Razorcake Podcast #58: With the Rhythm Chicken
Buck, buck, buckaw!!! Welcome punker-types to the audio result of when Wisconsin farm animals invade Razorcake HQ. First thought to be near impossible, here we offer to you the first ever Razorcake podcast hosted by a CHICKEN! With the translation assistance of the jetlagged Tadeusz Talorski, we help you to understand the clucking ramblings of a northern Wisconsin trailer dweller, fresh off the farm! He brings you a good helping of Wisconsin based punk rock, some backwoods DIY beer music, a few rockin’ gems from Poland, and a few other favorites of the Chicken.
For those who might care, I will attempt to enlighten some of you on some of the Chicken’s choices for his podcast. Remember, he lives in a trailer in the woods of northern Wisconsin, a short stroll from the shore of Lake Michigan. His mind is sometimes not quite right……for a chicken.
-Rhythm Chicken
Tracklisting:
“Rumors” – Die Kreuzen (Self-titled)
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“Blatz and Sauerkraut” – the Happy Schnapps Combo (Raise It!)
“Blow Your Own Horn” – Vesicular Basalt (Lambda Lambda Lambda)
“BFF” – Holy Shit! (Self-titled)
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“Not Anymore” – Die Kreuzen (Self-titled)
“The Bar” – the Figgs (…Couldn’t Get High)
“Rock and Roll on a Saturday Night” – Vesicular Basalt (Lambda Lambda Lambda)
“40 Seconds of My Life” – CF-98 (Enjoy)
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“Psychozd” – El Banda (Przejdzie ci)
“O Glowie” – Klaus Mittfoch (Self-titled)
“Drag” – Brainiac (Smack Bunny Baby)
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“One Hit Wonder” – the Figgs (continue to enjoy the Figgs, Vol. 2)
“The Bears Still Suck Polka” – the Happy Schnapps Combo (Raise It!)
Die Kreuzen – shouldn’t require explanation, but for the younger ones….. an amazing group from Milwaukee in the early ‘80s to the early ‘90s. Their first EP and full length album were stellar examples of amazingly different hardcore punk rock. Their later albums were also stellar, but strayed into other musical realms. One of the Chicken’s favorites.
Happy Schnapps Combo – a very Wisconsinist group of small town beer swillers. Not exactly under the “punk umbrella”, yet totally DIY in nature. Their headquarters is Van’s Liquor Store in Manitowoc, or was it Mishicot? They still rock the tavern circuit in such outstanding towns at Sister Bay, Pulaski, and New Holstein!
Vesicular Basalt – a tight and angry three-piece from Appleton, WI, all through the ‘90s. John the drummer also sang/yelled, and would also do everything he could to alienate the audience. They appreciated Nig Heist, to say the least.
Holy Shit! – Blazing basement hardcore from Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, though a number of the guys are Green Bay outcasts, I do believe. This song is about Brett Favre, and Andy Junk’s guitar is transparent. What else would you need to know?
The Figgs – in the Chicken’s opinion, the single greatest rock-n-roll band touring today. They’ve been hired as a back-up band for both Graham Parker and Tommy Stinson. They’ve been dropped from TWO different major labels, and will play basement shows in Milwaukee.
CF-98 – Krakow, Poland’s youngsters pound out some slick punk rock which they’ve self-labeled at “Kalifornia Punk”. Oddly sung in perfect English, yet their pierogi and kielbasa remain true.
El Banda – Female-fronted Polish hardcore at it’s finest. It makes me think about how the hardcore kids in Poland might not really know what a great band they got there. Bardzo dobrze!
Klaus Mittfoch – Polish punk/new wave band from the early to mid ‘80s. Peculiarly released on the Tonpress record label, the state-run and only record label in communist Poland. Just Fascinating.
Brainiac – completely whacked out manic Ohio punk from Dayton. Imagine Darby Crash fronting a crusty version of Devo. Demented Midwestern punk is always a worthwhile purchase.