Razorcake podcast

NefariousArtists: Episode 16: 1988

A series of transmissions based on the book Nefarious Artists by Welly of Artcore Fanzine (est. 1986) that charts the evolution of the punk rock, post-punk, new wave, hardcore punk, and alternative rock compilation vinyl record from 1976 to 1989. A compilation of compilations, all digitized direct from vinyl.

Phone it in. Shit talk. You’re welcome. Where’s our award?

Welcome to WHAO 50. We made no special preparations for this podcast. No extra frosting, just the usual cake-like ingredients. And by that, we mean punk and punk-adjacent songs with horns in ’em that at least one of us likes.

Some notes on 50:

Your Belgian lesson for the day: The band name “Veel,” thankfully, doesn’t mean a baby cow (between three and eighteen weeks old) that gets slaughtered young so some douche can say how tender the meat is. It means “many” in Belgian. Phew.

“Gravy” McKay’s only traceable band affiliation is Richard Rose—the mystery remains. We didn’t know he has a “weaponized” saxophone playing style and he’s a permanent sunglasses artist. Thanks, internet.

Yeah, don’t listen to Todd. Downey, Calif. wasn’t named after the fabric softener. It was after John Gately Downey, seventh governor of California, from 1860-1862. But, to save face, did you know that Tarzana, Calif. was, in fact, named after Tarzan? Edgar Rice Burroughs bought a tract of land in the San Fernando Valley from the proceeds of his book sales. A post office in 1930 was looking for a name, and the area around his ranch adopted the name Tarzana.

Tim has redeemed himself. The “you played a ska song” red flag warning from Horns 49 has been downgraded to a yellow flag. You’re out of the dog house and into the Funhouse!

Just a friendly reminder: If you pay us off $10,000, we’ll stop doing this podcast right here, right now. Todd’s thinking of a DIY punk donut place as his retirement scheme. What could go right?

Thanks for listening?

Back by unpopular demand, it’s Midnight At Mazems with Bill and Booth! We heard your feedback so we took some time off to refine our message and retool the pod. We spent eighteen months chewing over the notes like an overcooked wad of Salisbury steak. We analyzed the data, tweaked the algorithms, gathered the market research and ultimately, decided to return to our core principles. The focus groups said to ram it up your nose with a rubber hose full of lukewarm, store-bought seltzer! So prepare your nostrils for the onslaught as we take it back to where it all started - and ended - The Booth garage for more ultra-refined, sonic-selections and now with 20% more shit-talking!

In this episode, we’ll listen to tracks from my music library, starting with bands whose names begin with the letter A and ending with bands that begin with the letter J. Songs that emphasize partying, long-distance relationships, looking for meaning, and maintaining relationships throughout increasingly uncertain times.

Most importantly keeping truchas in these darker times.

Rick V. invited cartoonists Hyena Hell and Josh Bayer to play some songs and talk about comics. Please enjoy their music offerings and pay respects to Thor, the rock god.

Check out Josh Bayer at joshbayer.com, Instagram or Bluesky. And check out Hyena Hell at Instagram, Bluesky and pick up Demons: Rise & Grind while you're at it. Look up Rick V. at itsmerickv.com

A series of transmissions based on the book Nefarious Artists by Welly of Artcore Fanzine (est. 1986) that charts the evolution of the punk rock, post-punk, new wave, hardcore punk, and alternative rock compilation vinyl record from 1976 to 1989. A compilation of compilations, all digitized direct from vinyl.

was going through a book of old flyers and figured I’d make a podcast of bands that often appear on old flyers that many might not have heard/heard of these days. This, of course, morphed into a collection of early, (largely now) obscure bands/recordings from the greater Los Angeles/OC area. A lot of varying styles pop up and things bounce around a bit.

In keeping with the original idea, one segment focuses on the notorious “beach punk” bands/scene of the late ’70s/early ’80s, which pop up on a lot of old flyers, and in history books, but I’m sure many have not actually heard. It’s not an all-encompassing dive, but rather a quick toe-dip into some of the rarer waters from which modern hardcore sprung.

Hope this collection of noise damages your ears in all the right ways.

-Jimmy

the entire enterprise, Tim. We all get one strike. You’re on notice, bud.

Now, enjoy. And, as Ethan put it, “You’re getting way more quality than you deserve at this point.”

On a serious note, this podcast is dedicated to the memory of “Naked Rob” Gongora.Let’s dispense with the niceties and get right into the legal jargon.

You. Should. Not. Trust. Anything. Todd. Or. Ethan. Says.

That’s it.

If “punk points” was a thing worth anything more than an out-of-date coupon, ours would be fully revoked when Ethan and I both totally whiffed on who owned Mortarhate Records. We were both not correct. Nope. Not Discharge, like Todd claimed. Nope. Not Icons Of Filth’s label, like Ethan claimed. It was a little band called Conflict.

Oh, fuck it. You can trust us with two things—that we’ll never play a Kenny G. song in this podcast, or any other podcast we’ll ever record, in perpetuity.

And Tim’s hanging by his fingernails with that Attaxia song. How is that not ska-punk? That’s a can of worms that could compromise

It’s been a minute or two since I’ve done a podcast, so let this is a bit of a catch-up—a potpourri of tuneage old and new that I think is nifty, from assorted records I’ve procured over the last few spins around the sun.

Shit’s been kinda hairy this past…well, hell, this past decade, with a global pandemic sandwiched between the two biggest shitshow presidential terms in history. Here’s hoping that this musical interlude provides diversion and respite, however brief, from the current chaos that is the real world.

- Jimmy

I recently went on my third silent meditation retreat. One of the interesting things that occurs to me on these experiences is how much music pops into my head. Oftentimes, there are songs from my childhood I haven’t thought about in decades. Or something like a sunset will bring up a song lyric or title. During the recent retreat, these are some of the songs that came to mind and seemed like they might fit in with a Razorcake podcast. Don’t try to make sense of the why; the brain is a complex, ridiculous contraption.

–Kurt