Why not begin where it all began...I've been writing about punk for a long time in a variety of my own publications, magazines, fanzines, etc. The first issue of one of the publications came out in 1991 and in that issue, I published a list of top music releases for that time period. That publication focused on all kinds of stuff...metal, punk, alternative, indie, etc., so on my list of top 25 albums were things ranging from Pavement to Type-O Negative, Pixies, Righteous Pigs, Three Mile Pilot, Skrew, Pale Saints, Carcass, Danzig and Lemonheads. Lot's of punk in that issue too and making it onto the top 25 were releases from Rocket From The Crypt, Leatherface, Helmet, Seaweed and Pennywise...don't worry I'll dust off those reviews shortly as there will be a lot of content on "stuff you may not have heard or haven't heard in a long time". Leatherface comes to mind in that regard, far too unappreciated, but their "Mush" release is solid from beginning to end! Anyway, back to the issue, coming in at number one on "Scotty's Hotties" was Jawbox "Novelty". To date, this record contains one of the best songs, any genre, out there that being "Dreamless".
This is an outstanding release! It's very heavy, in some aspects it's dark, but loaded with rich punk melodies. It's a bit of a midpoint in J. Robbins career as he did release some epic music with Government Issue and has since gone on to more good stuff with Burning Airlines. So, what better way to start the Punk Mecca website than with unearthing the review from 1991. Enjoy!
Jawbox - Novelty (Dischord Records)
Jump to present day...pretty heady stuff..."anthem to the undying will to catch up to ones ambition". Man, that's the stuff of legend! Now that I am a bit older and wiser I might just say "hey, this is a great album!". There are a lot of post-hardcore bands that clearly respect the work of Jawbox; Rise Against jumps to mind.
That's a good way to end this first blog...Respect! This site will be a lot about respecting punk, it's roots, heritage, highs and lows and all that is going on in the genre today. I hope you learn about some bands that you might not have heard of before or perhaps were curious about and certainly I hope to highlight some of the great stuff that is going on today. Don't worry, this won't be too serious. How can you even use the word serious and punk in the same sentence? This site will be for fans, written by someone who loves to listen the music, see the concerts, read about it, write about it and watch documentaries about it. Isn't that a bit of the foundation of punk? It's about the music, just play and hang with people that appreciate the effort. That's respect.
More to come, enjoy the ride! Thanks, Scott
