LOST
IN AMERICA/LIVE 2001 - U.S. Bombs (Disaster)
WAYWARD BANTAMS - Duane Peters and the Hunns (Disaster)
As a middle-aged fan of cult bands ('60s/'70s Detroit sub-division), it's
revealing
to me to observe the first generation of Original Punks (kids a little bit
older and hipper than me) reaching 50. Punk has been a viable (if minority)
force in rock'n'roll for 25 years now - who'd a thunk it? - and the enduring
popularity of bands like Green Day and Blink-182 among people like my youngest
daughter (now 13, the same age I was when I discovered the Stooges) when we're
already farther in time from the origins of that music than we were from Tommy
Dorsey when I was a similar age gives me cause for pause.
So here are two new releases from bands led by champion skate-punk Duane Peters,
on
his own Disaster label, distributed by Bomp and dedicated to
keeping the flag of '77 punk flying. How you feel about 'em will largely depend
upon how you feel about the music of that era, 'cos there's surely nothing
new under the sun on either of 'em. "Lost in America" is noteworthy
for featuring a song that sounds, at first, like the theme from Mike Judge's
animated sitcom "King of the Hill," although it isn't.
Conversely, the cover art on "Wayward Bantams" make the members
of Peters' side-project band look like Bowery Boys of the Leo Gorcey/Huntz
Hall, not CBGBs variety, indicative of a certain amount of self-awareness
on his part, since his vocalismo is awfully reminiscent of those mainstays
of '60s Saturday afternoon TV when I was growing up, or maybe the chorus of
Noo Yawkers who usedta sing the theme from the old "Car 54 Where Are
You?" series. (Why this fixation on TV show themes in this review? Fucked
if I know!) It's also the first punk record I'm aware of to include a song
about 9/11 ("Jet 757"), something I guess we'll be seeing more of.
- Ken Shimamoto
across the board