The Vindictives
Party Time for Assholes (V.M.L)
by Scott Hefflon
Always unconventional, Party Time for Assholes is one “song” over an hour long. Subtitled complete and unabridged, these sneer-a-thons rival The Many Moods of…, Lookout!’s compilation of six 7″s and four comp tracks. The songs are hard to place on occasion because they kinda blend together, and they’re so short and fast. That, of course, is not meant as an insult, it merely means the songs blur from individual pieces to an overall appreciation of the whole. For those who’ve never had the joy of experiencing Joey V.’s signature punk snarl, the closest thing is probably Sloppy Seconds, but with a completely different accent.
Unlike Many Moods, Party Time (at least the promo version) has no lyrics, no credits, and no song titles except on the CD itself. What a bitch. Opening with “Rubber Bullets,” a song I always thought was called “County Jail,” Joey displays a snottiness most bands aspire to, but never achieve. Then, in rapid succession come quick covers of “Wonderful World,” “Space Man,” “No Rules in Love,” “Ain’t Got No Home,” “Laugh Your Troubles Away,” “Robot Man,” “Money Changes Everything,” “You May Be Right,” “If She Knew What She Wants,” “Heartbeat,” “Turning Japanese,” “Chewy Chewy,” “Yesterday Man,” “Strychnine,” “Heartbeat – It’s A Love Thing,” “How Much More,” “Radio Radio,” “Teen Riot Structure,” “Little Willie,” “Magic Moments,” “Bike,” “High School,” “Magic,” and “Bang-Shang-A-Lang.”
Obviously, the unifying factor of this cover extravaganza can be irritating (imagine a Hooked on Punk medley with that same Ramonian beat and vacuuming-the-cat vocal), but, for the most part, it’s fuckin’ cool to have so many great songs thrown at you like those bratty neighborhood shitheads who throw snowballs at you but scatter like scared birds when you chase them. One detail of note, The Vindictives have the uncanny ability to write (or adapt, in this case) those sweet licks, those singable guitar melodies few bands, like Screeching Weasel and The Queers, ever truly master. Also, while many bands stack the harmonies to compensate for a vocalist with a subpar voice, I’ve always enjoyed The Vindictives back-up vocals. While it’s often only parroting back a line or adding whoas and ahs, something about them has always rubbed me the right way. With 25 songs mushed together, there are naturally favorites and tracks you wish you could skip, but there’s more than enough here to earn your hard earned cash.
