Thursday, November 18, 2010

U.K. Subs/National Razor F.D.I.C - Gruesome Twosome, Vol. 1 (Morphius/VMS, 2001)

Though not at the top of their game like fellow geezer Barry Bonds, these old dudes can still catch passes with the veteran confidence of Jerry Rice or deflect them a la Darrell Green against an overmatched receiver. Only four "new" songs of Subs-tance here. They're OK, but the re-makes of Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air" (in both "regular" and "dub" versions) and an update of the Subs' solitary drunken anthem "Party In Paris" (OOH LA LA LA, OOH LA LAY!) show those blokes aren't quite ready to ride the pine like Namath on the L.A. Rams or Mays on the N.Y. Mets. Bet the Subs will love being compared to American sports figures. Sign me up for The Cricket Channel, and I'll talk about "wickets" and "tests" in my next review.

Along with Jakkpot and The Fuses, you can now add National Razor FDIC to the list of great acts from the Charm City. If you swear by Naked Raygun's Understand? like I do, or if you're looking for street-punk that goes in non-Clash musical directions, take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to NRFDIC's next show. Key track "Commercial Insurrection" covers the onslaught of TV ads which have featured classic tunes from Iggy, Buzzcocks, etc. Expertly addressing the "turning rebellion into money" cause celebre ("Tommy Gear, Tommy Gun/Fixes clogs, Ivory Soap/Hey ho let's go, king of beers/Johhny sells, Mountain Dew/Lust for life is good for you..."), the Razor slashes the throats of those who are "Gettin' old, gettin' soft/Need some cash, selling youth." Well done, but Pete Shelley singing over a bear-in-the-woods backdrop hasn't made me go to Denbigh Toyota ("Where the deal of a deal always makes a great deal of difference!") and drive off their lot with a new RAV-4 (fuzzy dice, purple paint and all, G). Someone should ask James Newell Osterberg: "First Nike, now Reebok??? Who da fuck you think you are??? Pete Sampras???"

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