Published on Dec 31, 2001
Seems like a neat idea – get about a hundred bands, and have
them all do short songs for a compilation CD. Have them target 30
seconds, and see what comes out. It’s a very good sampler; for the
most part it’s a Who’s Who of punk, but it also includes some other
styles – like Gwar, a band I’d never associated with punk
before.
But here’s the thing. Sometimes reviewing compilations can be
difficult, and other times it’s not very hard at all. But in this
case, I have no idea what to say about it except maybe highlight a
couple and give a general impression. I mean, hell, it’s over a
hundred bands, each for less than a minute. A bit overwhelming,
wouldn’t you say?
The consistency is very good. All the way through it’s mostly
the same feeling – quick, high-energy spurts of music. Even from
the first ten, there are some definite highlights – a sickly sweet
“Ketchup Soup” by Teen Idols, “The Living End” by Ready, and the
intro song by Fizzy Bangers.
Now, if I were to highlight every single track I thought was
noteworthy, this review would easily turn into a novel. Most of the
bands here utilize the short medium to accentuate their differences
and abilities. I’d never heard interesting punk guitar of the
caliber on this CD before – and I think that’s a result of the
constraints. The lyrics are very self-contained, the musical ideas
are formed but not developed, and nearly every single track stands
out.
The strongest point of the album is the distinctiveness of every
track. Against my better intentions, I am going to highlight a few
tracks here as being particularly delightful. The Ataris give a
little bit of energy with “The Radio Still Sucks,” Blink 182 churns
out a George Carlin tribute, Guttermouth speaks out on salesmen,
and the mainstream friends of punk The Offspring pay homage to the
Anarchist’s Cookbook.
I could go on and on – but I’ll simplify and say that nearly,
but not all, tracks are winners. It’s an immersive and spastic
sampler platter of music, ostensibly designed for the MTV
generation that can’t keep their minds on things for more than a
minute or so – or for everybody who’s made a mix tape and can’t fit
anything into those last fifteen seconds.
I found this CD new for under ten dollars, and it was worth
every cent. While some of the musical ideas would have worked in
longer mediums, I’m not sure about all of them; and thus, it works
as a disc.