My friend Lucy organised a mix CD swap, and I figured I’d put the track listing on here, along with a bit about each song.

1. Surfaris – Wipe-Out. Right, so this track’s used in a chase scene in the film The Wanderers. It’s kind of like a more cartoony version of The Warriors. Track’s instrumental, but it’s got this great driving drumbeat. Scene’s here, go watch the entire film though.
2. Rezillos – Top Of The Pops. Got into The Rezillos by Murphy’s Law covering Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Heads Kicked In on Punk Rock Jukebox. Thing is, it’s a Fleetwood Mac song originally. Can’t think of it as anything other than The Rezillos though. This song’s got great male/female vocals.
3. The Boys – First Time. Mid 2007 four different bands covered this at the GYC in Guildford. Lost Patrol Band, Accelerators, Clorox Girls (I think), and one other. By the time the fourth band played it most people were close to word perfect in the chorus, so it was a bit odd for them when the entire place knows the obscure(ish) cover they were playing.
4. The Kids – I Wanna Get A Job In The City. I’ve been job hunting recently, so this kind of rang true for me. I am a man from the country, but I’m fucked if I want to find a job in town. Get claustrophobic. Going to be working at Western Digital in Leatherhead though, so that should be fun.
5. Imperial Can – Something’s Wrong With Something… Or Something. Imperial Can feature Chris from Ghost Mice/Plan-It-X, seen him play so many times over the last few years, and he’s always involved in something good. This is off their Hey Fuckers CD, which is well worth the cheap money they’re after for it. It’s on here because it’s a good song, and because the lyrics seem relevant as well. All the parts around something making us weak/sick/mean/quit – that strikes home at times. I see friends moving on, but in ways I wouldn’t expect from them, and I also catch myself doing things/acting in ways that I don’t feel 100% comfortable with. It’s difficult to put a finger on a cause though.
6. Red Dons – Everyday Distraction. Saw this lot with the Observers, and they’re fucking great, but this song’s carrying on the same theme as the last in a way. I know where I want to get towards, I can see the long term things I want to do, but time slips by and I suddenly realise that the everyday distractions have kept me away from this. Something may happen every day, but really need to keep a bit of focus.
7. Tranzmitors – Teen Man. Dudes who have fun, play music, and aren’t generic under 20s. West coast Canadians, sing-a-long songs, and a suit wearing aesthetic.
8. Avail – Scuffle Town. It’s a song that makes me think it’s summer at any time. Don’t need any more reason than that.
9. Betercore – Soymilk! Saw a reunion show at the first Trashfest I ever went to. About four singers, a guy in a tu-tu and some of the most fun out and out fast stuff around. Get the Youth Crust Disco!graphy.
10. Dean Dirg – Some Kinda Hell. Trashfest link again. Hadn’t seen this lot before, hadn’t heard them before, didn’t know anything about them. Walked into a sweaty room downstairs at Het Podium, and was completely and utterly blown away. If you can listen to this and not want to move, then you are not fucking human.
11. Das Oath – Quiet!: Subtle Pretext Chiming In. Played a Halloween show at the GYC. Had to take the singer to Tescos afterwards to buy some plasters, because a kid had sunk his teeth into his forehead. Fake blood ended up on the ceiling at that gig as well. Think Ellis and Lauren were there till silly o’clock cleaning the ceiling.
12. It’s Casual – The New Los Angeles. Title track off what’s apparently their third album. Two piece, but sound more powerful than most bands. There’s a video for this song here.
13. What Happens Next? – To Define To Divide. Years ago went to see this lot in Brighton. Pissed about on the pier, and Ellis broke Rob’s nose with a mis-timed high five, and Ollie went paddling. Good times. Lyrics are a good example of what I believe about the entire straight edge thing – it’s something which reflects on what I feel about me, and shouldn’t split anything apart between me and other people.
14. Cut The Shit – Cut The Bullshit. Another good live band, another good song, another kind of follow on in terms of meaning. I don’t like cliques, I don’t like the entire “they like so and so, so I can’t be friends with them” shit. Just be friends with people based on whether you honestly get on with them, not any kind of scene politics crap.
15. Herätys – Pelkkδδ Pahoinvointia. Go back to Dean Dirg. You see the bit about seeing a band who you know nothing about and having them blow you away? Same thing with this lot at R’R Fest in Holland this year. There’s some video of it here.
16. Voorhees – Defend Myself. Going from seeing bands who you’ve never heard, to bands you’ve heard a lot but never seen. The Voorhees reunions proved that reunions aren’t always crap. Raging raging raging.
17. Fighting Shit – Girls Kick Ass. Icelandic thrash. They don’t really sound the same any more, but the EP this was off was short, fast and great. Reminds me of old days at St Lukes Hall in Overton when Daz was still doing the Cat ‘N’ Cakey gigs. That, and it’s a very true song…!
18. Brain Dead – Mind Melt. Broke up at the Voorhees reunion show in Leeds. One of the best UK bands of recent times, especially live. If you had a chance to see them and DIDN’T, then you missed out.
19. Friends Of Ed – New Westminster. Political stuff from Newbury area. I like the energy in this – they changed their name to Farewell To Arms before splitting up, but I still think of them as Friend Of Ed.
20. Fucked Up – Dream Come True. This is a cover of a Dolly Mixtures song that was on one of those limited Fucked Up 7″s. They got released on a Halloween weekender in Toronto which I went out to with Ellis and Tim. Some of the best veggie chinese I ever had in Toronto.
21. Sorry And The Sinatras – This Hated Heart. Bastad! Rats! were supporting this lot at the Boileroom in Guildford, so I went along for the hell of it. Didn’t expect much, it was quite quiet as well, and I nearly left before they played. Turned out they’re really good rock and roll punk rock.
22. Fun People – Middle Of The Grounds. Downloaded a discography torrent of this Argentinian band based purely on description. They are fun, and it’s a good song. No more than that.
23. GoToHells – Just What I Needed. I’m a sucker for punk covers of pop songs, and this one’s a classic I reckon. Prefer it to The Cars original.
24. Doug Mulray – I’m A Punk. Go watch the 1983 squatter punk documentary here. This is on it, Doug Mulray was a DJ in Australia. And remember – heroin is bad for you.
25. Caves – Torn It Down. New UK band from Bristol. Louise (the singer) has a great voice, and I love the chorus in this song. Go see them if you can.
26. Descendents – Bikeage. I seriously looked into selling a kidney to go and see the Descendents in Australia. They’re probably one of my two favourite bands of all time, and one of the only bands where I’d think about getting a logo tattooed on me (want to get the coffee pot Milo).
27. Civ – Set Your Goals. Back to the theme with Imperial Can and Red Dons – got to set your goals. If you don’t think about what you REALLY want to do, then you’re going to live a disappointing life. No second chances.
28. Clorox Girls – Walks The Streets. Another great live band. Justin’s one of those people where you don’t know what the hell he’s going to do next. Tried to throw him in the air on my birthday, fell over, and got a nice scar on my eyebrow from him landing on my glasses. I think this proves that wearing glasses is bad for you.
29. Bangers – The Hard Way. You ever see a band made up out of your friends, and it feels wrong that they’re as good as they are? The ones where you have to remind yourself that it’s your friends, and not some touring band. That’s Bangers for me.
30. Snuff – Some-how. The other one of my two favourite bands of all time, and I think the band who I’ve seen the most often. This song’s from 1989, but I can listen to it everyday. There’s two Snuffs for me – the earlier three piece, and the later band with the hammond, ‘bone and everything. I love them both, but I wish I could see Pot Kettle Black (the re-incarnation of the three piece with Wes OCP on bass) again. One of the things that made me most excited musically in the last few years was hearing they were recording new stuff as well as playing old Snuff stuff, but nothing came of that. Dammit.
31. Sundowner – My Boatless Booze Cruise. Bit of acoustic to calm it down at the end. Saw Sundowner in the Homestead conservatory in Southampton with Mike Park. The Homestead’s no more now, but had a lot of good times there over the years.
32. Austin Lucas – Go West. Played K-Fest in Kingston last year, and is amazing. Just seems really raw live. It’s worth getting his album “Someone Loves You”, and he’s coming over here on tour again.