Had I been born a Britainer, these fellows would have meant just as
much to me as the Dead Kennedys. The two bands
are very similar, in that they both started with rudimentary hardcore and
progressed into echo-driven psycho-punk before slowing down to concentrate on
more complex and accessible song structures. The only difference I can think
of (aside from the whole San Francisco/Britain thing) is that, instead of
unleashing one final blast of breakneck fury before calling it a career, the
Subhumans retreated into a sort of reggae/ska/rock thing before reforming as Citizen
Fish (whom I don't find very interesting, but lots of people do, so keep that
in mind). This isn't the Canadian Subhumans I'm talking about, by the way; it's the politically-charged
liberal British group that have influenced thousands upon thousands of
punk kids to magic marker their name (SUB-HUM-ANS) in
blocks on the backs of their black leather jackets. These guys wrote some awfully great songs. I
think the band members are Dick on vocals (he wears glasses), umm..... the
drummer, I think, is named Trotsky. Ummm...... and then there were two other
guys. Okay then, let's talk about the albums!
- Reader Comments
- WBinder007@aol.com
You forgot something- the Dead Kennedys' "final burst of breakneck fury" had a shitload of filler, just like the Subhumans' final release. I wish you had removed Jello Biafra's
dick from your ass before writing these reviews, but that's just wishful thinking from one of the heads of that big collective fag that sucks Puerto Rican cock.
The guitarist, Bruce, who seems to have escaped your mind, is the reason Citizen Fish is so boring, I believe. See, unlike Trotsky, Dick and their second bass player Phil, Bruce
isn't in Citizen Fish. Instead, Phil plays guitar in Citizen Fish, and a guy named Jasper, who seems like a nice guy, plays bass. Phil is a competent enough guitarist, but there's
no soul or feeling. He doesn't take any chances, unlike Bruce.
The guitar work on the Subhumans albums is amazing. You can actually hear him improve from the dissonant leads and simple scale patterns on early songs like Animal and
Human Error to his full-blown, melodic, guitar-hero-esque solos on later songs like Ex-Teenage Rebel and Get To Work On Time. Name one other guitarist who could make
playing out of key sound so damn cool. Anyone who says Greg Ginn is a moron.
Finally, the Canadian Subhumans are incredibly overrated. Everything of theirs that I've heard is indistinguishable from many other shitty bands of the era. And they're
Canadian, so that's definitely two strikes right there.
The Day The Country Died - Bluurgh
1982.
2024 UPDATE: It's painful how bad this review is. I mean, this entire page sucks -- I was way too young when I wrote it, and the Dead Kennedys
comparison was a terrible idea. But this album review is so embarrassing. This is a GREAT album. Not even close to a "three-chord thrashfest." The bass lines alone
make it mandatory listening, but the chord changes themselves are really UNIQUE! I don't know why I was such a dumbass in my early 20s. Here's the terrible original review (when I gave it an 8):
Straight punk, like that first Dead Kennedys album.
Speedy, volumey, catchy, and, yeah, it does get a bit dull as it goes, but
it's so darn fast, fun, and furious, who gives a rat's ass? There seems to be
a pattern in the lyricism ("All Gone Dead," "Killing," "Mickey Mouse Is Dead,"
"Dying World," "I Don't Wanna Die"), but I can't quite make out most of the
words, the singer being a thick-accented Britainer and all, so
who the hell knows? Might be a rock opera about baking a turkey sandwich for
all I know!!!! To be honest with you, I
really don't listen to this album all that much, but that's only because it was the
last one that I heard, and I was so used to the musical developments displayed
in their later works that I had trouble sitting through the whole sixteen-song
three-chord thrashfest. It's still a darn tootin' good time, though. Like playing a
saxophone.
- Reader Comments
- VespaPunk@aol.com
being from same county and country i can definitely say he
has a west country ......a west of england accent
- rvielel@san.rr.com (Robert Viele)
i dont understand how you can critisice this band. subhumans, culture
shock, and citizen fish have created some of the best music that i have
ever heard. maybe you should concentrate on the ideals behind the force of
the music before writing a review about it.
- blakecb@erols.com (Chris Blake)
The day the country died has got to be the best Subhumans record. "No"
has a message that is hard to put down. If you don't understand what he
is saying, then pull out the fucking inlay and read it. The song will
wall into place then.
- chris@intown.net (Chris Schwarz)
This is the best Subhumans album, hands down. The songs are very political
and paranoia-ridden, with oodles
and oodles of speed and great lyrics! I like Dick's English accent and how
the bass riffs seem to
stand WAY out in almost every single song. "Mickey Mouse Is Dead," "Big
Brother," "No," and "Ashtray
Dirt" are great songs - almost every song is a winner, I think.
Essentially, what you have here
is the Subhumans at their youngest, loudest, fastest and finest.
- Anarchy9mm@aol.com
It's their fucking best album ever i fucking love Trotsky he's an awesome
drummer the drums really stand out to me in "Subvert City" and "Black and
White" I think this is their best album because of the message and musical
value.
- LftCstPUNK@aol.com
i gave this album a 7 1/2 because some of the songs were slow, but some of
them were very fast so it evened out to be better, this was the first
subhumans album i heard and it took me awhile to get the beat of it. what
really got me to buy it was the cover. they have a lot of great songs on
the
album i could name off about 9 or 10 of my favorites but here's the best
ones i
think : "SUBVERT CITY", "MINORITY", "TIL' THE PIGS COME ROUND", "NO",
"KILLING",
"NEW AGE", well i named almost 10 but oh well . now that i think about it it
deserves an 8.
- Stephen_Thurlow@carat-int.com
erm...how can you be cockney in a trainspotting kind of way?
trainspotting
was scottish!
- stepho2000@hotmail.com
I can't blame you for criticizing SUB HUM ANS cause that's exactly
what
you should do! Get off your lazy ass, think, and hopefully act on your
ideas! But that doesn't mean I have to agree with you. Maybe if you had
read the lyrics to the songs on The Day the Country Died you would have
seen the meanings. That it's not all about cooking turkeys.
- gculver@inri.com (George W. Culver)
In the early-eighties I either had the Subhumans or The Misfits on. This
morning while driving to work (Im 27 now hehe) I was listening to the
The Day the Country Died and it still has the same energetic feel it
did all those years ago. My opinion is that the album was (and still is)
quite powerful. Though some of the subject matter used in the songs is no
longer a concern, it can be applied to our current lives :)
- zaanpunk@hotmai.com (Michiel Heinicke)
Rock Opera about a Turkey Sandwich??? At least try to read the lyrics,
prindle... and pick up the book 1984 by George Orwell, cuz THATS WHAT THIS
ALBUM IS ABOUT, the dark future where there is no democracy anymore (the
country died) but where the thought police torture you if you have a wrong
opinion.
This album picks up the 1984 feel just like Orwell would have wanted it (too
bad orwell never lived to hear punk music) Id give this album a 9, cuz it
has some of the subs best songs, with the climax at Mickey Mouse, Nothing I
can do, Dying World and Subvert City. But From there the songs dont do much
anymore(you can find a much better version of I dont wanna die on Time
Flies).
- WBinder007@aol.com
An eight sounds about right. There's some fantastic songs here, like No,
Mickey Mouse Is Dead, All Gone Dead, Nothing I Can Do and 'Til The Pigs Come
Round, not to mention the jaw-droppingly amazing Subvert City, but there's
too much filler to give it a nine. I Don't Wanna Die has got to be the
sloppiest mess this side of Crass, (who I can usually stand) Big Brother's
kinda boring, Black & White's way too long and Zyklon-B-Movie has got to be
their dumbest song ever. No More Gigs has a decent riff & solo, but it just
doesn't seem to work.
- harold.briggs@sympatico.ca
I don't know how George Culver can say that the message of this album no longer applies to our lives! You should listen to the song ex teenage rebel from worlds apart!
Nuclear War, cigarette smoke, and everything else this album is about is very relevent today! There are thousands of nuclear weapons on our planet, and it is just a matter of
time before some fuck sets one off and after one goes off a whole bunch more will go off in retaliation and we'll all be dead. Millions of fools smoke cigarettes everyday hoping
to fit in to crowds of cool people, or they just can't shake the habit after they realize they were mentally retarted in their early days.
Anyway This album kick all ass. Not quite as good as rats/timeflies but about as good as the first four EP. 9/10
Add your thoughts?
EP-LP - Bluurgh 1985.
This is a delightful compilation comprised of three
pre- and one post-The Day The Country Died 7-inch EPs. It was also the
first Subhumans stuff I ever heard and, I gotta tell you, I was mighty
impressed. I mean MIGHTY impressed. I illegally taped it on the back of an
illegally-taped Seven Seconds album, and played it in the car every day for
like fifteen years. Awww man, it was the shit. Of course, now I'm older and
more mature, so I can give it an eight and tell it to fuck off, but at the time.....
HOOOOO!The Demolition War EP starts it off with one heck of a
catchy delay-driven notey speedy brat racket (or, rather, five of such,
plus a crappy reggae song) - possibly the finest British punk ever? Well, no,
probably not, but definitely right up there. Good punk songwriters are a rare
breed; appreciate them. The next EP, Reason For Existence, gambles
with slowness a bit more than its predecessor, but at least "Cancer" really
resonates in its deadening droniness. Next is Religious Wars,
featuring the god-esque "It's Gonna Get Worse," a song that could
singlehandedly convince me to convert to Judaism if that were its goal, and,
finally, the Evolution EP is mostly kinda dopey ("So Much Money" and
"Germ" are just... dumb), but it ends with one heck of a buttkick called "Not
Me?" ("Who's gonna fight the system? You, me, or fucking no one?"). Lots of
system fighting round these parts. These guys were into anarchy, not drugs.
Life, not death. And realism, not utopianism. Of course, their brand of
realism, much like (let me clear my throat) the Dead Kennedys's, is awfully
depressing, wreaked as it is with all sorts of paranoia, fear, and disease. But I suppose life's
like that in dreary old England. Or at least - it was back in Maggie's day.
I'm sure it's much better now.
This EP-LP thing was a great idea,
saving collectors all kindsa time and money, but not every single song is that
great. Most of 'em are, but I'm telling you, very young white men need
to learn to just stay away from reggae. It doesn't work. Well, okay, it
doesn't work here.
Say, while we're on the subject, is "wreaked" a
word?
- Reader Comments
- wookie@iinet.com (Valerie Jamieson)
Webster's dictionary defines "Wreaked" as "a word to use in a crappy music
review".
- punksnskins@rocketmail.com (Steve)
just to let you know that Britain ain't any better than it was....
- LftCstPUNK@aol.com
i gave this album a 9 because the first three songs were very catchy and
then
the album got slower at the end which really made me mad because i thought
they'd be faster then that. this album really got me hooked on subhumans
and
i still think they are the best punk rock band formed. up there with guess
who dead kennedys, crass, sex pistols, misfits, exploited, and some
others, but the first one up there is subhumans. when i first heard the
song
"religious wars" and "no" on the day the country died
i skipped the song on it
because it said negative stuff about religion. but after awhile it all
added
up and it makes perfect sense to me now. my favorites songs outta this one
was "parasites", "drugs of youth", "animal", "society", "human error",
"religious wars"," evolution". "human error" is a slow yet great song it
expresses
the ignorance of the people in those days and these days of war and how
you're
tricked to believe it's right, well not so much tricked. the other song
that
hooked me was "evolution", it reminded me of the music my dad listens to
because of the beat of it.
i thought it was a very meaningful song and another pack of lies by the
gov't. thats all i have to say about that.
- rtheaker@sprint.ca (Robin Graham)
Hey there,
That's great that there's so many people out there that like these guys. I
used to think I was the only one. The EP-LP album was by far their best
album, and in my eyes they are undoubtedly the best British punk band ever.
All of the songs on that album and many of the others off of the other
albums, have hit me pretty hard, but none more than "Human Error". I played
that song in my grade 9 english class for some presentation, I had to show
some other works that shared my opinion of life, versus these indian poems
of the whole "circle of life" deal. There was literally, no lie, over half
of the class with their mouthes open after I played that song. I even went
to the trouble of handing out the lyrics to it so that they would know what
he was singing about in the song.
If you want, take a look at my page. I am also a huge Dead Kennedys fan, as
well as Lard and any of Jello's work.
http://members.tripod.com/~Fodder
- bankrobber@usa.net (booji boy)
I like'm.
Although I hear that Dick smokes now.
What the fuck is up with that. The same guy who sung "ASHTRAY DIRT" and
"CANCER" smokes now? That's fucked up.
- zaanpunk@hotmai.com (Michiel Heinicke)
Id give this one a nine too cuz also this album has some of the subs best
songs, PARASITES is perhaps my favourite Subs song of all time.
But also this one gets a little boring in the end.
- BobbySpence@email.msn.com
I GOT THE EP-LP SUBHUMANS CD AWHILE AGO, AND THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY GOOD.
I'VE NEVER LISTEN TO "THE DAY THE
COUNTRY DIED ALBUM BUT I GUESS IT'S REALLY GOOD.BUT THIS CD KICKS A LOT OF ASS.
"PARASITES", "DRUGS OF YOUTH", "ANIMALS", WHOS GONNA FIGHT IN WW3", "BIG CITY",
"PEROXIDE" "RELIGIOUS WARS" AND
SEVERAL OTHERS ARE REALLY GOOD.I THINK SUBHUMANS GO IN THE BLACK FLAG,MISFITS,
DK SECTION AND NOT WITH EXPLOITED
OR G.B.H. CAUSE THATS CRAP.
- WBinder007@aol.com
I can't see what your problem with Human Error is, because of all the
Subhumans songs, it definitely has some of the best lyrics. The last verse
alone makes almost every other "political" punk or hardcore band sound like
retards. The first seven songs here are great, but the second and third EPs
kind of suck. Religious Wars is a great song, but the rest of 'em...?
Fortunately, the Evolution EP ends the compiliation strongly. I really like
Germ, even though you don't, and both Not Me and the title track are great,
too.
- katie_taylor99@hotmail.com
re: booji boy's reader comment above:
SUBHUMANS FUCKIN RULE...EVEN IF DICK DOES SMOKE..THAT DOESNT AFFECT EITHER SONG...WHY CANT HE SING ABOUT IT...HE CAN SING WHATEVER THE FUCK HE WANTS..........
ITS CALLED - PUNK ROCK
AND SUBHUMANS IS A PURE PUNK ROCK BAND
ANYONE WHO TRULEY KNOWS PUNK MUSIC AND RESPECTS IT KNOWS THAT
WHY DONT YOU REALLY LISTEN TO THE BAND ..
NOT ONE ALBUM OR TWO SONGS
Add your thoughts?
Time Flies, But Aeroplanes Crash EP - Bluurgh
1983.
Full of hot tuna and short enough not to start stinkin'
right in the middle! Plus, there's musical growth here! "Susan" is a
sorrowful PIANO ballad (and good, too), "Work-Rest-Play-Die" is half-children's-sing-song and
half-Pink-Floyd-psycheclassic rock guitar solo, "Word Factory" is an honestly
GOOD reggae number, and oh... okay, the rest of 'em are speedy echoey punk
rock, but they're good, dammit!!!!!!!! I wouldn't sell my car to "Everyday
Life," but every other track on here is just lovely. Apparently you can buy
it on CD in collaborative conjunction with the Rats EP, so do that if you
want, but it's your funeral. They say the bass player got replaced after this
EP, but what am I, an encyclopedia?
- Reader Comments
- Sxeshawn@aol.com
hate to break it to you, but The Day the Country Died is a hell of a lot
better than Time Flies.
- zaanpunk@hotmai.com (Michiel Heinicke)
Together on one album with the RATS ep, I give it a TEN!
Cuz Time Flies and Rats fit perfectly together. The live versions on time
flies kick ass (except people are strange), i love World Factory's catchy
Ska rythymn (its not reggae stupid), and name me ONE PUNK BAND that ever
made a song like "Susan", (name me one band that can make a piano song sound
like punk music), and Work-Rest-Play-Day is their reaction on the Clash i
think. Lemme review Rats for you Prindle,
Its only 4 tracks, but all damn catchy. starts with "Joe public", wich is
goes in the style with "from the cradle to the grave", and the song then
blasts into "labels", wich is their fastest song ever i think, it kicks ass.
"when the bomb drops" is a masterly reggae track with great some guitar
solo's, and the last track "rats", is another song only the Subhumans could
play, they do that weird "half-note-chord-playing" again (like dying world),
cant really explain it, just hear it for yourself. And the song has two
parts, the first part is the punk song, the second part is totally weirdness
with keyboards and stuff. Great Great Great!
- WBinder007@aol.com
There's no way this deserves a nine. Maybe a six, but no way should it be
higher. Word Factory and Susan are the only good songs here. Work Rest Play
Die isn't half psyche-classic guitar solo, Prindle, you ass, it's half Word
Factory. Listen closely and you'll hear not only the kick-ass bassline from
that song, but the lyrics, too. I Don't Wanna Die still sucks, the lead
guitar work on First Aid is pointless, and the rest are boring.
Rats alone would be an eight. Joe Public is a great tune, with a fucking Jimi
Hendrix parody for Christ's sake. (Listen closely, it's near the end.) Labels
is decent, too, but I don't know what the fuck Heinicke's talking about.
There's no "half-note chord playing" in Dying World or Rats, and there's
really no guitar solo in When The Bomb Drops. Whatever, the two on one disc
get a seven.
- harold.briggs@sympatico.ca
time flies without rats wouldn't be nearly as good as it is with it. I
strongly suggest that pringle or whatever your name is gets timeflies with
rats! you won't regret it. The version of don't wanna die is far better
than the version on "the day the country died." "First aid" just rocks and
even though i haven't listened to the album in a long time I remember loving
every song from both rats and time flies. It's like psychadelic jamming
prog punk or something-very original. My favorite punk album of all time.
10/10
- fabbioclone@hotmail.com
I just wanted to say that the first person who responded to this was talking shit, and his e-mail address was "sxeshawn"
if this guys straitedge then he has no business listening to the subhumans anyway.
let us ignore him.
please don't take offense, I'm trying to help people.
Add your thoughts?
From The Cradle To The Grave - Bluurgh
1984.
Okay, this would be the Frankenchrist
period of the Subbers's career and, though certainly not quite as seamless a
collection of psychotic midtempo rock as that fine DKs experience, this is
still a grand listen and an admirable attempt to drag punk rock clear over the
mountain of bombast. What is it I'm referring to, you ask? Well, on
Frankenchrist, those Dead Kennedys did a six-minute epic punk track
called "Stars And Stripes Of Corruption"; though enjoyable in spots, the song
was ultimately just a bit too lengthy to hold the interest of your average
punk fan, that fan being me. That said, let me point out that the title track
of this Subhumans album is about eighteen minutes long. Okay? And it sure
ain't (isn't) no "Close To The Edge." What it is is a bunch of melodies
(punk, reggae, pop, rock) that have nothing to do with each other all linked
together in no particular order for no particular reason behind some
lyrics about how much society sucks. It has some fantastic sections, but some of it drags like nuts on the ground. The real lollipop here is side one,
full of kickass rock 'n' roll like "Where's The Freedom" and "Waste Of
Breath," as well as some real strange "scary" tracks like "Wake Up Screaming"
and "Rain." As a whole, I'd definitely say that the album isn't quite the prog-hardcore masterpiece they were hoping for, but that doesn't mean that it's not still really good; it is.
It's just also chockfull of obvious flaws and half-baked ideas, if I may use
the word "half-baked," for a moment. May I? Yahoo! I win and everybody else
loses!!!!!!
- Reader Comments
- norma@scptac.org
one of punk's best bands ever.
REALITY IS WAITING FOR A BUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- hilld@peak.org
Is that how you rip on creativity?
- mef3211@erols.com (Mark Ferron)
"artistic failure?" this is one of the most creative records ever put
out...side two is a brilliant and to-the-point summary of the life we
should all try our best to resist. The musical vicissitudes of From the
Cradle to the Grave may seem to be random, but from the first listen I saw
a coherent relationship between the lyrics and the music. The different
parts of the music (in mi opinion) do indeed have something to do with each
other, and certainly do have reason to be where they are. I could attempt to
explain how it all has to with the journey of life and so such, but I don't
think you want to hear anymore of me rambling.
- Unearth381@aol.com
I think From the Cradle To The Grave is a great song. It has a lot of
diffrent
parts that aren't that similar but thats what keeps it interesting, they
just
don't ride the same 3 or 4 chords for the entire song. The lyrics are great
as
well, their poetic and have depth and meaning to them their not just merely
"a
bunch of overblown lyrics about how much society sucks," their a little
more
than that. When you listen to music from anouther time you might want to
take
into account what was happening then and where the people whao wrote it are
from. The songs about how your programed as a child so in the long run
people
end up contoling your mind and your heart. And that your told that if you
kill
or die for your counrty your considerd a hero, when in reality all you do
is
die for gead and corruption.
My advice is maybe u should think about something before you write
about
it. Music isn't just words with a melody (unless your a manufactured
alternative band) it generally has a deeper meaning.
- tuber@worldnet.att.net (PunkRockKarl)
Who the hell told you that you are the average punk fan. Please stop
doing record reviews. You do not have the necessary background knowledge
to do them correctly.
- HeXeDReBeL@aol.com
YOU SUCK
i read your subhumans reviews and there is a few things i wanted to
say
how can you say that from the cradle to the grave is "a
bunch of melodies that have nothing to do with each other" and that it has
"over blown lyrics"you obviosly don't know good music when you here it.
and
also why do repetedly compare subhumans to DK i mean there good the fucking
world doesn't revolve around them. also HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT
WORLDS APART
IS
THERE BEST ALBUM!!!!!!! out of all them that is definatly the worst.
you do not know good music when you here it .in one of
the reviews i think you even said you didn't know the lyrics ,HOW CAN YOU
RIGHT A REVIEW WITHOUT KNOWING THE LYRICS THE SONGS ARE NOTHING WITH OUT
LYRICS. try reading them then mabey you'll understand you idiot
- WBinder007@aol.com
I think you fucked up bad on this one, Prindle. Worlds Apart is a 9,
this is the 10. Are you honestly telling me that the title track is NOT the
best punk song ever written?! Half-baked is a term I would use to describe
Sandinista, not this. This is truly one of the best, if not THE best punk
album ever made.
This was not the Frankenchrist period of their career. How could it be?!
Frankenchrist-1985, From The Cradle To The Grave-1984. If anything,
Frankenchrist was the From The Cradle To The Grave point of the Dead Kennedys
career. Although I doubt you'd ever concede THAT point, because you obviously
favor the Dead Kennedys.
"Stars & Stripes Of Corruption" is not something I would consider epic.
"From The Cradle To The Grave," on the other hand, practically defines the
word for me. The musical parts do fit together, trust me on this one. And the
lyrics are brilliant. It's one thing to just say "the system sucks, fuck the
system" Hell, both the Subhumans AND DK have done that on some of their
shorter songs. ("No," etc.) But to show exactly how the system controls
someone from birth until death, or from the cradle to the grave, Prindle, now
that is brilliant. And to do it in the way Dick & the boys did it on this
particular song, well, I truly am at a loss for words on this one. Of course,
you'll never re-rate this album or anything so I guess this comment is
pointless.
That doesn't change anything, though. The title track, "Waste Of
Breath," "Where's The Freedom," "Forget," "Us Fish Must Swin Together" and
"Reality Is Waiting For A Bus" are some of the best songs they ever wrote.
It's just too bad you don't seem to realize this.
- harold.briggs@sympatico.ca
I agree with pringle on this one. The subhumans are probably my favorite
punk band and this was the subhumans album I bought to complete my
collection. I was very dissapointed. After repeated listenings Some of the
songs have grown on me but From the cradle to the grave just puts me to
sleep. It's a very ambitious song to say the least but it's just too long
and boring. I really like "us fish must swim together" though. I'm going
to keep listening to it to see if i'm missing the point but as for now I
give it a 6.5/10
- Netdefender1@aol.com
Im a huge Dead Kennedys fan but im not crazy about the Frankenchrist era so
hearing this album being compared to it kinda turned me off but i still
bought it. However, i listened to the whole thing and if this is anything
like Frankenchrist my name is mary. With the exception of Wake up Screaming
and the 16 minute From the Cradle To The Grave (which is no more
frankenchristish than NoFX doing the Decline) the rest of the songs are just
as rockin as The Day The Country Died
Add your thoughts?
Rats EP - Bluurgh 1984
EP. Rats EP. Of all the music joints in all the towns in all the world, it walked into mine. Well, it's not the humans in your sub that count, it's the Sub in your Humans. I'll be back.
(*five minutes later*)
Would you be shocked if I put on something more memorable? My Mama always said, "Subhumans EPs were like a box of chocolate; you never know what you're gonna get." I could dance to this till the cows come home... On second thought, I'd rather dance to The Cows when you came home. Frankly, my dear, I don't give it an eight.
They singin' to me? They singin' to me? They singin' to me? Well, who the hell else are they singin' to? They singin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do they think they're singin' to? Gimme some Whiskeytown, Crystal Gayle on the side. And don't play Sting, baby.
I'd love to do this all night, but the list just ended so I guess I have to FCUKing review the FCUKing CD now. It has four songs in eleven minutes. First three sound like early Subhumans, the last one like later Subhumans. They're good, but all of them are dragged down by unneceesary slow parts tossed in there all willy-nilly with no regard for the punk rocker in the Pitt. Three of the songs are punk, one is reggae. I don't like my reviews to just be lists of song titles followed by descriptions, so I won't tell you what they're called. One has a bouncy ascending bass line but the song isn't very good. Another has lots of reverb on the guitar and is a great fast aggressive skater-punk riff like JFA or Suicidal Tendencies' "Possessed." Another is dark weird reggae that actually gets pretty interesting. And yet another is a really terrific dark pissed off nervous piece of punk rock with an awesome chimy break in the chorus (and SICKENING lurching middle part) that would fit as comfortably onto Worlds Apart as my dick would fit into your ass if I were gay.
So you see, your best bet is to simply purchase the money-saving CD that features both the Rats and Time Flies...But Aeroplanes Crash EPs together again for the very first time. "Labels" and "Rats" are among the top Subhumans songs of all time and live up to the band's Canadian name like a fine wine. However, the other two... Ehh... Well, they have their moments, but nnnnnn..... pbbbbl...... FRAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!.
Which reminds me - doesn't the term "Frappuccino" sound like somebody just took a dump in your coffee?
Well, that's because I did - hey, YOU'RE the one who said you liked it with "cream"!
Which reminds me - doesn't the name "Robert Fripp" sound like he just took a dump and released it under the title Lizard?
Add your thoughts?
* Worlds Apart - Bluurgh 1985.
*
Oooooh! So there is life after punk!!! This is
the creative original post-punk guitar rock that they were trying to do on the
last record before they got all bogged down in that "epic," and man is this
one unstoppable. Fifteen songs, all of 'em great, from the Van Halen guitar
intro "33322" to the Yes-ish acoustic fade-out "33322," all chockfull of great
hooks, both musical and vocal...... In short, one HEY of a fantastic visit to
Accessibleland. Yes, I admit that it took me several years to fully realize
its brilliance (when I first heard it, I was really into high-speed punk, and
who the hell wants to hear this fully-developed midtempo crap when they just
wanna mosh, dude????), but now I have, and I just want to share it with
you, the loyal reader. These songs are so good. As a unit. As a political,
social, and emotional statement. And as an album, too! All of the melodies are
smart ("Ex-Teenage Rebel" might be the finest delay-ridden song they ever did,
"Carry On Laughing" twists speedpunk into some screwed-up cyclical rhythm
whirlwind, "Someone Is Lying" works the reggae skrank thing to a surprisingly
dark, almost tear-inducing finale, ah hell, they's all great), and the lyrics
ain't no Rolling Stones either. Seriously, the consistency of this album is
amazing.
Not just the wobbly slab of black goo that the
songs are printed on, but the songs themselves are consistently
creative, well-arranged, and worthwhile. It's just guitar rock, but the band
works incredibly well together to ensure that every song has a reason to be.
The bass and guitar don't always play the same things; the drummer
doesn't just stay in a 4/4 beat the whole time; they're actually
THINKING about what they're doing. But making 'em catchy, too! Just give it
a few listens. Some of the songs might seem uneventful at first, but after
three or four listens, you will be amazed by how well this record is put
together. Have a good time! And say hello to Bill for me!
- Reader Comments
- JoeBlobs@aol.com
That's the first and I definitely hope the last time I hear the Subhumans
compared to Van Halen.
- oconnorb@concentric.net
what are you talking about. my first sub's album was worlds apart which
is nothing like the day the country died. STILL NO other punk band has
EVER written a punk song like "subvert city" (no one can play that disco -
punk beat as fast as trotsky. Tell me when did the bassist for DK ever
write anything as cool or as funky as the bassline to "nothing i can
do". DK was a great band so was Minor Threat and Misfits but as far as
punk goes no one can touch the sub's. And i think they did rasta - punk
pretty good!
- rtheaker@sprint.ca (Robin Graham)
Hello again, I bet you don't remember me but that's ok. I sent you my
opinion of your Subhumans albums review, and well I didn't agree with you at
first that Worlds Apart was their best album but my opinion has now changed,
I love that album now. The changes, the music, the lyric everything is
great.. I just thought I'd send ya that let ya know. Not sure why, guess
maybe I just felt like sending email :)
- tuber@worldnet.att.net (PunkRockKarl)
What do you mean "life AFTER punk" who said punk is over, you? Like you
are any fucking authority. Why are you wasting time comparing Dead
Kennedys and SUB][HUM][ANS anyway. They are nothing alkie save for the
years they were together. You really need to stop doing record reviews.
- Extnrebel@aol.com
Well...I can't say i agree with some of your other reviews but i can agree
with you on this one. Worlds Apart is an amazing album the tracks are all
divided great. Not so much punk rock as more towards rock blues. You have the
great rock of "Apathy with the rock n' roll of "get to work on time" with the
slow tunes of "someone is lying. Great Album.
- zaanpunk@hotmai.com (Michiel Heinicke)
What where you thinking Dick & the lads????? why did you make this album???
this aint punk anymore! a few nice songs but these aren't the subs i love.
id give it a low 7.
- MarkyRebel@aol.com
How can you get everything so consistently wrong? Worlds Apart is a
musical *nightmare*, and From the Cradle to the Grave is one of the most
brilliant things that the punk scene ever spat out! Get your facts straight! And
for someone so in favor of the shitty prog-rock displayed on Worlds Apart,
you sure are down on their *good* experimentation (the reggae tunes, etc.)
I guess you're entitled to your opinions, but I wish you'd stop
irritating the rest of us with them
- WBinder007@aol.com
This is a wonderful album and all, and definitely their most diverse
musically, but it's not as good as From The Cradle To The Grave. Fade Away is
definitely their best reggae song, (though Human Error is really close) Heads
of State is inexplicably bouncy and fantastic, Can't Hear The Words amazes me
every time I listen to it, and... aw, fuck it. This album is mind-blowing up
until track 8, Pigman, which is fucking dumber than shit. From there, Can't
Hear The Words, Get To Work On Time and the beginning of Ex-Teenage Rebel are
great, but the rest are kind of boring. I liked the music from Straightline
Thinking a lot better when the Monkees called it Stepping Stone, too.
- fabbioclone@hotmail.com
it's awesome that you think worlds apart is the best one. I do as well.
this album is how I get non-punk rockers to admit that punk is good, it works every time, I swear.
these kids who are talking shit need to get off their punk rock pedistals and listen to some music.
for christs sake I don't want to read reviews by a person who only listens to one type of music.
this guy knows what he's doing.
and as much as it makes me un-punk, it bothers me how he sings off key on the day the country died. I mean, as someone who's into music for music's sake, that makes it less fun to listen to.
I think worlds apart is the best punk album ever, and I think the subhumans are the best punk band ever.
so anyhow, all you hardcore punk rockers can go listen to the day the country died, that's cool, it's a good album. I won't listen to it as much as worlds apart.
Add your thoughts?
Split Vision 29:29 - Bluurgh 1985.
I'm not sure if there's a story behind this record or
not, but it sure is weak. Just boring! The songs don't really do anything!
Are they outtakes from earlier records? Was the band on the verge of breakup?
I don't know, but the brilliance of the last record is nowhere to be seen
here. More guitar rock with more of a reggae feel, but not much in the way of
melody! A couple of 'em are kinda neat, like "Somebody's Mother," which
starts things off on a positive note, but most of 'em are just....ehhh.... Oh well. I've never heard the band
Culture Shock, but I have heard Citizen Fish (featuring three former
Subhumans) and it's real similar to the stuff on this record.
Reggae/ska/pop/guitar rock with good intentions but not tons in the way of
innovation or memorable hookage. That's just me talking, though. I love the
song "Charity"....
- Reader Comments
- "chaffey college"@earthlink.com (Carlos Osegueda)
hey dick head. Citizen fish is my favorite band so fuck off. I admire
dick's lyrics. He is one of greatest song writers that ever lived. I
admire all he work so fuck you.
you sound like a jock to me and not one understands his words. all of
dick's lyrics are great. He give a message that no other song writer
has done before, and he did not retreat. Go buy some of his latest
albums and read his words. They'll kick your ass!
- hilld@peak.org (Doug Hill)
SUBHUMANS RULE YOU FAG.
- JLDART@aol.com
i think that the subhumans are one of the greatest punk bands that ever
existed. They had a lot of great songs. Dick is a great songwriter. The
only other person i've heard rip on the government like that is Jello Biafra
of the Dead Kennedys.
- wjohnson@lightspeed.net
Screw that, 29:29 SPLIT VISION is a bad ass album with killer bass lines
that not many could top. The subhumans were one of the greatest bands out
there.
- smithj@fit.edu (Jaime Smith)
I love Subhumans. Almost as much as I love Crass. Old school punk kicks
ass and anyone who doesn't listen to it doesn't know what they're
missing out on.
- student@ecst.csuchico.edu
Culture Shock is my favorite band. It is very different from Subhumans
or Citizen Fish (though I am a very big fan of both). The lyrics in
"Onwards and Upwards" kick ass. If you have not heard Culture Shock
yet, hear them! And in my opinion Split Vision is a great album and so
is EP-LP, you did not give them enough credit. If you think Citizen
Fish is boring maybe you did not hear Free Souls in A trapped
Environment. There is nothing boring about that album.
- rvielel@san.rr.com (Robert Viele)
subhumans have given us so much enlightenment on certain political and
ethical subjects, how can you talk shit about them. listen to your albums
more carefully.
- chunli@exit109.com (Brookelynn)
I agree with you I think the SUB-HUM-ANS were one of the greatest punkbands
of their time. I wish I could of been the age i am now when they would
play. Unfortunatly the so-called "punk rock" today has killed all the
messages and ideas that genuine punk rock endeavored to give. But the
greatest bands live on, while those shit faced commercial punks continue to
expose the scene.
- nosfera2@interaccess.com (David Sumers)
I agree with alot of the rest of the comments, but not alot of yours. "now
you're older and more mature"? Any real punks wouldnt be under the
impression that its something you grow out of. Their lyrics are some of the
smartest I've ever read which has always been the appeal behind the best
punk bands. Culture Shock are good too-Glad they kept going in some form,
sorry I missed seeing them play.
- SDTats@yahoo.com (Jay Lopez)
I applaud you for putting up a Subhumans page but do not understand
why you did it. You seem to know very little about the band or its music.
I have followed them since 1982 when I first heard the EP, Rats. I have
seen them perform over 10 times as the Subhumans and 5 or 6 as Citizen Fish.
If you listen carefully to the later Subhumans records you can pick up hints
of what has become Citizen Fish. As for the fish part..well that has been
there from the start. Fish 1,2,3 etc..and if you will look at most records
put out on Blurg you will see this on the back of the covers. You will also
see it on the "official bootlegs" put out on Spiderleg records. Anyway, if
you want to discuss the music and message of any of their incarnations
please e-mail me at SDTats@yahoo.com. PS the other members of Subhumans were
Phil & Grant. Also Dick, Trotsky and Phil are in Citizen Fish. Thank you
- gmasuett@hctc.com (G & M Suetterlein)
Why don't you just get it over with and stick Jello Biafra's dick in your
mouth?
And what the fuck do you know about Song structures & music in general???
The Subhumans are all around Badasses...... So stick it up your ARSE Prindle!!
- bayley@ibm.net (deinet.bayley)
How can people critisize bands like subhumans and exploited. Who knows
where punk would be right now if werent for them. so dont bash the subs,
you wanker.
- preservatives@email.msn.com (Deirdre Fotis)
crass could touch the subs anytime they felt like it
- rtheaker@sprint.ca (Robin Graham)
This is funny, there's a lot of people out there pissed off at you, I mean I
don't agree with you in some areas too, like where you talk about
Split Vision being a failure, have you ever thought about maybe the
fact that they were just in a different mind-set. I mean are we always
pissed off about the same thing all the time. Are we always in the mood to
write or act a certain way. I would like to think that this was just a phase
with the writers of this band, that it wasn't a failure to them, maybe a
failure to keeping up the image that you hold in your head of them. But it
really didn't piss me off that much, I mean you're intitled to your opinion.
And I think that this "chaffey college" person who ever you are, I think
maybe you should be a little less judgemental and think about what you're
saying. Do you really think a jock would smart enough to come up with some
of this stuff, or to even find Subhumans nevermind have an opinion of them?
I don't think so.
P.S. I have to agree with the guy though that said you might as well just
suck Jello's dick heheheheh, you do sort of get off topic and compare them
to DK a little too much, I mean different time periods experiences and
countries might play a bit of a role in the difference between these two
great bands. Which in my opinion are the two best punk bands ever.
- FatSkanka@aol.com
just for your information on this subhumans review page, culture shock
sounds
much like citizen fishes early albums, with the reggea/ska thing, exept the
lyrics seem to be more psycological than political. on the one i have
onwards
and upwards, a few of the songs sound like they came from citizen fish's
millenia maddness and the rest sound like more punkish versions of the
kind
of songs you would find on free souls in a trapped enviroment, of course
if
you are not knowledgable in the field of citizen fish, you would have no
idea
what i am talking about, but thats the best explanation i can give
- dwhitlow@ix.netcom.com
I think the subhumans are the all around best brit.and punkband
alive!!!!If you actually disagrey,WELL GOD BLESS YOU,YOU MUST NOT KNOW A
SINGLE THING ABOUT PUNK
- plaz138@aol.com
Listen wanker...The Subhumans and the Fish rule !!! I was privileged enough to
witness the Subhumans last night (Aug. 28 at the Orange Pavilion,CA) and let
me say,anyone who doubts their greatness should see them live.It was one of
the most insane shows I've ever been to ! The hundred + people on stage,the
pit,the nazis getting stomped.......It was total anarchy.Fun was had by all
(except the nazi punks - screw the bastards).
PS - To the guy who compared the Subs to the Exploited.....go piss off !!! The
Exploited-Nazi-Fucks can't come close to Dick & the lads.
- klherdeg@quicklink.com (Kay Herdeg)
Really fucking good critism, you jerk-off. Mayube you should listen to
fucking album once before brazenly ripping it apart. And it comes with
lyrics, you illiterate troglydite! Suck on sweatty nuts for that shitty
review!
- JonnyMotel@aol.com (Clay)
Isnt it wonderful reviewing punk rock? When you have something funny or
cynical to say about some kids favorite band (like my man Carlos at the top of
the page or anyone else who calls you a "fag" or "subhumans rule dude, uh,
what thuh fuck") they freak out. These kids need to read books instead of
Dicks lyrics. yeah, he can write some AMAZING songs, but shit man. Hes just a
guy like us. No reason to emmulate him and I for one, SEE the DK Subhumans
thing. Punk fans are the reason I dont go to many shows or even think about
calling myself a punk. Most have no roots or taste to, kiss my tookus. Go
paint yr jacket and figure out how society is killing you.
- Peptobmsl@aol.com (Nick Leu)
A message to Kay Herdeg: Your post made me laugh almost as much as the
"Hungarian AC/DC fun man" guy who posted on the AC/DC page. You call someone
an "illiterate troglodite", but spell "troglodite", "maybe", "criticism", and
"sweaty" wrong, and use the phrase, "listen to fucking album". Ahh the many
joys of the internet.....
I saw the Subhumans a couple weeks ago, and it was good, but it's one o'
those things that's already been elaborated upon by previous posters. Citizen
Fish are also good, by the by, but that's already been discussed by others
here (albeit in a less than eloquent manner).
- centerm@ul.com
I took Dick's advice from "dehumanization" (29:29 split vision)
Iwanted to stay alive, so I joined the police. I often wonder if I'm
the only cop in America (or Europe) that has seen the subhumans, and
still goes to shows?
- zaanpunk@hotmai.com (Michiel Heinicke)
No no no Prindle, this album is the subs' return to punk, they do the catchy
riffs thing again on this one. Too bad they had to split up. I like this
album, i would give it a nine.
You might want to look for a new Subhumans release called Unfinished
Business, with previously unreleased songs (ive been searching for it for a
while, i had a chance to buy it at their reunion tour where i saw em, but i
was out of cash!), i think it's also out on Bluurg records.
- JeLLoVoLcoM1@aol.com
Subhumans are the second best fucking band, Dead Kennedys being #1
- KRosell@email.msn.com
i dissagree with jellovolcom, subhumans are the best there are much more aggressive and get the point out
of what they dont liek and why they dont. the dead kennedys do that as well but the subhumans are just
better
- WBinder007@aol.com
The big problem with this EP is that it is an incredibly pretentious collection of outtakes. Well, sort of. Some of the songs are obviously outtakes, and bad ones at that, and
while some of the songs are really good, as a whole, there's only one word for it- pretentious.
Sure, you can argue that the title track on From The Cradle To The Grave was pretentious because of its length, (shit, there's entire full-length Zeke albums that are shorter)
but that song attempted to tell the story of an individual's entire life and how he gets fucked by the system at every turn. It succeeded, though, and ultimately, didn't seem all
too pretentious, but rather, good-natured and ambitious. The fact that it was written during the time when they wrote The Day The Country Died makes it that much more
impressive, mostly because of the musical limitations on The Day The Country Died. (I mean,Christ, just how many songs are based around the chords A, Bb, B, and C in the
Subhumans' catalogue? There's at least a dozen, and more that half of that particular album. Still, though, it's a great album.)
Worlds Apart, on the other hand, was a pretentious album. They basically decided to all but abandon the speedy punk tunes that they built their careers on, choosing instead
to focus on the more experimental tunes that appeared maybe once or twice on almost each of their releases to date.
Problem is, that kind of approach tends to have a polarizing effect- either the songs are really good, or they fucking suck. Fortunately, with Worlds Apart, (about which I was
partially wrong- Straightline Thinking is E-G-A, not A-C-D, so forget the Monkees comment, and I was also wrong about Ex-Teenage Rebel, which is basically a condensed
song along the lines of From The Cradle To The Grave,and very, very cool) the bands creativity was at an all-time high, and the resulting album was a masterpiece with only
one or two missteps, namely the retarded Pigman and the well-meaning but boring Powergames. (As an album, I still like From The Cradle to the Grave more, though, but that
point's moot.)
But, there's a problem. Songs like Powergames and Ex-Teenage Rebel are very complex in the sense that they have many different parts musically, but overall, the quality
varies. (Powergames = shit, Ex-Teenage Rebel = awesome) It's really quite interesting, because some of their best songs are the ones where they just ride one or two (or maybe,
just maybe, three) riffs the whole time, like "Word Factory," "Human Error," "Subvert City" (which has an acoustically finger-picked intro, not exactly
expected), "Us Fish Must Swim Together" (which also has an acoustically finger-picked intro, not exactly an argument against artistic stagnation), "No,"
"Waste Of Breath," "Forget," etc.
It's almost as if they sat back and listened to "From The Cradle To The Grave" (the song, not the whole album) and really liked the way they were able to fit so many
song parts into just one song. The approach worked with that seventeen-minute song. It doesn't work so well with a four or five minute song.
Which brings me (finally) to this release. Many of these songs are along the lines ofthe "mini-operas" I just mentioned. Once again, the quality varies."Somebody's Mother" is
definitely one of the ten best songs they've ever done, with a mind-blowingly cool main riff that, sadly, disappears for most of the middle of the song. Much of the song has no
lyrics, and the few verses contained within aren't exactly Dick's best work. This is somewhat surprising considering that Dick's lyrics, more that anything else, are
what sets the Subhumans apart from many other early 80's punk bands.
Unfortunately, there are also several other songs on the album. I realize that seems a bit pessimistic, but if you've actually heard this album then you know what I mean.
"Heroes" is a nice little ditty, and the guitar solo portion seems to be kind of a swipe at Led Zeppelin, (think "Whole Lotta Love" and you'll understand)
perhaps meaning the entire song is about those worthless heroin-addled fourteen-year-old-fucking coke-snorting over-rated purveyors of massively overrated crap. Or not. The
logic's a bit loose, I'll admit.
"Walls Of Silence," despite a Subhumans-by-the-numbers guitar part, has a nice enough bassline and lyrics to stick out. And it's also short, like under two-minutes,
so that's a plus as well, especially on this album, which is only about five minutes shorter than The Day The Country Died, despite containing only half the songs.
The rest of the album can fuck off. Just like the in-no-way-shape-or-form-deserving-a-nine-from-Prindle Time Flies EP, the lyrics are fantastic. The music, on the other hand,
to borrow two of Prindle's phrases, sucks Shakespearian trained Jm. J. Bullock's big ol' peen.
The songs "Worlds Apart," "New Boy" and "Time Flies But Aeroplanes Crash," are, in my opinion, the three worst songs this band ever recorded. Since
they make up over a half of this album's length, it just compounds the misery.
"Worlds Apart," in particular, represents the pretentious feeling that oozes through this record. Look at the lyrics- "Then they dropped their goddamn bomb / Just
like we'd predicted / Just like we wrote the songs about." What the fuck?! Like you guys are fucking martyrs or something!
Despite this unabashed arrogance, the overlong song does have some great lyrics, notably "Ignorance and innocence go together / Peace and harmony flowers and trees / Your
peace of mind only comes in pints / There are other worlds apart from these."
Too bad the music is some God-fucking-awful jazz experiment that would make Miles Davis roll over in his grave. Or at least rot in it, to paraphrase Spinal Tap's Derek
Smalls.
I'm going out on the cliff of presumption when I presume this, but I think the two songs with titles of other Subhumans albums were outtakes from those sessions. (Actually,
that's probably not all that presumptuous after all.) Just think if "Worlds Apart" appeared on Worlds Apart. Guarantee, Prindle wouldn't have awarded it a ten.
“Time Flies But Aeroplanes Crash," however, would have fit in perfectly on its intended release, because it sucks so fucking bad. Bad melody, no discernible guitar hook,
etc, etc, jeez does it suck.
I won't even comment on "New Boy."
Overall, though, the three good songs range from amazing to very good, and counter out the other five almost enough to warrant a purchase. Not quite, though. Overall, I give it
a four, and this post is way too fucking long. Fin.
- fabbioclone@hotmail.com
I don't know dude, heroes was an awesome song.
heroes was as good as the songs on worlds apart, which was my favorite one.
to everybody talking bad about worlds apart, it's ok for bands to make experimental albums.
the first punk album (whatever it was) was an experimental album.
experimenting is how we make new things.
please listen to worlds apart. I mean really, take off your spikey leather jackets and listen to it.
it's good I promise.
Add your thoughts?
Unfinished Business EP - Bluurg 1998.
A sexxxcellent idea sexxxecuted sexxxpecially sexxgood. I wish somebody had
told me it was only 12 and a half minutes before I bought it, but life
continues at a whirlwind pace of which we can only speculate the reasons
wherefore. This is seven Subhumans songs that most people have never heard
-- including those people that own this EP!!!!!Hey - I'm not here to make
you happy, or even to make sense. I'm here to ramble on and on and on about
the Dead Kennedys so everyone can call me an asshole. But I'm not an
asshole. I'm just a sillygoose. Doesn't the world love a sillygoose any
more? If not, why? If yes, rimjob?
This is seven songs -- all punk, no
ska, all great, no bad! Two are rare studio tracks from 82-83, one is a
smashingly fun, messily confusing live track from 81 and the remaining four
are newly recorded versions of old songs "re-learnt from old gig tapes"!!!
That's commitment for you! For ME! After all these slow ska Citizen Fish
albums (of which I've only heard the first two, so for all I know they play
grindcore now), to return to the studio to bash out well-produced,
hyperactive, catchy as HELL old school punk rock tunes like this - just
GREAT WORK, GUYS!!!!
Don't be fearing you'll be buying ska, in other
words, if you don't like ska. This is classic, classic Subhumans punk rock.
Just like the EP-LP stuff. Mean guitar tones, angry
British yob vocals about oh this and that, one would assume. In this day
and age of kickass hardcore GODS like Blink 182 and Green Day, there is
absolutely no reason that we should have had to wait so many years to hear
this great material. Much like cotton.
By the way, everybody who says
negative things about me on this page is a fag. One big collective fag with
about forty heads, all sucking Puerto Rican cock.
- Reader Comments
- Zombywoof109@aol.com
WHEN I STARTED LISTENING TO PUNK IN THE EARLY 80'S THERE WAS NO WAY TO KNOW WHO WAS WHO, WHAT WAS WHAT & WHO OR WHAT
SUCKED OR DIDN'T SUCK SINCE RADIO PLAYED NONE OF THIS MUSIC.
THE WAY THE MAJORITY OF MY RECORD COLLECTION WAS BUILT WAS BY GOING TO THE LOCAL RECORD STORES & GOING THROUGH THEIR
BINS OF INDIE / IMPORT BINS FOR HOURS ON END, LOOKING AT THE ALBUMS, READING THE LIST OF SONGS & IF EVERYTHING LOOKED LIKE IT
WOULD BE GOOD I'D BUY IT. THIS IS HOW I FOUND THE SUBHUMANS. I SAW "THE DAY THE COUNTRY DIED" AND BOUGHT IT, AND FOR THE
NEXT NUMBER OF YEARS COLLECTED ALL I COULD BY THE BAND.
WITH THIS SYSTEM I ALSO "FOUND" TO MANY OTHER BANDS TO LIST, "CHAOTIC DISCHORD" A BRITISH HARDCORE BAND, HEAVIER THAN THE
SUBS AND IMPOSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND, IN THE ALBUM THEIR IS NO LYRIC SHEET & TO THIS DAY 20 YEARS LATER I UNDERSTAND ONLY 5% OF
THE VOCALISTS RANTINGS, BUT NEVER THE LESS A GREAT FIND.
ANOTHER BAND I "FOUND" WHICH AS IT TURNS OUT WAS NOT FAR FROM MY DETROIT AREA HOME IS THE "CRUCIFUCKS".
THIS SYSTEM WORKED UP UNTIL THE 90'S WHEN IN ORDER TO GAIN AN AUDIENCE ANY GROUP OFBUTT-FUCK WITH A GUITAR CALLED
THEMSELVES PUNK.
BUT WHEN YOU GO INTO A NEVER EXPLORED GENRE HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO KNOW? I "FOUND" MORE GOOD MUSIC THAN BAD THIS WAY.
SUB HUM ANS ROCK!
- UltraVegetaxXxXx@aol.com
Fuck the Subhumans. Most everything Ive heard by them sucks the cock. They are not even close to being the best Brit punk band, never mind the best punk band. If you
want the best brit punk- go the originals- the Sex Pistols! They could write a good political song (Anarchy in the UK, God Save the Queen) but didnt take themselves so
seriously! They wrote fun little songs like "Submission" which seems to be about performing oral sex on a woman, and "Body" which is about abortion! And they are all great
little songs- they outdo everything by this band- and with only one alblum! If you want the best straight up punk . . . thats hard but certainly the Ramones, The Germs, the
Misfits, Flipper, Richard Hell, Television, and yes the DKs are much more entertaining and/or talented than these guys.
- benalto@benalto.com (Rocket Robin Hood)
The Canuck Subhumans were WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY better. "Slave
To My Dick" is a classic which belongs on any punk rock mix tape. Ditto with
"Oh Canaduh". Wake up and smell the back bacon, Prindle!
Add your thoughts?
Live In A Dive - Fat Wreck Chords 2004
The Subhumans are back? What happened to Citizen Fish, the ska band featuring 3/4ths of the Subhumans? What happened to all of their great reggae and ska songs that I've never heard? I'll always miss not having heard them. Or to be more exact, I used to own a couple of their CDs but most of the songs were so nondescript that the only one I remember at all is "Charity," with its awesome descending bass line and hilarious Kate Bush part. But the Subhumans were GREAT! Their nearly ska-free catalog was made up largely of (1) speedy simple British punk blasts of catchy anger and (b) dark psychotic ruminations of midtempo fear and discomfort. And they sound just as great now as they did when I was 16 (400 years ago). This is a NEW live recording, recorded in 2003 but consisting almost entirely of classic material (one track each from Time Flies, But Aeroplanes Crash, Evolution, Reason For Existence, 29:29 Split Vision and Rats, two from Religious Wars, four each from Demolition War, From The Cradle To The Grave and Worlds Apart and a goodly SIX from The Day The Country Died). The sole new track, "This Year's War," takes Bush and Major to task over a fast, muted descending hook of untrustworthiness. And I don't mean the band Bush and some guy's College Major!!! Heh hehe heh.
I mean a short green leafy tree and a happy-sounding musical chord.
The song selection is perfect (no reggae or ska!), the sound quality is excellent for a live recording and the guitar tone is as shiny and thick as it was in the mid-80s. Plus it's a treat to hear a middle-aged, lower-voiced Dick give a go at stuff like "Parasites" that was originally recorded when his voice was younger than a fruitfly and higher than a penis that's been shot up with cocaine.
Oh I forgot - here's my "punk guy": SELLOUTS!!! Fuckin' putting out a record on Fat Wreck Chords just to make a million dollars! I'm keepin' the tradition of the PINS alive! Fight war not wars! Spare some change?
- Reader Comments
- warminstrel@hotmail.com (Warren Dancey)
A 37 year old ex-teenage rebel and Wessex Anarchsit, local to Subhumans,
Culture Shock and Citizen Fish, currently residing in Warminster,
(Un-Official home of The Subhumans) formerly lived in Melksham, (home of
Bluurg records) contemporary, freind, co-anarchist to Dick and crew and the
other wessex punk bands (Check out: The A-Heads, Smart Pils, The Cult
Maniax, Organised Chaos, The Amebix, The Resserected and the Lumps Of Merde
all of varying style and/or quality)
To fully understand the music and vibe i think it helps to actually
"be" there; In the west of England the punks found a new home at the
Stonehenge Free Festival, injecting a new energy of pro-activeness along
with the Peace and Anti war feelings shared by both New age Hippys and Punks
alike. This was from about 1980 onwards, bands like Crass playing alongside
Ozeric Tentacles etc.
In 1985 Maggie Thatcher decied as she had beaten the Unions, Coal
miners etc she would start on her next enemy, namely Punks,
Hippys...basicaly anyone with an alternative lifestyle...The Criminal
Justice Bill was passed, making all festivals, gatherings illegal. This all
culminated in the "Battel Of The Beanfield" at Stonehenge where hundreds of
Tavellers, Punks etc had thier homes (busses) trashed and were beaten with
truncheons by unforgiving policemen.
This happend about the time of the forming of Culture Shock who took
it upon themselves to support the cause playing free gigs all over the west
country in the years that passed untill the Rave generation took over the
free festival scene in the late 80's.
In all I am very proud to have been part of it, am still an
anarchist and still find the writing of reviews, comparing quality of music
with others and generally making a frace of punk rock an abhoration of all
that punk stands for.
Do some research, check out Dicks subhumans site and make your own
minds up, thats what its all about and I'm not about to cast scathing
remarks about anyone ideals or beliefs. As for hating a bands tunes because
they dare to pay a bit of ska or reggae is a bit narrow minded and again
stands against all that is REALY punk (Totskys a big Led Zepplin fan you
know).
These days my 15 year stepson Sam (who is incidently the son of
Culture Shock drummer Bill Marlkey) buys his guitars, strings and amps from
a shop in Warminster called Acre Music, owned by 'Humans Guitarist Bruce
Treasure. If any Punks in the US want to hear it from the horses mouth then
look up Pete The Roadie in Oakland, USA, roadie to Subhumans.
Anyways, keep it real, without prejudice and do your own thang.
Be pro-active, find your energy, onward and
upwards.
Warminstrel, Techno-Pagen and
Wessex Anarchist.
- michielh@nl.demon.net (Michiel Heinicke)
Yes I realised I hate punks as well, a week ago I saw this bum with a
mowhawk dive deep into a garbage can. I never dived in a garbage can when I
was punk.
Add your thoughts?
Internal Riot - Bluurg 2007
I already posted this as a MySpace bulletin, but I know that most of my
Malaysian readers can't afford accounts, so I'll reprint it here:
Date: Nov 13, 2007 11:03 AM
Subject: I'm seeing Van Halen LIVE 2nite!!!
Body: I can't wait because I've been a Gary Cherone fan since I was a
little kid. It's gonna kick so much ass hearing him up there wailin' away
at such timeless VH classics as "Once," "From Afar" and "Ballot Or The
Bullet." I hope they don't waste time with their shitty early material like
"Right Now" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" because they really only reached
their peak with their third album, Van Halen III.
And if I know Mike Anthony, his bass solo is gonna tear the roof off the
place!
I'll let you know all about it on my blog tomorrow! And on my Facebook!
So you see, tonight's a big deal for me and my pigeons. My pigeons
especially, because pigeons don't live very long and they thought they'd
never get to see Gary Cherone's Van Halen perform in a live context.
One thing that offends me personally is that people often accuse my pigeons
of being somehow less than, or "sub-", human. To this accusation, I
retort, "So what? The Subhumans rule ass!" I don't actually have pigeons,
but if I did, everything stated here would be true so this is still
non-fiction; if you're a librarian, file it in that section.
Considering that they're all 9 billion years old and a bunch of reggae fans
now, it is profoundly inspiring to hear so many creative rock, punk and
hardcore riffs on this brand new Subhumans album. Dick's voice is of
course lower than it used to be, but otherwise the only sign of age is
(even more) improved musicianship! Though Bruce's guitar riffs are mostly
chord-based, he inserts lots of melodic guitar breaks and solos, bassist
Phil is busy as a bee playing about ten different notes for every chord,
and the whole unit sounds impressively tight, smart and tough.
Sticking their middle finger up in defiance of expectations, The Subhumans
have granted us a brand new album that sits proudly alongside their
top-selling releases of two decades ago. There are definitely a few weak
moments of two-chord predictable simplicity (hence the 8, not 9), but on a
CD of 13 tracks, it is astonishing how many of these chord changes are
either (a) odd, interesting and slightly twisted, or (b) total ASS-KICKERS!
If you're into the numbers racket, I'd qualify the content as such:
Upset Troubled-Punk - 3
Happy Pop-Punk - 3
Midtempo Psycho-Rock - 2
High-Speed Hardcore - 2
Reggae/Hardcore - 1
Hit Single Written All Over It - 1
All Over The Fucking Place - 1
If you're into the specifics racket, here are some additional qualities you
might find herein:
- Palm muting
- A rewrite of an old God Bullies lyric ("A war against terror/A war on
crime/A war against anyone/Any time!")
- A surprisingly gorgeous vocal harmony ("Fractured")
- A song that sounds like early Ramones ("This Is Not An Advert")
- A song that sounds like late Ramones ("Fractured")(Again)
- A great Thin Lizzy-style harmony guitar solo ("Supermarket Forces")
- A song that should be a radio hit. I mean, they all should in a
perfect world, but even in this world, "Process" has all the
ingredients of a great radio single.
- An old-style high-speed hardcore rush of adrenaline... about a mosquito.
("Mosquitoes")
- A slow eerie dark lead guitar section ("Never-Ending War Song")
- A metallic Motorhead-meets-Subhumans section ("Never-Ending War Song")
- An up-n-down hardcore section ("Never-Ending War Song")
- A downbeat circular-chord section that sounds like a song they already
recorded years ago ("Never-Ending War Song")
- A brooding midtempo bass/guitar note part ("Never-Ending War Song")
- A punk-speed part with four cool anxious chords ("Never-Ending War
Song")
- A dissonant chord and descending bass part ("Never-Ending War Song")
- A syncopated bitter part with cool lead guitar at its breaks
("Never-Ending War Song")
- A backwards acoustic guitar section ("Never-Ending War Song")
- An emotional ending with great vocals ("Never-Ending War Song")
The crazy thing is that "Never-Ending War Song" is only TWO SECONDS
LONG!!!!!
No hang on I misread my handwriting - 9:29. No "From The Cradle To The
Grave" maybe, but a car fry (far cry) from "Drugs Of Youth"!
Thanks for stopping by. Remember to ask me about the Van Halen concert
tomorrow! You know what would be really cool? For them to let Eddie play
a solo! I'm not counting on it though; the concert's only 2 1/2
hours long.
Add your thoughts?