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It’s hard to imagine, but the band Pennywise has been around a long time, and they have been putting out quality punk records since their inception. The band would put out the melody-driven “Unknown Road” in 1993, and while I don’t always include them in the term pop punk, once again, Rolling Stone said they were, and well, I’m not going to argue for the sake of writing a review.
The record is heavy-handed, hard-hitting, and straightforward in its approach to punk rock; the four-piece really delivers when it comes to the craft. There’s just something biting to the music, and while it has a sense of pop at times, it leans heavily into the skate punk, hardcore world with metallic riffs. That’s not to say that there’s no pop here; there’s plenty, including sing-along vocals at times, and slower tempos here and there. Overall, however, “Unknown Road” is one of the better records to come out of Southern California, and in 1993, there’s no finer example of the sound than that of Pennywise. Stand out tracks are all over the place, but my favorite, if I had to pick one, is “Time To Burn”, one of my all-time favorite songs from the band.
With 13 tracks and 33 minutes, the band puts their best foot forward and still puts out quality music. “Unknown Road” might be older, wiser, and hard to pigeonhole into pop punk, but it certainly has a lot of elements that make it sound great and, dare I say, poppy. It’s a solid record to have as part of your punk collection, that’s for sure.
Recently, I rediscovered a classic kung fu movie called Clan of the White Lotus. I have found that it can be under a different name, but that is what I found with it. You can find it streaming online, through DVDs on eBay or Amazon. I saw it streaming and dubbed into English, and it was not my first viewing. There are a lot of things that have been said about this movie, so I won’t try to recreate the wheel. Instead, let’s discuss 4 points of the film and review it differently than most.
First off, let’s talk about Lo Lieh’s dual role. He not only directed the movie, but he also stars as Pai Mei. He’s one of the biggest villains in the kung fu world and is known as nearly immortal. He has an exaggerated technique and a great fighting style to knock out opponents, which he exemplifies in this movie. It takes quite a bit of force and much technique to take him down.
Pai Mei vs. Hung Gar Tradition should be discussed as well. Gordon Liu’s Hung Wen-ting uses Hung Gar martial arts to counter Pai Mei’s unbeatable style. This style focuses on stance training and soft-over-hard technique, which looks great through the director’s lens. The cinematic flair here combines well with real-life martial arts philosophy.
For those who are woke, ok, maybe not, I’d like to note that there is a training element that is not usual for kung fu movies. There is a narrative angle where Hung has to adopt a more feminine style with grace, softness, and subtlety. To defeat Pai Mei, he has to be subversive and not so abrasive in his macho kung fu style. There’s a dichotomy at play here, which you don’t always see with kung fu movies.
Lastly, let’s talk about the influence that Clan of the White Lotus has. Its lasting impact can be felt in the martial arts films surrounding Pai Mei. He is in several different movies, and even shows up in Kill Bill Vol. 2, where he trains Uma Thurman’s character. He is a cemented piece of Shaw Brothers history and one of the most ruthless villains.
Overall, Clan of the White Lotus is a class bit of kung fu cinema. It goes beyond the typical revenge plot and features some engaging visuals, tone, and shift changes. I highly recommend checking it out.
1999 a mix of hardcore and metal bands was getting much attention. One of the bands making a name for themselves by being left of center was that of Walls of Jericho. In 1999, the band would release their first studio record, “The Bound Feed The Gagged,” and they would mix genres to catch you off guard. The resulting disc is a mix of metal riffs with hardcore breakdowns and even punk rock shifting speed at times. Despite their name, the band is not religious, and pummels the listener with sing-along choruses and metallic onslaught at other times.
Production-wise, this is not the most polished of records, with the guitars feeling slightly off, but not terrible. The guitarwork is good, don’t get me wrong, but it sometimes overshadows the bass and drums, and is second only to the vocals, which are screamed. Candace’s vocals are spot on, hardcore, at times feminine, but with enough gusto that she doesn’t fit in one category, giving the band a little bit of a leg up in terms of their song structures. “The Bound Feed The Gagged” puts pressure on your brain from the opening track, “Playing Soldier Again”, through the rest of the tracks, all of which stand independently with heavy-hitting measures. “Home is where the heart is”, “Unwanted Resistance”, “Full Disclosure”, and more round out the record highs, with an onslaught of metallic music you’re going to either love or hate. Female-fronted hardcore? Well, this is certainly a good record.
There is a location east of Los Angeles, quite a ways, known as the Inland Empire. There was a time during the late 1990s and 2000s when a surge of straightedge and hardcore bands started to come through and begin to get noticed on a significant scale. It wasn’t just straightedge, however, it was also Christian bands that began to get a great deal of focus, including No Innocent Victim, As I Lay Dying, Dodgin Bullets, Cast in Stone, Torn in Two, and many others. In the mix of those bands was a band with dual singers called Point of Recognition. They would release their debut record, “The Admiration of a Son,” on Rescue Records in 1999 and hit the ground running.
The first significant thing you’ll notice about “The Admiration of a Son” is the production values. It’s an independent recording, and while Rescue Records put it out, you can tell that the budget wasn’t very high. That doesn’t matter regarding hardcore, metalcore, or even punk, and you can easily push it to the side. Once you put that aside, you get to the crux of the record: an up-and-down push through hardcore and metallic riffs.
The metalcore sound of “The Admiration of a Son” comes through with the riffs on every track, with sing-along choruses breaking up the screams from the dual singers. You’ll find a balancing act at play here, where neither one gets over the other, and while they sound similar, you can tell one has a deeper reach. Lyrically, this is an assault; it’s a tackling record of Christian themes, which may turn some off. However, if you look past that, you’ll find that “The Admiration of a Son” is a good overall example of the Southern California hardcore, metalcore sound that was alive and well in 1999 and through the 2000s. The record holds up well but is an acquired taste.
You owe it to yourself to stream or buy this masterpiece here.
Ska is one of my favorite genres of music. Something just speaks to me when you mix guitars, drums, bass, and, of course, horn sections. There are so many outstanding records under that banner, but some get to be above and beyond that, becoming essential records to listen to. One of those records is the 1999 release “Awesome Mix tape Vol. 6” by the Pietasters. By the time the record was released, it was their fourth studio record. The band had gone through some shifts and turns, and would put out what would become one of my favorites overall.
The record starts a little slow, but then builds up to a good pop sense, with catchy choruses, instruments flowing like water, and vocals that are a bit raspy but still catchy overall. Aside from the stellar performances here, you’ll find that the bass guitar work stands out a lot, especially if you’re a fan of the instrument. Listen closely and you’ll hear walking bass lines, and a lot of rhythm to offset the horn-heavy, even punk-rock style moments.
“Awesome Mix tape Vol. 6” is a record meant to be listened to as a whole, as it goes through some great transitional moments. The first three tracks tell a compelling story, with love, regret, and more. “Crying Over You” is a perfect companion to “Yesterday’s Over”, and “Can’t Stand It” is good overall. Released in 1999 on Hellcat Records and produced by Bad Religion’s Brett Gurewitz, you’ll find it hard to put down “Awesome Mix Tape Vol. 6”, as it is very much a soul record as much as it is a ska record. It’s not fast, easy to listen to, and is made better with a good libation.
Do yourself a favor and buy or stream “Awesome Mix Tap Vol. 6″” by clicking here.
Before punk broke out into the mainstream and before many bands got airplay on the radio, a few bands were playing pop-infused punk rock, and one of them, of course, was Screeching Weasel. The boys mixed pop influences with rock and roll, giving you frenetic-paced music without losing much to vocals. With the recording of “My Brain Hurts,” you get Screeching Weasel at their finest, before all the controversies clouded the band. There’s a snarl to the vocals you don’t get with modern releases, and the band played steadily through 14 songs and nearly 30 minutes of music.
“My Brain Hurts” sometimes feels like a Ramones album, and it is a credit to the band. Playing Ramones-esque music is not as easy as it seems, especially regarding sheer numbers and longevity regarding the tracks and themes. Screeching Weasel manages to channel The Ramones, the Clash, and others from the past to create a rocking record that doesn’t get enough attention amidst the heavyweights of pop punk.
Sure, it was 1991, and the term pop punk wasn’t just thrown around swiftly, but what else can I say about a record with such a sing-along attitude, 3-chords of progression, and that classic Ramones feeling? It’s a solid record from a band that has put in a lot of work to get to where they are, even if it is sometimes just bad. “My Brain Hurts” is a genre classic that holds up very well today, as in 1991. “Making You Cry”, “Guest List”, “Veronica Hates Me”, and much more greet you with a classic Weasel sound.
Pick up the original release of “My Brain Hurts” by clicking here, sucka!
In the mid-1990s, a series of tapes circulated in popular culture. These tapes featured recordings of phone calls that were done for pranks. The history of these tapes is documented across several websites, but they are commonly known as The Jerky Boys. My stepfather had one of the tapes and exposed me to them, finding their outrageous humor an interesting change of pace for a teenage mind. The team behind the calls got so popular that a movie was greenlit, and that’s where 1995’s The Jerky Boys movie comes to play. That’s right, tough guy, they made a movie!
The Jerky Boys is a crime comedy that features Johnny B. and Kamal. They stumble into the New York mob’s world by doing crank calls to a boss. They get mistaken for hitmen, and the two go through dangerous moments to uncover police corruption, chases, and much more. They utilize their prank calls to survive absurd situation after absurd situation. They eventually get exposed, and their screw ups end up making them heroes at the end. There’s even a prank call to the White House, but then again, maybe it was fake, yeah, most likely fake…or was it?
How can prank phone calls lead to a whole movie? The Jerky Boys not only entangle you in the world of prank calls, but also in mistaken identity. The calls made are nonsensical, but because this is 1995, you must throw away modern things like Google and others. Could this happen? Unlikely, but it could very well be something that could lead to a few mix-ups. Using over-the-top humor, the story is fast paced, and the film turns pranks into plot points that make sense, albeit not without suspension of disbelief.
Johnny and Kamal are screw ups, but they are lovable. They accidentally step into unsavory situations and expose police corruption. The two play on the accidental hero and antihero archetypes, making more out of the movie than just a lopsided affair. That said, something is endearing about how the 1990s comedy scene lends itself well enough to how the film puts the characters in peril, only to escape in absurdity. Several tropes are found here, including success, rebellion, and street smarts, but it’s blurred because it’s done in a comedic way.
Want to dive deeper? There’s something to be said about the satirization of authority. The Jerky Boys work for me because they use satire to show the incompetence of law enforcement, the mob, and how chaos could expose truths that are sometimes hidden in plain sight. The humor in the movie works well because it’s satire to me, and if you take it too seriously, you’ll find the film to be stupid and nonsensical.
Look, the Jerky Boys movie is a comedy. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and though I gave it a good write-up and explored some ins and outs, it’s satire and slapstick. It exists in a time capsule of ’90s comedy that you may or may not remember. If you’re a fan of the tapes, this will be a nice nostalgia trip, and if you’re new, you may find some chuckles here and there.
You can stream The Jerky Boys movie or even find it on VHS by clicking here, tough guy!
Before diving too far into the book Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore, it is essential to know that this is an “adult” book. It is not for teenagers, kids, or anyone not mature enough to handle explicit language, details, and ideas. Mosley doesn’t sugar coat anything and is as raw as ever in this exploration.
Debbie Dare is our main character and finds herself at a crossroads. She doesn’t want to be an adult film actress anymore; she wants to change. The change is brought forth because her husband is electrocuted while having a tryst with a teenage runaway. This shocking turn is enough to cause Dare to evaluate her life and what she wants to do next. Throughout the novel, we are treated to a story of what it is like to be true to oneself, what family thinks of decisions that aren’t always positive, and death in light of sex.
Whether you’re an adult who watches adult media or is not one to look at it, you’ll find that Mosley doesn’t glorify it. There is a critical eye to adult film, including aspects of commodification of the body, emotional detachment, and the transactional nature of sex work. He proposes a dehumanizing portrait of fame and sex in a context that is a bit shocking to those who aren’t ready to read about it. That is not to say that it is not warranted, or out of left field, as Mosley treats his subject with humanity, and Debbie’s movements forward are done with emotion and humanity.
Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore is a redemption song. The novel is about redemption in contrast to the adult film world, fame, fortune, and realities that come with being human in the underbelly of society. Debbie wants to leave behind her past, but is met with resistance from all corners, including transactions her husband made behind her back. Money is owed, favors are collected, and friendships are too complex to form without wanting something in return. Debbie struggles throughout, and Mosley does a good job in juxtaposing several emotional moments with the nature of sex and the toll of working in general. Remove the adult film moniker. There is a human story here, one that Mosley urgently tells.
Overall, Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore is not a long book. I found it to be enjoyable, albeit raw around every corner. Care is placed into the character, and while she can be callous at times, there’s rhyme and reason to what she is doing, which pays dividends throughout.
I do not recommend Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore by Walter Mosley to everyone. However, it is a strong novel of redemption, sex, and human nature that few people can relate to, unless you can read beyond the topic of sex.
You can buy, borrow, download, or locate a copy of Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore by clicking here.
One of my favorite movies from the past 25 years is Frequency. Frequency is a movie that focuses on time-bending. It fuses several genres from there and is a solid thriller with emotion and fleshed-out characterizations.
We follow NYPD Detective John Sullivan, who is in the middle of a divorce. He is down on his luck and finds a ham radio, in which he begins to talk to his father, but there’s a catch. The catch is that his father, a firefighter named Frank, died in 1969. They connect across time and start to alter history, preventing Frank’s death while causing a rift in the timeline. That rift produces a serial killer, and it’s up to the duo to figure out how to stop him from the past and present. The puzzle creates an intriguing plot, which throws you for a proverbial time loop.
Now that you know the synopsis, consider the film’s emotional core. Many thrillers forget to tie together the pathos exhibited by the characters. Not this time, you get an emotional connection, which is the movie’s heart. The bond between John and Frank deepens, and though they are in different times, the changed memories hit each with bricks to the dome. Not only does the relationship drive the heart of the movie, but it also helps drive the stakes, especially when Frank’s wife, John’s mom, is a target of the serial killer.
Not into sappy things? That’s okay. This is a science fiction workshop with time changes and timeline shifts that would make Doc Brown proud. The film uses real-time changes to the past and present, and updates memories. There are even mid-scene changes, and much tension and surprise come through the traditional and sometimes non-traditional time travel tropes. There are rules to time travel, and we adhere to them in Frequency.
Perhaps the strongest element of Frequency is the merging of science fiction and a police drama. You don’t just get one solid genre focus; you get several, and they all work well with one another. What makes this movie heavy is that it gives you every genre rule without forcing it. The twists and turns are done well, the heartfelt moments don’t seem out of place, and you are given a unique ride of science fiction and drama.
You can stream Frequency on the cheap, or buy it on blu ray, either way check out more information by clicking here.
