June 2009

It’s hard to keep track of the release that Tyvek have been shilling out over the better part of the aughties. Each single seems to be dispensed from some disparate, tiny imprint and only in sparse numbers. And oddly enough, last year’s Fast Metabolism, which I understood to be a full length, is only considered an extended single, by the band. Either way, that disc clocks in at about twenty five minutes where Tyvek’s first proper (?) full length, a self titled affair on Siltbreeze, is just ten minutes longer. It doesn’t matter since both are pretty decent even if ten years on it’s a distinct possibility that no one will recall any of this.

I was recently chastised by an editor who figured that I should insert my opinion more obviously into my writing. Well, chastise is probably too strong a word – requested, told…something. Anyway, with that in mind, I gotta say that I find the Dictators to be average at best. They New Yorkers are obviously important and brought together the early and latter part of the ‘70s hard rock and punk scenes. But that doesn’t mean they had great songs. And although members acknowledged the fact that their purposefully dumbed down lyrics were laughable, it didn’t make ‘em any better. And I guess that’s my biggest problem with them. I enjoy a joke – and I enjoy dumb songs – but when the guys making ‘em are actually dumb, it becomes problematic for me.

I’m gonna go ahead and guess that Billy Childish – in addition to poems and stories or whatever else he writes – has probably penned around a thousand songs, if not more. And even if all of those songs stunk, it would still be a pretty remarkable accomplishment. The thing is, most of ‘em are good enough to inspire even the most sedate housewife to throw down her vacuum and cut that rug in lieu of sweeping it. Childish might not get the acclaim in the States that he deserves, but he is without question a jewel in the crown of that majestic England.

This compilation - which got posted over at the Maximum Rock 'n Roll site a few days back - is pretty confusing. It seems by the title that everything here should be South Bay related. We'd allow for any Bay Area deviations, East, North, whatever. But there's a band on here from way south. Los Angeles south - according to the internets, at least. Not a big deal, but try to dig up some info on any of these bands and see how frustrating it becomes. A few of these tracks really function only to document a specific moment in time. But a couple minutes of this seven minute single are more than listenable.

01 - Genetic Damage: Badge Means You Suck

Coming together through a variety of art related schooling opportunities Wire arrived just moments after punk had become the big thing in the UK. The Sex Pistols and the Clash were on the charts - although a number of retailers and publications refused to print or display the former's name. But the approach that Wire, comprised of Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), and Robert Grey (drums), took to the medium wasn't the one being plied on radio stations and in dives across the nation. Instead, the group merged a futuristic detachment from life with some stripped down - even for punk - instrumentation to arrive at what folks would eventually describe as post punk.

The name Tito Larriva probably isn't the most recognizable in music. It's not for good reason, though, that he remains a rather underground figure. Taking part in bands as far flung as the Cruzados, the Gun Club and the Flesh Eaters should have made him a star. And considering that his guitar playing was on par with anyone from the LA punk scene regardless of what epoch is being discussed makes the case for Larriva that much stronger.