Hello and welcome to FTA’s list of what we are excited for this Bandcamp Friday, aka every music nerds favorite day! A bunch of us weighed in on what we’ve been into lately and we’ve got lots of goodies old and new. But don’t take our word for it, dive into these tracks/albums and judge for yourself. Feel free to let us know what you think and tell us your suggestions!
Kate Hoos- Editor In Chief
F. Emasculata– Hail Mulder. The latest from one of my faves, the UK’s premier X Files themed hardcore band, F. Emasculata. My favorite track is the closer, “Foxglove,” which is about one of the all time best X Files episodes ever aka also the one where Eve 6 got their name from. The riffs are heavy, the screams are severe, and the truth is out there.
Hot Flakes– Hot Takes. I was TMing for Nick’s band on a weekend run recently when we met someone in the parking lot of a DIY space in Pennsylvania (The Building which is doing great things) who said he was in a noise rock duo, bass and drums, which immediately piqued my interest. He gave us a tape and it was exactly the music I love — loud, noisy, full of giant distorted bass and leaning heavily into the psych side of things. Hope to see these guys up in NYC sometime soon.
Nekra– Royal Disruptor. Released at the end of 2020, I instantly fell in love with this EP, a healing salve of riffs and rage at the end of a really fucking hard year. Their Bandcamp page describes it as “five tracks and no mercy” and sometimes no mercy is exactly what you need.
Rebelmatic– Walk on Water. The first single from Mourning Dove, the latest EP from one of the hardest working bands in the NYC punk and hardcore scene. They almost single handedly kept DIY alive in 2020 by hosting a series of outdoor popup shows and gave punks a place to gather and be with our community when it often felt like we had nowhere else to go. Featuring four incredible and hard hitting tracks, and also featuring a guest appearance from Angelo Moore of Fishbone, I’m already predicting the future that this will be on my list of favorites of 2022.
Groupie– Ephemeral. I saw them at Our Wicked Lady and picked up this album on cassette, it’s really good female-fronted post-punk/laid back rock/fuzzy.
Gareth Quinn Redmond– Oscailte. For ambient fans, check out the beautiful full length release from Ireland’s Gareth Quinn Redmond.
Just Mustard– Hailing from Dundalk, Ireland they’re opening for Fontaines DC on their current tour and have an upcoming release, Heart Under.
Karate– S/T. They are back on tour after 17 years with vinyl reissues of their classic album.
Mike Borchardt- Live Correspondent
Dead Tooth– Pig Pile. Dead Tooth’s “Pig Pile” is visceral experience that feels sonically frantic yet precisely controlled at the same time. This record does everything right. It gives me everything I want and everything I don’t, making it impossible for me to have a favorite song, but quite possibly setting it up as early contender for one of my favorite records of 2022.
My Son The Doctor– Taste Those Dreams. This came out end of 2021, but the EP still feels fresh every time you push play. With layers of melodies that take you in unexpected directions, but somehow feel satisfyingly familiar at the same time, MSTD is one of the coolest new projects coming out of Brooklyn right now. The lyrics are witty and heartfelt in a way that is unique and playful. I can’t help but be reminded of Promise Ring’s Very Emergency which in my opinion is one of the best pop records of the past 25 years. Something tells me My Son the Doctor doesn’t listen to Promise Ring like that, which makes the parallel even cooler.
Nick AD- Contributing Writer
IVY SOLE– candid.Philly rapper/singer/songwriter out with a bangin’ full length after a year of single releases. Ivy’s range of talents on full display at long last.
KEVIN– Aftermath.Spooky Japanese psych with a hilarious band name.
Maneka– Dark Matters. The fantastic follow-up to 2019’s Devin. Devin McKnight’s distinctive voice is the star here, as he offers up his similarly distinct perspective on being a Black man in the world. Indie rock with an 80s goth feel, with jazz interludes and featuring always superb Jordyn Blakely on drums and some backup vox.
sensoren– idiot brain. Catchy synth experimentation with 80s video game soundtrack feel alongside more ominous goth sounds. A groover!
Who doesn’t love a great cover song? I know I for sure do, and I have also loved playing in various cover bands for fun over the last several years with my friends in between our regular bands. We generally only come out to play twice a year, or for special benefit shows, but they are always my favorite times, “punks pretending to be other punks and otherwise;” it always feels like a holiday. Over the years I’ve played guitar in bands like “Bikini Kill,” “Minor Threat,” and “Hole,” as well as drums in “Black Flag,” and more, most recently drumming in “Babes In Toyland.”
Being that FTA is hosting our first showcase this week and it’s a cover show, I figured why not make a list of some of my favorite covers? My favorites are usually the ones that change things up and flip the script, but I can also say that I love a good old fashioned nostalgia fest with a straight ahead cover too; you really can’t go wrong either way. For this list I also invited two of my cover band cohorts who have played with me in a Hole cover band on and off for almost eight years now, and who you may also know as FTA contributing writers Chantal and Rebecca. We each dished on some of our favorite covers so take a read and a listen to some real gems!
Bat For Lashes– I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen). Natasha Khan does change the lyrics to fit her perspective, but it works well on this cover of an already sexy Springsteen song, digging down to find an even sultrier angle — dare I say creepy? [CW]
Blondie– Hangin’ On The Telephone (The Nerves). This is one of those songs I didn’t realize was a cover for a long time. I love Debbie Harry’s delightfully punchy delivery of the lyrics in this song that only clocks in at 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Originally written by Jack Lee of the Nerves and recorded in 1976, the song didn’t get much attention until Blondie recorded it and released it on their hugely successful album Parallel Lines in 1978. [RD]
Cassettes Won’t Listen– The Freed Pig (Sebadoh).This is without a doubt one of my favorite covers and one of the reasons why I like covers that don’t sound like the original. I found it in the mp3 blogosphere some 15 years ago and fell in love with it instantly because up til that point, I had never heard an electro artist covering a rock band so it pretty much floored me at the time (and I also love LOVE Sebadoh). Then over the years, it got lost in the ether of random hard drives and dead iPods and changing computers several times. I searched for it on streamers to no avail and considered it a fond memory that would live only the recesses of my mind.
Flash forward to last week when I mentioned it in passing to Chantal when discussing putting this list together and she, being a more computer savvy person than I am, found it within moments. It turns out it was posted to Stereogum in December 2007 and as luck would have it, the link was still active and I was once again re-united with the cover that changed it all for me. I love that CWL was able to take a straight up indie punk song and turn it into an electro bop with a bass heavy groove, making it his own in the process. This is something that now doesn’t seem all that outlandish, but in 2007, certainly blew my mind. I’m very happy to finally be able to listen to this whenever I want again after so many years. As a bonus, I’ve also included The Breeders take on the original song which is to keep it at as a straight ahead rocker, just with an amped up tempo. Both great interpretations that I absolutely love. [KH]
Cat Power– Sea of Love (Phil Phillips and The Twilights). Cat Power’s rendition came out on The Covers Record in 2000 and was on the Juno soundtrack in 2007 where it gained wider recognition. Chan Marshall’s accompanies her intimate vocals by strumming an autoharp, giving it a spare, stripped-down sound. My bandmate in Fisty, Lola Johnson, played guitar and sang this song at my beach wedding which seemed so fitting. Thanks, Lola! The original was written and recorded by Phil Phillips and the Twilights in 1959. It reached number one on the R&B charts, number two on the Billboard top 100, and was awarded a gold disc. In 1989, it was featured in the movie Sea of Love starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. [RD]
The Dandy Warhols– The Wreck (Gordon Lightfoot). (Note: not the acoustic version from 2004, but the nine-minute version from their original 1996 demo The Black Album.) While stripped down lyrically, this stark, noisy take on Gordon Lightfoot’s classic “The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald” is poignant and haunting, cold as the ice-water mansions of Superior herself. [CW]
Dinosaur Jr– Just Like Heaven (The Cure). Okay, here’s one of my faves. Dinosaur Jr starts out the song all bouncy, happy, and grungy, but then—but then—on the second chorus are these harsh and hardcore backing vocals and distorted guitar. Even in this onslaught, frontman J Mascis continues to croon in his nerdy voice and then takes it to a very spirited bridge with his signature guitar playing. The original was released in 1987 by beloved goth rockers the Cure and you can find me singing it very badly at karaoke. [RD]
The Dismemberment Plan– Crush (Jennifer Paige). For their split EP with Juno, the Plan tackled this one hit wonder from Jennifer Paige, turning it from a fun 90’s bop into a quiet, almost apathetic protest. ‘It’s just a little crush…’ Who is Travis Morrison trying to convince, the kiss-blower or himself? [CW]
Filth Is Eternal– Kool Thing (Sonic Youth). These hardcore punks have taken Sonic Youth’s noisy indie rock anthem/infamous dis track to LL Cool J to a raging and metallic place. Vocalist Lisa Mungo at first seems to give a delivery that will match more with Kim Gordon’s original subdued, blasé vocal performance before quickly putting that to rest and screaming most of the rest of the lyrics. This version is shorter, half the length of the original, as the tempo is faster (it is hardcore after all) and they forgo the breakdown and unfortunately the Chuck D. guest appearance. And let me tell you, I love the original, but this is a really powerful take on the song—hearing “I DON’T WANNA, I DON’T THINK SO”screamed with such force and rage is EXACTLY what I need on any given day living in NYC and navigating this world as a queer woman. [KH]
Fountains of Wayne– Baby One More Time (Britney Spears). What is it about 90’s teen music that makes it so fun to cover? Adam Schlesinger (RIP) and Chris Collingwood put their pop sensibilities to work on showcasing the melodies on this Britney classic, revealing how it’s actually very good. [CW]
Fun People– 15 Minutos Con Vos. (The Smiths). Something about this more upbeat version of The Smith’s “Reel Around the Fountain” always has me dancing. Fun People (a genre-spanning punk band from Argentina) improve greatly on the original — I don’t like Morrisey’s voice, ok? [CW]
Galaxie 500– Listen, the Snow is Falling (Yoko Ono). I first heard this song in college on Galaxie 500’s 1990 album This is Our Music. Sung by bassist Naomi Yang in clear, bell-like tones, the track is quiet with lots of extra percussive touches to make it actually sound like snow is falling. When it hits the bridge, the band kicks in and lets loose with a long, meandering guitar solo. The original was written and sung by Yoko Ono with Ono Plastic Band and was on the B-side of John Lennon’s 1971 single “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” Ono had recorded an earlier version in 1968 and calls it the first pop song she ever wrote. [RD]
Hole– It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan). – There are a lot of great Dylan covers out there. This one, from Hole’s Celebrity Skin era (it came as a B-side to “Malibu”) has some gorgeous, shimmery guitar work and driving percussion under Courtney’s aggressive vocals, which work surprisingly well in place of Bob. [CW]
Hole- You Know You’re Right (Nirvana). Hole’s MTV Unplugged performance was taped on Valentine’s Day 1995, later airing on 4/17/95, the day after my 14th birthday. Suffice it to say, it was an exciting day for me, but the full weight of the significance wouldn’t hit me til after I was in my 30s. During the performance, the band played a song that MTV billed as “You’ve Got No Right,” and which Courtney Love introduced as “the last song Kurt wrote.” At the time, no one knew what they where hearing and I certainly didn’t realize what a remarkable thing it was at the time either. We didn’t get to feel the full gravity of it until 2002, after the legal battle to release “You Know You’re Right,” the last song Nirvana recorded, and the song came out to the world. About 10-12 years after that, long after my beat up VHS copy of Hole’s set was gone, I going thru YouTube and it came up and it was only then that it dawned on me what I had heard all those years before; I can honestly say I was startled.
At the end of their performance Love says “that wasn’t a very good version” but I beg to differ. She was treated horribly in the aftermath of her husband’s death and it’s clear it was an emotional and painful thing for her to perform. (And also remember, not just Courtney was grieving here, guitarist Eric Erlandson and drummer Patty Schemel were close friends of Kurt Cobain too.) And it was a risky one too given the scorn the media and Nirvana fans were heaping onto her at that time, all of whom had been despicable to her, claiming she stole his music anyway (or rather that he wrote all her music, a cruel and misogynist farce) so performing one of his songs that they had never heard before or even knew existed was just more fuel for their fire. (Read our 30th anniversary piece on Pretty On The Inside for more on this.) And sure, Hole’s version isn’t perfect or polished. It’s raw, but it is pure and it is haunting, the addition of harp and cello alongside Love’s uncharacteristically (mostly) restrained voice really nailing the emotion.
Whether because of the chyron error at the time of the original airing or more likely through the sexist media narrative that has continued to follow Love, this version isn’t more widely known and I’ve found only the most diehard Hole fans know of its existence. Which really is a shame because it’s a stirring version that deserves more recognition. [KH]
Julien Baker– Fell On Black Days (Soundgarden). If there’s someone who can take an already harrowing song and make it purely d e v a s t a t i n g, it’s Julien Baker. She manages to tap into the emotions of the song, while simultaneously tearing apart the musical framework of a heavy hard rock song and full band arrangement, turning it into a quiet solo acoustic contemplation with beautiful finger picked guitar work. Also impressive is taking it from Chris Cornell’s rich, deep vocal delivery to her own range, an obviously significantly higher soprano, without breaking a sweat.
This ticked a lot of boxes for me as I love Baker’s body of work, and while admittedly I’m a bit more of a casual Soundgarden fan, I will always love Superunknown. I had just become a teenager when it came out in 1994, so there’s plenty of the nostalgia factor of thinking back to the time when I was discovering and falling in love with rock music, a time that has gone on to shape the entirety of my life. Baker’s version was performed for KEXP as part of their “Live At Home” series in 2021 and as such was never released as a single, but I have listened many times to the video on YouTube. And though she has done a number of impressive covers (looking specifically at her Jawbreaker and Death Cab covers here), I find this one to be among her best. [KH]
Laura Barrett– Smells Like Nirvana (Weird Al). Not just a cover, but a cover of a parody. Using a kalimba to play Weird Al’s take on “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is an inspired move, and one I’m not sure anyone but Barrett could pull off. [CW]
Shirley Bassey– Light My Fire (The Doors). Bassey takes the organ heavy, hazy psychedelic jam along with Jim Morrison’s rich baritone and brushes that all aside to bring us an absolutely gigantic and over the top arrangement (which is not a bad thing in the least) complete with a huge horn section, strings, slinky bass and some of the best funk drums of the 1970s (if anyone knows who the drummer on this recording is, please comment). Her voice goes through many moods throughout her take, smooth and silky, reaching a commanding crescendo and taking the main focus even in the midst of at least 20 other instruments. Try not to get up out of your chair to dance and groove to this take on the Doors classic. Go ahead, I dare you.
(Bonus non music reason for including this one: Bassey is Welsh and FTA has strong and loving ties to Wales, our webmaster Jenifun taking care of us from across the Atlantic from her home in Newport just outside of Cardiff.) [KH]
Smashing Pumpkins– Dancing In The Moonlight (Thin Lizzy). No, not the one by King Harvest, the one by Thin Lizzy, one of the greatest bands of all time. The Pumpkins slow down the tempo and make wonderful use of Corgan’s plaintive voice to bring out a softer side of this 70’s classic. [CW]
Snail Mail– The 2nd Most Beautiful Girl In the World (Courtney Love). I know what you’re thinking but no, it’s not that Courtney Love, but rather this Courtney Love, the delightful lo-fi twee band made up of Lois Maffeo and Pat Maley of Yoyo A Go Go. (And yes, they were named after that Courtney Love.) The original was released on a 7inch in 1990 on K Records and came into my possession around 1995ish; it has remained with me ever since, one of my favorite records of all time.
I have yet to meet anyone else who has ever heard of this project so I was very much taken aback the first time I heard Snail Mail’s version thinking to myself “wow someone actually knows about this song?!” Lindsey Jordan doesn’t radically change the song arrangement wise, but her version is definitely punchier than the original and I enjoy her lower vocal range more than Maffeo’s delivery. The addition of bass and heavier drumming really brings it home too. You can look up the originals for all the rest of these songs but I love this one too much to not share both. (Fun Bonus Fact: I lived down the street from K’s offices in Olympia for a few months in 2000/2001 and have the K Records logo tattooed on my wrist.) [KH]
Snapped Ankles– Give Me The Cure (Fugazi). Fugazi’s music is one of the few things I hold to be sacred in this world and a band I love more than most any other, so if someone is going to cover them, it has to be really fucking good to pass muster with me. When I saw that Snapped Ankles (who I also love) had covered them, I was immediately intrigued and wondered what in the world their take would sound like. They did not disappoint and managed to create by far one of the most radical re-interpretations of any song I’ve ever heard, a wonderfully weird version that only they could conjure up.
While many ardent Fugazi (aka “purist”) fans likely won’t find this particular take to be their cup of tea, these forest dwelling synth post punks hit a real nerve in me with this one. Their version of “Give Me The Cure,” came out last October on a comp called Silence Is A Dangerous Sound on Ripcord Records and it is a drastic reworking of the track from the seminal 13 Songs. I highly recommend the rest of the comp as well, as it is packed full of artists doing their own takes on the legendary band, but this was a major stand out for me. [KH]
Tracy Thorn and Jens Lekman– Yeah! Oh Yeah!. – Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records: The Covers! has a lot of good stuff, including The Mountain Goats’ take on East River Pipe’s “Drug Life,” but Thorn and Lekman’s almost tender cover of this Magnetic Fields murder fantasy is my favorite (and not only because my vocal range is much closer to Thorn’s than the original and I have delusions of performing it live.) [CW]
Undercover SKA– March Slob (Tchaikovsky). I had a pretty big ska phase as a kid, I mean I did grow up in NJ and started going to shows in the late 90s after all. I was also a marching and concert band kid and as such I was around lots of brass instruments anyway so it all just kind of worked. Through being in the concert band, “March Slave” was one of the first pieces of classical music I was exposed to and performed and remains my favorite to this day. Undercover Ska took the bombastic and emotional rallying cry to an irreverent danceable tune, the cheek obvious from the re-title, also a win for the teenage me who had no manners and even less couth. I never heard anything else by this band but every so often I listen to this one on YouTube for a smile and stroll down memory lane. [KH]
Veruca Salt– Bodies (Sex Pistols). “I’m not an animal, it’s an abortion” sounds different coming from Nina Gordon rather than Johnny Rotten, that’s for sure. This B-side to “Number One Blind” starts off as one of the band’s slower tunes, and builds to something powerful. [CW]
Wet Leg– Material Girl (Madonna). I know I said something similar about Fugazi, but I hold Madonna — and particularly her 1980s output— in a similar regard; thou shalt not take the name of the Material Girl in vain in my presence. (I know those two artists are on vastly different ends of the spectrum but what can I say? We all contain multitudes! I’ve also long dreamed of doing a punk Madonna cover band if there are any takers out there.) We’ve also established I love a cover that tears the original apart, and for their version of the 80s anthem to excess, Wet Leg has done just that, easily nailing it and making it something entirely new. They more or less preserve the vocal melody (with some minor alterations) while musically taking the song from a new wave bop with an infectious synth bass line and a steady driving beat to a dark wave feel — the bass now dirgey instead of bouncy, with off kilter drums paired with shimmery shoegazey guitar. And I don’t know about anyone else, but that really works for me. [KH]
Willie Nelson– Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper). It will be no surprise to anyone who knows me that Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, released in 1983, was the first album I ever owned (on cassette, of course). I can’t remember the first time I heard Willie Nelson covering it, but his warm, weathered voice and folksy delivery get me time after time. I also love the bright tones of the mandolin and the sweeping violin that come in to accompany Willie’s trusty guitar Trigger. This song was on The Great Divide released in 2002 which was Willie’s fiftieth studio album. So stoners can get shit done. [RD]
The Young Professionals– Video Games. (Lana Del Rey). A club-ready take on Lana Del Rey’s breakout hit, this one transcends mere remixes to offer a summer banger well worth blasting from your car (or moped.) Singer Ivri Lider pulls one of my favorite cover tricks and doesn’t change the lyrics to suit gender norms, giving us a queer version of this slow-burn turned anthem. [CW]
FTA is hosting our very first benefit show on Saturday April 2nd at Wonderville in Brooklyn. We went all out and made it a cover show featuring local musicians pretending to be The Ramones, Babes In Toyland (featuring yours truly on drums and FTA contributor Chantal on guitar/vocals), and Tina Turner. Yes you read that lineup right! You will never see that lineup happen except in the fantasy realm of a video arcade in Brooklyn so why not come on out and help raise money to keep this humble blog afloat??? It’s going to be a very fun night and we will be holding a raffle for some cool prizes (keep an eye on our social media for what we have to offer).
This fundraiser is to help bring in money to cover hosting and other expenses because if you haven’t noticed, the platform is currently ad free. I would like to keep it that way as long as possible, but it is not a free venture for me and has thus far been financed directly from my own personal money. I do love doing this first and foremost, and did not start this as a money making venture per se, but to be able to get some revenue coming in to cover expenses and maybe even eventually pay myself and the contributors is an exciting prospect. We won’t get there entirely from one benefit show, but every bit does help. There may come a time when ads become something that has to happen, but for now, I’d like to go a little old school and a little bit more punk rock and try some fundraising that way. There is nothing more classic than a benefit show so here we are!
The show is no cover (except for the songs!), so no one turned away for lack of funds, but we will be passing the hat for donations throughout the night and as mentioned, there will be a raffle for some pretty sweet prizes including a $50 Sam Ash Giftcard and merch bundles. We also have a donation button here on the site for anyone who is unable to attend the show but would like to make a contribution anyway. You’ll be helping this nerdy operation keep going and will be immensely appreciated! (Just scroll all the way down to find said donation button.)
Now go ahead and get yourself in the mood with a few songs you’ll get to sing along to at the show:
Featuring Maria Lina from Frida Kill as the legendary Ms. Turner.
If you’re ready to get screamed at AND see me smash the toms a lot, then this set is for you!
Featuring Queens punk Jessie Rodriguez (of The Loneliers and Jekssaira) fronting these iconic Queens punks.
Green Day‘s landmark breakout, Dookie, is one of those albums that has been such a constant presence in my life that I can scarcely remember a time when it wasn’t just always there. It came out on this day in 1994, when I was just shy of my 13th birthday, so not only was it a formative time for me but also a pretty lucky time to be a pre-teen/teen just getting into rock music. It was a very special time with a vast landscape to choose from in both the mainstream and the underground. (Though if I had it my way, I’d have been born just a few years earlier so I could have been already a teen by 1990 or 91 so I could have gone to more shows and seen Green Day in their pre-Dookie days and of course Nirvana among others, but alas, I arrived in 1981 and that was that.)
My initial exposure to the band was, like many kids of the day, when I saw the video for “Longview” on MTV one day after school. If I had to guess, it was probably the same month the record came out, maybe in March, and it was not long before you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the band on the radio or seeing the videos on MTV (in between and around coverage of Kurt Cobain’s tragic early death that April). Being a kid at the time with no source of income, and obviously no such thing as streaming platforms or YouTube, there was often a significant delay in me getting my hands on albums if someone else I knew didn’t already have it and was willing to let me borrow it to tape it. Surprisingly, no one I knew had a copy of Dookie so I couldn’t tape the entire thing and had to rely on taping what songs I was able to catch off the radio for a while until I was able to buy a copy of the CD with my Christmas money some months later (along with a copy of Hole’s Live Through This and Veruca Salt’s American Thighs). It was then that I could really dig deep into the full collection beyond just the singles that were receiving airplay.
I eventually lost that original copy, but have listened to it countless times on streamers since (and definitely had MP3s of it along the way too), have absconded with a copy of the CD in a breakup, bought copies at thrift stores, and more recently finally got a copy of the vinyl LP picture disc. Even when most of the kids around me in that era grew out of punk or alternative rock or whatever term you want to ascribe to it, that album just never left my consciousness. And sure the album went on to win a Grammy in 1995, sell millions upon millions of copies and to be named on many influential “best of” lists including Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” All of that is certainly awesome, but it’s always existed in a little vacuum for me and meant much more than that; it has always felt personal. Even when I go long periods without listening to it, it always still feels like coming home whenever I hear a song from it.
So with all that being said, I thought to myself recently, isn’t it time I do a song by song breakdown of the album? I agreed with myself (ha) so what follows is thoughts/anecdotes/memories on one of my favorite albums of all time. The band has said what many of the songs are about or what they mean in the intervening years but we all know lyrics are personal to the listener too and everyone takes away something different. These are just my interpretations and what they mean to me, you may think or feel something entirely different about these songs and that’s okay. You certainly don’t have to agree with my takes and I invite you to let me know yours in the comments. This is not intended as a monolith or anything like that, just a middle aged nerdy queer punk’s opinion on them.
There were plenty of “punk rock scene politics/sellout” type backlash against the band at the time of the album’s release too, but I won’t be going into that because that has long since past and I was a kid who had no knowledge of it at the time so I certainly wasn’t a part of it either.
I’ve interspersed the album art (which was done by Patrick Hynes in 1993), videos, and other pictures throughout this piece to really drive the nostalgia factor home, enjoy!
Burnout- Billie Joe Armstrong gets right to the point from the very beginning giving us the opening line: “I declare I don’t care no more…” and what a fucking way to start a record! I know Kurt Cobain gets most of the 90s slacker aesthetic cred even to this day, but if that line doesn’t sum up the 90s/Gen X experience, then what else does? Also what drummer hasn’t fantasized about nailing Tre Cool’s epic drum solo in the middle of this song? I know I for sure have. And the fact that he was 20 years old when he recorded it? Incredible! The one-two punch of the pairing of these elements still floors me to this day even after hearing it hundreds—if not thousands—of times now.
Having A Blast- This is one of those songs that I think, okay maybe these lyrics wouldn’t work so well today, and I have mixed feelings about the violent nature of the whole strapping-a-bomb-to-yourself-to-hurt-other-people with thing or making light of that in a song. That being said, looking under that surface of blowing people up etc, the underlying theme of frustration and wanting not so much revenge, but to feel seen and validated is something anyone can relate to; that’s what I’ve always taken from the song and interpreted it as. I’ve found myself often pondering these words, even well into my adult life:
Do you ever think back
To another time?
Does it bring you so down that you thought you lost your mind?
Do you ever wanna lead a long trail of destruction
And mow down any bullshit that confronts you?
Do you ever build up all the small things in your head
To make one problem that adds up to nothin’?
And that right there points to me that no, this kid doesn’t want to blow people up, he just wants to not feel so damn frustrated about life; we can all empathize with that because we have all been there at one time or another. One can hope we all have evolved—and that male expressions of frustrations/disillusion/dissatisfaction specifically have evolved—in the last three decades to convey feelings like this more productively. Aside from analysis on the lyrics, I’ve always loved the vocal delivery in this song which really shows off the range Armstrong has and the way he and Mike Dirnt so effortlessly harmonize together. Musically the band is locked in so tight, chugging through the verses, with Tre Cool’s drumming again shining through with those splashy cymbal hits in the chorus.
Chump- If there was one thing a lot of bands did well in the 90s, it was conveying angst. Green Day may lean a bit more towards the “boredom/I hate you” side of things rather than the “I hate myself” side but it is angst none-the-less. While I wasn’t bullied to the point of trauma as a kid, I did have my fair share of kids who picked on me (perhaps because mean kids and bullies always seem to be able to sniff out weird little queers before we can figure it out ourselves) and this song definitely gave a voice to how I felt about a lot of it at the time. It still does when I find myself doubting things and wondering if I’m “relevant” or other such feelings of inadequacy in the face of how I think others are perceiving me. The build up/fade out instrumental jam into “Longview” still gets me each and every time too.
Vinyl picture disc A-side
Longview- I was not a teenage boy in 1994 or at any point thereafter, so I admit that it escaped my notice for many years that this song is pretty much entirely about masturbation. Yes, I knew it was a PART of the song since it’s mentioned directly, but it always struck me more as a bored slacker anthem which it definitely is, but I always figured, I don’t know maybe he’s playing video games or reading comics when he’s bored and then does a little of that on the side too. But oh no, it finally dawned on me, well into my adults years, he’s been jerking off this entire time! It seems a little ridiculous now to admit that I didn’t realize that way earlier but again, I was a very shy, nerdy barely teenaged girl who was not in any way thinking of sex at the time this was released and I guess it just never occurred to me until much later the whole entire thing could be centered around doing the deed with yourself. Of course this song also contains one of the most iconic rock basslines of the 90s and probably of all time. Which, as the story goes, Mike Dirnt came up with on acid one night.
Our friend/roadie Kaz Hope, suggested we call our song Longview because the 1st time we played was in Longview Washington in spring 1992
Welcome To Paradise- This is absolutely top three favorite Green Day songs for me, and in my top favorite songs by any artist period. It just hits every single element of what they do best and wraps it all up in one song. The frantic drums, raging guitars, nimble bass, killer vocal harmonies—I can seriously listen to this song ten times in a row and not tire of it at all. This is about the band’s experiences in and around Berkeley/the East Bay, but a few shifts in words, and it can easily apply to a bored and confused kid in a small town in NJ in the early 90s for sure (or anywhere). And certainly to a grouchy ass middle aged adult living in the NYC of the 2020’s too, particularly the line “It makes me wonder why I’m still here…”
The breakdown of this song I think really is an early foreshadowing of their later move away from being a lean power trio to that of a band that, yes does often stick to its established style in many ways, but that is also willing to experiment within that framework. It is particularly evident in the guitar work here, with several tracks layered on top of each other, building something far bigger than what is on the earlier and rougher recording of this song that appeared on Kerplunk, and shows a band that was starting to come into its own in a studio environment for the first time.
This video is labeled a little oddly…it is an official video and I am assuming here the footage was likely purpose shot in the 90s or maybe was just concert footage that has just been very well edited (though I never saw this video back then that I remember). It is also tagged as being from Kerplunk but this is definitely the Dookie version of the song
[Speaking of re-records…“409 In Your Coffeemaker,” which originally appeared on 39/Smooth, was also re-recorded during the sessions for Dookie. While this also resulted in an improved version of the recording, I just don’t find it to be at the level of the distinctness between the two versions of “Welcome To Paradise,” which sound so radically different to me. The re-record of 409 is definitely better quality wise, but it really just sounds like a mere updated recording and not a redefining moment. The record company and band might have agreed with this sentiment which may be why it was left off of the final edition of Dookie and was only made available as a b-side of the UK version for the CD single of “Basketcase.” Because of this, many American fans, including this one, didn’t know of its existence until much later.]
“409 In Your Coffemaker” from the Dookie sessions
Pulling Teeth- This is another one of those songs that I don’t think has aged as well lyrically. I know it’s probably not meant to glorify abuse and sure the tables are turned with the traditional dynamic of the abuser vs abusee, but something about it just rubs a little bit the wrong way. Perhaps it was BJA’s attempt at opening a dialogue around this subject, something that not a lot of folks were doing in that era, and I can certainly see there being a lot of good in having these discussions. But the song never really went any further so maybe it really was just a cheeky song about a guy being beat up by his girlfriend. I also find it’s not their most interesting work musically so I tend to skip this one more often than not. Still, I don’t find it a total blemish on the overall work since while not the strongest track, it’s still a solid B. Not bad amongst a collection of so many other heavy hitters.
Basketcase- I could devote pages and pages to this song but instead, rather than going off the rails, I’ll keep this one brief-ish. Suffice it to say that this is another top favorite song both from Green Day and overall, and another perfect showcase of every single killer element of this band encapsulated in one song. There is a reason it is one of their most popular songs to this day—more so than any of their other hits or even the singles off of the wildly successful American Idiot that followed a decade later—and that is that it masterfully blends the precise mix of grunge, punk and pop (more on that later) with hyper relatable lyrics. After all, who can’t take solace in lyrics like “Sometimes I give myself the creeps, sometimes my mind plays tricks on me” and “Am I just paranoid, or am I just stoned”?And hell if it doesn’t also have one of the most fun and iconic videos of the entirety of the 1990s.
Armstrong has said in the intervening years that the song is “about anxiety attacks and feeling like you’re about to go crazy,” going on to say “At times, I probably was. I’ve suffered from panic disorders my entire life. I thought I was just losing my mind. The only way I could know what the hell was going on was to write a song about it. It was only years later that I figured out I had a panic disorder.” This 2021 article in Louder Sound takes a deeper dive into the song.
I played it at a DJ night not long before writing this and every person in the place immediately and viscerally reacted, singing along word for word. “Iconic” doesn’t really seem to do this one justice at all.
The original artwork for the UK version of the “Basketcase” single (also used in the special edition 7inch box set that was released in 2009)
She- The true staying power of a record or a song is the fact that it’s always there for you to return to, throughout many phases of your life, and that you can always relate to it. And nothing is truer when I think of this song. “She…she screams in silence, a sullen riot penetrating through her mind” has penetrated through my own mind during countless bad days and crappy situations. And how could I not find perpetual comfort in “Are you locked up in a world that’s been planned out for you? Are you feeling like a social tool without a use?” because, trust me, I do often feel this way and find comfort in the lyrics, even as a supposedly put together 40 something. This song also is another place for the rock solid rhythm section to shine together, particularly with Dirnt again showing how strong his bass skills were, even then at a mere 21 years old.
Sassafras Roots- Here’s more of the bored slacker aesthetic which, as we know by now, is a lot of the lyrical framework of this bratty magnum opus, but it still never gets tired for me. Some may view this as a throwaway song, but it’s one of my personal standouts and aside from the strength of the singles and most iconic tracks, this is a really solid track holding down the back half of the album. The way Armstrong and Dirnt harmonize on the “may I waste your time too?” as the songs reaches it peak still gets under my skin even now.
Vinyl picture disc B-side
When I Come Around- This song always felt like Green Day at their most “alt rock” and I never really read it as a punk song***. That’s not to say that is a bad thing at all, and it is an enjoyable song, but I can admit it’s not really amongst my top favorites by them. Given that I really think they have a lot of other songs that are stronger, I found it interesting to discover in my research for this piece that at the time, it was their first song to go top 10 and the most successful song of the first phase of their mainstream career chart wise.
I don’t really pay much mind to that kind of thing but I thought for sure it would have been “Longview” or “Basketcase.” I have also felt at times that it almost doesn’t even feel like it fits into the overall hyper energy of the rest of the album, and has always seemed like a wild card, so it being the most successful single of the album feels a bit weird. But then again given the year it came out and what else was popular at the time…I suppose it does make sense since it appealed to an audience more used to slower tempo and less hyper offerings, a true alt-rock track in a sea of a lot of other alt-rock radio play at the time.
Everything else aside, I don’t dislike the song, I just think it’s a bit of an oddball in the full context of this album. It’s a damn solid song and whenever it comes on, I still find myself singing along and immediately thinking of the music video for it…which at the time it came out I didn’t really like much because I preferred videos where you could see the band performing rather than lip synching and/or acting something out. I recently re-watched it and while I still like performance videos better, I can find a place in my heart for this one now. The band looks soooo young and the fashion is soooo very 90s, how could I not have warmed up to it a little by now? (Future touring guitarist Jason White appears in the video making out with his girlfriend too.)
(***I famously am not much of a pop punk fan and often get “but you love Green Day,” though honestly, I don’t read them as a pop punk band and never really have. I think that is probably because I discovered them in the era of alt rock and through that lens first rather than through the punk scene so I’ve always had a place in my heart for them as a 90s alternative band.
Sure they are poppy yes, and have plenty of punk elements, but they also don’t have a lot of the over-arching hallmarks of the pop punk genre either and to me have always had a grungier edge to them. Maybe pop grunge or something is a better term? Because I don’t read them as power pop either. It’s some third thing perhaps, some amalgamation of all of these things, particularly on this album, as yes, they’ve gone on to do things to widen the breadth of their sound on other albums as time as gone on.
Though all this being said, I am obviously well aware that they came from distinctly punk roots ethos wise and of their connection to Lookout! and the East Bay scene. And though I never experienced that scene first-hand, it has been well documented, so I’m confident in saying it definitely seemed like it was a scene united more by “punk as an ethos” and friendships built within a community than strictly adhering to “punk as a sound.” (“Punk as an ethos” is something I’ve always liked as an approach better anyway.) Their mention of this scene and their connection to it, particularly early on in their mainstream success, was what opened a wider door for me to explore these things myself and directly lead to me discovering many underground punk bands and zines which I still regard very highly in my life even to this day. I can say the same for Nirvana and several other bands of the era that led me to backtrack through the scenes they came from that I otherwise would have had absolutely no knowledge of or access to.)
Okay moving on……….
Coming Clean- Another ode to confusion and disillusion, this album is packed full of angsty tales of all sorts. This is another one that may be tempting for some to classify as “filler” but has never felt that way to me. It is in fact quite the opposite and I’ve always found inspiration in it. “17 and strung out on confusion, Trapped inside a role of disillusion” having heard this song as a pre- 17 year old, an actual 17 year old, and now as a post- 17 year old for many many years now, trust me, you don’t need to be 17 to feel the impact of those words deep in your soul. Over the years it has been said this song is an allusion to Armstrong’s bisexuality and I for sure know many queer people (myself included) who have taken comfort in the lyrics and found strength in their coming out processes through them as well.
Emenius Sleepius- This song talks about the betrayal and sickness (literally and figuratively) of realizing a friend isn’t who you thought they were and really I can’t think of too much that is more disappointing than that. Be it a friend, a family member, a coworker or otherwise, it’s always a huge let down and bummer when you realize you’ve been hoodwinked by someone you thought you could trust. I return again and again to songs like this because these feelings never really go away as we age, we just hopefully get better at processing them. This is another one of those songs that people don’t usually think of first when this album comes to mind and one that might also be tempting to refer to as “filler,” but I would point you to the one minute mark where the breakdown begins and some of Tre Cool’s best drumming of the album hits, paired with some of Dirnt’s finest bass work too. “Filler” my ass, this song is a rapid fire banger and a drastically underrated classic.
In The End- A lot of the themes of this record could be perceived as the follies of youth or teenage concerns (since the band was barely out of their teen years when these songs were written and recorded) but remember what I said about staying power well into adulthood? I could say it really for any of these songs and it was why I found myself turning specifically to this romper after the end of several relationships in my life—both platonic and romantic—with people who really embodied all of the traits of the subject of Armstrong’s ire in this song. These themes are always universal and it never feels good to feel like you’re being replaced for a “flashier model.” But in the end, you just have to realize it isn’t about you, it really is all about them and vapid narcissistic people are always part of our lives, so it’s nice to take some comfort in knowing you do in fact have the upper hand by not being the asshole. And with this song, you get a bratty sing along to convey exactly how you feel about it all too.
F.O.D.- If “Burnout” is a killer way to start a record, then “F.O.D.” is an even more killer way to finish it, with every sentiment of every other song compressed here in the final track. It would have worked fine for me if it was just the first acoustic half and really how would we have known there was more to come if the band chose to stop there? But they didn’t stop there and when the song massively explodes and the distortion and rhythm section kick in, it all flies around like shrapnel to drive the album home. All of the other pain, frustration, rage, ache and yearning expressed throughout the course of the album comes to a boil here to nail the point home one last time. I’m hard pressed to think of many other albums that start and end so perfectly and have so much strength bolstering them in the middle.
I’ve had this burning in my guts now for so long….
Slays me every. damn. time.
(I know it’s technically not part of the song and a mistake, but I love how you can hear Tre drop his drumsticks on the floor of the studio at the very end as if to say, “that’s fucking it, I’m OUT!”)
(I did a very bad acoustic version of this at a birthday show I was having some years back when I foolishly entertained the idea briefly of trying some singer-songwriter stuff. I was terrible at it and fortunately realized that fact pretty quickly, but I can say that I did have a lot of fun singing this with my then supremely terrible and manipulative boss in the room!)
The original back cover of Dookie before the Ernie doll was airbrushed out over fears of a lawsuit
All By Myself- I almost left this one off but then figured, what the hell, why not? Dookie came out in the heyday of the hidden track era and I have to say, I always thought this song was silly filler and after hearing it a few times back then, I’d just stop the CD after “F.O.D.” or go back to the beginning skipping this one all together. Now in the era of streaming it plays immediately after the final album track and I still think it’s silly filler, but every once in a while I do find myself chuckling and letting it play through.
Live in 1994 (music doesn’t start until just after the 9 minute mark)
Here we are, the very last day of 2021 and it was…a year. Ups and downs, ins and outs – suffice it to say, it was a pretty wild year. And throughout that year, A LOT of incredible music thankfully came into the world to help anchor us when times were hard and uplift us even more when times were brighter; I myself don’t know where I’d be without some of these releases. To celebrate this weird and wild year, I asked everyone on the FTA crew who wanted to contribute something to send in their lists on what moved them this year.
These lists come from each individual contributor as their own, so they serve more as personal snapshots into what we were all listening to and loved rather than a definitive list as one monolith called Full Time Aesthetic. We all have different tastes and things we love and we all bring just a little something different to the table to coalesce into our own slice of music nerddom on the internet. This blog truly is a sum of its parts and I am so lucky for everyone who contributes to it, all of whom have chosen to do so graciously and passionately, in fact that’s what makes me the proudest and most excited about FTA.
And while it’s true there have been many ups and downs as the world of music continues to navigate the pandemic, and even with things taking a darker turn again this last month with things being very precarious once again, I am very much looking forward to seeing what 2022 brings. I am hopeful for the world of music in both the DIY sense (which is where you know my heart always has and always will lay) and into the indie rock realm at large, that more incredible and vital music will be released and that somehow, some way we will be able to enjoy that music live. But you know that no matter what happens, this rag tag band of music nerds will be sharing plenty of our thoughts about music new and old with you.
Also on that note, I’d also like to say on behalf of all of us, thank you for reading this blog and supporting us in the first year of our existence. This project started out around this time last year as a pretty random idea I tossed over to Jenifun and it lived just among the two of us for quite a while. We spent some time getting it ready to go before it launched at the very end of June and we are just about seven months old now. The amount of amazing support in that time has been incredible and while there are still a lot of goals I have for this project, just where we have gone so far and the talented group of people contributing to it have made me beyond happy and grateful. So now, without further ado, our favorites releases for 2021!
All lists in no particular order/ranking, again it’s stuff we all really loved and that resonated with each of us. Let us know what you think in the comments!
**released December 2020 but I included it because FTA didn’t exist yet and it was released too late for it to have made other 2020 lists. Also it rips.
While the past two years haven’t been easy for most of us, some musicians have found that it was the perfect time to hole up and get creative. And with the magic of the world wide web, even bandmates on opposite coasts can collaborate remotely.
That was the case for new band Sub*T, which formed in a mosh pit in the summer of 2019. Grace Bennett and Jade Alcantara decided they wanted to climb out of the pit and make their way to the stage. They just had to write some songs first. Oh, and they had to learn how to play guitar.
Grace went back to Brooklyn and Jade went back to Oakland and they sat down with their guitars and started writing. During the lockdown, they shared files back and forth and their particular sound was born. Taking cues from Liz Phair, Veruca Salt, and other 90s alt-rock women, they crafted infectious, driving songs with layered vocals and crunchy guitars.
After months of writing, they recorded and released their first singles “Boxing Day” and “Too Soon Too Long” earlier this year. Then they converged in Nashville and recorded more tracks with Alicia Bognanno of Bully. The duo released their four-song EP So Green on Nov. 19 and will play their very first live performance Nov. 21 at Elsewhere in Brooklyn.
Alcantara and Bennett sat down with Full Time Aesthetic to share how it’s been going.
Sub*T (photo by Kenzie Davis)
You say you have a lot of 90s influences. What is it about the sounds and culture of that era that speak to you?
We are really inspired by the 90’s. For us the music has a sense of nostalgia that we really associate with our music and lyrics that we really love. I think it’s also because it’s kind of this era that can’t and has not been replicated since. We just want to create music that makes us feel the way the music we love so much made when we first heard it. Also, so many bands with women… especially when it comes to singing style we always felt really inspired by their vocal delivery.
What was it like recording with Alicia Bognanno in Nashville? Why do you think she was the right producer for you?
It was a completely comfortable, vulnerable, empowering situation. We have been a huge fan of hers and we really admire how different she is and how she has always followed her own path when it comes to her musical sound. She also knew exactly what we wanted this EP to be as soon as she heard the demos. We recorded it in her house with her dogs, her snacks, her books and gear and we felt really at home. It was really special and we feel so lucky to have had that experience.
Sub*T (photo by Kenzie Davis)
What new sounds did you explore with Alicia?
Alicia has a ton of experience with producing, engineering and performing live so we really got to play with guitar tones in a way that we hadn’t before. We also had some inspirational songs that she could really help us channel when it came to how we recorded. There was even some pre-work we did where she even helped me (Jade) explore new things with my vocal delivery and timing. It was so much fun and we can’t wait to hopefully do it again to see how else we can explore these things.
You’ve said that you both share a strong vision for Sub*T and want to remain a duo. Can you tell us a little more about that?
I think we both realize how lucky we are to have found each other. And how hard it is to completely trust and believe in someone else. Especially because we are both extremely stubborn and really have a vision for what we want. Alicia also gave us so much perspective on this. We write our lyrics and arrange our music and even do our own visuals. We are really passionate about having really fun and stand up people around us, but we know at the core we are always Sub*T.
You have your first live performance coming up this week! How do you think performing live is going to affect your songwriting moving forward?
Absolutely. We are shocked at how good it sounds to hear our songs live. We want to have a huge presence as a live band so we are really figuring out what works. Right now we have been rehearsing with one of our best friends playing drums and another friend playing bass. It’s also really cool to just note things that are slowly evolving as we play them. When we recorded, you know, we didn’t always think about having to sing and play at the same time…or how we would reproduce the sounds on the EP. But we’re so excited to keep writing songs to play live. We actually just wrote a new song for the live show because we really had a vision for how it would feel to perform it.
How are visual art and aesthetics important to you?
This is really 50% of Sub*T. We’re both visual artists. Grace is really good at editing and creating videos. We both love collaging and Jade is constantly in Photoshop making new things. We love that we can incorporate that into our music and will always do that in the future.
“Table For Four” artwork
Is there anything you haven’t done that you’d like to try?
We really want to go on tour. We want to travel so much and meet new people. We have a zine coming out soon to go with our EP.
What advice do you have for any aspiring or emerging musicians out there?
Honestly just do whatever sounds good to you. It can be scary knowing nothing. But if you just start, it can and will happen. That’s what we did!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
We have two shows coming up! And we can’t wait to keep making music.
So Green is out now on all major streaming platforms
