Kidnappers - Ransom Notes & Telephone Calls (Alien Snatch).
Somewhere halfway 'tween the better Rip Off releases and the Hives at their rockinest best lies the territory occupied by the Kidnappers, a young German trio set to take the globe by storm w/ their explosive brand o' punky-rock'n'roll. A version of Lolli & the Chones' 'Everybody Hates Me' should give some clues, while closer inspection reveals that 'Hey, Hey, Hey' liberally quotes the Dolls' 'Mystery Girls' and 'Excuse Me' is a thinly disguised rip of the Count Bishops take on 'Teenage Letter'. Obviously the kind of influences one can wear w/ pride, but rest assured that their own material easily compares. These guys are on a mission, and I suggest you donate to their cause ASAP.

Was wondering about whatever happened to the long promised Runaways documentary film (yep, I wonder about such things early in the morning!) and came across this lengthy, but interesting, interview w/ Victory Tischler-Blue (AKA Vicky Blue) that made me even more curious. GO!

While diggin' thru' some ol' 'zines here at HQ, I came across an excellent interview w/ Greg Shaw in an issue of Black To Comm (anybody knows if this mag is still in biz ?). And guess what, it's available on-line. Long, but definitely worth your while. GO!.

Rubber City Rebels - Pierce My Brain (Smog Veil).
Dunno how many of you remember the Akron Ohio hype of yore, the net result of which was that it all but buried a couple o' great bands. And yep, the Rubber City Rebels was one of 'em. A fantastic split LP w/ the Bizarros on Clone from '77 and a lone full-length for Capitol three years later were by and large ignored and the band soon faded into obscurity. So it was a real surprise to learn that the guys have not only returned to the stage in recent years but even came up w/ a entire new album thanks to the kind folks at Smog Veil. And whatever you think about reunions the final question on any disc should be "is it any good?". The answer here bein' affirmative, as we're dealin' w/ a batch o' solid contempo p-rock tunes that shows this gang of rebels can still cut it, grey hairs or no. If you haven't been introduced yet, I'd suggest you first pick up some of their earlier works (also available from Smog Veil) to get some idea where these guys are coming from, and once you've come to grips w/ that (or if you've been diggin' 'em since whenever) you'll find that this new disc 'll sit comfortably next to the vintage stuff.

Why bother?; Greg Ginn planning Black Flag reunion (at least he's smart enough not to get Rollins involved). GO!

Joey Ramone's Birthday bash. GO!.

Dee Rangers - Pretty Ugly Beat (White Jazz)
The members of this Swedish band have been producing infectious beat music in one form another since the mid-eighties. Featuring several former members of the Maryland Cookies, the guys decided to dedicate themselves to nothing but 60s inspired punk sounds in 1997. With a string of singles on labels such as Estrus and a recent debut long player on White Jazz, the Dee Rangers have by their own admission always struggled to put "that sound" on wax. However, in January they made a long anticipated trip to London and holed-up in Toe Rag Studio for a week. The result is a punchy thirty plus minutes of beat-punk that features inspired guest appearances from Parsley Lion on keyboards and Don Craine on backing vocals/maracas. Pretty Ugly Beat kick-starts with the vengeful Won't Be Back Again and is followed by Come On (I'm A P.U.B.) complete with frantic harp blowing and lacerating guitar licks. Other highlights include Musta Petteri - a twanging intro based on a Finnish traditional tune, Everything I've Got To Give - a new arrangement of a familiar song with "Dee Sect" appeal, and the closing I'm Lost, a nasty slab of brooding Eurobeat if ever there was one. On this evidence the Dee Rangers need to forget the message of the opening track and book a return trip to London as soon as possible. In the meantime, look out for an ep on Munster that contains four bonus tracks from the Toe Rag sessions.

The Fleshtones will be givin' a rare in-store performance at Vintage Vinyl, 51 Lafayette Rd.
Fords, NJ 08863, on May 4th at 2:00 PM (phone: (732) 225-7717, e-mail:
rob@vvinyl.com ).

Small but interesting site documenting some very obscure pre-punk 70s bands from LA,
like White Light and the Imperial Dogs (These are the guys that wrote 'This Ain't The Summer Of Love', later adapted by both BÖC and the Nomads) . GO!.

"It's almost here. A site completely dedicated to Legs McNeil". GO!

The Crybabies - How The Other Half Lives (Dino Records)
Led by Artie Sneiderman on lead vocals and featuring Steve Aquino (recently of the Lyres) on twelve string guitar, this infectious CD is full of catchy originals and well chosen covers by these veterans of the garage band scene in Worcester, MA. Kicking-off with a jangletastic version of "Man With Money", it then piles into a series of originals that veer from the mid-period Beatles pop of "You Don't Care" to the garage rock snarl of the title track. Fans of the Shambles, another "Wormtown" band that featured Paul Murphy and Rick Corraccio from the Lyres alongside Artie and Steve, will no doubt recognise reworkings of "Love Me Like I Know You Can" and "Nympho" (to name but two) but the tunes are so damn catchy and the new arrangements so on-the-money that it's a pleasure to dig them one more time. With further cover tunes courtesy of the Gants ("I Wonder") and the Flamin' Groovies ("I'll Cry Alone"), there's just about everything on this platter to please fans of harmony-driven pop and frazzled garage rock. So don't be a baby, let's have a smile, and grab yourself a copy of this uplifting disc.

"I don't have to be here, ya know. I don't have to show up here. With my vast financial holdings, I could be basking in the sun in Florida. This is just a hobby for me! Nothing, ya hear? A HOBBY! " GO!