The RadioActivist

Yuppicide is one of those classic developmental punk bands that gained a huge following with their aesthetic and often outlandish outfits and performances despite not being particularly good from a musical standpoint or being particularly inventive when it came to songwriting. Jesse Jones’ accented British snarl gives the late '80s NYHC band a sound that more closely resembles the late '70s and early '80s Oi! scene than the burgeoning hardcore community that was spawning bands like Sick of It All, Youth of Today and Madball. The pace is a bit more stiff, errant guitar solos occasionally fill space between lyrics, and the aesthetic lacks the austerity of the reputation the scene would eventually earn. In that way, Yuppicide almost comes closer to fellow NYHC misfit kinfolk Murphy’s Law, playing around with 2-tone styles like “Ska Army,” and the sluggish “Bang Bang” among other experiments. Though generally following the chord progressions with his vocal melodies with little ...

Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers were “Born to Lose.” Social Distortion was “Born to Lose.” The Bouncing Souls, Johnny Cash, and even Ray Charles were all “Born to Lose” via Ted Daffan and the Texans outlaw classic. But Austin, Texas’ Born to Lose was born to bruise, because this shit gets deep. Not just “deep” from a philosophical standpoint (which it really isn't), but sonically, with a thick low end and a weighty wall of sound-like approach. The production on The Dreams of Kids also helps obscure whatever distinct stylistic boundaries might be imposed. Though the aesthetic tendencies might have pointed to street punk from a surface standpoint, the full, beefy sound at times more closely resembles hardcore, while multiple points in the album have the delivery and lyrical motifs of early Strung Out. The record itself is a tad lopsided, starting slowly with the cliché-ridden “Fall on Your Sword” and title track, but ending with the phenomenal “The Swing,” “Last Chance Boys” an...

Despite their somewhat cutesy name that might remind some of us of a certain cartoon our sisters used to make us watch in the 1980s, the UK’s Strawberry Blondes play a rough, melodic brand of punk rock that falls somewhere between Rancid and Anti-Flag. Admittedly, much of the album is fairly standard anthemic and slightly sloganeering street-styled punk (see “Social Control,” “Revolution Radio”). However, there are some effective guest spots on Fight Back that give the album some much needed deviation and break up the homogeny a bit. The most significant of such appearances in regards to the album’s variety comes from New York’s King Django of the Stubborn All-Stars and Skinnerbox on the horn-punk number “Manners and Respect.” Joey LaRocca of the Briggs drops by the four-and-a-half-minute “Goodbye Inspiration” to help out a bit on the hooks, though the repetitive formula keeps the track from really flourishing. While there are some straight-ahead punk tracks that stand out among the re...

Attitude Adjustment is one of those moderately obscure bands that never received the attention they deserved and stayed fairly below the radar despite their relatively high profile on a local level. Proof is in both this re-release compilation on punk archive experts Taang! and the smattering of fliers across the liner notes that document billing alongside such immortal acts in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as DRI, Suicidal Tendencies, Circle Jerks, Discharge, RKL, Poison Idea and even NOFX. The Collection is a three-piece assemblage of Attitude Adjustment’s full-length studio discography spanning 1986’s American Paranoia, 1988’s No More Mr. Nice Guy and 1991’s Out of Hand. In what looks on paper like somewhat of a revolving-door lineup, the only constant in the group is drummer Chris K., while guitarists, bassists and even singers drift in and out. AA’s snotty thrash-punk does nothing to belie their juvenile lyrics and half-baked ideas. But this is without a doubt the charm of the 16 s...

Since Slapshot has been virtually inactive over the last couple years (there’s a new record in the works, apparently), it makes perfect sense that Boston’s Refuse Resist would step in with the same gargly hardcore punk as Choke and the boys to fill in the temporary void. While not a dead-ringing clone entirely, Refuse Resist (presumably taking their name from the left-leaning human rights campaign of the same name) plays a very similar brand of straight-ahead, old-time hardcore as Slapshot, and vocalist Shawn Refuse does the world’s best Jack Kelly impression. Coincidentally, while Slapshot featured Ed Lalli of the Welch Boys filling in on guitar for Digital Warfare and Tear it Down (which came out on Thorp Records), Socialized features the Welch Boys’ Mark Powers standing in on bass and is also out on Thorp Records. As if that wasn't enough, original Slapshot guitarist Steve Risteen is now shredding axe as a member of Refuse Resist. The cover of Socialized is marked by one of the...

It seems like it’s getting harder and harder to celebrate good driving music with the awareness of our rising global temperatures, smoggy cities and decreasing supply of fossil fuels. But with a new CD player in my car and a copy of Burning Streets’ debut Is It in Black and White, there really couldn't be a better combination. With their noted admiration of the Clash, it seems likely that Burning Streets took their name from one of Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros’ best songs off their final release, Streetcore. Said admiration is also embedded in the album’s lyrics as the opener “Kiss the World Goodbye” suggests, “The future is unwritten, true hearts never die / But if you've lost all your passion, kiss the world goodbye." Musically, Boston’s Burning Streets don’t so much resemble the Clash as they do melodic street punk neighbors like Far from Finished, the Ducky Boys and Street Dogs. The Bouncing Souls catch a namedrop on “13 Hours” and would also seem to serve as an inf...