NOFX: HARDCORE – REVIEW BY BRIAN JAMES

What do you do when yer shitty little punk bands’ been around for  28 years, recorded 11 full-length studio albums, 15  EP’s, a countless number of 7-inches, and sold over 6 million of those records worldwide? You pretty much do whatever the fuck you want. NOFX has never signed to a major label. They tour wherever and whenever they want. They rarely do interviews. Their sound has been copied a million times over by a million forgotten bands.  And I still can’t figure out if Fat Mike is a drug addict or not.

Coming off the anti-success of their limited split 7-inch with The Spits, NOFX’s latest nugget is a 9 song EP simply and appropriately titled HARDCORE for its collection of 80’s hardcore tracks covering 80’s hardcore bands.  The EP is a blistering, sloppy mess worthy of review for the respects is pays to the good ol days of punk and hardcore.

The EP tops off at less than 8 minutes and burns through a fury of screaming chorus lines like “I’ll kick you in your fuckin face” and “Police Brutality”. The production value has been slightly downgraded for a vintage aesthetic and the album was originally intended to be released with no title, no artwork, and no track listing.

The dirty little secret of disenchanted purists and anarcho punx across the globe, NOFX has as many haters as it does fans.  That’s bound to happen when you’re the only punk bands around who can put out a release like this and still rake in the cash. Ya can’t hate em for that can ya?

Bands and songs covered

01 Agnostic Front - Friend Or Foe

02  Necros - IQ32

03 Urban Waste - Police Brutality

04 Social Unrest - Mental Breakdown

05 Battalion Of Saints - No More Lies

06 unknown

07 Sin 34 - Say We Suck

08 Rebel Truth - Child Hosts The Parasite

09 Stretch Marks - Professional Punk

For you record collecting enthusiasts, this release is available as a 7-inch on black, clear/ black, or white splatter vinyl. As a 10-inch on black and white split vinyl. Or as 12-inch picture disc of God knows what as the picture.

Release Date: 08/02/11

Label: Fat Wreck Chords

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NOFX ON DOPE SICK RADIO

1. NOFX drummer, Eric "Smelly" Sandin, appeared on Dope Sick Radio Episode 43 on 05/05/09. The complete interview and episode can be heard here - CLICK FOR DIRECT LINK

DSR79 - THE LENNY BRUCE EPISODE

 DIRECT LINK - CLICK TO LISTEN

DOPE SICK RADIO EPISODE 79 – TUESDAY, AUGUST 9 2011 – THE LENNY BRUCE EPISODE

Lenny Bruce was an entertainer far too ahead of his time. He rose from the underground and became a pioneer for free speech and social satire. He challenged his audience and authority alike and faced great consequence as a result.  His public commentary on war, politics, corruption, race issues, and sex rubbed all the wrong people in all the wrong ways. He was arrested on obscenity charges in practically every major city across America. It can be stated that Lenny Bruce pushed the boundaries of spoken word to the limits of the law. By the end of his career he couldn’t book a gig.

Lenny Bruce was a truth-seeker who built a career breaking down walls of multi-layered facades. He was haunted by the fact that the establishment had silenced him and spent the last years of his life trying to clear his name of the reputation that he was nothing more than a filthy comic. His last wishes would never fully be realized. His years of struggles with drug addiction would take his life in 1968 at the age of 40.

This is the Dope Sick Radio way of paying respects to an influential entertainer whose life and career were cut far too short. This is Lenny Bruce Episode. Enjoy.

DSR79 PLAYLIST

1. Palehorse - Domestic War

2. Ambitions – Between Breaths

3. Defeater – Warm Blood Rush

4. The Ghost Inside – Destined

5. Blue Monday – Next Breath

6. Your Demise – Nothing Left but Regret

7. Paint It Black – So Much for Honour Among Thieves

8. More Than Life – Faceless Name

9. Kills and Thrills – Liars

10. Hellmouth – The Calling Part 2

11. For Today – Immanuel (The Redeemer)

12. Former Thieves – Trust Fund Kids

13. Mushmouth – Cut you Down

14. Bone Dance – Dead End Rendezvous

15. Lenny Bruce – All Alone

15. Vic Ruggiero – Talk To Me

Audio samples used in this episode were compiled from the following sources:

1. Swear to Tell the Truth (1998) - Documentary

2. Lenny (1974) – Bio film starring Dustin Hoffman and directed by Bob Fosse

3. Lenny Bruce - Busted (Live Performance)

4. Lenny Bruce – Vintage Comedy (Live Performance)

5. Lenny Bruce E! True Hollywood Story (1998)