Oppression is a funny thing, but then again so are humans – the more your press and restrain a spirit, the stronger it grows.
East Berlin was no different.
Pirate Radio blossoms across the airwaves, ringing throughout the darkened corners of tenements and squats – The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, The Clash, Buzzcocks, and Ian Drury burst through the wall with a blast of pure, unadulterated adrenaline.
It was a shockwave to the restricted, highly controlled world of the DDR, a select group of kids saw their break in the clouds to build a new reality from the ground – or rather, boots up.
Beyond adopting the leather, studs and ‘can-do’ d.i.y. spirit of the movement, these kids began to form bands – circulating outside contraband and inside underground paraphernalia within a loosely organized, but painfully tightknit community across the DDR far beyond East Berlin.
Tim Mohr chronicles the burgeoning punk movement within the DDR from the first girl to spike her hair to the fall of the wall and the birth of Krautrock through “Burning Down the Haus.”
More than glimpse behind the Iron Curtain, Mohr paints a moving portrait of rebellion and reinvention in life or death situations, a revelation spurred on by chains and spikes.
When I first read this post, I wasn’t in a really good place; I was struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to find the drive to keep pushing forward in a world that feels exceedingly futile. In many ways, this book helped me see beauty in the human experience again.
These kids were angry, and rightfully so, but they found hope for a better world within their anger.
They turned that anger into action, they turned life itself into an act of defiance.
These young punks weren’t just surviving the impossible, they made an active choice to live in the face of inscrutable danger.
Beyond the music, beyond the fashion, beyond the shows and squats that’s what stuck with me long after reading – and I hope it will stick with you too.
For those of you looking for an auditory companion to the listening experience, the “Too Much Future” compilation album of DDR punk from 1980-1989 is what I found most aligned with the reading.
Be forewarned, the material is explicit…but if you’re expecting kisses from grandma on a punk album, I can’t help you.
Album Cover for "Countin' The Miles" by Jesse Daniel
Indie-Country-Outlaw Jesse Daniel comes out of the gate swinging with 2024 release “Countin’ The Miles.”
I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing Daniel and Co. in Dunn, NC last year to which he did not disappoint, and this album is no different.
A Coastal California cowboy of his own making, Daniel revels in an artful preservation of the country sound, an amalgamation of genre conventions everywhere from Buck Owens to Waylon Jennings.
Simply put, Jesse Daniel makes damn good country.
That being said, Daniel is a live artist through and through – the album is good, but it pales in comparison to what he and his band are able to accomplish on stage.
Tracks like “Golden State Rambler” and “Cut Me Loose” are fun, driving tunes – but something is missing from them.
The chicken-picking on “Cut Me Loose” is jaw dropping in a decidedly Jerry Reed manner, but cut on a slick digital master feels slightly hollow.
Some music needs the grit of a tape, some music needs an amp’s fuzz or the shuffle of a crowd to truly sing and I think that’s the case for Jesse Daniel’s latest effort.
It’s a good album, it’s a danceable album – but it’s too clean, it’s too good.
A hardscrabble man in his own right, Daniel cut his teeth drumming in punk bands before falling into a spiral of addiction and brushes with the law.
The tumult of his past lends itself to a genuine, hard earned grit absent from most mainstream country, but he loses that edge in the utter perfection that “Countin’ The Miles” is.
“Countin’ The Miles” may be some of his finest songwriting to date and his band has never sounded cleaner, but as a long-time listener it only feels like the tip of the iceberg as far as his music is concerned.
This album is a perfect first foray into not only his catalogue but the genre itself; approachable and digestible, Daniels makes no qualms about what he’s there do to.
But Jesse Daniel is an artist who needs to be seen – or rather heard – to be believed.
So strap on your dancing boots and go find him at a honky tonk…or for those of us more locationally challenged, I suppose his live album “My Kind of Country Live at the Catalyst” will have to do.
Wilco Performing at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh
I first heard of Wilco when I was about fifteen years old.
At this age, I was meeting with a weekly writing workshop to share our own work and discuss the work of those we admired. We would print out poems and short stories to pour over and pick apart. Our small group was led by the local author Frances O’Roark Dowell, who still to this day provides me with a fountain of wisdom and inspiration.
One summer day, Frances brought the lyrics from Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” She handed out the printed sheets of paper and we took a moment to read.
Cover for "Split w/Snooper" by Prison Affair and Snooper
Despite being separated by over 4 thousand miles, two iconic egg punk bands have produced a totally epic crossover.
“Split” is a collaboration between Barcelona’s Prison Affair and Nashville’s Snooper, and it sounds exactly like you’d expect.
Egg Punk’s Favorite Felons
Since the group’s emergence in 2019, Prison Affair has amassed an almost cult-like following. Frenetic basslines and intense synth trances give the band’s music that unique DEVO-esque “egginess.”
“Demo II” by Prison Affair
Prison Affair’s discography is rife with homoeroticism, entendre and crude humor — they’re named “Prison Affair” for a reason — and the band’s merch store boasts bizarre items such as action figures and adult intimacy products featuring “d–knose,” the band’s Kilroy-inspired mascot.
Having made my way through the band’s discography several times over, it’s clear that Prison Affair is, in a sense, a self-contained universe. There’s an artsy, tongue-in-cheek genius behind the band’s highly-concentrated aesthetic, and before their collaboration with Snooper, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that the band was actually a group of people rather than some kind of ironic abstraction.
Snooper
Dedicated to silliness, spontaneity and simply cutting loose every once in a while, Snooper is an eclectic quintet making massive waves in the egg punk scene.
“Super Snooper” by Snooper
Borne of the COVID-19 pandemic and vocalist Blair Tramel’s love of papier mache, the band pioneers a uniquely vibrant and lighthearted take on punk rock distortion with songs about cool bugs, spy school and wacky hijinks. The band’s iconic mascot, a giant papier mache bug crafted by Tramel, is especially charming. At Snooper shows, a volunteer dons the creature and runs frenzied around the crowd.
“I think we’re teaching these tough punk guys how to have fun again,” Tramel said in an interview with NME.
“When someone is rocking with the puppet at the show, and they’re in a studded leather jacket, I’m like, ‘How did this happen?’ There’s something really magical about that. I’ll look from onstage and I’m like, it’s working!’”
“Split”
The EP is featured in two parts, with three tracks uploaded under the Prison Affair name. These tracks are “Algo huele mal” (Something smells bad), “Apuñalamiento (pero entre colegas)” (Stabbing [but between colleagues]) and “Quizás” (Maybe).
The EP is a quick listen, with a runtime of just over five minutes. From beginning to end, “Split” is manic, with a rapid tempo and slurred, repetitive lyrics.
“Split 7″” by Snooper
My favorite track, “Apuñalamiento (pero entre colegas),” is a total earworm with its bouncing rhythm and funky beats.
Snooper’s half of the EP, “Split 7″,” is similarly untethered. While Prison Affair’s vocals are monotonous and grimy, Tramel’s high-octave voice is delightfully chipper and a stark contrast to the mounting distortion of tracks like “Company Car” and “On Line.”
While there are numerous stylistical differences between the two bands, “Split” retains sensory consistency throughout. The EP is fun all the way through, and leaves you wanting to scurry around like an insect.
Official Music Video for “Ape Man” by The Kinks from YouTube.
Because it looms large over this movie, we’re getting it out of the way right now: I miss Robin Williams, too.
Released in 1986, “Club Paradise” is an incredibly fun and equally incredibly cynical film, despite what critical reception may suggest.
Trailer for “Club Paradise” from YouTube.
Directed by Harold Ramis and written alongside Brian Doyle-Murray, “Club Paradise” follows retired Chicago fire fighter Jack Moniker in his attempts to turn a seedy club in a troubled former banana republic into a destination resort.
Supporting William’s wayward fireman is Jimmy Cliff as Ernest Reed, the reggae-singing bandleader of the club, and Peter O’Toole as the former colonial governor of the island.
With Cliff and O’Toole acting as relative “straight men” against the unfettered energy of Williams, the three are released upon an equally chaotic supporting cast of vacationers including the likes of Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Andrea Martin and Twiggy.
“Club Paradise” by Jimmy Cliff from YouTube
With the film being so openly on “Island Time,” the soundtrack revels in reggae and reggae-inspired rock, especially leaning on the talents of the under-appreciated Jimmy Cliff.
With songs written for the film, namely the titular “Club Paradise,” Cliff’s crooning is written into the film as musical numbers within the club.
Beyond the delectably ’80s reggae, the film also pulls from a variety of Caribbean acts like The Mighty Sparrow from Grenada but also more colonial influences from England with Elvis Costello and The Kinks.
“Seven Day Weekend” by Elvis Costello & The Attractions and Jimmy Cliff from YouTube
While there is most certainly a deeper socio-economic analysis you could do of the film’s politics around rejuvenating a downtrodden island, and the smell of neocolonialism lingers around every corner, that’s really not the point of the film — it’s a fun movie set in a pretty location.
We all know the real motive behind the film — a paid vacation on a tropical island and a tax write off — but that’s alright with me.
So turn off your brain and take a mental vacation to Club Paradise — you won’t regret it.
Reel-to-Reel airs every Friday starting at 8 a.m. only on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1, Raleigh, NC.
