Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Classic Comps vol. 2- We Got Power: Party or Go Home



I could have gone a more obvious route with my Classic Comps posts, but I really think the We Got Power: Party or Go Home comp is great. Fortunately it's available from the We Got Power website in the mp3s section. This comp was put out on Mystic Records, which people seem to have some poor opinions of. However, you can't deny that they put out some really great records for a while. It was compiled by the people who did the We Got Power zine. It's great that this comp has bands from all over the USA, and not just a certain area.
Unfortunately I don't own an actual copy of this, so I apologize if any info is incorrect.

1. THE AUTHORITIES "I Hate Cops"
Couldn't have picked a better song to start a comp in my opinion. This song is catchy as hell, and who doesn't hate cops? I could probably do entire post about how much I love the Authorities, if you want I can send you their entire discography. Great california style hardcore punk, similar to the Adolescents.

2. THE NIP DRIVERS "Tang"
Don't know much about the Nip Drivers, but this song is great. Probably considered offensive by today's standards, but a great song. This song makes me wanna pogo.

3. JFA "Middle America"
JFA rules, you know that. I wouldn't really say this is one of their best songs. It's got elements of the JFA sound, but overall not that interesting.

4. DR. KNOW "Savior"
Dr. Know was one of the more heavy Nardcore bands, and this is probably one of their faster songs. They later went on to add a little metal crossover sound, but this is real fast. More blasphemous hardcore punk.

5. WHITE FLAG "Celabate/ Hoppity Hooper"
Don't know much about White Cross, but Celibate is fucking great. Fast hardcore, chorus is the title of the song repeated over and over again. Fucking rules. Hoppity Hooper isn't as good.

6. WHITE CROSS "Nuke Attack"
White Cross deliver a song that's just as great as their 7"s songs. Probably my favorite band from VA; just good raw fast hardcore punk.

7. FUCK-UPS "Bacon and Eggs"
This song should be called "Short and Sweet," not only because it is, but they say it a bunch in the song. Pretty much perfect by the books short fast hardcore song.

8. PUTRID GIRLS "1 2 3 4"
Pretty catchy number from these ladies. I could do without the saxophone solo, but the chorus will get stuck in your head.

9. ILL REPUTE "Count the Odds"
FUCK, Ill Repute is so good. This is them at their peak, this song is fast as fuck and fucking rules. They repeat the phrase so many times...

10. STALAG 13 "Selfish"
Stalag 13 was always one of the weaker Nardcore bands, but still pretty decent. This song's ok, but not a real standout.

11. REBEL TRUTH "Monkey's Paw"
Rebel Truth is probably the most underrated band. This song was later re-recorded for their amazing 7", but with the words changed to "Child Holds a Parasite." I like this version better, but it could be since I heard this version first.

12. WILLFUL NEGLECT "E.M.S. & D."
Great track here, fast fucking hardcore. "Eat My Shit & Die!"

13. TAR BABIES "Confused"
Tar Babies were an OK band, and this song is probably one of their better ones.

14. MECHT MENSCH "Might Makes Right"
Another extremely underrated band, who for some reason get written off as at Tar Babies side project, but are so much better. This song is just as good as the ones on their 7", which is amazing.

15. GRAVEN IMAGE "My World"
Another underrated band from the VA/DC scene. Again, just as good as the songs on their 7", which I would highly recommend.

16. THE VACANT "Caught by the Mafia"
I'll be damned if the Vacant ever recorded anything else, and if they didn't that's fine. When you write a song like this, it doesn't matter. This is probably my favorite song on this comp. The guitar seemingly has no tone at all, and it's way too fast to understand the verses. Perfect aw dirty hardcore punk.

17. ADRENALIN OD "World War 4"
From my home state of NJ, A.O.D. hold it down w/ their signature fast hc sound. There's even a little "Pop Goes the Weasel" instrumental at the end.

18. THE CLONES "Conform to the Norm"
A kinda weird DEVO-style song, but still pretty solid.

19. THE BIG BOYS "Brick Walls"
I was always kinda on the fence about the Big Boys since you can't listen to any of their albums all the way through w/o skipping some crummy funk songs. I feel the same way about the Bad Brains too. Either way, this is definitely NOT a song to skip. This is probably my favorite song by them.

20. SIN 34 "Not"
Sin 34 is probably my favorite 80's hc/punk band w/ a female vocalist (up there w/ No Thanks). This is a short one, but it's real good. Apparently their discography will finally be available, and I highly recommend it.

21. MINUTEMEN "Party With Me Punker"
I know the Minutemen did a lot, but this is really all I have by them. It's a pretty slow, but short catchy number. Not bad...

22. DAYGLO ABORTIONS "Scared of People"
God, the block clicks on this song are so weird/great. This song is awesome, it's your standard hardcore punk, but with a lot of weird percussion which makes it really stand out.

23. CAUSTIC CAUSE "Look to the Left"
Solid song here, short fast hardcore. I'm into it, don't know what else they did.

24. DON'T NO "Blind Ambition"
Starts off a little slow, but picks up, then gets slow again in the breakdown. Not great, but not bad.

25. S.V.D.B. "Flames of Hell"
With a song called "Flames of Hell," you'd probably expect some dumb metal. NOPE, it sounds like some classic CA style skate punk. Don't know if they're from CA, but this song sounds like they are. Awesome!

26. PATRIOTS "Cavity"
Real raw one here with lots of cool start/stop parts. It's a cool song, but would be better if the stops were tighter.

27. HATED PRINCIPLES "Survival At All Costs"
Hated Principles offer a mid paced punk rock song; not too great.

28. CRANKSHAFT "New Wave Homos"
Another seemingly offensive one here, not very interesting though.

29. URBAN ASSAULT (S.F.) "Night on the Town"
It's kinda interesting that they have 2 bands w/ the same name right after each other. Kinda interesting song that's very bass driven. Pretty good, but all the breaks kinda make me lose interest.

30. URBAN ASSAULT (Tahoe) "Rock'n'Roll Burnout"
This Urban Assault song is much more raw and fast. I'd say the better Urban Assault.

31. 7 SECONDS "Wasted Life Ain't No Crime"
Damn, 7 Seconds doing one of their future classics. It's more raw than the later versions of this song, but it's a great song from an awesome band.

32. JACK SHIT "Follow the Leader"
This is another awesome band who I don't know anything else about, but this is a great song! I like how his voice cracks, and there's an unnecessary saxophone solo in the end. Still rules.

33. 7 Seconds "Definite Choice"
Don't know why they broke up the 2 7 Seconds songs. Either way, this song rules, same as the other, just a more raw recording of a future classic.

34. ROMULANS "Judgement Day"
This song is boring.

35. NO LABELS "Ego"
Not bad, not great. Has slow verses and fast choruses. eh...

36. ARMED RESPONSE "Too Gross for Comfort"
Ok, this is a good one. A song about the actor Ted Knight (Caddyshack/ Too Close For Comfort), which is kinda cool I guess. I like it.

37. DERANGED DICTION "Crooning"
Starts off with the singer yelling something I can't understand in a real raspy voice. I really like the singer's voice since it matches the raw distorted music. I'd like to hear more from them.

38. FALSE CONFESSION
Nobody seems to know what this song is called, unless it's like a theme song of some sort. An ok song.

39. MANIMALS "Things Under My Bed"
Pretty good mid-paced song with an odd structure. It does like 3 verses before getting to the chorus, then it ends. The chorus is pretty melodic, but I like it.

40. RED CROSS "Pseudo Intellectual"
This song kinda sucks. It's real slow and just kinda sounds like 70's style rock. Not very interesting though.

* I was listening to the comp as I typed this up in order to get some off the cuff opinions down. If anyone knows anything about the bands that I said I don't, please get in touch.

No comments: