If you are prodding, looking, searching and asking around for a really great and cool Christmas album to buy, your search is over. Joey Ramone Christmas Spirit… In My House is a true Punk Rock gem. The late and legendary Joey Ramone has always captivated me with his trademark Punk Rock vocals. He had such an easy going delivery with his voice, yet it also contained the required toughness, swagger and Punk attitude that came out so naturally for Joey. Don’t Worry About Me, Spirit In My House and What A Wonderful World are three Punk Rock classics from Joey Ramone’s solo work. What A Wonderful World is covered here with remarkable, inspired spirit that flows over you like a wave of Punk Rock joy. These three songs can be enjoyed all year long, heck, this EP is so good I will listen to these Christmas songs all year long too! After I here Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), I feel like I never want to hear another vocalist sing this song again, Joey Ramone sings it that incredible, for me.
Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight) is Joey Ramone singing a ballad while not straying away from his trademark vocals, I get a real kick out of this song with it’s 1950’s Rock and Roll vibe happening. This song isn’t sappy either. Spirit In My House is the hardest song on this EP, the grooves are strong and the beat is contagious. Ronnie Spector lends her vocals on Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), while the ever legendary Marky Ramone is a special guest on What A Wonderful World. I am going to listen to this EP probably constantly throughout this holiday season, I am looking forward to each listen. I absolutely cannot exhaust myself from hearing these songs limitless times. All fans of the Ramones and Punk Rock need to own this EP. Fans of all other Rock genres need to lend an ear to what Joey Ramone created here and add this brilliant work to their Christmas music collection and enjoy it all year long too.
Based on the excited reaction my ten year old twin daughters showed, as they listened to this Joey Ramone EP today, it is safe to say his Punk/Rock and Roll legacy will live on for generations to come. I have never seen my daughters dance around and get as happy to music, like this, since they listened to Misfits Project 1950! It was a terrific sight to see, coupled with the feeling of knowing my daughters love some of the music I listen to as well.
* Christmas Spirit… In My House was released on December 10, 2002, on the label Sanctuary (USA).
* Don’t Worry About Me, Spirit In My House and What A Wonderful World are also on the Joey Ramone studio album – Don’t Worry About Me, (released on February 19, 2002).
* What A Wonderful World – was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. The first recording was sung by the timeless legend – Louis Armstrong, being released in 1968 as a single.
I am listening to Rancid today, all day. In my house, in my car, it does not matter. Rancid is my band of choice due to the slick and groove saturated Punk Rock style they bestow. They are Street Punk at many turns, yet they are so much from the Old School Punk Rock mold of the Ramones too. Kickin’ and fun, (gasp), did I just use the F word there? In my area today, the weather is miserable – rainy, semi-cold, of course cloudy and dank. What better band for me, than Rancid… to get my energy level back on high and to kick start my day and attitude. I am actually going to settle on one Rancid CD to crank today – …And Out Come The Wolves. The richness and foundation of Rock and Roll 101 is so evident in the Punk Rock of Rancid, especially on this album. My adoration for Rancid grows each and every time I listen to their Punk Rock. Out of the nineteen songs on this album, there is not one to skip over. I apologize to no one for being a rabid Rancid fan. Life is too short, I love the music I listen to – end of Metal story. Uh, not really… Rancid rules.
I just can’t explain it though, there are those certain bands that just make you feel like everything is cool and alright. Rancid is just that band for me. Over the weekend, I just hung up the very large Rancid poster that comes inside their new CD – let the dominoes fall. The front of the poster is the front cover group photo on that CD, (pictured to the left of this paragraph). On the back of the poster are all of the songs lyrics – real cool. I put this poster inside a very large, thick plastic sleeve for protection too. It is hanging up in my Rocked out basement. It serves me right. Plus, my daughters dig Rancid like there is no tomorrow and this poster being hung makes the basement that much more homey for us all. Rancid is a Punk Rock Band that you should give a try, especially those who are sitting on the fence about wanting some Punk Music in their life. The social commentary and relevance of Rancid’s lyrics are entertaining as they are legitimate. In my most honest of Metal opinions, I just cannot resist the damn credibility of Rancid. The overall realness of …And Out Come The Wolves and any of the other Rancid albums overflows. I can’t ever jump onto that dreaded word – Pop, and attach it to this band… never. Rancid is not Pop Punk – period.
I have found another Punk Rock Band to jump up and down about and raise my fist in the air to. The Heartaches and their Lunacy & devastation CD, (released in 2003). I needed some music on Sunday to get me out of the funk I was in, The Heartaches was the remedy… a Punk Rock remedy at that. While Rancid and The Casualties have landed on much larger record labels, The Heartaches are on one bona fide underground label at that, are you ready for this one? Here is the record label – “I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prison” Records. Now that is a Punk label if there ever was one. I take it, from the record label logo of the red devil that is on the liner notes of this CD, that the abbreviation for this record label is – People Like You. From what the liner notes state, this record label is out of Germany. People Like You Records has a really cool website, Punk Rock and Horror Punk are their forte. Their website is packed with their current signed bands and info. My whole life, I have always been intrigued and keenly interested in any underground band that I come across while shopping around for music. The Heartaches are an underground Punk Rock Band for sure, their style of Punk is a blend of Old School meets modern day social angst. Now, that does not sound so unique for a Punk Rock band, yet those are the two main characters in The Heartaches style of Punk. The Heartaches brand of Old School Rockabilly has been recharged with slick speed and extremely contagious riffs that meld within the frenetic stomp of their rhythm section.
The Heartaches deliver 13 genuine Punk Rock songs on Lunacy & devastation, each song carries it’s own Punk weight, no one song sounds like the other. My favorite song on this CD is Safe and Sound, it just has a cool groove happening from the opening note. If a Punk Rock song can be harmonious, Safe and Sound proves it. A continuous pissed off theme does not let up throughout these songs lyrics, a Punk Rock staple that can work as long as the music itself has legs to stand on. In my Metal opinion, the songs on Lunacy & devastation have legs… Punk strong at that. Lead vocalist Leroy has everything I look for from a Punk Rock front man. Leroy’s vocals exude extreme Punk credibility, as do each member of The Heartaches, from what my ears tell me. Sammy on vocals and guitar, does not impede with his backup duties with Leroy, this guy adds greatly to the total Punk essence of The Heartaches. After my third listen through with this CD, I shake my head and wonder why The Heartaches were never signed to a major label, (I’m not talking Atlantic Records here), a label like SideOneDummy? Yeah, I think The Heartaches sound that cool. Heartattack Radio is the last song on Lunacy & devastation, the Punk fervor of the vocals alongside the rhythmic enthusiasm of The Heartaches makes it a Punk exclamation point of an ending.
I first stumbled across Hallowmas – The Road To Hallow’s Eve on the Century Media Records online store – CM Distro.com. The CD cover artwork took my Metal breath away, I am a huge Metal sucker for the scary and horrific album covers… this goes back decades for me. You cannot always judge a book, uh, album by it’s cover. In the case of my purchasing The Road To Hallow’s Eve based on the artwork and song titles, well, I proclaim a Horror Punk victory! This album is on Coffin Records, a recognized label notorious for underground talent. Hallowmas released this album back in 2005, I bought it about one year ago, during one of my Halloween spirited moods. Cutting to the Metal chase here, this is one dandy of a Horror Punk Band, a terrorizing thrill a second is The Road To Hallow’s Eve. It’s all good… Horror Punk style. I have numerous times, since buying this CD, have tried to read and/or find out more about this cool Hallowmas band… all in vain however. The only trail I find on the world wide web about them are the basics I found in the liner notes of this very album. Hallowmas is without question an underground Horror Punk band. I sincerely hope they resurface and continue their Horror Punk path… The Road To Hallow’s Eve makes for an intense foundation for them to build upon.
A couple of years ago, I purchased All Hallow’s E.P. by AFI… man, this is a cool Horror Punk gem. Released on November 3, 1999, on Nitro Records, this is AFI when they were creating Horror Punk and it is worth every penny I spent on it. A tidy E.P. it is, with four songs that are lathered with quality Horror Punk attitude and speed. Davey Havok on lead vocals sounds vintage, even though it has only been about a decade since this E.P.’s release. Every time I listen to All Hallow’s E.P., I walk away believing Davey Havok was born to sing this style of Punk Rock. I could listen all day to this Horror Punk style of AFI. I have been currently rummaging through my Metal and Punk Music collection, sifting through the spooky titles of both albums and songs and putting them on my daily rotation of music listening. Horror Punk will always stand out when searching for the creepy tunes, All Hallow’s E.P. is an obvious choice. With the Halloween season knocking at my Metal doorstep, rounding up the scary stuff to listen to has become an annual right of Horror passage for me.
Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk are a band I can’t get enough of. Punk Rock that is cool, fun and of course… Rocks, is Osaka Popstar. I bought this self titled CD a while back at a flea market in Berks County, Pennsylvania… for around thirty three cents. Thirty three cents this Osaka Popstar cost me!!! Plus, as a Metal bonus, this CD was still factory sealed!!! How was this CD only thirty three cents you might wonder? The dealer I came across selling CD’s had a “three for a dollar deal” going down at his booth! Not too shabby and quite the find. So, with Autumn upon us, the insects are getting a tad crazy right now… especially those damn yellow jackets. I cannot stand yellow jackets, they either are buzzing around spoiled picnic food, outdoor garbage pails or looking to sting you. By definition alone, the yellow jacket is a predatory wasp!! I had one of these evil yellow jackets sting me in the right arm two weekends ago – for no reason at all. I was sitting down in my backyard, taking a break from some yard clean-up, sipping on a cold beer, then the burning sting sensation hit me! A yellow jacket chose me for it’s sting of the day. That is why I have decided once and for all, to choose Insects to be the Punk Rock song of the day. This song is just plain good Punk Rock fun. My daughters get the biggest kick out of listening to Insects… I do too. The way in which the bugs outside are acting up right now… Insects could very easily be the Punk Rock song of September!
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