A double feature tonight because I ran into Desperate Teenage Lovedolls and the sequel, Lovedolls Superstar both on YouTube. Both were made on shoestring budgets by Dave Markey and both have band members from L.A. punk scene. I forget all of them. Some of the soundtrack cuts are below. The video directly below is the first film, Desperate Teenage Lovedolls. The sequel is linked below.
[Cut and paste snippet from old post because you're lazy like that.]
This stuff is perfect for tonight. It speaks to me. It instills in me
the spirit of the rascals singing. Sloppy and a little reckless, without
a care in the goddamn world. It says to me, make it short asshole, and
get back to goofing off.
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I like Redd Kross, just fine. But not fine enough for me to go through all the unsorted records I have laying around to find my copy of Neurotica. Really, I know I had it, I never knowingly got rid of it, but it's probably been well over ten years since I last heard it. So I don't remember "Beautiful Bye-Byes". I heard a demo of it today I had no recollection of ever hearing it before. It sounded like an Imagine-era John Lennon demo with the Beach Boys singing back up, though that's probably because the demo quality gave it an unauthorized clandestine feel. I think I'll try to fool one of my Beatle freak friends.
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If you have ever heard Redd Kross' "(Legend) Come On Up to Me" from the soundtrack of David Markey's Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, you may be surprised to find out it's a cover. The original was done be Backstage Pass, who some of you may remember as a completely lame early L.A. new wave band. Their original is so bad it's comical, almost like the Shaggs doing new wave.
Markey made Desperate Teenage Lovedolls on Super 8 in the 1984 and followed it up with a sequel, Lovedolls Superstar, in 1986. Both are the lowest of low budget, the first costing a whopping $250 to make. But the soundtracks are great, heavy on the Redd Kross, with contributions by White Flag, Black Flag, Gone, and a bunch of others.
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Redd Kross have a new LP coming out in August. Whether or not that either means something to you would depend on your age and/or your level of music geekness. It seems apropos that I heard about this from my old roommate and longtime friend Lydia, known to many from back in the day as the "habitual troublemaker," stemming from a wanted poster sort of flyer that was posted outside of a show back then, branding her just that, "Habitual Troublemaker." (She was also among the first in our then little scene to dye her hair a color not found in nature; which really doesn't take the guts these days that it did then.).
Sloppy roots. Santa Monica Pier 1982
The one song that's been released is "Researching the Blues," a song that isn't blues, but about researching the blues (presumably, because you have to struggle to make out the lyrics, and I'm too busy rocking out to be bothered with such petty details.) If you know their stuff, this is pretty much par for the course, which is to say rockin', with harmonies and loud guitars. They address the song, their history, and the reason for the fifteen year gap between albums in a video interview with Australia's ShockTV (posted on their site). If you're completely unfamiliar with Redd Kross, check out the Wikipedia thing and their site. I don't really feel like getting into it.
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Redd Kross has always been one of those bands, kind of a one band scene. They started out in 1980, with brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald always the band's core. Their earliest gigs were shared bills with punk and hard core bands (their first gig was opening for Black Flag, when they were still in their mid-teens), and though they were in the thick of it, they never really adhered to any unwritten cool check list. They basically created their own. They were so young, it wasn't necessary to identify 100% with punk or hardcore. So they didn't really have to fit a particular mold, with other bands, or other kids their age; which benefited them in the long run. Because Redd Kross has always done things the Redd Kross way, and after thirty years, they've gotten pretty fucking good at it.
I could run down their complete dossier, but, really, it's all at Wikipedia. Suffice it say that, although they're not really ground breakers, they are a damn fine rock band, in the purest sense of the word. That's not to say that they just turn it up and go. Though naturally, as brothers, it would seem likely that the McDonald's voices would mesh well with each others; but theirs sound so incredibly well together, that it's more than just blood. It's experience. To the point that, in some of their later stuff, the vocals are downright Beatles-esqe. But, they don't sound like the Beatles, because they don't take themselves that serious. Even though they're in their forties, they never seemed to have left the playground (and I mean that in a good way). In short, they have all the ingredients. They started without a mold. They learned to write good songs, play well, and sing well. They're don't take themselves dreadfully serious, and, most important, they do turn it up.
"I wrote the music to this song when I was thirteen." Performing their early 80's Posh Boy Records EP live at Club Lingerie, Oct 10, 2010. Nice to know that they can still be sloppy when they want to.
I won't go so far as saying their shit has never stunk, but you know what? I'll listen to just about anything that they've put out because, chances are, it'll be worth hearing. Can you think of any band's thirty year output that you can say that about? Shit, the Stones don't even get on that list.
Program notes: One thing to add about the above video is that they were opening for Sonic Youth (who performed Daydream Nation in it's entirety). The night was a celebration for Rodney Bingenheimer, for "getting" a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. On to the audio: Once I started thinking about "Switchblade Sister" (mp3 below) as Redd Kross doing Mott the Hoople, I began to really dig it. Next, I found an Abba cover (also below), so I couldn't resist. After that, a couple more to contrast and compare. It's really interesting to listen to "The Faith Healer" and "Burn Out" back to back, to hear what a few decades of playing together sounds like. Then there's an mp3 of a live set, from a Vancouver show in the 90's. It's a band recording, so the sound is really good, as is the performance. And, what prompted this post, a download posted on a blog, of the out-of-print Teen Babes From Monsanto album. It's from the mid-era (late 80's), when they were tight, and rocking it loud; before they got a little power pop-ish. I can't figure out if the "Annie's Gone" video is creepy, stupid or genius (if that's the case, it must be zef). The video down there with Cherie Curie kind of reminds me of L7. Rather than me post a whole bunch more videos, you should just go the Redd Kross site for more. They're big on video over there.
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P.S. Did you click the hosting site link for "Switchblade Sister", a site for a band called the Vague? If not, you should. It almost looks like a fake site, I'll leave it at that. Let's just say that if they're not in theHall of Douchbags, they should be.
I'm a cynic, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Any band that puts a Circle Jerk (Keith Morris) and a Redd Kross member (Steven McDonald) together would sound enticing to anybody my age. First thought: What kind of way out wacky shit could they be putting out? Then you throw in a former member of Burning Brides and a Hot Snake, and it starts to sound like something that could be the hottest shit in town. Right? Well, what it actually resembles is a retread, bordering on cash in. That's a little harsh, but...[turn to camera 3] Come on guys. Even though you say "we're not a punk supergroup," you know that's what some nuts will say. At least you're going to get a little inventive, right?...wait, what? You mean to tell me that it's going to sound an awful lot like late 70's L.A. hardcore? Have you learned nothing? I'm not saying that I don't like that type of stuff. Hell, just like you, I was practically weened on it. But, c'mon, you're probably only going to be working with this combination of people for a while. How 'bout you blow some old fart minds?! Sure, old farts don't sink their teeth into stuff like kids do, they don't buy as much music. Well, bully for you. I'll take it, and I'll find in interesting, but I, rather we, really could use some help over here. This shit's getting...old.
