WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?

Sometimes it's pretty weird, how much a band can change over the years. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing. Listen to the first two Mekons songs down there, back to back. The first, Never Been in a Riot, is an early one. It was on a compilation that got played a lot back in the day, at least among my squad. It was one of those transitional periods, when bands started post-punkifying amongst themselves. Getting a little less predictable, and more adventurous. Then they went and learned to play good. It didn't ruin everything. But it was kind of bittersweet. It was what it must be like watching a kid grow up. That kind of "what the fuck am I doing?" manner kind of dissolves.

The second one down there, "Geeshie" is from their latest. They've been through major line up changes, and aren't even recognizable as the same group, but hell, it's been thirty years. What were they supposed to do, sit on their hands? Come to think of it, putting banjo and melodica in the same song is pretty cool, in a different way. But, is it an equitable trade off? Who cares. It's 2012 and you can have both, you media glutton you.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:

The Mekons - Never Been in a Riot mp3 at Berkeley Place
The Mekons - Geeshie mp3 at Rolling Stone Note: You may have to go to the Rolling Stone site to download. It's here.
Misc other stuff:
The Mekons -Stay Cool mp3 at The Cargo Culte
The Mekons - Big Zombie (live, 2011) mp3 at Largehearted Boy