I blame it all on a forgotten little 80's B flick called Dudes. That's where my life really got off track from that main stream, serial killer training camp yuppie world. Ok not really, but Dudes was my cultural derailment.
If you haven't seen the movie, Don't. All you need to know is that it starts out with Jon Cryer (yes Duckie), Daniel Robuck (who you might recall from the Rivers Edge or more recently Bubba Ho Tep) and Flea (of the RHCP) at a Vandals (yes these Vandals, back when they were good) show in NYC. Our 3 leads are NYC punks, facing the grim realities of life in NYC. In need of a change of pace they head out for LA in a VW Bug. Along the way they meet and Elvis impersonator, and look at the surreal Southwest landscape.
In the Middle of AZ, they are bushwhacked by a bunch of killer hicks lead my Lee Ving (as in the lead singer of Fear), and this is where the story really takes off. Fear is killed and Cryer and Robuck head off to avenge his killing. There is a lot of fish out of water, action, punks in middle america stuff, some of it works some of it doesn't, but it was a lot of fun when I was 14 and a fish out of water in my town.
I found out about this film because we would get these video catalog things in the mail every so often and the ad for the film (which tanked at the box office) displayed the tag line 'They Were Looking for the American Dream, They found the American Nightmare'. It had Jon Cryer, who was a I was a fan of, and so we rented it, and rented, and showed it to our friends. When the local appliance store that rented videos sold off their collection we were able to talk my mother into buying us their copy of Dudes (in betamax).
The next purchase on the Dudes trip was a copy of the soundtrack. I wasn't really into music at the time, but the songs in the film were just too good not have on tape. We (and when I say we I mean my Brother and I) didn't have access to CD players until much later. The soundtrack is filled with metal acts, punk acts and some alternative stuff as well. I have often reflected that the collection of songs on that soundtrack are almost the perfect representation of my tastes in music.
It starts off with the Vandals and they proto-cowpunk 'Urban Struggle', and moves through tracks by: Keel, Simon Steel and the Claw, Megadeath 'These Boots are Made For Walking', W.A.S.P., Janes Addiction, The Leather Nun, The Little Kings, Steve Vai, and Legal Weapon , and a instro track. I think I missed something in there, but you get the idea. It's all punk, metal, alternative and what not.
At first I was drawn to the Legal Weapon track 'Time Forgot You' which is a country flavored rock ballad, it's the kind of track that scream out to be revived by one of these No Depression bands with a solid singer. It's a mournful energetic tune that I listen to often. I was desperate to find more music from the band, and it took years to find their albums. They have their own story, let's just say that if you are a fan of early west coast female fronted punk bands like The Nuns or the Avenger, you should check out Legal Weapon. As an aside Patricia Morrison of The Bags, Sister's of Mercy, and currently of The Damned was one of the early members of the band.
So I couldn't find any Legal Weapon tapes, so I gravitated towards the pop metal of Keel and Simon Steel and the Claw. My metal years are my metal years and I'll get around to writing about them sooner or later. It was only later that the punk tracks became my favorites, when I started to read about and understand more about the history of punk, and when I heard the music that the bands from that soundtrack had made.
ok that last paragraph is a little abrupt. Anyway that film and that soundtrack taught me more about the world around me, and what it was to be an outsider and like things that were unpopular. It was an affirmation that it was ok to be different and that often times finding a purpose and your place in the world was more important that living the pro-scripted life of a middle class suburbanite.
Keep on Rockin'
If you haven't seen the movie, Don't. All you need to know is that it starts out with Jon Cryer (yes Duckie), Daniel Robuck (who you might recall from the Rivers Edge or more recently Bubba Ho Tep) and Flea (of the RHCP) at a Vandals (yes these Vandals, back when they were good) show in NYC. Our 3 leads are NYC punks, facing the grim realities of life in NYC. In need of a change of pace they head out for LA in a VW Bug. Along the way they meet and Elvis impersonator, and look at the surreal Southwest landscape.
In the Middle of AZ, they are bushwhacked by a bunch of killer hicks lead my Lee Ving (as in the lead singer of Fear), and this is where the story really takes off. Fear is killed and Cryer and Robuck head off to avenge his killing. There is a lot of fish out of water, action, punks in middle america stuff, some of it works some of it doesn't, but it was a lot of fun when I was 14 and a fish out of water in my town.
I found out about this film because we would get these video catalog things in the mail every so often and the ad for the film (which tanked at the box office) displayed the tag line 'They Were Looking for the American Dream, They found the American Nightmare'. It had Jon Cryer, who was a I was a fan of, and so we rented it, and rented, and showed it to our friends. When the local appliance store that rented videos sold off their collection we were able to talk my mother into buying us their copy of Dudes (in betamax).
The next purchase on the Dudes trip was a copy of the soundtrack. I wasn't really into music at the time, but the songs in the film were just too good not have on tape. We (and when I say we I mean my Brother and I) didn't have access to CD players until much later. The soundtrack is filled with metal acts, punk acts and some alternative stuff as well. I have often reflected that the collection of songs on that soundtrack are almost the perfect representation of my tastes in music.
It starts off with the Vandals and they proto-cowpunk 'Urban Struggle', and moves through tracks by: Keel, Simon Steel and the Claw, Megadeath 'These Boots are Made For Walking', W.A.S.P., Janes Addiction, The Leather Nun, The Little Kings, Steve Vai, and Legal Weapon , and a instro track. I think I missed something in there, but you get the idea. It's all punk, metal, alternative and what not.
At first I was drawn to the Legal Weapon track 'Time Forgot You' which is a country flavored rock ballad, it's the kind of track that scream out to be revived by one of these No Depression bands with a solid singer. It's a mournful energetic tune that I listen to often. I was desperate to find more music from the band, and it took years to find their albums. They have their own story, let's just say that if you are a fan of early west coast female fronted punk bands like The Nuns or the Avenger, you should check out Legal Weapon. As an aside Patricia Morrison of The Bags, Sister's of Mercy, and currently of The Damned was one of the early members of the band.
So I couldn't find any Legal Weapon tapes, so I gravitated towards the pop metal of Keel and Simon Steel and the Claw. My metal years are my metal years and I'll get around to writing about them sooner or later. It was only later that the punk tracks became my favorites, when I started to read about and understand more about the history of punk, and when I heard the music that the bands from that soundtrack had made.
ok that last paragraph is a little abrupt. Anyway that film and that soundtrack taught me more about the world around me, and what it was to be an outsider and like things that were unpopular. It was an affirmation that it was ok to be different and that often times finding a purpose and your place in the world was more important that living the pro-scripted life of a middle class suburbanite.
Keep on Rockin'
[Edited on Feb 20, 2004 6:41PM]
there is a new film out that is called hip hip hora which looks really good.
such a shame that those movies havent made it over to the states. but i hear tillsammans is being made by hollywood.