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Throwing this into the thread 'cuz it's where it belongs...
The Radcliffe Hallowe’en Rating Scale:
DAWN OF THE DEAD – stone cold classic
RE-ANIMATOR – flirting with perfection.
28 DAYS LATER – could’ve been great, but they lost the plot
ASTRO-ZOMBIES – so shitty it’s kinda good
C.H.U.D. II – BUD THE CHUD – just plain shitty
Generally Behaving Untowards (a Billzebub mix)
1. intro
I loves me some Bob and Doug. Great way to start a mix.
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
2. THE SCARS Leave Me In Autumn
Mang, does this ever remind me of the early ‘80s. Gothic post-punk, reminiscent of the ComSat Angels and roughly a hundred others. Gotta admit, it’s not my favorite sound by a long shot – but one song at a time is cool.
Rating: 28 DAYS LATER
3. THE SAINTS Nothing Is Straight In My House
It’s interesting to hear Marty Wilson-Piper’s Church-ish chime in the context of a garagey Saints track, even if the chime only makes a fleeting appearance. Very curious to hear the album.
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
4. THE ROMANTICS Devil In Me
This is a nice rocker, and might be the toughest thing the Romantics have ever done. Another album I have to keep an eye out for.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
5. IKE REILLY B.I.G.O.T.
So this is where the phrase "sparkle in the finish" comes from – I wonder why he didn’t include it on the album of that title? I like how this tune breaks down into a broken rhythm rap and then meanders to a finish. I haven’t figured out what the hell he’s singing about, but it sounds like it could be trouble. And trouble looks good on Ike.
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
6. THE NAVIGATORS I Can’t Breathe
I’m likin’ this a whole bunch. These dudes have gotta be Australian, kinda dirtying up the same mix of R&B and funk that INXS took to the bank.
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
7. THE CHILLS February
Good pop, exactly like every Chills song ever, this time with perhaps more of a buzz than a jangle. Compared to the Bats, this is punk rock; compared to punk rock, this is the Bats.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
8. THE NEIGHBORHOODS Prettiest Girl
Another guess at locale: I’m thinking these guys are from the same Boston scene that spawned Scruffy the Cat. They’ve got the same sort of firm grasp on the verities of classic pop rock, the same sort of mid-tempo melodicism, and would’ve been yawned at just the same by the rest of the world for all the things that made ‘em good.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
9. THE D4 Sake Bomb
Wow. This is way more pop than their 6-Twenty album. Still cooks along with a good head of steam, though. I’ll turn it up every time.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
10. SPIRAL JETTY Big Downhill Racing
I keep waiting for this subdued little ditty to explode. Kinda relieved that it never does.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
11. THE A-BONES Satellite Dish
Shee-it, I love this kind of sleazy grind, with that filthy baritone sax and twangy gee-tar cutting through the noise. Makes me want to see the band live. Awesome stuff.
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
12. FOREIGN OBJECTS Plan 9
Devo crossed with the Buzzcocks? Well, somebody HAD to do it. I like the arrangement. I like the energy. But the vocal melody is a tad too generic to make me want to listen to this very often.
Rating: 28 DAYS LATER
13. THE FLESHTONES I Want The Answers
Holy shit, these guys can do no wrong (well, except for a few moments on Beautiful Light). Love the rolling bass line and, as usual, the background answer vocals make me wanna be in a small club chanting along with the band. Supah rock.
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
14. THE SCREAMING TRIBESMEN I Got A Feeling
More Aussies of the monger persuasion. I always hear a slight tinge of AC/DC in the Tribesmen, and it’s mated with ‘80s new wave cool, which is a better trick than I used to give ‘em credit for back in the day.
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
15. THE SCAVENGERS Mysterex
Thanks for including this, Billz. I’ve only had the D4 version, and it’s awesome to hear the original. This really does sound like a lost Buzzcocks song (which would arguably make it the best Buzzcocks song).
Rating: DAWN OF THE DEAD
16. JOHNNY G Hippy’s Graveyard
Personally, I’m a big fan of those songs that passionately negate some concept that nobody had previously ever cared about. Cases in point: the Ramones REALLY didn’t want to go down to the basement; Curtiss A. REALLY didn’t want to be president. Now add to those, Johnny G, who REALLY doesn’t want to go to the Hippy’s Graveyard. I don’t know where or what that is, but here’s to hoping he never had to go there.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
17. THE CHAPS The Collector
A good cockney accent can pretty much sell anything – and it totally sells this otherwise repetitious ditty.
Rating: 28 DAYS LATER
18. THE BROTHERHOOD OF LIZARDS I Could Have Been Cheryl
That band name does nothing to prepare me for the sweet power pop of this song. I’d like it a little better without that phased guitar, which kinda moors it back in those early ‘80s – but this song’s so good that somebody should do a cover of it.
Rating: 28 DAYS LATER
19. LE MARQUIS DE SADE Air Tight Cell
Squawking sax, pulsing beat, lotsa energy – but it lacks a solid hook. Not bad, but possible my least favorite song on the mix.
Rating: 28 DAYS LATER
20. BARRENCE WHITFIELD & THE SAVAGES Go Ahead And Burn
Now this is how you use the saxophone, old skool fer sure. This might have been the song that Morris Night and the Days played in Animal House when the camera left after "Shout".
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
21. MARIE ET LES GARCONS Rebop Attitudes
Even though – and perhaps because - this steals wholesale the rhythm from "Twist And Shout", this is a lotta fun.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
22. ROOT BOY SLIM Mood Ring
I remember Root Boy Slim from that brief moment when he got write-ups in Rolling Stone. Not sure why the editors of that mag soured on him so fast, while they continued to champion similarly retro marauders like George Thorogood, but whatever – it put him in some good company.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
23. COWBOYS INTERNATIONAL Thrash
Wasn’t this Keith Levene’s post-Clash pre-PIL band? I know it was somebody important to ’77 punk that formed this unit. Bouncy synth-pop with a, er, New Romantic streak in the crooning vocals. Again, this ain’t my usual thang – but it’s a nice change of pace on this mix.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
23. PAT RUTHENSMEAR Lazy Bones
Fack. I can’t put my finger on what song this is based on. It’s driving me nuts. Anyway, bonus points for the couplet "you don’t have to be serious/ you don’t have to be a walrus."
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
24. CARMAIG DEFOREST You Can’t Always Get What You Want
It’s hard for anybody to do a version of this Stones chestnut without biting nutsack, but DeForest pulls it off. Great slow burn build-up, going from a semi-country drawl to a punky chug, and my only complaint is it fades out too early.
Rating: RE-ANIMATOR
Great mix, Billz. Not a single ASTRO-ZOMBIE or BUD THE CHUD on the whole thang. Needless to say, this beeyotch gets thrown in the player pretty often.
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