Berserk- Complete Go-Kart releases.

That's really only 1 CD and a compilation song, but its all awesome. Berserk were a pop punk band from Maryland, and were the first band to have a full length on the then fledgling New York DIY powerhouse. The band has one cassette EP/demo I'm trying to track down, and another comp track on the Walking By A Building comp from Hat Factory. There was a 7" single for "Giant Robots" with "When I Think" on the B. There was demo version of "Giant Robots" on the soundtrack to Justin Case Productions’ PERMANENT DAMAGE. That covers the released material, aside from a video of their 1998 reunion.


God, that's boring, isn't it? On to some more interesting stuff. The band formed in the late 80's, with the Gonna Save the World From Danger dropping in 1989 on Beef Platter Records, who maintain a pretty useful page on the band with some reviews from various zines. They're all cool things to read, but hit on the same points: "Giant Robots", Love of Japanese and Korean Pop-Culture and Women, Incredible pop sensibilities. One zine review not included was one from the old Cake zine where the reviewer felt that the opener "Giant Robots" was "too Devo" and so otherwise panned a record he never listened to. Now that's solid Rock Journalism! Honnestly, the Devo comparison is pretty ignorant of band's far more similar to Berserk, and applies to maybe two songs on a 12 song record.

The trio comprised of Brent Malkus, David Crawly, and Skizz deliver some really awesome not played out pop-punk. In the early 90's Go Cart seemed to be doing two things- in your face garage punk a-la Meatmen, Buttsteak, and Candy Snatchers, and pop-punk with indie rock sensibility. Bands like Weston and Doc Hopper and Berserk were taking more cues from The Doughboys than Greenday or Screeching Weasel. As mentioned ad nauseam in reviews, The Buzzcocks cast a long shadow over Berzerk, but at the same time, songs like "Korean Kabbidge [sic]" and "Bluehearts" could have come off The Doughboy's Crush. Those song names bring up another important facet of the song lyrics- Love of asian pop culture and associated institutions.

Over half the songs reference some sort of Japanese cultural icon or an Asian girl the singer is pining after. This was probably what drew me to the record, as I have long loved Japanese movies and TV(anime included) and had recently had my first dating experiences with a girl from tokyo that transfered to my school for a year. These guys were basically like the minstrels in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, following me and narrating my life and thoughts. I'd love to interview these guys and talk about their experiences that created this blend of mournful love songs and songs about Ultraman.


The album breaks into two halves really. The first six songs are fairly upbeat and rollicking, while the second half is darker in tone and style. Its kind of like one side is for when you're happy and in the perfect relationship, and the other side is for when you feel like me. 


This album was one of my first punk albums that wasn't by a band that every punk rock wannabe worth his weight in pyrite knows(e.g. Misfits, Ramones, Dead Kennedys etc.).  This was the kind of punk rock that the hometown bands played in Murfreesboro at the time, so it instantly struck a chord the first time I heard the album, and so for a time it was in heavy rotation in my car. That means two things, first being I got sick of it after a time, and the second will be addressed at the end of this post. Since then, I pull this CD out only sometimes. I think it hadn't been played in over a year and a half when I put it in the CD player this morning on a whim. The problem is two fold:


1. Berserk has such a limited output, that the songs get old very fast, and thus the band does too


2. Berserk don't innovate with these songs, so much as showcase their excellent songwriting. not much new is on the table, so it can easily become background noise


So now, when i clean out an old binder or desk and find a note from Marie(afore mentioned Japanese girlfriend) I get this CD out. Or when I've had a particularly awful day/week/5 months.


So with out further ado- Berserk


EDIT:


I found the liners from the CD and the GKvCG compilation. It didn't shed much light on the record, other than that the album had actually been scheduled for release several years earlier. Go Kart bought it from the original label, and put out in 1994. It was also released in Austrailia,(on time i think) and had at the time of the compilation's pressing only sold 140 something units. 


A big thanks to Skizz and  Beef Platter Records for keeping a pretty decent archive of information on the scene they helped build in Maryland in the 90's!

Green Day- 21st Century Breakdown

<---A Rock Journalist Rock Journalism- A dream job for me. I took a step toward that this summer with some intense photography stuffs at some shows and lined up some interviews. In an atempt at boosting my rock journalist cred here's a stab at a sacred cow of modern rock. It's a loving stab, kinda like how Brutus stabbed Ceaser.

If you keep up with former punk rock outfits, you surely know that once great East Bay out fit Green Day dropped a new album back in May. Right around the time my cat died, my girlfriend left me, and I turned 23 and felt like I was living my favorite Blink 182 song[What's My Age Again?](Screw off, Enema of the State was good for what it was(the album that opened my mind to punk music) at the time). That's a fragment. So anyway, Green Day is a band that, while I hold lots of nostalgia for, I hold no continuing respect for after Warning and American Idiot, so I didn't give the new one a fair try. So here's a track by track review:

Song For the Century: Fluff. nothing of real value here, they book end it on the last song(s).

21st Century Breakdown- Starts out like a Weezer song. Not awful, but not "Armitage Shanks" either. It then goes into some celtic inspired Drop Kick Murphys stuff. generic, but it couldn't brace me for the sudden 80's KISS that ends the song.

Know Your Enemy- This song sounds like it came off of Warning. I imagine this must be one of the lead singles. Its catchy, and doesn't stray too far from the sound they built between Nimrod and Warning, so its pretty safe for Mr. Radio™. Anyone can like this if they enjoy what the radio foists upon us.

¡Viva la Gloria!- This starts out as a piano ballad. It sucks. Then it stops, Tré clicks out a count off, and it goes into some rollicking pop-punk goodness with lots of melody. I actually like this one. It reminds me of some of the stuff on Nimrod. Pleasant Surprise.

Before the Lobotomy- What's up with the cheesy acoustic intros then exploding into rock? But hark! THIS SONG IS "WALKING CONTRADICTION" WITH A FEW EXTRA LICKS AND NEW WORDS!!! Shit you not... Check it at 1:20 and compare with the hit single from Insomniac

Greenday has aped everyone from the Doughboys, to Dillinger 4, to the Kinks. This doesn't speak to the originality of the band, when they recycle their 15 year old hits. I know that when you work with song structures that only use 3-6 chords in a song, you are gonna have some stuff that sounds similar to your other work, but Green Day by this stage knows how to write stuff that doesn't sound like Green Day.

Christian's Inferno- Weird new wave intro gives way to 3 chord rock and does that a couple times. Kinda Devo-ish at parts. The chorus is awful; I can't back this track... its lame. The outro reminds me of "Welcome to Paradise"

Last Night on Earth- Piano rock intro... I hate piano rock for the most part. I take that back... this is a piano rock song... its not God awful. Kinda Ben Folds-y; I like him. I'd make out to this song. Its nice, but not captivating so you can focus on technique.

East Jesus Nowhere- Remember that Holiday song? Not the one by Weezer or Madona, the one off American Idiot. "East Jesus Nowhere" is the same style. Green Day first used this percussive guitar style with "Hitchin' a Ride" as I recall. I would not be surprised if this one gets heavy radio play. This song is a bit too long

---It is at this point I realized the shortest song the record is 2:54, most being over 4 minutes. This is not Punx.---

Peacemaker- I point you too this Mitch Clem Comic-..... well I couldn't find it, but back in the late 90's every punk band had at least one ska song, and this sounds kinda like the band wrote a pretentious concept album ska song. poorly executed, totally forgettable. Its also has hints of kelzmer. Once again, trend hopping(lol folk/gypsy punk)

Last of American Girls- Poppy, kinda bland. Very much a throw back to the botched Warning album. Wow... Really poppy and way too long. There's a solo in here that needed to be omitted or used as on outro. Which is one of the short comings of this album. The songs go on too long saying the same thing over and over

Murder City- Straight forward pop-punk. I really like this one. Its the shortest track, and sounds the most like the Green Day I love, but has a nice solo in the middle that doesn't come across as forced displays of talent(like many others on this album) This one is a keeper.

¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)- Very Klezmer intro. If you don't know what Klezmer is, think "Hava Nagila". Its a folk music with roots in Jewish European culture. This song has little in common with ¡Viva La Gloria! earlier on the record sound wise. The connection must be in the lyrics which advance the concept of the album, which I've not paid much notice of

Restless Heart Syndrome- Mid career Beatles intro. Very Brit-pop sounding song. I guess this one was supposed to appeal to fans of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". I'm sure its all through out the album, but this song has a distinct wall of sound: string sections, layered guitars that strum and drone and twinkle at the same time. This is a well produced song, but really not what I come to Green Day for. If you can't tell, I'm trying to be as fair as I can. I don't want to lam baste the whole thing, so if something stands out on a track, I'll mention it. I can't help it if a lot of what stands out is how bad some of these songs are. In the case of this one, its a solid song, but not a Green Day song in my mind. If Oasis or Suede had cut it though...

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades- So much like the Hives and other neo-garage rock bands, its uncanny. I swear if you had Jet or Jack White singing this, you wouldn't know it was Green Day. I like that stuff, but it just seems out of place here.

The Static Age- Despite the title, the Misfits don't abide in this song. Its pretty generic rock and roll, nothing stands out here. Its not bad, but it certainly isn't good. Mediocrity oozes from this one.

21 Guns- I think this is one of the lead singles. Total radio trash balladry. This is 21st Century Breakdown's "Boulevard"

American Eulogy (Mass Hysteria/Modern World) Song For the Century repeats then goes into two excellent tracks that wrap up the story. "Mass Hysteria" bleeds out into "Modern world" in the way "Brainstew" broke down into "Jaded". Modern World is classic Green Day sound. I love this track. They two songs sort of converge at the end, and they partner perfectly. This is what the majority of the album SHOULD have sounded like. You have mature songwriting and musicianship that does not compromise the sound the band established in their early heyday on Reprise

See The Light- Some Who homage is going on here. Not bad, but like the rest of the album, is cleaned up to appeal to the masses. Which leads me to this conclusion-

21st Century Breakdown would have been an excellent album from another band or a post Green Day project from Armstrong(who from certain sources, is currently the driving creative force in the band). There are some very good songs on this that will never get proper attention because of the direction the band seems to want peruse musically. I stand by my statement I made after American Idiot came out– Green Day should have quit after Nimrod and done these projects under a different banner.

Nimrod, while not the band's magnum opus (I maintain that honor goes to 1996's Insomniac), was a perfect album, capturing a band that had run its course in the best way possible, by burning bright, working hard, and growing up. Now we see this band some 10 years later still trying make buck off a revered moniker. People forget that Green Day's second wind came after a hiatus, a piss poor album(Warning), an aborted album, and a near break up that was only resolved through band therapy. That's some Spinal Tap shit.

I make this claim about performing under a new moniker, because I know that all of these members could do it. Ever hear of Pinhead Gunpowder? This San Francisco punk super group has had moderate success despite limited performances, focusing mostly on recording. Armstrong plays guitar and does some vocals. How about Foxboro Hot Tubs or the Network? Both of these Green Day side projects sound nothing like the classic Green Day albums(meaning they are of the same ilk as the last three Green Day albums) but enjoy moderate success with limited promotion. Mike Drint also enjoys some side project success, filling in with Screeching Weasel around the time of How to Make Enemies and Irritate People, and more recently with The Frustrators. Is there really any need to drag the old East Bay pop punk institution through the mud anymore?

I can understand why some rock journalists are praising this album, but I feel that when reviewing albums, many people don't look at history of groups. But I guess that's why I'm a blogger and not making the big bucks with Rolling Stone.

*note: the term sellout did not appear in this blog until now. Let's not resort to petty name calling, after all.