[mp3] SNUFF

Snuff - "Not Listening" (mp3)

Melodic hardcore, of the type for which my profound love doesn't show as often as it did in the years right after Husker Du upended my teenage world. (This may explain why I complain about screamy and/or humorless hardcore so much, to some friends' confusion-- I do feel like I have a personal stake in it.) Snuff formed in 1986, when American punk rock had developed enough of its own identity to be borrowed back by the British. Upon seeing me fly around the record library windmilling wildly to the sound of "Not Listening"'s opening riff, one of the older DJs said, "Yeah, all the pop kids love Snuff. Not sure why."

Among other feats of foresight, Snuff beat countless smug Americans to the realization that punk bands ought to cover older songs in quantity, as on 1996's Flibbiddydibbiddydob and their first album's "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Purple Haze", and that they should appear ridiculous on the surface with hidden layers of seriousness rather than the reverse, as you can see from comparing this song to the album titles.

[Buy snuffsaidbutgorblimeyguvstonemeifhedidntthrowawobblerchachachachachachachachachachachayourgoinghomeinacosmicambience from Fat Wreck Chords, or wait a few weeks until 50-song retrospective Six Of One, Half Dozen Of The Other comes out.]

[music] notes: what's up with the mp3s?

Legal stuff: Any mp3s I host myself are offered solely for private contemplation, not commercial use. Nevertheless, if you hold the copyright to one of them and want me to remove it, I promise that sending me email asking me to do so will be faster than, and just as effective as, suing me into oblivion.

Other stuff: I'm trying to post every day or two, alternating things from my own collection with rare songs whose creators have revived them by posting them on the web. I was spurred to do this by going through a bunch of old tapes from when I had a radio show, so expect a somewhat documentary feel. If you like something I post, telling me so greatly improves the chances that future posts will lean in that same direction.

You can see an mp3-only archive of old posts at http://www.pastemob.org/jj/mp3, useful if you log in from several computers of which not all can play mp3s.