Hit Bargain – Degree Decree
Similar artists: Bikini Kill, Hot Snakes, The Jesus Lizard, Pylon
Genre: Punk, Post-Punk, Indie Rock
Was punk-rock music really just a form of avantgarde art that ended up earning managers and record labels too much money? Some people think so. That guy, Johnny “Rotten” Lydon expressed this point of view recently. He claimed that his old band, Sex Pistols, was something rather “terrifying, at the time.” Now, Lydon says, it’s been reduced to a middle-class fantasy.
Was punk ever that far out, and should it stay that way? Let’s see here. It regularly featured non-musicians decked out like colour-blind rockstars. It was noisy to the point of causing riots. And it contained the kind of lyrics that could get you thrown in jail or beaten up in the streets of London. Hmm,… strange to think it could be used to sell sneakers, too.
Hit Bargain’s “Degree Decree” manages to honour the early spirit of punk rock by being extremely funny, scary, and hard to like. If those qualities, and, indeed, they are qualities, thrill you as much as the person who stands laughing as their ship goes down, you ought to investigate further. Hit Bargain sound like a soundtrack to someone beginning to enter a nervous breakdown phase. It’s bad, but it should only get worse.
Repeat – Repeat
Similar artists: Viagra Boys, The Hives, NEU!, The Jesus and Mary Chain
Genre: Stoner Rock, Post Rock, Garage Rock
How long does it take the songwriter from a rock band to teach the rest of their bandmates to play a new song? Five minutes if they’re in the right band? Sure, many of the great rock tunes include guitar solos, clever riffs and a few clever moments. On the other hand, many of the great songs also include three power chords played over and over again.
In that way, rock music and its numerous variations are the perfect soundtrack for the modern, busy man. Whether you’re driving across the country or merely getting yourself home from work, there are plenty of things you’ll see again and again. Whether you’re hearing the news or a bulletin from one year ago, it’s essentially the same thing.
Life gets us used to patterns and then drives us crazy with them. Repeat‘s self-titled single boils down garage-rock or Kosmische Musik to its essential elements. It’s a head-first rendition of “Gloria” played with the breaks off and a soundtrack to watching the little white lines on the highway fly by.
