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Bill Zink's Blog (8)

The Death of Punk Rock; or, They Finally Pulled the Plug on the Old B****

I have this thing where I try to focus on an anticipated event in the future with such concentration and detail that it's the next best thing to time traveling. And then, for fun, when the actual event arrives, I try to remember with all possible clarity the past time when I imagined the moment I am currently living. In this way, I will myself unstuck in time. Back when punk rock meant a lot to me, I tried to imagine the point at which culture will completely consume and digest my musical obses… Continue

Added by Bill Zink on August 20, 2009 at 11:59pm — 85 Comments

Miriam's Story of the Cramps

Miriam, the first Cramps drummer, is blogging about the early days of the band: http://kicksville66.blogspot.com/ Everyone I knew in the 80's Bloomington scene loved the Cramps. For fans, casual or otherwise, this is a fun read. And those early pictures of Poison Ivy are priceless. Enjoy! Continue

Added by Bill Zink on May 17, 2009 at 10:05pm — 3 Comments

Sonata for Crazy Ass Traffic

Another post from The Death of Everything. It seems at least tangentially relevant. The TBW! posse was rolling up to Chicago (from Bloomington, late 80's) for a show at Club Dreamerz. Tony was living there at the time, the rest of us were in Bton. We ran up 65 (natch), stopping at a gas station just north of Lafayette to fill up & grab the $2.99 gas station cassette that would be our talisman for the trip. Quick aside here . . . is this som… Continue

Added by Bill Zink on January 25, 2009 at 5:00am — 1 Comment

"That's the way I like it baby, I don't wanna live forever!"

This is a post from my regular site, The Death of Everything. Since it is music-oriented, I thought I would also put it up here. Enjoy!

"And don't forget THE JOKER!!"

The case can be made (a case strong as the smell emanating from under… Continue

Added by Bill Zink on November 17, 2008 at 1:13am — 11 Comments

Prelude 2: The College Years

I meant to talk about Dow Jones and the Industrials in this post, but in the process of trying to provide more context, the thing just got too damn long, so I'm chopping it into two. Next time I'm definitely getting to D J & I. Really. When you’re a sheltered kid with a healthy curiosity stuck in middle of Indiana, you always get the feeling that everything happens somewhere else. When you get to a midwestern college, you have plenty of coastal/big city compatriots who whine a… Continue

Added by Bill Zink on June 29, 2008 at 5:31pm — 16 Comments

Gynecologists!

Just got this e-mail from Gulcher today: The Gynecologists 1981-1994 HOOSIER PSYCHOPATHS: THE OFFICIAL RECORDINGS (Gulcher 432) Of all the sick and sordid sagas to come floating out of the punk rock scene in isolated Indiana, none are more twisted than the ravings of Tommy Afterbirth and the band he founded in the late 1970s, the legendary Gynecologists. Tommy learned to love the seedy underbelly of pop culture at his father's drive-in movie theater, in the small redneck town south of Indianap… Continue

Added by Bill Zink on June 27, 2008 at 11:16pm — 21 Comments

Prelude: Before I Went Local

I want to write about some of the bands I've been close to over the years, the vast majority of them from either Muncie or Bloomington. There are a lot of people on this site who did stuff that is essential to my life. But, before I dive in, a prelude . . . I have always been a radio nut. I used to listen to a little transistor model constantly when I was a kid, oblivious to the music that was played. I wasn’t looking for musical satisfaction, I was looking for a window to somewhere e… Continue

Added by Bill Zink on June 24, 2008 at 12:30am — 22 Comments

Hello Muncie

So far this site has been a total riot. Nostalgia extreme. A couple things: anybody here have any links to John Rans, Jeff Weiss, or any of the No Bar crew? John's son Ian has an insane show on Minneapolis public television called "Drinking With Ian" (check it out on MySpace; it slays me). He also has a site cataloguing the Bob Chaos tapes, including the absolutely essential Latent Chaos chronicles: www.bobchaos.com . I've often talked with Tony Woollard about doing an archeology of the No Bar,… Continue

Added by Bill Zink on April 20, 2008 at 11:43pm — 330 Comments

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John P. Strohm commented on Jeb Banner's blog post 'Best Albums of the Decade'

Andy, yeah, I know what you're saying...the Lemonheads then instantly faded into multi-platinum obscurity. That's such a great perspective when most people have no idea the band even existed pre-1992. If anyone bothering to read this hasn't heard t…

5 hours ago

BURD commented on Jeb Banner's blog post 'Best Albums of the Decade'

Ha! I knew it.

6 hours ago

Kurt/Yukki commented on Jeb Banner's blog post 'Best Albums of the Decade'

I'm not crazy about Michael Jackson or modern-day indie rock, but I will sing the SHIT out of some prime Manilow. Burd, you nailed me. I write the songs that make the whole wooooorld siiiing....

6 hours ago

Andy "The Brit" commented on Jeb Banner's blog post 'Best Albums of the Decade'

ahhhh Bullet Lavolta,their 1st 12" almost bordered on being the new Jerry`s Kids !!! Then they hit the UK with the Lemonheads & they both fell away.....those were the days lol What gets me is people forget that punk/hardcore was NOT a private party…

12 hours ago

Ben Blackburn current efforts for finding a band have been fruitless

13 hours ago

John P. Strohm commented on Jeb Banner's blog post 'Best Albums of the Decade'

Burd, I would never accuse you of being shy about speaking your mind. And I doubt anyone would have thought me anything but a raging snob from way back. And with the anti-Manilow snobbery of the post below, we continue to have plenty in common. FTR:…

15 hours ago

BURD commented on Jeb Banner's blog post 'Best Albums of the Decade'

John, it didn't seem like good natured to me when I went back and looked. It reeked of pretentious snobbery. Haughtiness. The funny thing is; I'd probably step up and say something if someone was doing it to you. Incidently, there are all sorts of t…

15 hours ago

Jeb Banner commented on Jeb Banner's blog post 'Best Albums of the Decade'

John I will indeed buy you a drink but you will first have to drive the van of screaming kids northward!

16 hours ago

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