Hi, I’m Meathead. As part of my ongoing quest to “edutain” (that’s a combination of “educate” and “entertain”) you people who come here to read about The Duke Spirit and get pissed off whenever you see I’ve posted something, I’ve collaborated with the hip musical group Color Me Badd to create an informative video about fecal incontinence. That’s a fancy medical term for “crapping all over the place, not just for fun, but because your anus is broken.” It can happen to you! Not to me, though, thank god. Gross.
You no way notice the demagogue
You no way notice the militaristic
Bloody bomb descend to you
Endless blockades. Endless blockades. Endless blockades, for the pussyfooter.
…So goes one of the strangest sounding punk songs ever released, "Endless Blockades For the Pussyfooter" by the mysterious Japanese speedcore band G.I.S.M. Originally released in the U.S. on the P.E.A.C.E. compilation issued by the MDC’s R Randical Records in 1985, this song and the band’s bizarre "Anarchy & Violence" artwork was a strong standout for its weird chugging metal riffs, a guitar solo that sounds like it was recorded from a pair of headphones, clumsy English lyrics sung in cartoony voices and — above all else — the weirdly random delay-drenched talking throughout the song.
To me, "Endless Blockades…" has always been the original "All Your Base Are Belong To Us." (if you’re not familiar, be sure to click this link and watch the video!)
Very little is actually known about the band, but there are two fan websites that outline the basics known about its discography and feature G.I.S.M.’s stark artwork and the few blurry photos that only add to the band’s mystique.
Seems like I keep reading about the return of prog rock. Well, you ain’t said shit if Ruins hasn’t taken a few measures from one of your precious opuses and mixed it up with about thirty other little proggy snippets and regurgitated it back at you in a Japanese accent. Ruins is two dudes from Tokyo, one on electric bass, the other on drums. They both contribute in the "kooky mouth noise" department. Saw these guys at Mr.T’s many years ago and about shit my pants. They made me want to go home and smash my bass to bits. Mike Patton needs to steal more ideas from these guys.
The Rok Tots is/was one of the most intimidating drug-laced garage punk-blues bands ever — perhaps second only to Laughing Hyenas in pure junkie desperation that translated into furious guitar chords and angry lyrics. This — the Rok Tots first 7" single, self-recorded and self-released — was at the time of its release in 1983 a monsterous fucker that squashed the wannabe intensity of hardcore punk like a rock dinosaur risen from a primordial swamp. Yes, that same primordial muck that gave rise to what later became known (and quickly co-opted) as "grunge." But, when guitarist/vocalist Jimmy West first put razor to wrist and penned "Suicide Weekend" there was no intent other than harvesting pure dope sick hostility into song. The Rok Tots came like a hurricane from a historic vacuum to reclaim the fury of rock from the milquetoast suburban teens passing off energy for urgency. Its parallel to Dead Moon is striking in West’s fierce DIY home-recording, self-released ethos and diehard grassroots promotion, but the Rok Tots are anything but lo-fi.
A very well-organized history and overview, as well as streaming audio of several other great songs, is available here. Still going (infrequently) 27 years later without any recognition outside of Denver, the Rok Tots are still the toughest punk rock band in existence, as many touring bands that played the 15th St Tavern would attest upon meeting Jimmy West as their soundman — he knows how to harness power, and does not suffer fools. After all, he’s been "on a suicide weekend, 24 hours a day" for 21 years now, and still hasn’t died. That, my friend, is tough.
