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VerbalPuke's top 50 songs


VerbalPuke

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Fuck it, I'm jumping on the list bandwagon though I'm scaling mine back some. I'm also trying to go with a different theme than just my favorite 100, I'm trying to be a bit more creative and list fifty of my favorite songs that are on the obscure side.

The reason I'm going with this idea is simply because I think it's more interesting than you guys reading why Iggy and the Stooges recorded my favorite song (you all already know this). I also find it more interesting because I hope to expand some musical horizons, all it takes is one song by one band to gain a fan of a genre. One song can be the catalyst that opens a door to different bands that some folks may never have been aware of.

I'm hoping to have something for everybody with this, naturally it's going to be a lot of rock oriented music, but I think I can blend in some hip hop, electronic, and country along with the usual punk, metal, psychedelic rock, and garage. I'm going to start compiling a list shortly, and hope to have a few entries added by the end of the night.

Oh, and obviously I don't expect every song to be under everybody's radar, so if you want to call me out and say "Hey shithead, I already know this one" then feel free.

Edit - And if this goes well and I can actually get 50 songs and still have left overs, there is always room for a part two.

Edited by VerbalPuke
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Oh and I should mention that these are not in any particular order...

Catholic Discipline - Underground Babylon



This post breaks my heart a bit as this is probably the absolute best recording of Catholic Discipline. They never recorded in a studio, and the only album available for purchase is a shoddily recorded live album that was released a few years back. They really fit in with the L.A. sound, they were a bit off the wall, but had an interesting sound with a charismatic vocalist (Claude Bessy aka Kickboy Face). They also featured Phranc, who later go on to be known as the worlds first "Jewish Lesbian Folksinger", strangely another group of hers will appear later in this list. This footage is taken from the Decline of Western Civilization documentary, probably one of the best features on any punk scene.

Futurisk - Army Now



These guys are a big reason that I love synthesizer driven music. The song is sinister, lot's of fun, and absolutely epitomizes synth punk in the 1980s. Even with it's sinister sound, it remains catchy as hell.

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And pushing forth...

La Peste - You're Too Cute

Ah, nothing like a romantic punk song. This rendition of "You're Too Cute" by Boston punkers La Peste is a classic example of simplistic punk rock at it's finest. It's an incredibly catchy song by a group that never seemed to gain any serious notoriety despite it's east coast affiliation. A shame really as they could have held their own with any of New York's finest and a lot of people looking to dig up 77 style punk have probably missed out on them.

Swell Maps - Loin Of The Surf

This group may not be under everybody's radar, but at the same time I don't see many people referring to them when listing favorite songs or bands either. This song in particular is probably my favorite of theirs, it's a great post-punk take on surf rock. Not all of their work is surf, this one in particular is (the title) and they do a great job with it. The whole album is fantastic really, it's worth a beginning to end listen for any post-punk fans.

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Today we venture to the 1960s.

Los Saicos - Salvaje



I really dig this band, these guys from South America were wild for their time. They deserve credit for being one of the earliest bands to unleash a wild side into rock and roll, much as the Sonics were doing in the United States. Another song they did that is worth mentioning is "Demolicion" which has vocals that bears resemblance to Surfin Bird, it has that quick raspy style of vocals. As far as I know their albums have been re-released which is great for music fans heavily into the early days of psychedelic and garage. These guys are a good addition to any psych and garage fans collection, especially for their musical significance.

Iron Maiden - God of Darkness



I know what you're thinking. "Puke you prick, everybody knows Iron Maiden". Yes, they do, but do they know "Iron Maiden"? Yes, before the heavy metal hero's of the 1980s, there was an Iron Maiden of the late 1960s that claimed the name first. I stumbled across this band, mostly because I made the mistake of thinking that the popular Iron Maiden had actually recorded in the late 60s when I first saw this youtube video. In actuality this group is an excellent precursor to heavy metal, think Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, or Black Sabbath in their style. They are well worth a listen and while many folks may never rate them higher than the other Iron Maiden, they are definitely worth the time of any hard rock or heavy metal fan.

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Where did I leave off now? I'll start with another garage rock classic.

Davie Allen and the Arrows - Blues Theme



I'm sure that many of you are familiar with Link Wray and his impact on hard rock (and if you're not, fuck off and die...or just check him out smile.gif). One name that is often overlooked in the grand scheme of raw guitar work that preceded punk and metal is Davie Allen. Davie Allen and the Arrows are best known for providing the soundtracks to trashy biker flicks in the 1960s, specifically Wild Angels starring Peter Fonda. This song is the main theme and theme of his character "Blue" in that film. Davie Allen did a lot of great work with his guitar, recording tons of fuzzed out classics. He's another figure that simply doesn't get enough credit in rock and roll's history. He's a guy that will probably never be in the rock and roll hall of fame, but is as deserving as anybody.

Forgotten Rebels - Surfin On Heroin



Here's a group that made a song about heroin, and somehow made it fun rather than depressing. It takes a sort of punk rock and surf tone to it, and is generally just good fucking rock and roll. I honestly don't have much to say about the song other than it's great, there isn't any particularly interesting back story here. I'd recommend the song for those that enjoyed the late 70s/early 80s L.A. punk scene, though this group are from Ontario, Canada.

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Two more installments for your enjoyment.

End of Data - Sahrah



I think it's obvious, or will become obvious that I love synthesizers and bizarre electronic sounds. Well End of Data is no exception (and you could probably be clued into that based on the group name), though these guys are a little more interesting than just doing the whole space age noise theme. They put together a nice blend of post punk and new wave, making it darker than normal new wave. Actually, according to some the sound could be described as cold wave (according to the youtube commentators), whatever that means. But either way, it's further proof that the French do make great music, and great music videos if this is any indication. Music videos were great in the 80s, so fucking weird.

The Blood - Megalomania



This song has become a favorite of mine over the last year or so. It's an old punk tune, and I guess could be considered to be part of the Oi scene if you wanted to really break down it's classification. It's fast, aggressive, and a take no prisoner sort of number, and has some nice guitar work mixed in. The Blood shared members with other Oi pioneer Blitz, so they are somewhat similar in style with Blitz for those of you familiar with them.

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  • 2 years later...

It's only been three years, but I figured I'd dig this thread up. I'd like to see more action in the music forum, and even if myself and Freak were the only fuckers looking at this topic, I'm still reviving it from the dead. Maybe some of you find something you enjoy, and then again maybe you all think it's a sack of horse shit. Either way, I was supposed to do 50 songs, and I was trying to make it shit that was out of the ordinary to give folks something different for a change.

By my count, I've got ten songs, so 40 more to go? Sure, why not. Let's begin with some fun, upbeat Australian power pop.

I don't even remember how I found this song, and I'm not even sure if these guys did anything other than the EP I have. Either way, this is pretty straight forward power pop punk rock shit with a bit of a surfy twist. You could almost envision this song being recorded in the early 60s with some hot mod chicks dancing in the background ala the Easy Beats. Either way, I fucking love this song, and I'm actually impressed with the twang these guys can get from an SG and Les Paul. Australia proves once again that they had their shit in one sock with great punk tunes. When I think "catchy fucking tune" I think this song because this song is a "catchy fucking tune". Your face is a catchy tune.

I love the Screamers, and I love synthesizers. There are three really good versions of this song, but I went with the live version because it's my favorite, and it gives you an idea of Tomata Du Plenty's presence on stage. He was full of energy, constantly moving, making weird faces, and just being an all-around fucking guy and a half. Anyway, think of Devo or Suicide right? Devo were the midwestern nerdy goofball guys, Suicide were the dark and brooding east coast pricks, and these guys were the wild, unhinged, raw fucking west coast guys. I love all three, honestly, all three are fantastic bands. Devo probably had the catchier songs, Suicide probably had the best stuff for just sitting back and chilling out, and these guys had the best....wreck that shit sound. It still saddens me that these guys didn't break through beyond San Francisco and have such a limited catalog of recordings (a Demo and a live album, and then a DVD). I've mentioned before, but their idea was to go beyond making albums, they wanted to actually release video albums, basically a VHS or something to that effect that was just an album of music videos. Sort of ahead of it's time, but maybe a bit short sighted.

MORE TO COME LATER.

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My dad's seen The Screamers live. One of the benefits of growing up in LA around that time is that he's seen nearly any LA punk band you can think of. Nowadays he doesn't care for most of them, but he still grins when he hears Henry Rollins' name or hears about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, because he'd had run-ins with them living in LA. One day I need to really pick his brain about this stuff, but he was always so out of his head on coke and everything else when he was seeing these bands I doubt he'd remember much else.

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I do remember you telling me these stories Cloudy, didn't he also see the Adolescents? Still, I like the stories, it's always cool to hear from older dudes that saw some of these classic bands live.

Anyway, anybody thirsty for more? No? Great, let's continue.

Let's go heavy here. I honestly know jack shit about this band, my friend showed me the album once. All I know is that they were associated with the really heavy, crusty punk shit towards the end of the 80s. Otherwise, it's just good heavy music, not sure if I'd call it metal or crust or what. OH, and the band name is utterly ridiculous. "Energetic Krusher". Yeah...they still rock though. My favorite part of the song is around 3:11 where they really show their stuff.

Some Thrashy goodness here. Another band that I can't really give a life story about, I think I checked them out because I went through a phase where I had to check out every metal band with the name "Witch" in the title (which would take forever, seriously, just go and look at how many fucking metal bands have some form of witch in their name). Anyway, this might be one of my all-time favorite thrash metal albums, it's basically everything I want from thrash. The vocals aren't too over the top, the riffs are fantastic, the soloing never gets out of hand, and the drums are a constant assault on your soul. Oh, and apparently they're Brazilian.

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You changed your format in the last two posts and now there's no bolded "Band Name - Song Title" line anymore. That was a good feature. Just thinking that it'd be easier to catch up to this thread later on, when you're up to the last few songs and half the earlier Youtube uploads have been taken down. Say, in a year or two (yeah, I don't check this board that often :unsure: )

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