Moving Melodies Part 1

 Why not indeed?

The above cartoon came from the New Yorker I was reading in the waiting room last week.  Very fitting, so I tore it out of the magazine, but left it in my mom's purse so I will probably never see it again.  I planned on taping it to my computer to motivate me and remind me of the Sid in all of us.

I started writing this post last week, but it's been on the backburner for a while as I did a few other updates.  This post is going to be the first in a series that I will revisit every so often, about great melodic moments in hardcore/punk. A place to celebrate the choices a band makes in favor of melody against a backdrop that is usually more about rhythm and intensity. Sometimes you just want a little melody, and melody fused with aggression can be extremely powerful.   I'd like to keep each of these posts to 5-6 songs, rather than long lists, since I want to write about each song and reflect on what makes it so good, and hopefully I will not come across like some sanctimonious music critic.  As I edit this post one last time, I might add a few more songs to sort of "set the stage."  Let's give this a try.  

Slap of Reality "Showout Blowout"

Should you know, could you tell we're just not well?  

If you keep guessing for to long, it gets depressing when you know it's wrong.  

Left hanging wide awake while you think of how far you'd go for emotions as rare as gold

I'm posting this song first because it was only recently introduced to me by my friend Matt, who I know is reading this and cursing that I didn't use his alias.  ("It's Cornhole, damn it!")  I hadn't heard of this band, but after doing a little googling I learned Slap of Reality was around from 89-92 and managed to release a few 7"s and an LP during that time before breaking up and reforming in the mid-90s).  This song is from one of the 7" compilations that used to come with Boston's Suburban Voice Fanzine (#32 I believe), which now exists in blog form.  This song is from 1992.  

Lot of good things going on in this song.  The song opens with cleanly, picked jangly guitar, before plunging headfirst into some rocking powerchords at an energetic tempo.  Throughout the song, the guitar finds itself alternating between melodic picking and more straightforward strumming, while the rhythm section maintains the intensity and the vocalist delivers his lyrics at the right moments in the right way.  Show ow-out, blow ow-out.  After a sort of verse-chorus-verse-chorus thing for the first minute, the tempo drops and the entire band comes together in an incredible harmony.  The tempo picks back up, the chorus is revisited, and the song comes to an abrupt end.  A perfect two minute melodic punk song.  I don't think I will dedicate another post to this band, so at the risk of doing exactly what I did not want to do and start adding videos willy nilly to this post, if you liked this song check out these next two songs.



Opening track from their 1990 "Time Alone" EP.  The vocals here are something else, relentless and melodic.  Fast melodic hardcore with a serious early 90s palm-muting when they slow it down.  From their 1995 "Drowned Out" 7."  Very mid 90s sound, and I'll be damned if they don't sound exactly like Samiam here.   Especially vocally.  It makes me wonder if that is actually the Samiam dude.  This band appeared on a Samiam tribute at one point, so who knows what relationship the bands might have formed by the mid 90s.

Big Drill Car "No Need"

Whoa-oh can we be friends thoooooough?  

Sticking with the same era for this song, although we will be switching coasts.  Here is some classic Cali skatepunk from their 1989 release "CD/LP/Tape Type Thing" (depending on the format you purchased). What an unfortunate band name.  Google "drill car" and practically only get results about this band.  A car with a drill?  Sounds good to me.  A big drill, too?  Even better.  This band emerged from the ashes of 80s political punk band MIA who appeared on the perhaps too comprehensive NorCal/Nevada comp "Not So Quiet On the Western Front, you can check out their song here if you are curious.

I first heard this song while watching the Vision Skate "Barge at Will" video, featuring Mark "Gator" Ragkowski, with my friend Cy.  It is fortunate that someone uploaded the scene on Youtube, so you the reader can experience this song in the same fashion I did (give or take 10 Bud Lights).  There is another youtube video that is just the song, so if you wanna hear it in better quality, you can easily search for it.  The music starts at around :35 in this video.

A fantastic guitar riff and some damn good vocal melodies make this song.  Check the "Nah-ah-owow" around 2:04.  My only pet peeve with this song are all the late 80s metal guitar leads that end practically every measure, but I can overlook them because the rest of the song is so awesome.  Not too long after this video was released, Gator was convicted and sentenced in the 1992 murder of his girlfriend.  It is weird to watch him here and then imagine the man who's been in prison for over 20 years, can you help but wonder what has changed about him, and what might remain?  I'm dedicating this song to my boy Cy, Streetsweeper OG, as a tribute to the good times we had on Grove Street.

Samiam "Regret"

You never looked into their faces, what you saw there was another threat

Ok, so I mentioned Samiam and didn't post their song right after.  Well let me tell you something, do you know how hard it is to copy and paste HTML to reverse the order of this post?  Not very hard, but potentially disastrous enough for this novice to only frustrate himself and end up accidentally erasing a critical piece of HTML text that destroys his entire post.  

Anyway, we find ourselves in still in California for these guys, this time in the Berkely area.  Samiam is a classic band, founded back in 1988.  One of the early emocore bands, extremely influential, snapped up by a major label during the punk rock explosion of the 90s, only to be thrown back to the underground after Atlantic Records realized not every punk record was going to make them millions.  Gotta hand it to them, they actually put out a good record on a major, and maintained their relevance as an active band through the 90s and into the 2000s,  releasing their last record as recently as 2011.  

This song is from their third LP, 1992's "Billy" and I think it is not only Samiam's masterpiece, but one of the great emocore songs.  The opening guitar comes in gently, with that incredible production that I shudder to describe as "shimmering," but god damn if those guitar notes don't ring like churchbells.  This song could be what saves your soul.  I usually listen to that opening several times in a row before letting the song continue uninterrupted.  This is no drawn out intro, it is almost painfully short, and a snare hit brings us headfirst into extremely tuneful hardcore with vocals that are so clean you could make a killer shampoo if you figured out how to bottle them.   It just   The vocals and guitars come together and guide the music down a truly melodic path that the song never abandons, not even as the drums gallop at a thrash tempo in the final third of the song.  The song comes full circle as the music goes from fast to slow, with the guitars ringing out, this time signifying the end instead of the beginning.

Subhumans "Behind The Smile"

Businessmen and workers help each other make their way
If you believe that, just look around and count your pay

Ok, at the risk of turning this post into an emo cryfest, let's back things up 10 years.  The Subhumans (the ones from Canada) formed in 1978, but this song is from their debut 1980 LP "Incorrect Thoughts."  They definitely have more of a melodic, mid-tempo punk thing going on, as opposed to other bands that were starting to push things in a new direction (read: hardcore).

This song deals with the classic punk theme of trust.  Or is it distrust?  It deals in part with the deceit in human relationships, the dishonesty of capitalism, the hypocrisy of government -- all pretty typical punk themes, here presented in the context that so much of this bullshit is presented to you with a smile. The singer is "sick of every face that I see" and each chorus reminds the listener of "the lie behind the smile."  In true punk fashion, the lyrics reject the idea of leaders ("Where am I leading you, why can’t you get there on your own/If you believe in me, someday I’ll leave you all alone").  They do not reject guitar leads, however, as each verse is punctuated with a melodic guitar line helps drive the song and gives the song necessary dimension.  

Christie Front Drive "Dirt"

I have no clue wtf he is saying

Many people point to this band as one of the originators of what would become known as "Midwest emo," with a sound less rooted in hardcore energy, with greater emphasis on rocking melodic guitars and softer moments.  Comprehensive emo website Fourfa (worth checking out by anyone with a passing interest in an often misunderstood, misrepresented genre) recalls a record review that described this as music hardcore kids would put on to make love.  Feel free to let me know how that turns out in the comments.  

This is a song that continues to build on itself.  There is a definite structure as far as verse/chorus/bridge etc, but ultimately this song is driven by that main opening riff.  This is an example of a perfect riff that comes together right when you're about to throw your guitar across the room, although perhaps he got lucky and strummed these chrods right away.  They sure play the hell out of that riff with an intensity that never lets up, helped in large part by  drumming that is driving and powerful, and remains busy and interesting despite rarely moving beyond the mid-tempo pace.  Instrumentally, the song nails it.  Fortunately, singer/guitarist Eric Richter provides the vocals which become the star.

Richter never sings at the same volume.  He doesn't punch in every verse to make sure that every syllable is audible and every lyric hits the right level.  You hear his voice come and go, sometimes soft, and sometimes with startling urgency.  When I listen to this song, I can imagine his voice driving on the highway, with the instruments in the car next to him cruising at the same speed..  A moment later I see his car begin to lift off the ground as his voice soars over the instruments down below. Wherever his voice takes him, the bands feet are still on the ground and the song never falls apart.  Tune into 1:54 for an excellent buildup into the second verse, where he starts soft and then just lets all hell break loose.  That ten seconds is my favorite part of the song.  

In true emo fashion, one may never know the actual lyrics.  But there is pleasure to be found in mystery lyrics.  We the listeners have to decide what we want these sounds to be.  Do you try and transcribe the lyrics, knowing very well you could be singing something completely incorrect?  "I watched you let it go" ?  "You've got something you can give" ? Or do we accept we may only hear bits and pieces of the lyrics?  Who's to say it couldn't be that way, in these instances when the voice is simply another instrument.

Two Line Filler "Be Ok"

And if your day darkens, my heart will break through to you
Shelter you from those times, those moments will be gone

Two Line Filler.  Loved by those who remember.  2LF was a Toronto band around from like 91-96, releasing a 7" (which I found for $.99 at In Your Ear in Allston, and tore the cover trying to take the price tag off.  Total record noob mistake), a demo (that in part turned into a split 7" with Buffalo band Fadeaway featuring a very young Scott Vogel on drums), two LPs, and a split LP.  Their style was a unique combination of elements of emo, pop punk, melodic hardcore, and even some heavier moments.  I am absolutely going to do a comprehensive post on this band, although other blogs have beaten me to it.  But I will try to offer something new as well as a download link to everything.  But for now, let's discuss this track from their 1994 LP "So Far Lost."

Pardon the picture in the video.  It's my own Youtube video, and when I first started uploading music to youtube I just used whatever random image I thought would make a good background.  However, it's very fitting for this song, one of several 2LF songs where the singer seems to be speaking to or observing a girl that is just out of reach.  In this case the ever handsome James Brolin embraces Morgan Fairchild while Pee Wee watches.

This song is no bullshit.  It gets right to the point with really creative melodic riff that is accompanied throughout the song by those melodic single notes.  This is a 2LF trademark, chord driven rhythm guitar puncuated by lead guitar that cuts the melody right to the basics.  There is ample palm-muting in this song as well, something this band used to great effect that always kept their music rooted in hardcore punk, no matter how poppy it could become.

When I first heard this band, the vocals threw me for a loop.  But now I cannot imagine anyone else singing over this music.  Sometimes his voice strains, but he is not a lazy singer.  There is a lot of personality in these vocals and they lend sincerity to not just to the lyrics, but the feel of the song as a whole.  After the second chorus (1:30ish mark), motherfucker comes out of nowhere to drop the tempo, ditch the hopeful, reassuring tone of the chorus, and provide us with a deeply melodic guitar line that hits my core.  To go from "it's gonna be okay" to that profound shift in melody is brilliant, because it simultaneously critiques and reinforces the notion that things in fact will be ok.  I've become good friends with former singer/songwriter Matt (oops used his name again) and he has begun recording new music.  Expect me to pick his brain at some point about his experiences in the 90s hardcore scene and share his new music.  Check this blog if you'd like to download the entire 2LF discography, or poke on youtube if you'd like to hear more first.

Gorilla Biscuits "Competition"

Well I know what competition means, and all the feelings that it brings

Friends that wanna be on top, you're on the list of friends to drop

Success is what I wanna feel, at your expense it isn't real

It's jealousy.  And jealousy's not true.

Last but not least, motherfucking Gorilla Biscuits.  Even if Big Drill Car wasn't on this list, they still wouldn't win the worst band name award because god damn if it isn't a good name for a New York band.  Now, I prefer the 7" to Start Today.  I think the 7" is a NYHC masterpiece.  HOWEVER, I would never knock Start Today, and I definitely do not think it is the "Age of Quarrel" for girls like some people like to criticize it as.  There's some damn good songs on this record.  At least the band saw the handwriting on the wall and broke up before they put out a 45 minute grunge record or something.  Anyway, "Competition" is my favorite song on the LP, and I think it contains one of the greatest moments in hardcore history.

Click play.  Song begins, awesome riff, good vocals, catchy chorus, and damn good lyrics about what was happening in the scene at the time (and which has happened over and over in the over 20 years sense).  At one point does our scene stop being comprised of equals and peers, and friends become rivals?  This song struggles with that issue.  "Always being number one robs the music of its fun."  "Ego trips get in the way of the goals we shared."  This song should sit right next to Warzone's "Don't Forget The Struggle, Don't Forget the Streets" as an anti-sellout anthem. (For any of my less hardcore-inclined readers who haven't heard Warzone's anthem, click that link just to hear that opening monologue.  Singer Raybeez passed away 16 years ago on 9/11, rest in power).

Ok, back to GB.  "Why can't you be glad...FOR ME?"  Around 1:06 begins one of the most incredible moments in hardcore history, like the Andy Griffith theme was transplanted in the middle of a hardcore song.  Your head explodes, and the song climaxes with an energetic melodic riff that builds as the band makes its pointed statement about the true nature of competition in our scene.  The song ends triumphantly: we will not be in competition with you.  Below, you can hear the demo version of this song with their guitarist singing. Sounds like Kevin Seconds singing GB and you can hear him laugh at a vocal goof around 1:37.  Any GB fans, I urge you to head over to the incredible Blogged & Quartered blog and download the Gorilla Biscuits rareities, which include the entire Walter Sings LP, demo and comp tracks.  Stormy does a great job making comprehensive discographies of rare material that he always manages to share at the highest quality. Click that link to access that post.

Hope everyone enjoyed at least a few of these songs.   I wanted to try something different, let me know if I kept your interest, if I lost you, or if you have your own suggestions for the next installment of MOVING MELODIES. Next time I plan on using songs from bands like Turning Point, Judge, and some good, more hardcore oriented emo.  But we will see.  Every post is an adventure.  Thanks for reading and please leave any comments that you might have.  I will have exciting updates over the weekend that should drive people wild.