NO SKIN IN THIS GAAME

How many of you are suffering from Johnny Thunders fatigue? I know I am, but this shit just keeps popping up. This is really just a heads up. Probe is Turning-On the People just posted four different versions of "Chinese Rocks", three with different writing credits. As per usual, he doesn't offer much comment. That's great, I often wish I could keep my mouth shut. Anyway, here's the four versions and what I know of them.



The first version is the earliest, when Richard Hell was in the band. He does the singing. It's either a demo or a practice tape. Being the earliest version, from 1975, this gives it provenance. The writing credits Colvin and Hell. Colvin is Dee Dee Ramone.  Then the Heartbreakers (Mark II) recorded it with Hell gone and Thunders and Walter Lure singing, what most people recognize as the version. Recorded in 1977, this time credited to Dee Dee Ramone, Thunders, [Heartbreaker Jerry] Nolan and Meyers [Hell]. There's actually at least a couple versions of this one with different mixes. There is another version from 1979, a live version from the Live at Max's Kansas City LP, with the same credits. The third version that the Probe posted is the Ramones' version, this one credits the Ramones as writers, The last version that the Probe posted is a live one from CBGBs in 1975 with Thunders and Hell singing. No writing credits on this one, but it you just can't get enough of this "Chinese Rocks" intrigue, I ran into a post on a blog that goes into real detail about the song, lyric changes, claims of ownership, the whole shooting match. Dude has more time than I do.

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Listen:
The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks mp3 at Killed By Death 1977

The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks (Live) (streaming) at YouTube 1979
The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks - Four versions at Probe Is Turning-On the People Note: As of today it is the post at the top of the page, labeled Session 644, If time has passed since this was posted, you may have to scroll down.

Visit:
Who Wrote "Chinese Rocks"? at Christopher Othen

NO ONE IS INNOCENT

Is punk rock really worth revisiting again and again? Do OG punk bands, irregardless of their vintage merit really need to tour every few years to "keep the fire burning". Yes and no. Yes if the intent is true to original punk rock worth as a matter of social consciousness and the DIY ethos. No as an oldies revue, which is what all the reunions and yacking often are. By going over and over the ancient tried and once true routines we've lost the ability to create something out of nothing. And that is what is really missing. It's scary to look back and realize that just about everything since that initial wave of punk rock has been formulaic, and much of punk was that as well. The inception of hip hop, or rap as it was referred to then, is about the last time things changed in a big way, really made something out if nothing. Is inventiveness dead?

That's my sourpuss mood for the night after seeing a post at Brooklyn Vegan. It's about a panel discussion that had on hand Henry Rollins, Duff McKagen, John Lydon, Harley Flanagan, Marky Ramone and Donita Sparks. What a shit show, the highlight of which is the bickering of Lydon and Ramone. A blowhard frontman with a genuine CV vs a, let's just face it, adequate drummer with a excess of self-important pomp. It's rich, I tell ya, and Marky Ramone comes off looking stuck in the past (with the signature bowl cut and leather that he's been wearing for forty years) and clueless about anything outside of his sphere, the Ramones and Richard Hell and the Voidoids, the band he was in before joining the Ramones. Lydon just makes you think "Ah, good ol' Johnny, the dude's still his loudmouth self." And that's just the two of them. There are other moments worth watching but I'm too lazy and I've taken too much of your time. Go make something.

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Visit:
Johnny Rotten, Henry Rollins & Marky Ramone walk into a panel… (anarchy ensued) at Brooklyn Vegan Four videos and a story.

GRILLMASTER, SELECTOR

Slip these on your next BBQ mix and see who notices. Toast those who do, for they are the old farts. Their breast pockets are bulging with pens and scraps of paper and 3 x 5 cards, they stopped caring about being cool years ago, and they know the first three Ramones LPs like the back of their hand.

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Listen:

Ramonetures - I Wanna Be Well mp3 at Cover Me Davie Allan and the Phantom Surfers
Amazonics - I Want to Be You Boyfriend mp3 at Cover Me
Onda Vaga - Havana Affair mp3 at Cover Me

RAMONES COVER DEPOT

You might not need a whole shitload of Ramones covers, I know I sure don't. But a handful of oddball Ramones covers is a worthy diversion, if only for mix meat. Here's a few that are by bands that you may or may not recognize and links to pages at Cover Me of covers of every Ramones song on their first five LPs, around sixty in all.

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Listen:
Flesh Eaters – I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement mp3 at Cover Me
Shonen Knife – Pinhead mp3 at Cover Me
Ramonetures – I Wanna Be Well mp3 at Cover Me Davie Allan with the Phantom Surfers
Tom Waits – The Return of Jackie and Judy mp3 at Cover Me
Full album cover posts:
The Ramones - Covers at Cover Me
The Ramonse - Leave Home covers at Cover Me
The Ramones - Rocket to Russia covers at Cover Me
The Ramones - Road to Ruin covers at Cover Me
The Ramones - End of the Century covers at Cover Me

IMBECILITY IS ALSO A WORD

Let's forget for a minute that the Trashmen were from Minnesota and had a song with "Surfin'" in the title. That's nonsense, but all sorts of land locked bands were cashing in on the surf craze. Let's forget that birds don't surf, and that the title of the song, "Surfin' Bird", was totally misleading. It isn't surf music, and it isn't about a bird, let alone a surfing bird. It's more about bird being the word. Or is it really? Shit, I've no idea the thought process behind the lyrics, let alone the song. Come to think of it, there may not have been a thought process. More than likely it was just a simple one, "Let's make a total crap record just to see if it sticks to the wall". Whatever the reason, "Surfin' Bird" went to #4 on the charts in 1963, and has been covered in some form or another by every band capable of making a total crap record of their own. The song will not die. None of that is to diminish the merit of the song. Even if you've heard it a million times, it deserves to be heard periodically. Every once in a while, you need ridiculousness. The Trashmen deliver.

Check out the post at Tapewrecks for twenty other variations, including bands from Sweden, Finland, Ireland, France and the UK. Oh, yeah baby, the shit is global.

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Listen:
The Rivingtons - The Bird's the Word mp3 at Tapewrecks Original
The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Trashmen - Bird '65 mp3 at Tapewrecks
The Cramps - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Tapewrecks
The Ramones - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Tapewrecks
Visit:
The Bird World War: 50 Years of Surfin' Bird (1963-2013) at Tapewrecks 20 more versions

CHEAP DATE

Here's some oddballs, all found at Newer. I'm just linking to one mp3, the rest of them can be found at the links. I may have posted the New York Dolls' demo of "Babylon" before, but I'm too lazy to check. Actually, I'm too lazy right now to do just about anything short of getting the hell offline.

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Listen:
New York Dolls - Babylon (demo) mp3 at Newer
The Ramones - All the Way (demo) at Newer Go there to get it
The Turtles - Happy Together (vocals only) mp3 at Newer Go there to get it

GIVE IT UP OR TURN IT LOOSE

It's done folks. It's been merchandised and marketed, misused, and misunderstood, and it is done. Dead as a door nail. Believe me, if you're younger, whatever it is that you think is punk rock is, it's just a way to sell patches, buttons and black clothes. (As my Dad said to me back in the day, "Oh, I get it. You're just being different together.") So, you want some proof? How about robots playing the Ramones? Or Malcolm McLaren and Vivien Westwood's punk rock get-ups in the collection of the Costume Institute of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art?

Here's what bugs me other than the punk rock angle. (Which really doesn't get me all that worked up. I just like shooting my mouth off.). Just looking at the complexity of the Ramones playing robots, you know it took an awful lot of time, money and know- how to create, program, set up, and all that jazz. What could the creators have done more effectively with less time and effort? That's right. They could have actually picked up a guitar and learned three chords.

As for the McLaren/Westwood collection, check this article to read about the factual errors that were included. Here's what bugs me about that: They were pretty glaring. Anyone who knows a little more than average about UK punk rock of that era would catch these errors. That doesn't bug me as much as it does thinking about what other factual errors might exist in the museum.  Picasso and Banksy were pals. True story. Done and done.

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Listen:
ATV - How Much Longer mp3 at Faking It 
Sex Pistols [sic]- Friggin' in the Riggin' mp3 at Joi Ito
Visit:
Observer article highlights Met’s embarrassing punk flaws.at Paul Gorman Is Check the links at the bottom too.
McLaren and Westwood collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

ROSETTA STONE MY ASS

I realized a long time ago that I like all kids, it's just some of the parents that I can't stand. Like an aggressive dog, kids start out as a blank canvas, and if the parents use some shitty grade of paint, it's not the kids' fault. Intro over, the reason for this post is the video below. It's young Korean students learning English. I'm not going to elaborate more than to say my crusty old heart melted when I watched it.

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Listen:
Ramones - Judy is a Punk mp3 at Plain or Pan
Ramones - Judy is a Punk (Demo) mp3 at Plain or Pan
Ramones - Judy is a Punk (Live) mp3 at Plain or Pan
Wild Flag - Judy is a Punk mp3 at Cover Me