Trust me, the younger crop of rock'n'roll kids out there into the new-fangled garage/punk/wave/trash/noise don't care. Underground Garage ain't on their radar, nor do they need it to be. Look at the Scion Garage Fest lineup. How many of those bands get spun on Underground Garage? Probably the Gories, Raveonettes and Greenhornes, and maybe the Oblivians, but I bet that's it. The bands at Gonerfest? Ha! Right. Not only that, but Little Steven is unapproachable. Have you ever tried to email the guy? Good luck! Follow him on Twitter? Fine, but he doesn't follow anyone back. WTF? How can you deal with a person like that? Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Yeah, even with guys like Ed Sullivan and Dick Clark around...they couldn't truly dictate what the kids were going to listen to....in a way, a screwy one but still, they kind of listened to the audiences. The payola scandels of the 50s put the kibosh on what was going to be heard first and what was going to be tossed, so that's a major reason, you had hits in Detroit of Pittsburgh or Seattle or Miami that differed from each other. Steven claims to want to end boring radio but he doesn't realize or seem to care that he's making it boring as well. Guys like Gregg Kostilich, Tim Gassen, MIke Stax, and even Greg Shaw worked more like a network and shared ideas. And I still don't think Little Steven helps when he has his little beefs with people like the Get Hip crew and Cavestomp just because he doesn't get his way. That hurts garage more than advances it.

Yeah, even with guys like Ed Sullivan and Dick Clark around...they couldn't truly dictate what the kids were going to listen to....in a way, a screwy one but still, they kind of listened to the audiences. The payola scandels of the 50s put the kibosh on what was going to be heard first and what was going to be tossed, so that's a major reason, you had hits in Detroit of Pittsburgh or Seattle or Miami that differed from each other. Steven claims to want to end boring radio but he doesn't realize or seem to care that he's making it boring as well.

Guys like Gregg Kostilich, Tim Gassen, MIke Stax, and even Greg Shaw worked more like a network and shared ideas. And I still don't think Little Steven helps when he has his little beefs with people like the Get Hip crew and Cavestomp just because he doesn't get his way. That hurts garage more than advances it.

Mike, you're missing Isabella's point. No one cares if you like LS or his stupid show, but it's his dictatorial influence over the music featured that is in question. Why, of ALL people involved in this music scene, is he the ONLY arbiter of cool for that station? How did he become the self-appointed guru of garage? If he really wanted to be diplomatic about this, he'd appoint a music committee to review band & label submissions and come up with a list, rather than putting the kibosh on the DJs adding music to their playlists and having it basically be his own decision. Imagine if there was one guy back in the '60s whose sole judgment it was to say whether a band was good (or "cool") enough to record and release their records? Then where would we be? MikeL said:

Again, each to his or her own. I like LS, and I like his show, and nobody here is going to change my mind. Of course, I'm not going to change your mind either, so that makes us even. And yes, it is a business, and as you get older, you'll find out that's the way the world works.

Isabella Gloria said:

ack! what makes HIM an authority of taste? I'm glad you see exactly what I'm talking about. that's a hideous way to go about business, but that's what it is, isn't it? just business. I hate what he does in the arena, but it's not like he's the only big head in the music business to have ever acted like scum. thank clapton for garagepunk! [btw.. i listened, and it was far out. poe-influenced garage! doesn't happen every day (; ]

kopper said:

Amen, Isabella! Siriusl (sic), I couldn't agree more.

From what I understand, the ONLY Underground Garage DJ that is allowed to introduce new bands on his show is Bill Kelly. I know this because he introduced a band on my label, The Nevermores, onto his show. Their tune "I Lost Lenore" got a 14-week rotation and lots of great exposure from that, and the band was thrilled. Little Steven remarked later that he though the song was "cool" so I sent him another copy of the CD. Bill's allowed a few adds per month (I think that's how it works). It's my understanding that he is currently the only UG DJ to have that privilege. That's because the legendary producers Kim and Andrew were adding songs that Steven thought were crap and he put a lid on DJ adds. He has been known to bust balls when he hears something he doesn't like. Bill is given leeway since Steven has acknowledged that he used his WFMU show ("Teenage Wasteland") as the prototype for UG and has always treated him incredibly well.

Isabella Gloria said:

I haven't read the entire discussion, but after I saw that 'commercial' on renegade nation, I feel compelled to say that it seems like this Little Steven character represents everything I stand against. The only reason I was ever attracted to the name was because I saw a THEM cd sitting on a shelf of an Underground Garage display at Best Buy a few years ago. He's taking something pure and trying to package it and mass-market it and while I'm all in favor of educating kids about music or whatever he's doing with his "rock & roll high school" [original name, btw] joint, I wouldn't want a guy like him doing it. He's getting on talk shows and spewing drivel disguised [poorly] as passion. I'm starting to think that what all these guys are doing, and the crappy watered-down revival bands that tout themselves as "garage", is completely separate from anything real and from everything garage means to me and so many others. I don't care how awesome the website is when it finally is launched [if it hasn't been already].. it just doesn't seem real to me. [in fact it seems so straaange ;p ]

Blech. That's all I have to say.

I agree with Mike. Think of LS as the gateway drug to garage. Like it or not there has to be a future and LS is marketing to very young music lovers who don't have the same past history as most hideout members. They have a different set of needs and whoever wins that guitar will resell it on ebay. They are coming to this from a different point of view, mindset and experience than someone much older, as we all seem to be based on the spirited comments made. Btw, I think SWT was just poking fun at the marketing. Whatever works to get new kids interested in good music is probably fine with LS even if it's cheesy. Eventually kids get bored with what got them there, (LS show or his new forum or a band like the supersuckers) and start looking for more and better music. Maybe they will find the hideout and donate some of those ebay funds. So, I don't see that LS new forum or whatever is such a big deal, cheesy marketing aside, but I bet that even makes him puke at times. He likes what he likes and does help promote others and to do so he has to use his resources to promote his ventures first. I think overall it will just end up helping more than hurting. I mean if the world can survive the Donna's, or whatever played out revival band you hate, it can survive this.

Again, each to his or her own. I like LS, and I like his show, and nobody here is going to change my mind. Of course, I'm not going to change your mind either, so that makes us even. And yes, it is a business, and as you get older, you'll find out that's the way the world works. Isabella Gloria said:

ack! what makes HIM an authority of taste? I'm glad you see exactly what I'm talking about. that's a hideous way to go about business, but that's what it is, isn't it? just business. I hate what he does in the arena, but it's not like he's the only big head in the music business to have ever acted like scum. thank clapton for garagepunk! [btw.. i listened, and it was far out. poe-influenced garage! doesn't happen every day (; ]

kopper said:

Amen, Isabella! Siriusl (sic), I couldn't agree more.

From what I understand, the ONLY Underground Garage DJ that is allowed to introduce new bands on his show is Bill Kelly. I know this because he introduced a band on my label, The Nevermores, onto his show. Their tune "I Lost Lenore" got a 14-week rotation and lots of great exposure from that, and the band was thrilled. Little Steven remarked later that he though the song was "cool" so I sent him another copy of the CD. Bill's allowed a few adds per month (I think that's how it works). It's my understanding that he is currently the only UG DJ to have that privilege. That's because the legendary producers Kim and Andrew were adding songs that Steven thought were crap and he put a lid on DJ adds. He has been known to bust balls when he hears something he doesn't like. Bill is given leeway since Steven has acknowledged that he used his WFMU show ("Teenage Wasteland") as the prototype for UG and has always treated him incredibly well.

Isabella Gloria said:

I haven't read the entire discussion, but after I saw that 'commercial' on renegade nation, I feel compelled to say that it seems like this Little Steven character represents everything I stand against. The only reason I was ever attracted to the name was because I saw a THEM cd sitting on a shelf of an Underground Garage display at Best Buy a few years ago. He's taking something pure and trying to package it and mass-market it and while I'm all in favor of educating kids about music or whatever he's doing with his "rock & roll high school" [original name, btw] joint, I wouldn't want a guy like him doing it. He's getting on talk shows and spewing drivel disguised [poorly] as passion. I'm starting to think that what all these guys are doing, and the crappy watered-down revival bands that tout themselves as "garage", is completely separate from anything real and from everything garage means to me and so many others. I don't care how awesome the website is when it finally is launched [if it hasn't been already].. it just doesn't seem real to me. [in fact it seems so straaange ;p ]

Blech. That's all I have to say.

Whatever. Each to his or her own. Isabella Gloria said:

I'll never completely discount an entire genre, but MOST of what I've heard from the revival genre, I don't like. I certainly am not a fan of the chesterfield kings, sorry /: I never set a limit.. I don't stick to one era. I like the cramps--some people consider them somewhat of a revival band, I think--and I've heard some gories stuff I like.. and there are plenty of unknown garage bands out there now that I dig. If I hear something I dig, I'll admit it. I just haven't heard any revival that I've liked, basically ;p what irks me is that mosta these bands call themselves 'garage'.. a certain LA-area band comes to mind.. but I digress.

MikeL said:

Actually, I'm referring to the Cynics of Pittsburgh, PA. And if you prefer the original garage bands of the 60s, that's fine, but keep in mind that a lot of people here like those revival bands too, and many of them have put out some great product. I can understand hardcore fans not liking the Strokes or the Hives (They are rather watered down), but for many, the Cynics and the Chesterfield Kings are considered to be the real deal.

BTW, I only asked because I thought your position was somewhat unusual at the moment. Then again, I've gone through this before with other genres, i.e. people only liking classic 70s prog rock, or headbangers only liking old school 70s metal or 80s hair metal, etc. Come to think of it, that's the basis of classic rock radio; it's meant for people who only want to hear the stuff they grew up on, and for young kids who want to tap into bygone eras.

If you just want to stick to a certain era, that's your business, but I also feel that you miss out on a lot when you do so. I love hearing classic songs by the Sonics and the Count Five when I listen to the Underground Garage channel on Sirius/XM, but I love hearing new stuff too by the Chesterfield Kings and the Cocktail Slippers.

Isabella Gloria said:

No, I don't like the Cynics.. unless you're talking about the Cynics from Fort Worth, which you're not (; WTF, the chesterfield kings & the cynics are NOT to garage as black sabbath is to heavy metal. you could replace those bands with sooo many other bands, like the sonics.. that works! if I disliked the sonics, I could see how you'd justify getting on my ass about this. I don't like revival. I like garage. I am a garage fan, not a revival fan. I don't like any of that watered-down filtered out refined junk. Sorry. Like I said, to each her own, luv!

MikeL said:

How can you call yourself a garage rock fan and not like the Cynics and the Chesterfield Kings (If those are the bands you're referring to)? You can argue that a lot of the contemporary bands that Little Steven plays aren't "true" garage bands (According to however you define "garage"), but the Cynics and the Chesterfield Kings are, to my mind, as pure as it gets. It's like being a hardcore metal fan and not liking Black Sabbath.

Isabella Gloria said:

bahahha! I must be absolutely abhorrent for butting in but I found this hilarious since I don't like either of those bands.. I wish you would've been arguing with me instead. Then I could be like 'wtffff they bloooowwww' [no offense to any fans of those bands; to each their own!]

MikeL said:

Nobody invited you to the concert anyway. And if Little Steven is so out of touch, then that means you can't listen to anything he plays, including bands that you like. If you're a fan of the Chesterfield Kings, then you can't like them anymore because they're on his label. And you can't like the Cynics anymore either, since he liked them enough to play them on his radio show in the early days (Before he and Gregg had their school yard spat).
todd a williams said:

the last thing i need is some springstein tix. man, that little steven is outta touch!

Kopper, I appreciate your input on the Cynics and the Chesterfield Kings. I also love the "Rock'n'Roll" album, and the "Get Our Way" album is great too. However, I would like to point out that Little Steven was doing something completely different back in the 80s, but now he's trying to help out many of those bands who've been working so hard to keep garage rock alive. I don't like everything that he plays on his show, but I still appreciate his efforts. It's because of LS that I got into the Chesterfield Kings. kopper said:

I don't think the Chesterfield Kings and the Cynics are the prototypical "garage rock" bands around, but then again I don't dislike either of them. In fact, I like the Cynics (we're talking the ones from Pittsburgh, here) quite a lot. I also think their releases have been more consistent over the years than a band like the Fleshtones, who IMHO have released some real stinkers amidst some pretty great records. The Cynics' LP "Rock'n'Roll" from 1989 is one of the best of that decade. I can't see anyone into garage in any of its various forms not appreciating that one at least for the great album that it is. "Get Our Way" is another great album.

And live, the Cynics have never disappointed me, either. They tore shit up (literally, too, I might add, as Michael busted out the ceiling with his mic stand) at Las Vegas Grind and they also came through St. Louis several years back. There's nothing "watered down" about their sound. And I saw the Chesterfield Kings open for the New York Dolls in St. Louis a few years ago and the Kings fucking STOLE THE SHOW (the Supersuckers were also on the bill and, ahem, supersucked). If you want to talk about "watered-down" garage, then look to the other crap that LS plays, but I think it's unfair to lump bands like the Chesterfield Kings or the Cynics into that crowd.

By the way, I might also add that both of those bands were doing a lot more during the '80s and '90s to promote '60s garage and REAL rock'n'roll to kids everywhere than Little Steven was doing by playing in Bruce Springstink's band.

The Cynics - You Got the Love

Isabella Gloria said:

No, I don't like the Cynics.. unless you're talking about the Cynics from Fort Worth, which you're not (; WTF, the chesterfield kings & the cynics are NOT to garage as black sabbath is to heavy metal. you could replace those bands with sooo many other bands, like the sonics.. that works! if I disliked the sonics, I could see how you'd justify getting on my ass about this. I don't like revival. I like garage. I am a garage fan, not a revival fan. I don't like any of that watered-down filtered out refined junk. Sorry. Like I said, to each her own, luv! MikeL said:

How can you call yourself a garage rock fan and not like the Cynics and the Chesterfield Kings (If those are the bands you're referring to)? You can argue that a lot of the contemporary bands that Little Steven plays aren't "true" garage bands (According to however you define "garage"), but the Cynics and the Chesterfield Kings are, to my mind, as pure as it gets. It's like being a hardcore metal fan and not liking Black Sabbath.

Isabella Gloria said:

bahahha! I must be absolutely abhorrent for butting in but I found this hilarious since I don't like either of those bands.. I wish you would've been arguing with me instead. Then I could be like 'wtffff they bloooowwww' [no offense to any fans of those bands; to each their own!]

MikeL said:

Nobody invited you to the concert anyway. And if Little Steven is so out of touch, then that means you can't listen to anything he plays, including bands that you like. If you're a fan of the Chesterfield Kings, then you can't like them anymore because they're on his label. And you can't like the Cynics anymore either, since he liked them enough to play them on his radio show in the early days (Before he and Gregg had their school yard spat).
todd a williams said:

the last thing i need is some springstein tix. man, that little steven is outta touch!

Hmmm, good question. Have you tried the Google Machine?

Anyone? Anyone?

I got some itchin' today that the fuzz just ain't reachin'

Looking to stomp my feet to the Roots Rock Steady Beat,

I need a heavy dosin' cuz' I'm a comotosin'

So point me in a direction cuz I got an...err...umm...

For some SKAnkin Rythms!!

Sonic Nightmares #47 got my boots tappin' with Die Aeronauten – Horror Beach - Leech

And now I want MORE!!!

Where can I find'em?? No Aqui, No Aqui!

Cheers,
CVT

The original lineup is where it's at. Fuck the C.J era. Lachlan William Richardson said:

I've got to go with third album "Rocket To Russia" as my favourite album, it's the last one by the original line and I always thought it was the best representation of their sound and the power of the group. They had mastered their craft by then and I don't think they ever really improved it or built upon it thereafter. Cretin Hop, Rockaway Beach, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, I Don't Care ...fucking classics!

I've got to go with third album "Rocket To Russia" as my favourite album, it's the last one by the original line and I always thought it was the best representation of their sound and the power of the group. They had mastered their craft by then and I don't think they ever really improved it or built upon it thereafter. Cretin Hop, Rockaway Beach, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, I Don't Care ...fucking classics!

My favorite Ramones' song is kinda random, but I fuckin love it. It was their fifth single, released in 1977.

Its called "Swallow My Pride".

I fucking love the song "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World". That's gotta be the best appropriation of a Hitler quote I've ever heard.

back when i was about 16.....i remember having an issue of Cream..... it had Iggy on the cover w/ a bunch of Broken records....I remember .....thinking .....who is this Guy?????!!

Beat on the Brat!!!! ratoonie said:

well ok ....but they won the tittle!!!!

well ok ....but they won the tittle!!!!

They weren't the first band to be called punk. They were probably just the first band to personify it. The word "punk" first made an appearance in music journalism in a 1970 essay, "The Punk Muse: The True Story of Protopathic Spiff Including the Lowdown on the Trouble-Making Five-Percent of America's Youth" by Nick Tosches in Fusion. He described a music that was a "visionary expiation, a cry into the abyss of one's own mordant bullshit," its "poetry is puked, not plotted." That same year, Lester Bangs wrote a novella titled Drug Punk, influenced by William Burroughs' book, Junky, in which there is a line, "Fucking punks think it's a joke. They won't think it's so funny when they're doing five twenty-nine on the island." Dave Marsh used the phrase "punk rock" in his Looney Tunes column in the May 1971 issue of Creem, the same issue that introduced the term "heavy metal" as a genre name. Marsh wrote, "Culturally perverse from birth, I decided that this insult would be better construted as a compliment, especially given the alternative to such punkist behavior, which I figured was acting like a dignified asshole." Tosches, Bangs, Marsh, Richard Meltzer, Greg Shaw and Lenny Kaye used the term to define a canon of proto-punk bands, including the Velvets, Stooges, MC5, the Modern Lovers and the New York Dolls (DeRogatis, Let It Blurt, 118-119). (I always keep that bit of info on hand when someone claims that punk didn't come along until the mid-1970s.) In the August '72 issue of Creem there are dozens of references to punk rock. It's like the whole IDEA of punk was already there - it just took bands like the Ramones to come along and personify it. And good for them for doing it!

there first album was pretty "Ggarage".... but also the beging of PUNK !!!!....... my Fav song is off "road to Ruin".....
Im against it!!!!

Let's talk about the fiist Band called "Punk"!!!!

The Stones should collaborate with Leonard Cohen for a sequel: "Turd on a Wire" Brother Panti-Christ said:

Turd On The Run was on repeat in my iTunes last night, played it 27 times...

TURD ON THE RUN
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

Grabbed hold of your coat tail but it come off in my hand,
I reached for your lapel but it weren't sewn on so grand.
Begged, promised anything if only you would stay,
Well, I lost a lot of love over you.
Fell down to my knees and I hung onto your pants,
But you just kept on runnin' while they ripped off in my hands.
Di'mond rings, vaseline, you give me disease,
Well, I lost a lot of lover over you.
I boogied in the ballroom, I boogied in the dark;
Tie you hands, tie you feet, throw you to the sharks.
Make you sweat, make you scream, make you wish you'd never been,
I lost a lot of love over you.

I've always been particularly fond of the songs that Keith sings lead vocals on, like Happy or Before They Make Me Run, but I like just about everything at least through to the Tattoo You album(1981)...Monkey Man is another favorite, but that's Mick.

well..it seems to be thht all the sexy (decadent} ones are our Faves!!!!!!...... Isabella Gloria said:

fuck yeaahhh! ;D
both versions!

ratoonie said:

memor from turner!!!!!!!!

Turd On The Run was on repeat in my iTunes last night, played it 27 times...

TURD ON THE RUN
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

Grabbed hold of your coat tail but it come off in my hand,
I reached for your lapel but it weren't sewn on so grand.
Begged, promised anything if only you would stay,
Well, I lost a lot of love over you.
Fell down to my knees and I hung onto your pants,
But you just kept on runnin' while they ripped off in my hands.
Di'mond rings, vaseline, you give me disease,
Well, I lost a lot of lover over you.
I boogied in the ballroom, I boogied in the dark;
Tie you hands, tie you feet, throw you to the sharks.
Make you sweat, make you scream, make you wish you'd never been,
I lost a lot of love over you.

The Vinyl is out of print, I think, but Get Hip released the CD: http://gethip.com/web/catalog/kravin-as-krave-on-gh-1019-cd. Guess you can get it there, Kopper. And if anyone has the vinyl, I'd take it! Do you, Dead Boy? This compilation song is quite a bit harder and dirtier than the album, but the guitar riff is a killer! He (is this Glenn Prangnell singing on this track?) has got such a great voice!

I wish I had this record. Is it still in print? Somehow I doubt it. I only have one song of theirs on a compilation (I think it's the "Hey Mom, the Garage Is on My Foot!" one).