This noise is all we've got

Alright, alright, we find ourselves once again at this most curious of weekday days. The middle of the week, at the edge of sanity, too late too go back and too daunting to crawl forward. Or whatever. It's Wednesday, which for all we care means punk rock. Wednesday = punk rock playlists. So let's light this gasoline puddle. This week we feature tracks from some formidable bands, including Off With Their Heads, The Pogues, Guttermouth, The Casualties, Minutemen and a lot more. Without further ado..



Annnnd here's the web player link for all ya other dingles.

May as well kick off this week with The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn, an echo of a hangover from last Friday's raucous St. Paddy's day celebrations. The Pogues, formed in 1982, were one of the earliest Celtic punk bands to gain international prominence, meshing the political movement of punk with traditional Irish instruments, like the tin whistle and accordion. Although yours truly has quite a bit of Irish blood running through my veins, I had to look up Cuchulainn online to find out that he is an old Irish mythological hero.

Civilization's Dying is a noisy street punk tune from Indianapolis quartet The Zero Boys. The song was part of their debut LP, Vicious Circle, a whirlwind of an album comprising of 16 songs and clocking in at just 26 minutes. Despite the aggressive and chaotic sounds, frontman Paul Mahern is actually quite fucking zen...he currently teaches yoga in Bloomington, IN.

Let's keep the Midwest theme rollin' with Nightlife from Off With Their Heads. Hailing from, donchya just know it, Minnesota, these guys have been playing their style of straight forward, heavy, melodic punk since 2002. This song lends some of its lyrics to lead man Ryan Young's podcast and online punk merch store, Anxious and Angry. 

We typically don't delve into ultra-technical songs here on WWA, but I could not resist jamming Kascade by Animals As Leaders this week. Formed in Washington D.C. in 2007 by Absolute Guitar Being Tosin Abasi, these guys figure prominently in the 'djent' scene, which I learned is basically progressive metal made for guitar geeks. The opening title of 2014's The Joy of Motion. Kascade is an easy track to get lost in, and will give you a headache if you try to follow along to the battling guitars and drums too carefully.

Up next is an earsplitting anthem courtesy of longtime punk contributors The Casualties. We Are All We Have is the title track off the New York City crusts' 8th full length album. Jorge Herrera, lead singer of The Casualties and proud owner of the Hellraiser of haircuts, has been the only consistent member of the band since they kicked off in 1990.

Unlike Trump's fever dreams about Deep State, Old State is a very real thing. Like Budweiser, these guys call St. Louis home and go down smoothly with wings. Porch Swing is off the band's sophomore EP Perspectives, and is a melancholy and biting track which weaves chaotically through various tempos, all the while not losing any of its intensity along the way.

So, uhh, this next track is essentially the UK Oi! way of saying "Fuck the Police" and it's awesome. Hailing from south London, Hard Skin has been belting out working class tunes since the early 90s, and are still going strong today.  Because I care about all of you, and I know you want to know, I counted how many times they use the word 'cunt'...66 times. A couple of my other favorite zingers in this one..."the only good copper is a strippergram" and "Ten inch truncheon three inch dick"

I Only Have Eyes for You, which coincidentally is a cover song, is by far the most well known track by 50s doo-wop crooners The Flamingos. These guys are Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, and their sophisticated vocal sound has been cited as one of the most influential elements of pop music history. Oh and if you don't think this track earns a place in these WWA playlists...well life ain't burger king, you can't always have your way.

Soundtrack to the End of the World is an appropriately named title for a song released in 2016, a grease fire of a year that saw societies all across the globe crumbling into madness. Soundtrack is off New Car Smell, one of two EPs that Guttermouth dropped last year. The songs on New Car Smell remind me of the grittiness and aggression seen on old albums like Friendly People, albeit more polished and possibly more cohesive. Go bonkers, guys.

We're gonna close out this week's carnival with Canadian anarcho-punk group Subhumans. This is a raucous and angry anthem encapsulating the energy and emotions that made the Subhumans, well, subhuman. Oh and don't take this the wrong way - I love you guys. I also just love this song which just so happens to be titled FUCK YOU.


OK Wednesday warriors, that's a wrap for the week. Thanks for sending the song requests, oh and that one ricin-laced letter. That was very thoughtful. Have an awesome week guys, and stay rowdy.