Published on Jul 9, 2003
I don’t claim to know jack about real punk. I’m sometimes
mortified to even discuss my favorite musical acts and the genres
they fall under, from fear that I will mistakenly refer to one
artist as punk, and some true punk enthusiast will jump on my ass
and give me a lecture about why that is not punk. So I try to
refrain from discussing my exact genres of choice. Upon my first
listen of
Punk-O-Rama 7, I could not determine whether this happened
to fall under the category of punk, but I did however, experience
an epiphany. Who cares what kind of music it is? What if I had
cared and not bought this CD because upon my purchase, my brother
informed me that NOFX was in no way punk? If I had been stupid and
judgmental, I would not have had the opportunity to experience one
of my favorite compilation CDs ever.
There are 19 songs on
Punk-O-Rama 7, and all of them are completely diverse and
highly fantastic in their own wonderful ways. All have extremely
fast-paced, manic-sounding melodies and catchy lyrics. It was
extremely hard to find a few stand-out songs, as each and every one
holds a supremely special place in my heart. So. I’ll pick a few
and tell you why it was love at first sound. Number seven, Randy’s
“Addicts Of Communication” is an “addictive” blend of *whatever*
and ska (not categorizing, just describing) that may be intertwined
with witchcraft. It’s that good. Number eight, “Hooray For Me” by
Pulley, should go down in the record books as the most candid view
on the music industry today. But hey, like the song says, “when
it’s all been said and done/ I know that I had fun/ take it to the
grave with me/ this music still lives on.”
On second thought, I can think of a few choices on this album
that I happen to find myself humming more than the others. Number
11, Bad Religion’s “The Defense” is a darker side to the CD, with a
sinister melody and trippy computer-robot noises in the background,
not to mention a kick-freakin-ass guitar solo around the tres
and-a-half mark. Dropkick Murphys’ “Heroes From Our Past,” number
13, is an experience at the very least. Written like an old
Scottish fable, it boasts real Scottish bagpipes in the back and a
chorus that sounds like they gathered all of their drunken Irish
friends and paid them to sing. After number 14, interest almost
wanes, but is revived with one final hilarious hurrah from
Guttermouth and their spirited “My Girlfriend.” “She would rather
take a dive/ off a stage a mile high/ than see a movie/ My
girlfriend makes me really sick/ makes me really sick/ when she’s
dancin in the pit.”
Final verdict: I wish you could hear this right now. This should
be renamed
Sick Ass Tunes-O-Rama because I don’t care if it’s punk,
folk or contemporary jazz,
Punk-O-Rama 7 is the new cure-all.