Razorcake podcast

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.

Hi. Just some songs that I heard for the first time in 2025.

-Rick V.

Yeppers, another installment of punk and punk-adjacent songs with horns that one of us three ding-dongs likes. Since this is the forty-eighth time around the track, we combat fatigue by going on horn-started tangents.

When recording the podcast, I swore I wouldn’t look this up, but I couldn’t help myself. The term “Orstralia,” the name of Tim’s block, was first coined by The Saints’ Ed Kuepper, who wrote that song for their second full-length Eternally Yours, where they unleashed their horn section. I’ve got a feeling that it’ll now be used in a reverse-historical way for saying “Australian punk,” as a book titled Orstralia: A Comprehensive Guide to Australian Punk History was published in 2024. Since we’re on the topic of The Saints, not counting their most recent lineup—featuring Mudhoney’s Mark Arm singing for the dearly departed Chris Bailey—they had around thirty-six members between 1973 and 2022. And in 2007, “I’m Stranded” was one of the first twenty songs stored on the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia registry. Impressive. Go punk horns!

But now for the biggest revelation of the podcast: unsolicited parenting advice while talking about the Alien Nosejob album title, Turns the Colour of Bad Shit. Ethan’s kid had an alarmingly Smurf-blue shit! Be mindful of those potent dyes in cupcake frosting!

–Todd Taylor

Nefarious Artists: Episode 13: 1985 (Part 2)

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 with snap, crackle and pop in full effect.

From basement shows to borderlands, this podcast captures the defiant spirit that refuses to die. This collection threads together generations of hardcore and punk, a collision of sounds where chaos meets conviction.

Best,

Christian

Come for the horns. Stay for the PSA on how Ethan loves hot tubs and uses his almost every other day! Todd thought he had a pretty good bead on the person who sits across from him doing these podcasts for five years, but Ethan’s a veritable unpeeling onion.

Okay, so this batch of songs: Ethan and I fully admit that these tunes are at the end of some big searches for us both. We collect, then order, the songs into groups, and we’ll be honest, some of the groupings are… strained? But we do like them. Or at least the majority of them. We’re skating towards, but not falling into the ice, of “When Horns Are Meh.” We self-correct.

It’s just another reminder at how much music has been made and is constantly being made, even within strict parameters. I mean, how many of you are going to be listening to Croatian, Yugoslavian, and Indiana-an punk in the same sitting this week? We just upped the ante by making sure there were horns (or horn-like sounds made by a synthesizer?) in the mix.

If anyone has any idea how/why The Easter Monkeys from Cleveland got Charlie Watts to record their album in 1983, we’re all ears, because that’s extremely weird. We’re assuming it’s that Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones drummer.

Nefarious Artists: Episode #12: The Witching Hour Hardcore Halloween Special

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 with snap, crackle and pop in full effect, this episode is an interlude from the usual chronology, featuring twenty-six underground hits from punk compilations based on the halloween theme. “Ghostbusters”, “Thriller” and “Monster Mash” are not included.

“Rockin' At Ground Zero”

Please enjoy their music offerings and pay respects to Thor, the rock god.

Living with the bomb.