of the flower just couldn’t match her,

Too strong was the will of Parliament to cause damage,

That with no punk rock everything went unchallenged,

Land got knocked down to build more land,

That got knocked down again for a couple more grand,

With no punk the protests were full of throwbacks calling each other comrade,

Of course the young folks’ attendance started to fade,

So it was easy for the police to move in, they were trusted,

And that’s when the whole damn town got busted,

They moved CCTV cameras in everywhere,

But the people were too apathetic to care,

They made them carry ID cards to state where they’re from,

As if by being born they had done something wrong,

They shipped all the poor folk to live out in the edges,

So the rich folk could move in and peer over their hedges,

“But before you leave, you’d better build our homes,

There, we’ve done you a favour, now you’re on your own,

This ain’t your home no more, go find somewhere new,

I know you ain’t got the money, cos it’s me who employs you,

I know everything about you, what you eat, how you dress,

Your hobbies, your turn-ons, your email address,

While I had you working in the dark, you didn’t realise,

That I completely stopped your ability to organise,

I didn’t let you have a reason to communicate,

I banned punk rock knowing you hippies would seal your own fate,

I controlled everything you wrote, everything you created,

I distracted you with advertisements so you forgot what you hated,

I fed your dark side, kept you consuming and competing,

And like a dog that doesn’t know when to stop eating,

You took it all, oh and long was it my intention,

You could have beat me if punk rock was your invention”,

Instead the city will be sold to the highest bids,

If only Sham 69 had of united the kids,

If only the 4 Skins had told us ACAB,

If only The Ramones had let us know we were a happy family,

If only The Buzzcocks had shown us how to do it ourself,

If only Crass had shown us there are things more important than wealth,

If only The Vandals had shown us it was OK to smile,

If only The Dead Kennedys had helped us put our government on trial,

If only Rancid had played live, and brought with them that vibe,

If we had Sick Of It All and Madball we could put them all on the frontline,

If we had GG Allin we’d have learned it’s OK to be hated,

If we’d have had The Refused then we could have innovated,

If we’d had Poison Idea then they couldn’t push us over,

If we’d had Minor Threat then we could have done it sober,

If we’d have had Against Me we could have done it all unplugged,

If we’d had Operation Ivy we could have done it then fucked off,

If we had The Blitz, The Clash, Disorder, Propagandhi,

The Exploited, NOFX and anyone that’s handy,

There’s a lesson to be learned, one that I will take home,

When I return to my normal reality zone,

Punk rock has the power to change the world,

It lies in every single punk rock boy and girl,

So don’t let anyone tell you you’re not worth the earth,

These streets are your streets, this turf is your turf,

Don’t let anyone tell you that you’ve got to give in,

Cos you can make a difference, you can change everything,

Just let your dreams be your pilot, your imagination your fuel,

Tear up the book and write your own damn rules,

Use all that heart, hope and soul that you’ve got,

And the love and the rage that you feel in your gut,

And realise that the other world that you’re always looking for,

Lies right here in front of us, just outside this door,

And it’s up to you to go out there and paint the canvas,

After all, you were put on the earth to do this,

So shine your light so bright that all can see,

Take pride in being whoever the fuck you want to be,

Throw your fist in the air in solidarity,

And shout “Viva la punk, just one life, anarchy”.

www.kingblues.net

www.myspace.com/thekingblues

01?

I talk too much. About everything. And nothing. You know the term "empty vessels make the most noise"? I'm in danger of living up to that. So that's the purpose of this blog-instead of boring others with my thoughts, I'll ramble them here and if you want to read them, be my guest! Seemingly this is the done thing with blogs, writing a mission statement. But that's exactly what I shouldn't do. I don't know what I'm going to put in here. For someone who wants to make a career out of journalism, I write shockingly little. I want my area to be music, so what I'll say for now is that this will be a music blog with some of my own thoughts thrown in to bore you and as therapy for me. Don't like it? Go read something else then.

I suppose I should give a little musical background?
I was born and raised in a crappy little town in north-west Ireland. My family is extremely musical on both sides. So much so that until I was about 8 I assumed everyone's dad played in a band. [a wedding/pub band that is, not talking professionals here] I listened to what everyone else listened to -pop and chart music- until I was around 13 and I began listening to the Rick O'Shea show after school. His show was different to others in that he played whatever he wanted regardless of genre. He had requests but only played them if he felt like it. I found myself becoming more drawn to the alternative content on his shows. My first big band was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was obsessed with them and they opened me up to everything I'd been missing. Eventually I found my way to the punk and-dare I say it- emo side of things and I don't think I've really looked back.


So right now it's 01:30 on a Friday morning and I'm pretty sure I have nothing to write about.
Oh no, wait.

Today was a good day. After waiting months [yes, wow..whole months] for The Gaslight Anthem to announce an Irish date, they have for 2009.
To go about explaining the appeal of this band seems to me like having to tell someone sex is an enjoyable act. It should be common knowledge. As was the case of several people I've discussed the band with, the attraction wasn't instant. Like when you meet someone but think they're ok, possibly a bit boring but become friends after you've had a long talk over tea or a memorable experience together. That's how me and TGA were introduced. I learned their name through friends on The Blood Pact [that's an Alkaline Trio fanclub, for those who don't know, but that's a different day and probably several different blogs] shortly before The'59 Sound came out. I don't remember what I first head on their Myspace profile, but whatever it was didn't blow me away. I forgot about them for a month or so until I heard "We Came To Dance".
That was it, our memorable experience together.
I had to own everything they put out.
Of course they have filler material but there are very few bands that don't. They make me dance and cry and miss my teens even though I'm still in them. They make me wish I went to dance halls and played jukeboxes and dated boys who drove White Lincoln cars and listened to the radio with my family. They seem to be transported from a different era, yet what they're doing seems to be one of the most innovative, fresh and exciting sounds to emerge in recent years. I seem to seek out other fans just to share in the gushing. Where I live there's a grand total of four people who have heard of them, but I expect that to change soon enough.
So they're finally coming here and playing a wee venue. I can't wait.


Now how can we convince The King Blues to support them?