Punk Rock Friday - Mommy's Little Monster

From the great documentary - Another State of Mind - here is a nice video from 1983 of Social Distortion playing Mommy's Little Monster in Winnipeg, Canada.

Punk Rock Fathers - the other F word & Punk Rock Friday

A possibly really great documentary is coming out called The Other F-word:

Shamelessly stolen from their Facebook page.

It is an exploration of how men, who grew up saying fuck off to authority, are now fathers and have to deal with raising a child.  How they rectify fatherhood with their so-called punk rock beliefs.  It looks at some pretty big names in the punk rock world with interviews, from the road and home, and examines all of their different attitudes, parenting styles, and beliefs on parenting.

From their website:

"The Other F Word is a raucous, eye-opening, sad and unexpectedly wise look at veteran punk rockers as they adapt to the challenges of fatherhood. To be sure, watching foul- mouthed, colorfully inked musicians attempt to fit themselves into Ward Cleaver's smoking jacket provides for some consistently hilarious situational comedy, but the film's deeper delving into a whole generation of artists clumsily making amends for their own absentee parents could strike a resonant note with anyone (punk or not) who's stumbled headfirst into family life."

- Andrew Barker, Variety

Wow, seems right up my alley!  Being the punk rock father and scientist that I am.  I am very excited to try and see this.  I will likely have to wait a very long time as they are only screening in NYC and LA right now.  And to that I say Fuck You Hollywood.  One would think that a movie about punk rock might try and be a little more DIY with distribution.  But, alas, it is still done by non-punk people.  At least the production was done independent and that means no big movie studio trying to make it Hollywood.

So for Punk Rock Friday, I present songs by two of the father's featured in the film.

The first (actually two) is by Bad Religion, whose singer Greg Graffin is featured in the film. Graffin was originally from my home state (Wisconsin) and spent part of his youth there.  He has two kids and has been the front man for Bad Religion since 1979 (He's old!).

Here are two version of Sorrow by Bad Religion:

Live in 2009


Acoustic


Next up is Duane Peters, legendary punk rocker and professional skater.  Peters 20 year-old son Chess (Chelsea) Peters was killed in a car accident on July 6, 2007.  A horrible, unthinkable thing to have happen.  Duane put out a whole record of songs for his son.  We are not going to go that route, because it makes me a little misty eyed.  There is real grief in that record and it hits home for me for some reason.



So I present to you (one of) my favorite US Bombs song,  Jaks
 

Punk Rock Friday - New Direction by the Gorilla Biscuits

By Andy McKay [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

What do you mean it's time
Time for me to grow up?
I don't want any part
It's right to follow my heart
The new kids ran
Ran out the back door fast
And the bands that came before
They had their noses in the air
Pretending that they cared about our scene
Just because our money's green
I'll tell you stage dives
Make me feel more alive
Than coded messages in slowed down songs

Now you're so ashamed
Now I'm so ashamed of you
We believed the same things
You stand to the side
Rebirth of hardcore pride
It all came true
Too bad you can't see
All the good things that I see

Back in, back in the days
when I'd wait tosee the old bands play
It didn't seem like wasted days
I was so sincere, but now I see more clearly
Music's only work to them. It's not to me
So I say, hats off to bands that change
Good luck, go your own way 
Why play for us, if your heart's not in it? 
Cause what might seem dumb to you
is pounding in my heart.

Now you're so ashamed,
Now you're so ashamed of you
We believed the same things.
You stand to the side
Rebirth of hardcore pride
It all came true
Too bad you can't see
No, you just can't fucking see it.

Now you just turn your back
You said I don't want it anymore
Old friends you attack
Our pain out of touch. You don't get it do you?
New stage, new ideas.
You don't have to make excuses for us
Sitting there looking back, I'm scared
Don't spoil memories of the way things

Those darn kids... and Punk Rock Friday

I have a few fun stories to share along with some quality punk rock to start your weekend.  Stories first:

So, Sweet Little Helion (my 2 year old daughter) loves the color yellow.  Maybe loves is an incorrect description - she is slightly obsessed with it.  She searches out yellow cars and houses when we drive, then smiles and points them out to everyone.  And you must acknowledge the yellow.  She would live in her yellow butterfly shirt every day if I didn't tear it off her body to wash it - to the tears and rage that only a toddler can produce.  So, the other night Beautiful Wife is upstairs putting SLH to bed and they were chatting a bit.  She asked SLH what color she would paint her room if she had the choice, expecting full well that she would hear 'Yellow!' in her sweet little toddler voice which sounds closer to her saying 'Lellow'.  Instead, SLH responds with 'Black.' in this deadpan, matter of fact way.  Weird little kids.

So, last night I am walking past SLH's room an hour after her bedtime and I hear her singing 'I love yellow, I love yellow' over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.  She just repeated her yellow mantra for like 5 minutes.  I think we are going to have to start a yellow cult or something...

All pray to the all mighty YELLOW! Photo by mexikids at Flickr

Ok maybe not... I am too light skinned to wear that much yellow anyway... SLH will be devastated.

On another note, the other morning BW was getting ready for work, SLH was playing on the floor and Little Berserker Spawn, our 4 year old son, was sitting on our bed watching some news and eating some cheerios.  BW had done something a little new with her hair that morning and I thought it looked really nice, so I said, "I really like your hair."  Now, LBS wanted to also complement her, but did not want to copy me so he said, "Mommy, I really like yourrrrr... underwear!"  I burst out laughing and BW was very kind and gracious, and said, 'Thank you, LBS.' While shooting the crazy laughing eyes at me.  HAHAHAHA!  To be fair, she was getting dressed and didn't have her pants on yet.

Punk Rock Friday - the Ramones
So, in honor of my funny kids I present to you for Punk Rock Friday their favorite songs: Do You Remember Rock N Roll Radio?  and Rock N Roll High School.  They Rock N Roll Radio is LBS' favorite while SLH switches between the two.

Punk Rock Friday - Seneca Falls - The Distillers

Today's Punk Rock Friday features Seneca Falls by The Distillers.



For those who are not familiar (I was not until I heard this song and wondered), Seneca Falls is a reference to what is known as the Seneca Falls Convention.  It was an very early women's right convention held in Seneca Falls, New York way back in 1848.  Over 70 years before passage of the 19th amendment in the US allowing women the right to vote (known as women's sufferage).  Enjoy!

Punk Rock Friday - Maturity - I hope not...

You know there ain't no street like home
To make you feel so all alone
Plenty of folk to tell you what to do
But they don't speak the same language as you

[Chorus:]
They wanna have me here
Have me and hold me near
Hold me down fasten and tie
But the cars are all flashing me
Bright lights are passing me
I feel life passing me by

The fuss is buzzing in my head
My father argued and my mother begged
It's not their words ain't tugging at me
But gotta stretch them break them get myself free

[Chorus]
Gotta gotta gettaway
Gotta gotta gettaway
I'm leaving home
-Stiff Little Fingers "Gotta Getaway"



I loved this song when I first heard it in college. The Stiff Little Fingers were so raw and the lyrics really said a lot to me.

I was listening to this song a few months ago and I thought it summed up my adolescence extremely well. Jake Burns seemed to be singing my own adolescence to me. It was sort of astounding to look back on it actually.

An explanation may be in order - I grew up in a little town (20k people) in Wisconsin. Yep, pure corn and cow country. Nothing much to it. We were not far from some bigger towns (100K or so people), but my little suburban wasteland was its own special sort of place. All green grass and picket fences. The sort of place I wouldn't mind raising my kids.

WOW! How I have changed.

To a rebellious, angsty, angry adolescent, those perfect lawns were like iron bars. That quiet town held nothing of interest to me. You couldn't skateboard anywhere because it was illegal (except in our own yards...). Nothing to do, no where to go. That is the way I felt anyway. It is certainly not entirely true.

So, this song says a lot about me. I worked 3 jobs through college at one point, just so I wouldn't have to ask my parents for money.  Make it on my own - do things my way.

I had great parents, actually. They didn't meddle in my life too much. Kept quiet about the girls I dated, even though they hated them. (and rightly so I later came to find out.) Kept me out of trouble the best they could. Were understanding of my teenager-ness mostly. Made sure I valued my education and encouraged me to live up to my potential. Hell, they even encouraged me to go away to college. To get away. They didn't want me going to the small liberal arts school in our town. "Go and explore," they said. The rest of my family, though. Boy oh boy. "Why would you want to go to school in that big city?"

It wasn't my parents. It was the town. Where everyone knew me or knew of me. In fact, I got into much better schools than the one I chose to go to. Why did I go there? Well I told everyone that I liked it best and it had a physics program. One of the main driving forces, however, was that I knew of not a single soul from my high school going there! And you know what - I don't regret it one bit.

Punk Rock Friday - "To Have and Have Not"

I spend and have spent a lot of my life pondering life's inequities.  I think it was part of the reason I was drawn to the punk rock scene in the first place - there is a camaraderie and brotherhood (sisterhood also) associated with the scene (to me anyway).  One where, I thought as a naive kid, actions meant more than superficial qualities like the color of your skin or where you grew up.

Now, as anyone in the scene knows, the reality of the subculture is not so rosy.

Anyway, back on topic here. In the vain of social and economic disparities this Punk Rock Friday is with Lars Frederiksen And The Bastards.  The song is To Have and Have Not off their self-titled album. 



Some of you may know Lars as the guitarist of Rancid, a band who saw some moderate mainstream success in the 90s.

I encourage anyone and everyone to post any thoughts they have on the song, the meaning or my post.  Please share!

Know thyself

This blog has made me become quite introspective. Which, I suppose, is to be expected since the first incarnation of this blog was a way for me to deal with my wife having cancer.

Mainly, I have been able to take a look at what I really want out of life and if what I am doing professionally is really lining up with those goals.  I have thought a lot about what drives me and what makes me happy.  These types of things have changed over time.  Especially since I had kids.

Here is a quick run down of the things that have driven me over my life:

Pre-pubescent Berserker: Being good at soccer and school, pleasing my parents, having friends, doing what's right. Hey- I was a kid.  I was a good kid (I think).  In reality, my world was very small.

Friedrich Nietzsche.  Sweet 'stache!

Adolescent Berserker: Sex, girls, punk rock, independence, art, music, deeper questions of life, rebellion, fun, friends. Extreme change here.  I was insane as a teen.  The onset of hormones drove me completely nuts.  But I also became, in some ways, more introspective.  I would read Nietzsche during my calculus class in high school (no I still don't really understand him... but his essays on nihilism really spoke to the adolescent me).  I really wondered about and explored the meaning of life... well between trying to someone to buy me beer and trying to find a place for my girlfriend and me to have sex... you know... priorities.

Time for me to grow up? I don't want any part.

Early College Berserker: Sex, girls, punk rock, aggression, independence, rebellion, beer. In some ways, my first couple of years in college were much simpler than high school.  I went to a really big college compared to my tiny suburban high school where I knew every single person.  I met a ton of great people in college who still mean a great deal to me.  I had a lot of fun without any parental oversight.  I played in a punk band that toured the midwest - playing crappy clubs and basements.  I worked for a living and lived in squalor.  At one point I worked 3 jobs to pay the bills and beer tab and tuition.  I was still young, stupid, and invincible.  I also cultivated a violent streak.  In college I filled out.  I was no longer a tall, lanky string bean.  And I had a chip on my shoulder. If a guy wanted to be all macho and try to show off by making fun of the weirdo punk kid, I would pop him in jaw and kick him in stones.  I took a few nasty beat downs too.  I was dumb and young and lucky to live through it.

All cool people have mustaches right?

Late College Berserker: Sex, my girl, science, physics, learning, the future of my life, punk rock. I met my wife in college and looking back it was a major turning point in my life.  She gave me an anchor rope to hold onto.  She made re-evaluate how I made decisions.  I was also maturing and starting to think before I acted.  About damn time.  Also, I realized that I should start really applying myself in college. This happened right before I met my wife.  I was always a good student.  Things came easy for me.  I didn't have to work hard for good grades.  But, I was paying thousands of dollars for this education, I should probably make something out of it.  In addition, I rediscovered my love of science, specifically physics.  So I focused on physics.  Started doing research.  I loved it.  I won a few scholarships and research fellowships.  Hey, I was actually GOOD at this.  And it was sure better than working at subway.  I also started teaching physics.  I liked that too!  Maybe I could actually do this for a job?!?  Science actually became more important to me than punk rock.  It was a weird time.

Early Grad School Berserker: Sex, my fiance, PHYSICS, punk rock, camaraderie  It was grad school.  You can't judge me... I lived and breathed physics.  60 hours of quantum mechanics and electrodynamics a week.  Cool.  Sleep is stupid anyways.  I also got engaged and married  My poor soon to be wife...  My band also broke up.  We all had kind of grown our separate ways.  Man, that was fun!  Playing shows that is.

Late Grad School Berserker: Wife, child, sex, physics, GRADUATION. While I was in grad school, my wife was diagnosed with cancer.  She is fine now, thankfully.  We were living together, 1000 miles away from our families and she had cancer.  We really only had each other.  It is the kind of thing that defines a relationship.  It also helps put dumb things in context.  As for school, everyone in grad school eventually gets sick of being poor and stuck in grad school.  So you bust your ass and finish your research.  I just did it with an infant strapped to my chest.  I actually wrote an entire chapter of my dissertation from 2-6 am with my infant son strapped to my chest.  We had our first kid while I was still in grad school and it was not as horrible sounding as it seemed.  I was on a fellowship, so I worked from home 3 days a week (really worked nights) and my wife worked from home 2 days a week.  We couldn't afford daycare, so we made it work.  Luckily she had a great boss!

That pretty much brings us up to date.  Well kind of.  So, what drives me today.  Sadly and gratefully, much of the same.  Wife, kids and sex probably at the front.  Yeah, I had sex on every list but never mentioned it.  I think sex and a sex drive are sort of a constant in a young man's life.  Always there in the back of your head...

There are some things that drive me now, that I would have never thought would motivate me.  Money is important to me.  Not that important, but I need to clothe and feed the little monsters that are my spawn. Plus, I like to buy them things.  Just admitting that money is a driving force in my life, even a small one, makes my punk rock soul rage and spin inside me.

Be true to thyself.  I am a wild dichotomy of social rebellion, punk rock scientist, father and husband.  I am often at odds with myself about anything as mundane as what grocery store to shop at (small, local expensive vs. corporate sell out) to as complex as how to handle talking about death with my kids (easy lies vs. truthful pain).

Know thyself.

No matter how difficult that may be.

New Social Distortion Album

Social D live on the Conan show.  Playing a new song off their new album.  Love to see new material from old school bands like Social D.  Mike Ness is a legend.  Have to save me pennies and pick this one up.