Stink - Celebrate The Fire CDep (Megalomania, 1993) (Remastered)

Despite the name, these guys don't actually smell like a huge fucking bag of rancid cat shit. Too graphic? I didn't choose this offensive band name! (Sorry, my writing skills are a little rusty.)

Based on an MRR review or ad, I believe I mailordered this ep directly from Megalomania Records, along with a 7" by their former labelmate, Strung Out. Hey, I wonder whatever happened to them!

Stink was from the Seattle area, but I'll refrain from inserting some comment about them eschewing the burgeoning grunge sound of the time. Oh wait.

But yes, Stink had more in common with other locals like Sicko or The Fastbacks. Conrad Uno of Egg Studios even produced this ep, as well as the aforementioned bands. Their closest comparison though would have to be Husker Du. A tight 3 piece playing melodic, not quite pop, punk with some nice lead guitars and 2 singers who trade off between somber and upbeat songs.

After this they put out a few 7"s (one on Mutant Pop for the pop punk heads) and 2 CDs on Allied Records. I had one of them remember not liking it as much as this ep, but after listening to this again, I'll have to fill the holes in my Stink collection. That's what she said! What?

Stink - Celebrate The Fire (Remastered) (V0)

01) Something Better

02) On The Outside

03) Diana

04) Happy

05) Don't Give It All Away

06) Never Will Forget

07) Are You Happy?

Upright Citizens - Farewell CDep (Self Released, 1988) (Remastered)

Maybe I've been productive in other aspects of my life, okay?!!!

It took me a while to get clued into a lot of good German punk/hardcore. Like the furious sound of Italian hardcore, German hardcore had it's own unique flavor. Slightly metallic, highly proficient and pretty melodic. Am I racially profiling hardcore bands? Hey, I don't even see color (vinyl), man.

Upright Citizens had a very long tenure, having a similar trajectory as a lot of 80's bands that stuck around. They started out rough, simple and catchy, on par with the old BYO bands. BYO even put out their 2nd album in the US, around the same time they were featured on the classic "Welcome To 1984" compilation. Then they became more competent and unique, with acoustic guitars and folk moments that were never hokey, and meshed well with their inspirational lyrics.

This ep was their zenith, in my opinion. And I don't mean the crappy old TV brand. This ep only featured 3 new songs, but they are awesome. Slightly metallic, slightly folky, melodic as hell, with great guitar parts and vocals. "Farewell" is the standout, and even at 6 minutes and 24 seconds, I can't get enough of it. Funny that the same band wrote the 26 second "Long Songs" in 1983, mostly made up of the lyrics of, "I hate long songs!"

I'm not sure if this ep was actually meant as a farewell as they were dormant for a few years until a live ep in 1991. After that they released one more EP and a full length that were slightly slicker, in the vein of other "popular" 90's punk bands, but still retaining their unique vibe. It's a shame that bands like this, SNFU and RKL didn't get to reap the benefits of the relative sounds that they pioneered, but they each produced some 90's records to be proud of after toiling in the foundation of hardcore punk.

So I'm sharing the CD version of this ep. It actually features 2 additional songs from 1984 that are re-recordings of a couple from the Open Eyes, Open Ears, Brains To Think & A Mouth To Speak LP, but they're also on the Facts And Views EP which is available here, so I'm omitting them. I don't think they fit in with the more mature on this EP anyway. So there!

Also truth be told, I started writing this post about 4 years ago and since then, almost all of their catalog is available on streaming sites. But not Bandcamp. And not remastered. So there again! Or something.

Upright Citizens - Farewell (Remastered) (V0)

1) Farewell

2) L.I.P. (Life Is Pain)

3) Just Thinking Of You