Keep the Beat
(Hairball 8/Cargo)
by Scott Hefflon
Gosh, what a novel idea, a punk compilation! Sure, we’ll name our label something like Hairball to give us that authentic feel, then we’ll hook up with Cargo for manufacturing and distribution ’cause they must have a lot of contacts, and then we’ll get a shitload of bands, say 22, to kick in a track apiece. Yeah, we’d better get a bunch of cool “household name” punk bands to make sure it sells, but let’s get some local guys from San Diego on there too. Oh hell, let’s get a bunch of cool little bands from everywhere, we gotta be fair, right? Hey, while we’re at it, why don’t we provide some personal liner notes, fun photos, and, oh yeah!, contact info for all the bands. People always dig that shit. Also, we’ve gotta write up some kinda one page bio so that fanzine hacks can write about it as if they’re really cool and, y’know, knew these bands since they started.
Reality: Nine out of ten comps provide nothing particularly useful to the listener that they can’t find elsewhere, probably better produced. Worst case scenario, you can’t even sell it to some used CD store for half of whatcha paid for it. Luckily, Keep the Beatis the one in ten. It doesn’t suck, and you don’t have to FF past crappy songs by bands the compiler was trying to do a favor for to get to the good stuff. Sure, there are a few, but that’s to be expected. There are very few boner tracks here, and that’s just a personal objection to a band’s lack of stretching themselves. A few of the “big boys” are good when they ought to be great, but hell, I’m picky. And Keep the Beat has rare and unreleased tracks by bands of interest that aren’t rare or unreleased because they’re inferior. They merely aren’t the primary focus of the bands and would’ve detracted from the whole of their own releases, but taken out of context and placed on a comp, they stand alone just fine. And the switching between well-produced tracks and cheaply-produced tracks, for once, is almost smooth. It’s not homogenous like far too many comps that sound like one band, but it’s not so all over the map that it’s impossible to play straight through. The “crappy” sounding songs are mostly “good crappy” sounding, if ya know what I’m saying. Some of the sound qualities are downright, well, right. The Barnyard Ballers, for example, sound like they’re rockin’ their rockabilly butts off in the VFW hall, but overdubbed a few parts and couldn’t work ’em into the mix very well. Surprisingly, it works.
Rather than comment band by band, especially seeing as how many of these tracks have appeared on CDs you should already know (if not own), here’s a detailed list. England’s Snuff – “Vikings” from Demmamussabebonk (Fat), Seattle’s Sicko – “Believe” from Chef Boy RU Dumb (eMpTy), San Diego’s blink 182 – “Wrecked Him” from They Came to Conquer Uranus 7″ (Cargo), Berkeley’s Parasites – “When I’m Here with You” from Punchlines (Shredder), San Jose’s the Odd Numbers – “An Atom Bomb” (unreleased), San Francisco’s Swingin’ Utters – “Dirty Sea” from Sounds Wrong EP (IFA), San Diego’s Jon Cougar Concentration Camp – “Four Walls” (demo version), San Diego’s The Dragons – “Red Fox Room” (unreleased), San Diego’s Joey’s Race Car – “Looking Out for #1” (unreleased), Santa Barbara’s Lagwagon – “Violins” from Hoss (Fat), Florida’s Discount – “Waiting by the Wayside” from Ataxia’s Alright Tonight(Liquid Meat), San Diego’s Carter Peace Mission – “Pass Around” (demo version), San Diego’s Swindle – “Chaos Kidz” (demo version), Poway, CA’s Slowpoke – “Bridge” (demo version), England’s Guns ‘N Wankers (members of Snuff) – “Incoming” (unreleased in the U.S.), L.A.’s Frankenstein – “Devil in a Bottle” (unreleased), San Diego’s The Barnyard Ballers – “Cenobites” from Rock Out with Your Cock Out (Insane), San Diego’s Tiltwheel – “Louis Hopeless is a Rock Star” (unreleased), San Diego’s Spazboy – “Monkey’s Paw” from Bladow!(Immune), San Francisco’s No Use For A Name – “Fatal Flu” from Leche Con Carne (Fat), Los Angeles’ Down By Law – “Daily Occurrence” from All Scratched Up (Epitaph), Huntington Beach, California’s Big Drill Car – cover of Hüsker Dü’s “Celebrated Summer” (unreleased in the U.S.), plus a bonus track of San Diego’s Barefoot Hockey Goalie – “Camel Toes” (unreleased). Wow, huh?
