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What’s up Sorry Staters?

Every now and then, I’m surprised at what cool used record happen to stick around here at the store after the weekend. This could be due to my insular point of view, and me not realizing certain records that I happen to put on a pedestal are not nearly as cool to other people. But the other day, I posted about a used copy we have of Don’t Be Mistaken by Agression on my Instagram story. I jokingly referenced “Locals Only” and said the record was for non-kooks only. A bunch of my out-of-town friends responded and were like “I’d come buy that right now.”

The crusty, skateboard-obsessed teenage version of myself was all about Agression and anything that blended skating and punk, particularly the Oxnard variety. For whatever reason, I feel like next to Nardcore groups like RKL and Dr. Know, I hear Agression being mentioned way less often. I’ve had my personal copy of Don’t Be Mistaken for many years now. Admittedly, I had not listened to my copy in a while, and I found myself totally losing it over how raging this copy sounded while I was blasting it in the store the other day. I feel like most of the 80s Nardcore stuff, particularly on Mystic, has awful production. Agression’s first LP was on BYO with no Doug Moody involved, and the production sounds so heavy, and totally oozes with vibe, attitude and energy. As dirty and punk as the band sounds, I’ve always thought Mark Hickey’s vocals have this rock’n’roll edge to them. He’s so charismatic and he sings with this dramatic flamboyance that feels uncommon when you’re talking skate rock.

I don’t have too much else to say to be honest haha. I will say that listening to this rager made me wanna go skate so bad. I’ve still got a board, so assuming my knees can take it, maybe I’ll go give skating a shot and blast some Agression while I’m at it. Do yourself a favor and do the same. Go shred. NO MERCY!

As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Kalefa Sanneh: Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres book (2021, Penguin)

My house doesn’t have central heat, and it’s been quite cold here in North Carolina (well, cold for us at least), so I’ve been reading a lot. Last week I plowed through this book by former New York Times pop music columnist Kalefa Sanneh, and I thought y’all might want to know about it.

Sanneh’s conceit is right in the book’s subtitle. He gives us capsule histories of seven different genres that were and are popular in the 20th and 21st centuries, which add up, more or less, to a history of popular music during that time period. It’s such a straightforward idea that it’s surprising no one has done it before, but part of the issue is that artists and music writers are often reluctant to talk about genre. Artists don’t like their work to be limited or pigeonholed by genre, and critics tend to view the best music as somehow transcending genre… that if something is “just” a country record or a dance record that it can’t be great. Sanneh’s book takes these biases head-on.

What is genre, though? Ostensibly, genre refers to categories of artistic works based on form, subject, or style. In literature, epic poetry and sonnets are different genres… one is very long and deals with heroism; the other is exactly 14 lines and deals with romantic love. In popular culture, though, genre means so much more than that. Just look at the term “genre fiction” in the literary world. Today, “genre fiction” refers to literary works that fit into established genre categories like science fiction, romance, crime, etc. However, “genre fiction” is typically distinguished from “literary fiction,” which somehow transcends genre, the implication being that genre fiction is formulaic or less interesting.

Much like genre fiction, musical genre is not strictly about formal categorization, but just as much about who listens to particular artists or styles of music. This is rooted in the ways stores categorize records, as well as radio programming, where stations target a certain demographic profile and serve them with a particular style of music. Thus, R&B became music that black people listened to. Country music became music for rural white people. The interesting thing, though—and this is where much of the tension in Sanneh’s narrative comes from—is that both things, the musical styles and the communities they serve, are changing constantly. Obviously, you can listen to country music from the 1950s and country music from the 2020s and they sound very different (albeit with some through lines). The demographics also change. Rock and roll started out as black music, but was basically whitewashed over the course of the 60s. Country music’s changes were less dramatic, but changing from targeting rural white people to suburban white people had a big effect on the genre’s style and politics. These changes were always gradual, anything but synchronous, and generated a lot of controversy as they were happening. Sanneh looks at the careers of stars like Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, and many others, illustrating how they navigated the changing landscape, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much.

One of the seven genres Sanneh examines is punk, and obviously I was particularly interested in this chapter. The book’s tone shifts with this chapter, the narrative becoming much more personal because Sanneh grew up in the punk scene in the early and mid-90s in the northeastern US. He covers the standard histories of how punk developed in the US and UK and how it transformed through the 80s, 90s, and beyond, but really the chapter is about how Sanneh himself engaged with punk and what he took from it as his listening habits widened after his teen years. As I was reading, I couldn’t figure out how I felt about the book shifting to more of a first-person perspective… I worried it overemphasized parts of the punk scene Sanneh experienced himself. For instance, Sanneh writes about one revelatory Fugazi gig he saw in the early 90s, which gets more ink than the Sex Pistols’ entire career. In another of the book’s most memorable passages, Sanneh writes about training at the Harvard radio station, which was a crash course / boot camp in punk history. Each week, the station’s elders assigned ten albums, and the trainees would have to listen to those albums, write up their thoughts, and then the group would have heated discussions about their impressions. (This sounds like heaven to me BTW.) It’s interesting that while record company executives, radio programmers, and (to a lesser extent) journalists policed other genres’ formal boundaries, in punk this happens at a grassroots, word-of-mouth level. Further, Sanneh’s punk education seems to foreground skepticism about the very idea of genre, since they encouraged debate at these meetings. It seems like the station’s elders weren’t so much policing punk’s boundaries as pressing their initiates to think through what punk meant to them, and to articulate and defend their reasoning.

Anyway, the book is really good. I was riveted and would have read the whole thing in one sitting if that were possible. I should also note that I haven’t spoiled anything for you… there’s plenty more insight in there, particularly if your interests extend beyond punk.

I think part of what Sanneh tries to do in the book is rehabilitate the idea of genre within music discourse / criticism, or at least to establish it as a useful lens through which you can look at music. I used to hate thinking about genre. I remember when Sorry State opened, we didn’t have genre-based sections, just new records, used records, and bargain bin. When we introduced genre sections, we saw a spike in sales, because most people weren’t interested in digging through a bunch of records they didn’t care about in order to find the rock, hip-hop, or metal they were interested in. The store’s staff still gets into debates over this… a long-running one is whether we should have a goth section at the store, and if so, what records would be in it? What music is and isn’t goth?

I also grapple with genre in my writing for the Sorry State newsletter. A lot of the music we carry and that I write about explicitly engages with the idea of genre. Sanneh points out in his book again and again how people use genre as a kind of social lever to raise up or push down certain artists or trends, or to include or exclude certain people from an in-group. (For instance, it’s hard for white artists to get played on R&B radio, and even harder for black artists to get on country radio. Does that mean Justin Timberlake’s solo music isn’t R&B? Or Lil Nas X isn’t country?) I remember when Disclose was putting out records, reviewers often dismissed them as Discharge copycats; this was doubly the case for bands like No Fucker who picked up Disclose’s mantle. Eventually, this style of music became so popular that you couldn’t simply dismiss… you had to come up with some way to understand or justify its popularity lest you look like an old man yelling at a cloud. This happens with a lot of genres; a new trend emerges and the powers that be dismiss it until it gets so popular that they have to contend with it (especially if they want the money it generates). I’m personally very uninterested in policing genre boundaries. I don’t want to be the one who decides whether something is hardcore or not. My policy, insofar as I have one, is to let the work frame how I contextualize it. If an artist seems to engage with the idea of genre, then I’ll write about it; if they aren’t, then I won’t. I certainly wouldn’t want to use genre as a cudgel to beat artists who are too close (or not close enough) to some imagined ideal.

One more aside: I’ve noticed that in some circles it’s become something of a meme to say “d-beat is a drumbeat, not a genre.” This annoys the shit out of me. D-beat has established stylistic parameters (going well beyond just the drumbeat), a community that coalesces around the sound, a canon of classic releases, and even its own fashion sense. If that doesn’t qualify something as a genre, I don’t know what does. There is no Moses that comes down from the mountain to certify the existence of a new genre. To say that d-beat is any less of a genre than grindcore or alt-country or Soundcloud Rap is just absurd.

When I was a kid, I would line up and organize most things I could get my hands on—pokemon cards, toy animals, beanie babies. I’ve realized I’ve graduated from those toys to records; the other week I alphabetized my collection. No particular reason, I guess I wanted to see if any patterns emerged. I didn’t realize anything besides I hated my shelves being organized alphabetically. So I spent most of my day off putting things back by genre (and then alphabetically within that) and my brain is much happier with it.

Like I said, I didn’t make any revelations about my collecting habits, but I did realize I own way more Czarface than I expected. They are great at putting out amazing variants, and I fell victim to the black and white rendition of Czarface meets Metal Face (among others). Super slick packaging and sleek white vinyl for a release I didn’t have yet, so it was a no brainer when I saw it in an order a few months ago.

Czarface is also one of the few artists I seek out when I’m listening to music digitally. I listen to a lot of NPR, podcasts, and CDs, so I don’t have a lot of instances where I’m pulling something up on my phone, but Czarface works in 99% of those situations. I really love sample-heavy music because it’s like Eye Spy for your ears. I feel like I come away learning something new if I listen to something with a lot of unique sampling.

Anyways, Czarface Meets Metal Face is rich with interesting samples, like most of the group’s work. I haven’t gone super deep, so I don’t know the origins of the samples but I don’t think I’m finished figuring out all the ones that interest me! I like to think all you newsletter readers have great taste and I’m speaking into an echo chamber when I talk about current music but, who knows, maybe I’m wrong? Not about your taste (it’s obviously great if you’ve made it this far into the newsletter), but about Czarface. If that’s the case, start with this release and PLEASE go down a deep hole of their music.

Hello, and thank you for reading.

I had no idea what to write about this week. There have been plenty of good releases lately, but I don’t think I have taken anything in enough to give it “justice” in a Staff Pick. Instead of writing about nothing, I am writing about ANGER BURNING, a band who has been on endless repeat since I first heard them. I’m sure most people have heard of this band, cos they are not new by any means. But if you don’t know them and don’t care for Discharge worship bands, I would just stop reading now. Of course you will miss out…

I picked up a copy if their Warcharge E.P. when it was released on LVEUM, just cos the cover looked sick. I had no idea what it would sound like. I don’t think I knew anything about LVEUM at this point, and it was probably their first release I picked up. When I got home, I put it on immediately and got my wig split. Got damn, this shit is raw as fuck, pummeling Discharge attack!!! It never, ever gets old to me. And they do that shit where the toms are loud as fuck and blown out… fuck. It’s straight forward, just plain evil Discharge type hardcore. All their records sound pretty different actually, while the song writing style remains the same. They released a split the same year as this debut EP. Man it’s insanely raw, even more so than the Warcharge E.P. Listener beware, haha. Sometimes I think it might be my favorite of their records, but it’s always easy to say the release with the fewest songs is best from a band cos there is little room to get bored or be disappointed. They went Kawakami style on this one for real, though. It is so nasty with leads layered on leads, sounding like nuclear rain just like Kawakami’s guitar solos.

They have two other splits later but I am not as familiar with them. The sound is really different on them. Not saying I don’t enjoy them, they just aren’t my go-to. My go-to is their When 12”. This record is perfection. Maybe it’s too on the nose with their track ‘When’ and ‘When (Reprise)’ but holy shit, it is fucking excellent. Seriously, it doesn’t matter how much cheese is on it. The production is excellent. It’s not blown out at all; it is pretty “raw” in the actual meaning. You can hear every instrument clearly… the sheer brutality.

Well, that is all I am writing today. You probably already heard this band, but maybe this is nice reminder to keep ‘em on your playlist. Or maybe yer getting to hear a new band of interest now that you missed at first. All their records are regular punk prices, heads up. And if you do like the links I dropped, don’t forget to check out their tracks on this split as well, the power in the recording is fucking insane. Thanks for reading. Peace.

Howdy folks and thanks for reading the ol’ Sorry State newsletter this week. Can you believe we are almost through the first month of the year already? Here at SSR the time has been flying by as usual. So many great records coming through, new and old, it is impossible to keep up and play them all as much as I want. Such a problem to have, right guys?

With such extensive knowledge and understanding of all things punk coming from my amazing colleagues here, I feel that they always have your bases covered. Therefore, I try to throw some different stuff at you. Much in the same way as Rachel does. I think the two of us share an interest in the odd and weird but also in the old school pop and mainstream stuff of mid-twentieth century music. We are both big fans of our Bargain Bins here. So, this week I was working on some more of the Veola McLean collection. This week’s batch contained more Gospel albums, some Nina Simone albums, lots of guitar-based jazz and a nice sprinkling of common and obscure soul and funk titles. All great stuff. Some cheap and some expensive. Those locals will see a lot of this hitting the bins this and next week. I’ll also be endeavoring to keep topping up the bargain bins so make sure you look below and at the counter display.

I was struggling to think of anything to write about this week, as my mind has been occupied by some personal shit. Blah, blah, blah. However, on Monday this week I made time to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. My DJ partner, Matt Pape, put together a thoughtful and interesting show for Worldy honoring Dr. King. I would recommend taking a listen. He did a nice job mixing vintage speeches with music and spinning appropriate and related sides in-between. He and I unfortunately are observing Covid protocols right now whilst the surge is on and he is in recovery from his surgery. Looking forward to getting back together and doing our show live together again.

From the Veola McLean collection, we have several great records of MLK speeches and there have been a whole bunch of very informative and interesting records she had on all things civil rights and Black American history. Definitely check out what we still have left if you come by shopping. I played one of the MLK ones that I also own a copy of, and it is that that I would steer you towards this week for my pick. It’s titled …Free At Last and was released on Gordy, the Motown label. One side has his “I’ve Been To The Mountain” speech from April, 3rd 1968 and the other side has a sermon titled “The Drum Major Instinct” that he gave in February earlier that year at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. It is such an incredible piece, proving beyond doubt how great an orator he was. He sums up the issues plagued by America and the world at large so brilliantly and even provides his own eulogy, which will literally bring you to tears when you hear it. If you have not heard this sermon or even if you have before, I encourage you to take a listen. In this time of false idols and self-serving politicians, his words ring just as strong now as they did that back day.

1968, the year of Dr. King’s assassination, was the year of my birth. I chose quite a time to come into the world. The air was thick with revolution and unrest, not unlike the present. Sad how we have made little progress in so many areas of our society. However, it was also a fantastic year for music. While I was listing some of the Veola records, I put on a compilation she had called Billboard Top R & B Hits. It has some of my favorites on it including cuts from The Delfonics, The Temptations, The Impressions, The Miracles, James Brown, and Marvin Gaye, among others. It finishes with one of my all-time faves, The Dells doing Stay In My Corner. What a class song. A rerecorded version of a tune they cut three years before. The held note at the end is spine-tingling.

My final listening enjoyment that I wanted to share with you is a record that Veola had from Muhammad Ali called Ali And His Gang Vs. Mr. Tooth Decay. It’s a novelty record for kids that was aimed at teaching good dental and eating habits. It features Ali along with Howard Cosell, Ossie Davis and Frank Sinatra. There is a story about Ali and his gang fighting the evil Mr. Tooth Decay that is funny and entertaining. Unfortunately, the copy we have is kinda beat up, but the cover is cool and you can listen to it on-line, which was what I did. I grew up in the era when Ali was champ and in my opinion he was and will always be the greatest. Any opportunity to hear him is one worth having. You should listen to the story if you have some time and want a laugh.

Alright, that’s all I got for you. Plenty to investigate should you feel so inclined. Thanks for reading and take care of yourselves. Until next time - Dom

What up, gang? It’s been a while. I can’t even remember the last time I submitted something for the newsletter. I don’t have a real excuse except for life getting in the way. That, combined with being a little further away from the rest of the crew in Raleigh and also working at Vinyl Conflict made it extra hard to feel connected and inspired to write. But one of my new year’s resolutions is to get back to contributing to the SSR newsletter, which always brought me joy and gave me some camaraderie with all my friends down at the shop. It’s good to be back!

You guessed it! I’m writing about Green Day.

Cometbus #54: In China with Green Day - A friend of mine ordered this for me and insisted I would love it (thanks, Brian). I obviously was familiar with Aaron Cometbus and his zine. I have even exchanged letters with him before. But, truth be told, this is the first time I have ever read a Cometbus. I was always a much bigger fan of his work in Pinhead Gunpowder as the drummer and lyric writer (and to a lesser extent, Crimpshrine).

This zine is a hands-on account of his experience traveling with Green Day in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Singapore. Aaron had been a roadie for Green Day in the DIY days back before Dookie, the money, the fame, etc. After all these years his old friends invite him back to travel with them again, and as much as it’s about Green Day and the commercialized theatrics that go with it, it’s also about getting older and learning to respect your friends’ decisions even if it’s not the life you would choose. It’s really cool for me as a Green Day fanatic to read stories about the band from the perspective of a close friend, someone who has seen all sides of them. Aaron isn’t shy about giving criticism and opening up about his feelings about his friends either. I would not call this a puff piece. Also, as a first time Cometbus reader I love his open writing style, which at times even felt like I was reading his journal entries on his trip rather than a version changed for public consumption. Awesome read, even for a casual fan.

Green Day: BBC Sessions - These days I always check the G section of any record store I end up at hoping to find some reissue I don’t have, or a cool bootleg, or maybe even a duplicate copy of a Green Day album I already have. At a local shop, I came across this BBC Sessions double LP which I had no idea had just come out a month ago. It has 4 sessions by Green Day in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2001. I had never heard these cuts before, so naturally it hasn’t left my turntable for days now. I love these kinds of recordings, just a few quick (polished) live tracks that perfectly capture that moment in time. I swear each session is better than the one before! I was also pleasantly surprised by some of the song choices, specifically “Prosthetic Head” on the ‘98 session, which is a song I have always liked but have seldom heard live recordings of. Two of my other favorite cuts I wasn’t expecting were “Castaway” and “Church On Sunday”. I always get excited when I find something new (to me) to listen to by a band I have listened to to death. One last nerdy thing about this release that I love is I finally know where the name of one of my favorite Green Day songs came from: In the liner notes Steve Lamacq (BBC DJ) recalls Billie Joe saying that they rehearsed a new song in the studio during their 1994 session but had the engineer throw it out. However, Billie said he found a name for that song while in the studio bathroom, where he saw the words “Armitage Shanks” (UK toilet manufacturer) on a urinal.

Aiight, that was enough Green Day talk for one day. I think I’m gunna throw on some Disclose as a palate cleanser.

‘Till next time!

-Eric

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Certain unfortunate circumstances led to us deciding not to put out a newsletter last week. Hope the team over here at Sorry State is ready to deliver some quality writing for you this week. That said, I think my staff pick will be brief this time around.

Have y’all heard of this hot new punk group out of Richmond called Invertebrates? They are an exciting addition to the scene with an aura shrouded in mystery. I’m kidding, but this band’s demo did magically appear out of nowhere. Now, I’ll actually admit that I’m probably a little biased when praising this band because it does happen to feature a few good homies who I play in other bands with. Invertebrates boasts members of Public Acid, but more importantly, the band features half the members from NC punk legends WRIGGLE. Invertebrates just released their 4-song demo tape and it rips. I heard snippets of this recording in progress when it seemed more like a project and long before the band even had a name or started playing shows. Unsurprisingly, these songs have no business sounding this good considering it’s the band’s first release. The pieces of the puzzle, like the band’s musical identity and songwriting style already feel so well-established. Invertebrates play hardcore with emphasis on writing catchy, instantly hummable riffs. Not unlike more recent bands like Bootlicker or Savageheads, an influence of anthemic UK82 like The Partisans is detectable, but with an extra dose of protein and special sauce. The recording sounds like a raw 4-track production, and the rawness works perfectly. The j-cards for the tape look cool as fuck—it looks like each copy was screenprinted. Also, the label on each cassette has a unique handwritten version of the band’s “logo”—true DIY style. Invertebrates also released this tape with no intention to make profit, all proceeds from sales of this demo are being donated to the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project. Pretty cool.

We’ve already sold a big ol’ stack of these tapes here at Sorry State with little-to-no extra promotion. If you haven’t heard this certified ripper yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. If we sell out and you miss your chance to snag a tape, Sorry State plans to stock a bunch more copies in the near future.

That’s all you freaxxx. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

A few weeks ago I grabbed this copy of the Stupids’ Violent Nun EP out of a small buy that came through the store, thinking I would listen to it once and then bring it back to sell to someone else. However, I’ve played it over and over. I actually have a lot of thoughts about the Stupids, so I figured this record would make for a good staff pick.

If you had asked me my opinion on the Stupids before I picked up this copy of Violent Nun, I would have told you they got better with time, starting off as a fairly mediocre hardcore band and maturing into a pretty good skate rock band. I spent some time revisiting their albums over the past day or so and I largely stand by that assessment (with some revisions I will explain below), but I felt like it was important to return to the records because it’s been a very long time since I listened to them and my tastes have changed a lot since then.

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned many times, I spent my early 20s obsessed with the band Leatherface, not only collecting their records but also looking for and listening to other bands that sounded like them. Leatherface was so influential that there are plenty of threads you can pull relating to bands whom they influenced or who influenced them, but one of the most interesting veins of music I hit was a group of melodic hardcore bands from the UK in the late 80s. The most obviously connected band is HDQ (short for “Hung, Drawn, and Quartered”), which was the teenage band of Leatherface guitarist Dickie Hammond. HDQ started as a UK82-influenced punk band, perhaps on the more melodic end of that spectrum, but by the end of their run as a band, on records like Sinking and Soul Finder, they had evolved into a very melodic band that makes perfect sense as an antecedent for Leatherface.

There were several bands who made a similar transition from hardcore to a more earnest melodic punk style. Another favorite was Exit Condition, who released a ripping 7” on Pusmort Records before going full Hüsker Dü on their Days of Wild Skies album. I’d gotten into hardcore as a teen and still loved it even as I was exploring all of this more melodic music, so finding bands who straddled those styles felt like a special discovery that I was uniquely positioned to appreciate, and I gobbled up anything I could find from the late 80s UK. It helped that the music seemed out of fashion, so the records were generally very cheap. I think a lot of them still are. For whatever reason, though, at some point I got my fill of this melodic style and I rarely listen to it nowadays. Even my Leatherface records rarely see any time on my turntable. Maybe I’ve changed, or maybe the world has changed, my tastes tending toward the brutal and/or confounding as society has drifted in those directions.

When I first came to the Stupids, I was viewing them through that lens that helped me to appreciate HDQ and Exit Condition. While I prided myself on liking most of these bands before and after their transitions away from hardcore, the Stupids’ hardcore material always sounded sloppy to me, with too many jokey tracks that took me out of the hardcore groove. Part of the problem might have been that I was listening to these releases on Boss Tuneage’s CD reissues that came out in the late 2000s. Those CDs were packed to the gills with bonus material, and while it’s great to have all of that stuff, listening to any of the discs in their entirety was a bit of a slog. This was particularly true of the earlier material, which wasn’t so much about hooks as short, manic bursts of speed.

Revisiting the Stupids’ discography over the past couple of days, I’m still impressed with their melodic material. While there are hints of melody from the beginning, something seems to click with the song “The Memory Burns,” the Hüsker Dü-ish track that opens their second album.* While I still wasn’t really feeling Peruvian Vacation this time around, “The Memory Burns” is still a standout track. The third album, Van Stupid, is good but suffers a little from the sloppiness and overabundance of jokey tracks that keeps me from embracing Peruvian Vacation, but on the final album of their original run, Jesus Meets the Stupids, everything comes together for a standout skate rock record. There’s even a good amount of straight up ripping hardcore on it. The Stupids’ 2008 comeback single, Feel the Suck, is also excellent, the a-side up there with “The Memory Burns.” I’ve never gotten around to checking out the subsequent reunion album.

One more quick digression: I have a few interesting “small world” type connections with the Stupids that might make me hold them a little closer to my heart. After the Stupids broke up, guitarist Ed Shred continued down the melodic punk path with a string of excellent bands like Sink, Bad Dress Sense, and K-Line, some of whom I’d investigated and blogged about, which led to a correspondence with Ed. When I briefly lived in London in 2008, I went to see Pissed Jeans at the Grosvenor and it was sold out, and somehow I ran into Ed at the pub downstairs and spent the entire evening talking punk with him and his mates. I ran into Ed a few years ago when he was in Raleigh for a memorial show for a friend of his who had moved to Raleigh in the 80s and become an important part of the music scene here. Oh, and on the Stupids’ US tour in the 80s, they played a show at the Fallout Shelter in Raleigh, which is just a block away from Sorry State. Like I said, small world.

Back to Violent Nun. It rips! When I read about the Stupids, a comment I see again and again is that they sounded more like a US hardcore band than an English or European one. I imagine Violent Nun is the record people are referring to when they say that. While bands like Ripcord and Heresy worshipped American hardcore but never sounded exactly like it, Violent Nun has that perfect early 80s-style hardcore production that I can’t get enough of. I’ve always found Peruvian Vacation (the record that came after Violent Nun) rhythmically shaky, but Violent Nun is a locked in ripper, not mechanically tight but powerful. There’s a little of the jokey element, but the proportions are just right, with the focus on tearing it up.

So yeah, new opinion on the Stupids: all eras.

* I avoided writing the name of the Stupids’ second album because its title might offend some people. Which reminds me of another anecdote. People my age who don’t have kids may not know this, but the word “stupid” has become taboo in elementary school settings, with good reason I suppose. I remember an episode of Turned Out a Punk when Damian told a story about one of his kids reacting with shock and horror when he found out a band had named themselves the Stupids. Which is funny because the kid’s father sings for a band called Fucked Up. It’s funny how people’s definition of profanity changes with time and shifting cultural interests and preoccupations.

This past year fucking sucked. Here is some shit I liked.

LPs/12”s:

Blammo “Onomatopoeia” (State Laughter)

Cerebral Rot “Excretion of Mortality” (20 Buck Spin)

CIA Debutante “Dust” (Siltbreeze)

Cochonne “Emergency” (Sorry State)

Cube “Drug of Choice” (Alter)

Hologram “No Longer Human” (Iron Lung)

Marv “Keyboard Suite 1” (Enmossed)

Quarantine “Agony” (Damage United)

Tower 7 “… Peace on Earth?” (Roachleg)

USA/Mexico “Del Rio” (12XU)

7”s:

Electric Chair “Social Capital” (Iron Lung)

Gimmick “S/T” (Sorry State)

Horrendous 3D “The Gov. and Corps. …” (Whisper In Darkness)

Urin “Afekt” (Static Age)

Vivisected Numbskulls “Swine in Chains” (Chaotic Uprising)

Cassettes:

Antisocial Action “Rot in Chemical World” (Chaotic Uprising)

Horrendous Cutthroat System “Demo” (Manic Noise)

Pilgrim Screw “S/T” (Impotent Fetus)

SQK Fromme “S/T” (Self-Released)

Status Set “Music for Cowards” (Self-Released)

Reissues/Archival Releases:

Asylum “Is This the Price?” (Demo Tapes)

Kyoufu Shinbun “Death Training” (Bitter Lake)

MNK Project “妄想族” (F.O.A.D.)

Negative Reaction “S/T” (Zaius Tapes)

Screamers “Demo Hollywood 1977” (Superior Viaduct)

This year feels like a blur for so many reasons. I transitioned to Sorry State full time, got triple vaccinated, thought the pandemic was ending, got sad that it wasn’t, and spent so, so much money on records. I slowly ventured back out into the world and might have, uhh, almost doubled my record collection. Going back into thrift stores and the flea market, I didn’t count the amount of records I was buying because it’s always cheap… hundreds of records and an additional Kallax shelf later… fuck. 80 cent records might not add up to a lot of money but it’s a lot of shelf space. And, of course, having to work around so many amazing records, maybe I should pat myself on the back for not getting more? I doubt it.

I’ve been digging through my Discogs for the past few weeks trying to make sense of everything I’ve amassed this year and, without repeating something I’ve written about previously, here are my top acquisitions and top releases of 2021 (in no particular order):

Top Acquisitions of 2021

1. Curious George Takes a Job 7” (1969)

I didn’t have a baby blanket or teddy bear as a baby; for some reason my parents got me a Curious George puppet. I still have it; the Curious George logo has long since rubbed off, all of his fluff is gone, but like the people that are attached to strands of a baby blanket, I can’t get rid of him. I was excited to find any CG on vinyl, let alone THIS story. For those of y’all not familiar, George tries to get employed but ends up locking himself in a room with paint fumes and getting high as shit. I always remembered this story so I, of course, had to get this 7”.

2. Various: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 12” (2020)

I can’t take credit for this find; my boyfriend found it on a rare record buying outing without me. This is a bootleg so I can’t find out much information about this release. But I want to kiss the hand of whoever thought to press a soundtrack like this on vinyl. I suck at this game but, man, this soundtrack makes me nostalgic.

3. Project Pat: Mista Don’t Play Everythangs Workin 12” (2000)

Holy fuckin’ grail, my dudes. Another I technically didn’t purchase (thanks, boyfriend!), but most definitely enabled. This album is on rotation a ton in our house so finding an OG pressing on vinyl was a no brainer, no matter what the price tag was (don’t ask).

4. Osibisa: Woyaya 12” (1971)

I’m going to be wholesome for a second and say I REALLY LOVE MY JOB. Retail is hard, especially as a super antisocial person but our customers always seem to lift my spirits when I work the counter. A few months ago I was helping someone pick out records for their very new collection and he asked me about this record; I didn’t know it so I threw it on and we were both vibing to it. I told him I’d buy it if he didn’t but, of course, he purchased it and I told him I’ll be looking out for the next one… instead, he handed it to me and thanked me for the help and left the store before I could protest. A sweet memory I will forever associate with this record.

5. Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic: Symphony No. 3 Kaddish 12” (1963)

I picked this up for $1 at my favorite flea market spot because I always try to pick up anything Jewish on vinyl. My Jewish vinyl finds are few and far between but this is the most memorable. I grew up going to temple and I know everyone has their own tunes to the prayers but I’ve never heard the Kaddish like this. This is like some crazy witch shit, I’m linking to a recording because you just have to hear it.

Top releases of 2021:

1. Dollhouse: First Day of Spring 7” (Toxic State)

I love the weirdo vocals. I love the catchy guitars. But I was first drawn in by the packaging; beautiful screen printing and a haunting image is a match made in heaven. I also used to collect the type of doll in this photo so I immediately felt a weird kinship to Dollhouse.

2. Zorn: Hardcore Zorn 7” (Sorry State)

Not to toot our own horn, but FUCK, this release is everything I want in punk. It’s metal and menacing and EVIL. And I absolutely cannot wait for the day I finally get to see Zorn live; after seeing their videos I’m fucking dying for it.

3. Skeletal Family: The Singles plus 1983-85 12” (Graveface/NeverNotGoth)

I haven’t written about Graveface in a while, but I follow the owner’s career closely after working for him in college. His work ethic and passion for creating are so admirable and had a big impact on my time in Savannah, GA. Because obviously two+ record labels, a storefront, museum, and his own musical acts weren’t enough, Ryan has set out to release old obscure goth rock under the name NeverNotGoth. This is the first big release from this new label and it was at the top of my list for Record Store Day. Do yourself a favor and become familiar with Skeletal Family!

4. Collapsed: S/T 12” (Phobia Records)

Listening back to my new release purchases, almost everything skews on the metal side of punk. Usman will hate me saying this but I feel like crust and metal have a lot in common. And I think this release by Collapsed is the perfect example. The song structures feel punk but the vocals and guitar solos appeal to the metal in me.

5. Tower 7: …Peace on Earth? 12” (D4MT Labs)

I imagine I’m not the only one that had a pretty good idea of what the best of the year was and then Tower 7 came along and dropped this fucking bomb on us. It only took the first song for me to know this was going to slide its way into my top of the year. This thing rips from beginning to end.

Hello, and welcome to my Top 10 of 2021. This year was insanely good for records. There was so many more great releases than I could include in my ten picks; it was hard to narrow it down. Well kind of; some of them were 100% no-brainers. I decided not to include cassettes to make it easier on myself. I thought about doing an “Honorable Mentions” thing too but who the fuck cares what I think... Getting on with it, in no particular order.

Warchild: A Question For Today...Not Tomorrow (D-Takt & Råpunk Records) I hadn’t heard this band until this release. Jocke was so kind and sent me a copy so I could get the complete limited-edition bundle of DTAKT releases. This recording is excellent, right up my alley with a raging nonstop D-beat attack. I hear lots of shit that’s similar to this style come out every year, but rarely does it actually catch my ears. Even though I am d-beat fiend at heart, I still think it’s hard to please me.

Svaveldioxid: Första Dagen Efter Sista Bomben (Phobia Records) Sticking with another Swedish band’s release, this one really struck my fancy. I think I have all of Svaveldixod’s records, but something about this record stands out from the previous release to me. It’s the same nonstop D-beat attack as Warchild, but with a totally different vibe. It’s heavy, it’s mean. It is total käng.

Golpe: La Colpa È Solo Tua (Sorry State Records) Hell yeah I chose a Sorry State release. This fucking record is amazing, honestly probably one of the best 12"s that came out this year. Well duh, it’s on my list.. I jammed this so many times I can’t even explain. Tadzio sent me the master ages ago, cos he actually asked if BPDT would have interest in releasing it. Of course he dropped our asses the second Daniel replied and said SSR would do it, haha fucker. Much love to Tadzio, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Nervous SS / Rat Cage: Skopje Vs. Sheffield (La Vida Es Un Mus) This is an excellent split. When is the last time I even got a split where both bands ruled? Most people probably bought this cos of Rat Cage. While I enjoy Rat Cage, Nervous SS is my fucking shit. Blagoj is the fucking man. This dude can rip every instrument, seriously. Cannot wait to hear what he does next... maybe I already have ;)

Quarantine: Agony (Damage United) Do I need to write anything here? If you read my Staff Picks you already know that I was obsessed with this band, to the point of making a fanzine. If you missed a physical copy, you can download it here.

Tower 7: ...Peace On Earth? (Roachleg Records) I just wrote about this last week. Probably in the Top 25 records of the past 10 years. So fucking good. Worth all the hype you see.

Electric Chair: Social Capital (Iron Lung Records) Speaking of hype... I contemplated putting this up there, but the fact is that it is a fucking excellent EP. This band is sick as fuck, they aren’t “re-inventing the wheel” but they figured out how the wheel works at it’s the most optimal, peak performance.

Fairytale: Self-titled (Desolate Records) When I saw this band, they only had their flexi out. I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t think I even knew Joe B was in the band. When I saw them live, my wig got split. Everything clicked. This band is top-notch. Raw, ruthless hardcore that gives no mercy to the listener. This was another no-brainer for my Top 10. I hope they do something new soon so I can get my wig split yet again.

Kohti Tuhoa: Väkivaltaa (La Vida Es Un Mus) I was super late to the game on this band. I remember hearing the EP from last year, Elä Totuudesta, right at the end of the year. I only did a bullshit Top 3 last year, but Kohti Tuhoa should’ve been on that list as well. Each release they do is killer, from the first one to the latest one. The sound has changed, but it’s all excellent. Not better or worse, just different.

Yleiset Syyt: Umpikujamekanismi (Open Up And Bleed Recordings) This is my favorite EP of this year. Easily. Somebody PLEASE sell me their first EP and LP. Please.

Next year I will make a “Worst of 2022” list. I hope Turnstile makes a new album. Happy New Year, send your hate mail to in.decay@yahoo.com

Happy New Year to all of you out there in Sorry State land. Here we go for another attempt at 2020, version 3. I’ll try and stay positive and believe that this year will be better, but based on my personal circumstances and the news so far already this year, I doubt it. Prove me wrong world, prove me wrong.

So, like many folks, I am dealing with life issues, setbacks, health problems, etc. etc. and finding the time and ability to enjoy things has been hard. Music really is my salvation and so working here at Sorry State has been a godsend. Record shops are my church. Writing about records I like here in the newsletter is an absolute pleasure and a privilege and I am very grateful. I’m also lucky to have a great DJ partner in Matt over at the Face Radio and doing our humble show each week has been the highlight of my year. I had a couple of DJ gigs and maybe one or two social interactions when we thought it was safe to come out of hiding over the summer, but otherwise it has been Sorry State and home for me almost exclusively. Again, let’s hope this year is different and a lot better.

That all being said, 2021 was still an amazing year for music. So many good songs and records were released last year. Our own Sorry State Records label put out nine releases total last year. Not bad considering all the industry problems with manufacturing going on. Per tradition, everyone involved in music typically puts out their best of the year lists around this time and we at SSR are no different. So here are some records that I enjoyed taking home in 2021. My selections are made up of new releases, reissues that came out this year and a few older things that I scored.

Okay, so in no order of ranking or anything else, here we go.

Albums:

Durand Jones & The Indications: Private Space – Colemine

The third album from these guys. One of the top contemporary soul bands around. This record sees them taking a more modern, cosmic disco approach to their songs. The sound is later 70s inspired now with more songs about love than protest. I wouldn’t mind betting this will be the soundtrack to plenty of baby making. Their label, Colemine, is up there with the like of Daptone in releasing terrific new soul, r n’ b and funk. I missed them when they played in our area the last time and hope I get a chance again.

Gruff Rhys: Seeking New Gods – Rough Trade

Another solo album from Welsh hero Rhys. You may know him from his band Super Furry Animals. I enjoyed this record a lot. It had a lot of the pop glam 70s sort of sound that he employed with SFA and was another concept album, something which he does so well. This time about a volcano. Fair enough.

Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime – Matador

Tuareg guitarist’s debut on Matador is a world psychedelic treasure. This was one of our top records of the year over at Worldy. Saharan blues and rock songs about African politics, human rights, and life. If you are familiar with the group Tinariwen, then you will know what to expect. Just imagine them with a guitar slasher like Moctar’s hero Eddie Van Halen and you’ll get the idea. Each listen to this record gets better and better.

Paul Weller: Fat Pop (Volume 1) – Polydor

The Modfather’s pandemic lockdown record and number sixteen in his solo career. Following on quickly from the previous year’s On Sunset album, which he was unable to tour, Fat Pop is more a collection of songs than an album proper, but it works just the same. For people of a certain age like myself, Paul Weller can do no wrong and although there may have been the odd song or two from his solo records that had the feeling that he was stuck in a musical cul-de-sac, the last few albums and especially the experimental soundtracks he has done have all been cool. I love the man and this latest batch of tunes felt and sounded good to me. The songs Cosmic Fringes and Glad Times are worth the price of admission alone.

E.P.s:

Cochonne: Emergency – Sorry State

Local heroes Cochonne graced our label this year with a terrific mini-LP. Their first and only vinyl 12” release is a smart set of five post punk songs sung in English and French. If you like bands like Kleenex and Wire, then this should be right up your alley. We are very proud to have helped in the release of this record. When I played some of it at a DJ gig for the Hopscotch music festival last September (I had a test press) it caused several people to approach and ask who it was. Usually a good barometer.

Smirk: E.P. – Total Punk

Also, in a post punk vein but with a little more of an American Garage feel are L.A. based Smirk. They put out a full length on Feel It Records, which is cool, but I preferred the songs on this mini-LP a bit more. Mostly up-tempo, poppy songs with jittery and anxious guitar sounds kept moving by propulsive drum and bass. Smirk is the brainchild of Nic Vicario and kind of a solo project, but he formed a band to play out live with and first-hand accounts of their shows have all been positive. Seven quick tracks, of which I like the one called Imaginary Harry the best.

Super Furry Animals: Ice Hockey Hair E.P. – BMG

This one is a reissue that came out for Record Store Day. Originally released in 1998 on Creation as a stand-alone release between second album Radiator and third Guerilla. The title track in its full-length version and the song Smokin’ are SFA classics and a perfect example of their sound. That sound? Think early 70s Beach Boys mixed with ELO, Queen, Wings, Bowie and doing techno and you’d be some of the way there. I loved this band and saw them countless times in small venues, large ballrooms and on festival stages over the years. This reissue was welcome as the original 12” vinyl had been tough to find.

Singles:

Axnér: Got The Look – Axnermusic

Just making it into the end of 2021 comes this fantastic and fun disco pop record. A duo consisting of one half of London’s Disco Freaks Chris Davies and Swedish singer Julia Axnér making their debut here with a modern take on the 70s sound ably assisted by Chic drummer Ralph Rolle to add a touch of class and authenticity to proceedings. 2022 should be good for them if they have more goodies like this tune in their locker.

Dorothy: I Confess/Softness – Sealed Records

This single is a reissue of a 7” that originally came out in 1980 on Industrial Records, Throbbing Gristle’s label. It has proved to be a popular seller here at Sorry State. You can read about it and get our take here. The B-side has the money track, a great cheesy synth sound mixed with a tougher disco beat that sounds more like now than it did then. Sealed Records do a nice job with the packaging and finding these nice obscure gems.

Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints: Feels So Good – Dala/BQE Records

I’m a little biased on this one as my friend and skipper over at the Face Radio, Kurtis Powers is behind the release of this record. Although technically released in 2021, the vinyl 7” is just now getting ready to ship. We’ll allow it. This is another great slab of contemporary soul that could have come out any time in the last fifty years. It’s that timeless. Bobby Harden is no fresh newcomer either. He has paid his dues similar to the likes of Charles Bradley, Lee Fields and Sharon Jones and was lead vocalist for the original Blues Brothers Band. This is the follow up single to the smash song Runnin’ (To Get To Your Love) which was their debut and they should follow this up later in the year with a full-length LP. Soulful Saints are the Brooklyn based housed band for Dala Records and do a fine job backing Bobby. For fans of Daptone, Colemine, Big Crown and other similar labels.

Sial: Zaman Edan – La Vida Es Un Mus

Singapore’s Sial offer a unique take on the modern hardcore punk sound. We’ve been fans of theirs at Sorry State, carrying previous singles and album. I like the conceptual element to the record. The title translates as Age Of Craziness and is referring to broken promises made by the state to minorities. The record is psychedelic with dark moody synth ambience and a deathrock vibe underneath the blistering guitar sounds. Not normally my go to sound but these guys are doing something different, and I support that. Plus, it’s damn good.

Personal Record Scores:

I tend not to brag and flex too much about records that I have added to my collection for several reasons but there has never been a time in my life when I haven’t been buying either records, tapes, or CDs. Never got into the downloading thing. There is no doubt that I have more than an average collection with a few rare items, but I buy a lot of my stuff for DJ use and so I’ll buy an average record because it has one or two good tracks. I obviously prefer minty clean copies but don’t mind some light wear, especially if it means getting a record cheaply. Being on a tighter budget these days has kept me away from the big-ticket items, although occasionally I have to pull the trigger and go for it. Luckily, working here at Sorry State has helped feed my vinyl addiction as I’m getting access to lots of bargain bin shit and Lord Daniel gives us a very generous discount. With the pandemic ongoing I haven’t been visiting other stores, although there may have been a little online buying earlier in the year with my tax refund. Here’s a few records I was happy to score.

Arica: Audition – Arica Institute Inc.

This is an interesting find. The Arica Institute was a hippy commune that set up in Chile and made several records. This one has spoken word instructions on meditation and body movement with cool free jazz shit going on in the background. There are plenty of passages of music without the guru talking that are interesting. This is a double album and came out in 1972. Copies are hard to find but worth looking out for.

Ray Barretto: Charanga Moderna – Tico

There’s not much to go wrong with a Ray Barretto record is there? This one is a nice Tico Records title I had been hoping to find eventually. Cool Latin stuff with a cut that can be heard in the film Mean Streets. Nice.

Il Balletto Di Bronzo: Ys – Polydor

Finding original copies of records by this Italian progressive group is not easy or cheap. I have a reissue of their first album called Sirio 2222 from 1970 and when a nice clean copy of their second Ys from 1972, albeit a 2nd pressing, came in the store, I had to get it. This record rules. Italians doing Krautrock basically. This causes some debate amongst collectors. Some people love the record and others do not. Keyboard led prog concept records aren’t normally my go to either but there is something about this one that I like. Whatever. I was happy to get a copy.

Ronnie Foster: Cheshire Cat – Blue Note

This was a nice one to find. A great funky jazz album on Blue Note. I have been lucky to find a few of his albums and was stoked to add this one to my collection. Foster played organ and keyboards and released a series of nice albums on Blue Note beginning in 1972 with Two Headed Freap which has been in demand by DJs and producers for years. Cheshire Cat came out in 1975. For fans of Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder.