POP!
With Andy Peabody!

Heya, and welcome to the second edition of Pop!

Well, it seems like I won't be writing this column for just the Pittsburgh Rock website anymore. Todd at Disjointed Thoughts, Paranoia? has decided to pick up my measly talents for his website (finally, my inane rambling goes beyond the confines of southwestern PA!)!

I left my last column with a slight blurb stating that I'd offer all of my dear readers an anecdote in this month's post involving the illustrious Rev. Nørb of Boris the Sprinkler (the finest Meatmen rip-off band this side of Wisconsin [hey, waitaminute!]) and the fine city of Pittsburgh. In light of this I will attempt to write said column with the stylings of Mr. Nørb in mind (and in light of this I will fail miserably).

Accurate as of 7:48 PM EST 2.14.00, I do not see what the big fuss over the Donnas is, although I do see what the big fuss over Donna A is.

So as the story goes (see: MRR #17), Nørbie and the gang (who could be considered the "Gang of Four Horseman" [John King and Ric Flair, for the record, could not take Nørb and Paul #1 on any given day (unless Nørb was on speed {see" MRR # 172}, in which case he would continually attempt to give the flying double-clothesline to this dastardly rock/wrestling duo which would subsequently result in his skinny ass getting kicked yet again)], although this nickname has already been disqualified by Nørb during an impromptu discussion with Nateschmoe in which said Green Bay-ite contended that Steve "Mongo" McMichaels was a Chicago Bear [not a Packer], therefore rendering the bequeathing of the fabulous grappling foursome's title unto the Sprinklers [as their allegiances obviously lie within their statehood] moot) were playing a show in Pittsburgh, PA during their bi-annual week-and-a-half long tour in '97. The setting in question is the house where they would be performing for the evening. During the set of the opening act, the Mud City Manglers, Nørb wandered upstairs [to find his soda (which was placed unobtrusively in the guest's fridge)], and in the hallway leading to the kitchen he inhaled the glorious aroma of processed meat products being fried upon a skillet [which he aptly deemed "Pittsburghers" (to which I say "gah," as I am a practicing vegetarian {and a non-practicing Pittsburgher})]. Believing that the only act being performed in the kitchen was the flipping and grilling of red meat, Nørb entered the kitchen to find, as expected, a flipper and griller flipping and grilling hamburgers. In the cook's left hand was a spatula. In the cook's right hand, however, was the head of a woman. The woman was sitting on her knees. And I quote, "Description of the rest of the scenario will be left untold as a courtesy to our hosts." Quickly leaving the scene of the "oral surgery" [which is the title given to said act by a friend of a friend of mine at college (which is also a funny story to be told someday later)], Nørb returned to the basement to happen upon the Manglers covering the Dead Boy's "Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth". You'll only have this much fun in punk rock, kiddos!

With that said, I will cut to the reviews of this column as the previous paragraph was much more confusing than had I planned on. I really haven't bought many new releases since my last post (but it stands that I have picked up many good releases since then), so I'm gonna have to use some records that have been available for a few weeks.

Wow! These guys rock! Miles from their first release under the moniker the Turdz, the Proteens have hit the nail on the head with their Professional Teenagers release. This disc is part of Mutant Pop's short-run CD series, as it would have been a crime to cut the tracks from this session to fit onto vinyl. Seven songs, six big hits! These guys definitely fall under the "childred of Screeching Weasel, grandchildren of the Ramones" food group. Distinct vocals by Sipe-C really set these guys out from the pack, as far as I'm concerned, and this was produced by Cliffy Huntington, so you know it sounds aesthetically better than most no-name studio recordings. My pick of the month!

Everyone in the world is gonna be reviewing this, so I might as well put my two cents in. THE RELEASE of 2000 (with only ten months to go) has to be Screeching Weasel's Thank You Very Little double CD. The songs on the first disc mirror those on Kill the Musicians, ranging from the very first SW demo tape to Emo outtakes. There's a few little gems in there, namely "Slogans," "27 Things I Wanna Do to You," "Anchor," and anything Anthem… related, and the rest of the songs are just nice to have if you're a big SW fan like me. The second disc is a compilation of live tracks of mediocre sound quality. It's pretty much like any other SW show (if you've ever seen or heard), but "You're the Enemy," "Joanie and Johnnie," "Automatic Rejector," and "Hey Suburbia" really seem to stand out from the rest. Most of the second installment is prime live cuts of SW in their heyday. A definite must for any SW fan!

Continuing on with the live format, the defunct Jawbreaker has released an album recorded on 4/20/96. Blake and the gang are really on the ball (moreso than when they were still together) as this release is just the beginning of more Jawbreaker recordings to see the light of day in mass quantity. Word has it that a demo and unreleased album will be out shortly, followed by the re-release of Unfun with new cover artwork, and finally Dear You will be re-pressed onto vinyl, so for everyone who missed that boat, here's your chance to catch up. Anyways, five live album tracks from 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and Dear You are on this disc with four unreleased songs. I don't know about you, but Jets to Brazil just wasn't cutting it for me; I definitely NEEDED more Jawbreaker stuff as I have been a big fan since I first picked up Bivouac back in '95. This is obviously a great disc, but it was lacking a nice fat booklet chronicling the band's existence - only this would have made the package better.

Alright, that's about all the time I have for this month. I'll be back shortly with more VINYL reviews seeing as how I didn't fit any in this time, and I'm sure I'll come up with some lame anecdote that I find to be witty to tell to you. If you're interested in seeing my previous column, make sure you go here, and if you'd like to get ahold of me, e-mail me at andy@thepeabodys.zzn.com. Thanks!