Teenage BottleRocket ... or the Ramones Redux

Teenage BottleRocket is composed of a pair of punk rock twins, the ex lead signer of one of my favorite bands (and in my opinion the best pop punk band ever The Lillingtons) and a gun for hire bass player that's been all over this country playing fine punk rock. As I went to see them at the Satyricon in PDX last night I was reminded about how these bands (both Lillingtons and TBR) are comprised of all the things we love about the Ramones.

 The 1-2-3-4's from the drummer before almost every song... That 3 to 5 chords in a riff that gets stuck in your head for the next week... They all wear the same basic thing on stage (normally with them all coming on stage with leather jackets and black jeans).... The set list has no breaks except to chug some water (seriously last night they played for a little over an hour and I think they took like 10 minutes to say Hi and drink water over the course of that hour... they went from song to song like lightning) .....  The fact that these guys genuinely get along (The Ramones' were often quoted that they would go from city to city on tour without talking to each other... There was some serious resentment in the band... ).

 That's the biggest difference, TBR gets along, they talk to each other and odds are do sing alongs when in the van on the road. The other biggest difference from them and the Ramones is their harmony's. Kody (from The Lillingtons) has one of the smoothest original voices in punk rock (now that Jack Dalrymple is on hiatus)... and Ray Carlisle (who is none to shabby a singer) trade off vocals that very much resemble a finer tuned version of Joey Ramone harmonizing with himself. Their lyrics range from anything from hating work, to outer space, to songs about girls.... None the less every chorus these guys sings is instantly burnt into your head, the melody's are second to none in these days full of Indy noise and DJ's just playing old hits remixed.

Check em Out

Put it in the Flavor Bin

Normally I hate anything hipsters do, say, or wear... Mainly because living in PDX so many people are willing to throw the label at me... Cause I'm a little punk, wear clothes that fit me and ride a single speed... But I'm not, and I'm not gonna sit here and bash hipsters, it makes me a judgmental doosh like them.

Never the less that is not what this post is about.. It is about these two self appointed hipster's Billions McMullen and Colby Parker Jr. ( I call them self-appointed, because they are anything but hipsters... I think they hang out with so many hipster that they suffer from Stockholm syndrome), both successful in their own right (Billions is a designer, producer, movie extra and Colby is the best male stripper in NYC, editor,  and filmographer), are throwing down shapes in their own podcast, The Favor Bin.

The podcast consists of great interviews with dynamic characters, interesting banter, and great mixing (incorporating sound effects, Quicktime slideshow of what they are referencing, and a soundtrack that is solid) . The problem is I don't think they are all that consistent about making them, but is a must check out! Put it in the Flavor Bin!

Selvedge Yard

My buddy Steve from Evade Designs (not posting a link, he's already linked on my sidebar.. both web and blog) blogged about the Selvedge Yard yesterday, but I had to blog about it today for different reasons... First some background, the Selvedge is basically a best of early 1900's pop culture... Babe Ruth, Classic cars, to The Who, which is what interested me.. They made a really interesting post about the "Wild Child" Keith Moon.

Before I was even a twinkle in my mothers eyes, she was a child of the 60's and 70's, her favorite rock band was The Who, and she was even lucky enough to see the original line-up... and even (I only will say this cause she doesn't read my blog) peed her pants cause she didn't want to leave to go to the bathroom while The Who was playing! That's true fandom...

I've always had this theory, that generations around mine don't go by the classic Tarantino line "You're either a Beatles or an Elvis fan" Which I think later became "You're either a Beatles or a Stones fan." Later generations growing up around hard rock, it became "You're either a Who or a Zeplin fan." That's where I fit in and for me the choice is easy... The Who... Granted the story lines around Zep and The Who are very similar... Amazing drummers that basically destroyed themselves... eccentric guitarists, pocket bass players and pompous doosh singers. The catalogs are very similar too except for the smaller fact that the Who had this uncanny ability to tap into the worlds social culture at the time (eg. Quadrophenia, Tommy, and The Kids are Alright).. Something I think Zeplin always wanted to do, but strayed from (basically cause they were so far up their own ass "experimenting with music" that would later become Metal). The Who wasn't this mythological band you couldn't touch and sang songs about nonsense... they were real, they sang about relate able subject matter and in my opinion The Who are the true grandparents to punk rock (best example them being at Woodstock for a whole 2 hours which involved smashing all their instruments and Keith Moon peeing on some hippies... I made that last bit up). But check out the post on the Selvedge Yard and reminisce about the days of old and see all the great photo's of Keith Moon and The Who.

Political Pumpkins

This year when my roomates made me participate in some family pumpkin carving I chose to scare the crap out of some kids and make some parents uncomfortable when trick or treating at the house this year. My ode to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation with the masked Zappa and star with the phrase "Ya Basta" which means "That's Enough". For anyone unfamiliar with the Zaps here's a link.

Holden Outerwear is Proper/ Winter Casual

It always helps to have buddies that work in the apparel/clothing industry, Why? Cause you get samples, discounts and they always know people who are out drinking. After last years winter, my crappy Columbia jackent did not hold up, and I walked into work this morning soaking (I ride to work). Also when it's raining in PDX it's snowing up on Mt. Hood, and I just put in my order with my bro Nate over at Holden for the mineral green Erwin Jacket. You shant miss me rolling around town and bi-planking on the mountain in this;

Illipino Clothing

 Illipino is a style of clothing close to the heart of the Phillipino community. The owners preferred not to be identified because it's more important that the culture be spread, not someone making a profit off the culture. Which is why they asked this honkey to put a their website together, I work for cheap and they aren't out to make money. It is sleek, simple and efficient. These shirts are now being retailed in shops in the San Fransico area and around Portland, but you can always order one at Illipino.com.

E.A.D.I.A.F Smack Talking Website

One thing about Hooligans are ... They are great at talking trash... and can't live without it. As a frequenter of their message boards and as a Timber Army member I know this first hand, so much so that they approached me to set up a website/blog for their domain EatADickInAFire.com. To see some quality hating from around the football world and whatever else they are talking trash about check out their site.

*edit - apparently the host thought this was a porn site, after about 6 months of the site being up... Would like to say there was NO nudity. So I'm currently looking for a new host so we can go back to talking some serious shit.

First Post total BS

Mature Content!!!!!!! Chopper is my new hero!!