Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes

My friend the Terrorizer gave me a CD compilation of 90’s so-called ‘alternative” hits like Liz Phair, Oasis, the Murmurs, My Bloody Valentine and so on. Though all of the songs are really good, one song stood out, lyrically, Juliana Hatfield’s ‘My Sister.’ It goes like…

“miss my sister, why’d she go ?
Shes the one who would have taken me
To my first all-ages show.
It was the violent femmes and the del fuegos,
Before they had a record out. before they went gold,
And started to grow.”

This song reminded me of my high school days and the radio station WXB 102.7 FM. This radio station opened the eyes of Filipino youth to the new music of the 80’s. From punk, hardcore, goth and new wave. They played everything from ‘famous’ like Depeche Mode & Echo & the Bunnymen to the ‘obscure’ like Under Two Flags, Half Man Half Biscuit and Classix Nouveaux. They also got this program called Capitol Radio for which they played punk, hardcore and other stuff.

Anyways, Violent Femmes received regular airtime thanks to Blister in the Sun and Gone Daddy Gone while the Del Fuegos received minimal airplay but they’re still given airtime as well. Man, good times indeed. I remember being glued to the radio every chance I get.

I’m gonna say it now, WXB 102.7 changed my life!

Enough about nostalgia and let’s talk about the posts. I’ve posted Violent Femmes’ debut album and their second ‘Hallowed Ground’ and Del Fuegos’ Longest Day & Boston, Mass. Just scroll down to find the links to the posts. It’s individually posted.

Enjoy!

Here's what AMG has to say about the VIolent Femmes' self-titled debut:

"One of the most distinctive records of the early alternative movement and an enduring cult classic, Violent Femmes weds the geeky, child-man persona of Jonathan Richman and the tense, jittery, hyperactive feel of new wave in an unlikely context: raw, amateurish acoustic folk-rock. The music also owes something to the Modern Lovers' minimalism, but powered by Brian Ritchie's busy acoustic bass riffing and the urgency and wild abandon of punk rock, the Femmes forged a sound all their own. Still, the main reason Violent Femmes became the preferred soundtrack for the lives of many an angst-ridden teenager is lead singer and songwriter Gordon Gano. Naive and childish one minute, bitterly frustrated and rebellious the next, Gano's vocals perfectly captured the contradictions of adolescence and the difficulties of making the transition to adulthood. Clever lyrical flourishes didn't hurt either; while "Blister In the Sun" has deservedly become a standard, "Kiss Off"'s chant-along "count-up" section, "Add It Up"'s escalating "Why can't I get just one..." couplets, and "Gimme the Car"'s profanity-obscuring guitar bends ensured that Gano's intensely vulnerable confessions of despair and maladjustment came off as catchy and humorous as well. Even if the songwriting slips a bit on occasion, Gano's personality keeps the music engaging and compelling without overindulging in his seemingly willful naiveté. For the remainder of their career, the group would only approach this level in isolated moments."

Download Here

Violent Femmes - Hallowed Ground

After the surprise success of their landmark debut, Violent Femmes could have just released another collection of teen-rage punk songs disguised as folk, and coasted into the modern rock spotlight alongside contemporaries like the Modern Lovers and Talking Heads. Instead they made Hallowed Ground, a hellfire-and-brimstone-beaten exorcism that both enraged and enthralled critics and fans alike. Like Roger Waters purging himself of the memories of his father's death through The Wall and The Final Cut, bandleader Gordon Gano uses the record to expel his love/hate relationship with religion, and the results are alternately breathtaking and terrifying. Contrary to initial public response, Hallowed Ground is not a parody. Gano, the son of a Baptist minister, may wear his faith like a badge of honor, but it's a badge, not a shield, and what keeps the songs so volatile is the fact that they're filtered through the eyes, ears, heart, and loins of a teenager. Like the first record, all of the songs on Hallowed Ground were written during Gano's high-school years -- he was barely in his twenties when it was released -- resulting in a perfect rendering of the sweetness and brutality of the postpubescent teen, especially on the album's centerpiece; a searing indictment of loyalties broken and the snitches that break them, "Never Tell" is the perfect balm for the bloody righteousness of youth, and when Gano screams, "I'll stand right up in the heart of Hell/I never tell," it's hard not to stand right beside him. Christian imagery aside, Hallowed Ground is not as polarizing as some make it out to be. The band explores gothic Appalachian folk and child murder on the banjo-fueled "Country Death Song," bawdy and bluesy Lou Reed-inflected infatuation on "Sweet Misery Blues," and nuclear holocaust on the brooding title track, leaving little doubt that this is the same band that penned underground classics like "Gone Daddy Gone" and "Add It Up." Even the decidedly politically uncorrect "Black Girls," with its free jazz mid-section that includes everything from jaw harp to the screaming alto sax of John Zorn and the Horns of Dilemma, is full of the same smirk and swagger that made "Blister in the Sun" the soundtrack to so many people's halcyon days. The Femmes are nothing if not true to themselves, and Hallowed Ground is a testament to their tenacity, courage, and sheer obliviousness to industry ogling. Each track is as naked as it is bursting with ideas, and as the landscape changes, the band changes with it, leaving the listener at a crossroads; with each incantation, growling invective, and honey-whispered promise, they're forced to either jump off the gospel train or ride it along with them into the mouth of Hell. [from AMG]

Download Here