Old Punks Never Die!

Never Mind The Burqas

Dead Police Story Music is a DIY anarcho label based in Ottawa, Canada, another malevolently-governed part of North America. To highlight the dirty pies that Canuckian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has his fingers in, DPS have released a benefit CD to raise awareness and funds for the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan and the Canada – Haiti Action Network.

30 bands from across the land of the loon have contributed a track each to the project. There’s also a 60-page booklet covering a wide spectrum of political discourse […]

Food For Thought

There was a time when my diet could’ve been classed as traditionally British. Main meals were built around the meat ‘n’ two veg approach, except for Fridays and holidays when we would have fish ‘n’ chips. Milk was drunk by the pint (and from proper glass bottles too!) and eggs found their way onto nearly every plate of food in some guise or another. I was even a fan of the more ‘exotic’ bits of dead animals – I used to watch my Uncle George make brawn from fresh pig’s […]

Span The World With Friendship

I’ve just received a mailout asking me to promote a benefit CD, something I’m more than happy to do. It has been released to raise vital funds for a young man in Russia who was the victim of a brutal racist attack. Alem Assefa suffered serious brain injury after being beaten by boneheads for being black.

The good news is he is making a slow recovery. But the nature of his injuries mean that he is in need of expensive medical treatment, to ensure that he has the best chance […]

Bleed For Me

Last Friday I got an award.

Hurrah for me, I hear you say. But this is probably one of the most important things that I’ve ever been awarded. It’s a small enamel badge and certificate acknowledging that I’ve just made my tenth blood donation.

I don’t know about other parts of the world, but in the UK we’ve got a well-established (and free) health service that collects blood from volunteers just like me, ready to be used by anyone who needs it. They take their mobile units and set up […]

Keeping It Personal

A little while back I was looking at some of the great stuff being put out and distributed by Concrete Jungle Records in Germany. After a bit of internal debate, I selected a few choice items and made a payment via their PayPal option. Unfortunately, I hadn’t clocked some of the small-print, namely a €17 postage charge for non-German orders (as opposed to €4 for internal) and a 5% PP premium.

So a day or two later, I get an email from Matze, the guy behind the operation, asking me […]

What A Gas!

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the media in recent times, you’ll have probably noticed yet another round of stories resulting from the latest UN report about global warming and impending ecological catastrophe. Human activity is put in the frame, and quite rightly so. There is now no question that what we do and how we do it has led to destructive climate change and, if we fail to tackle the problems caused by our activities on this planet, then our future’s going to be short-lived, unpleasant and brutal.

[…]

By Order Of The Management

The Managers – Special
Global Routes Music

Special album cover First off, this is one big band! Twenty musicians contribute to this release, although I don’t think they all appear at the same time! The numbers involved have helped create a collection of tunes that display a great deal of variety and musical inventiveness.

They’re also from New Zealand, a country that’s about as far away from mine as it’s possible to get on a spherical planet. This fact alone was enough to get […]

A Touch Of Class

Class War Music – US micro-label with impeccable attitude

I recently came across American streetpunks Bonecrusher and liked what I heard on their MySpace page a lot. So I had a quick look around the web to see who was selling their material. I found a UK distro with some older releases, and a couple of German distros were offering new stuff, and it would’ve cost me around £10-12 a disc to buy from any of them. But I decided to check out Class War Music, the label that’s released […]

Hard To Stomach

Masterfoods, the company behind brands such as Mars Bars, Twix and Bounty, have been using rennet from calf stomach in many of their popular chocolate and ice cream products since May 1st (at least in the UK anyway). Many vegetarians eat their products but may not be aware of this change, as Masterfoods don’t seem particularly eager to publicise it.

As a vegan, this doesn’t particularly bother me. What does irk me big time is the fact that the company, in their statement, think that ‘less strict’ vegetarians won’t have […]

Gotta Lotta Bottle

Stage Bottles – (We Need A) New Flag
Insurgence Records / Knockout Records

New Flag album cover Although this is not a new release, it is the latest offering from German Oi! mob the Stage Bottles, and a fine affair it is too.

Musically, the influence of The Blaggers, The Business and The Clash are all prominent in the mix, along with a hybrid ska-meets-X-Ray Spex sax, a dollop of Rancid gruffness and even The Jam in some of the bass and drum rhythms. It’s […]

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