You Schmooze You Lose: Punk is Smart

Well well well. After weeks upon weeks of neglect, DJ Motherfucker is back and she's here to make a point. Recently your DJ was reflecting on a conversation she had a while back in a dead city with an equally dead compatriot. He said something along the lines of how punk rock had never appealed to him because the genre lacked intelligence. Well dear sir, we can't ALL base our musical choices on bands that take their name from a Camus novel, now can we? A certain level of brain power is required to encapsulate a particular era or feeling. Whether it is Margaret Thatcher's England, the greasy grime of early 1980s Los Angeles, or the brick-laden urban blight of Richmond, VA circa now. Tonight's set bounces around the map slightly, but if you hold on tight you just might catch a glimpse into Miss Motherfucker's side of the argument. You Schmooze, You Lose: An Imaginary DJ Set By Jennie Willis Saccharine Trust- We Became Snakes Introducing our polemic is a free form post jazz offering from SST veterans Saccharine Trust. A slithering ode to transforming into a predatory entity. Refuge sought above heaven and below hell. Richard Hell and the Voidoids- Love Comes in Spurts Take what you will from the title of this track, but oh no, it hurts! With Richard Hell we get fetal inside a prison of dirty street desire. The Gun Club- She's Like Heroin to Me Next up is a rockabilly tinged nod off courtesy of the indelible Gun Club. Anyone who has ever mainlined junk or love is well aware that missing a vein can mean the end of the world. Cloak/Dagger- Runaways Straight out of Richmond, the one place your DJ has come close to finding a home is this track from frenetic local heroes Cloak/Dagger. Richmond is a city comprised of hemophiliac heroin addicts, GWAR, twenty something alcoholics and directionless hope. If there's anything this city can do, it can make you die. The urgency to survive is conveyed here. The Germs- Richie Dagger's Crime This selection comes from a band that has been dismissed by some as terrible and insipid. But when it comes down to brass tacks and brass knuckles, take into consideration the lyrics penned by Darby Crash; what teenager this side of Rimbaud could write lyrics like "I'm young and I'm haggard"? Point proven. Theoretical Girls- Computer Dating Okay okay. For all you purists out there, this track would traditionally be considered No Wave. But we here at the Schmoozer are not fond of pigeonholing. You should know that by now. You should also know that No Wave would not have come into fruition if it weren't for the rudimentary groups that came before. So quit bitching and take note of this poker-faced selection from fractured genius and purported asshole Glenn Branca. The Birthday Party- Kiss Me Black Death Blues. Poetic violence. Ecstatic Oblivion. All this and more can fairly summarize the junkyard noise of Australian dirge rockers the Birthday Party. Black Flag- Black Coffee When it comes to determining who was the best lead singer of Black Flag, it boils down to a matter of opinion. A disclaimer: This selection does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Schmooze and it's affiliates. It does however reflect the paranoia and seething anger at the bottom of a coffee cup in a sparse apartment, the decor being Henry Rollins' fuming delivery and Greg Ginn's messy guitars. Hate is a messy business. Crass- Punk is Dead Taking the piss out of punks turned superstars we have this track from anarcho-punks Crass. I hope the irony in the utilization of Clash-esque guitars wasn't lost on the lot of you. Social Distortion- Prison Bound Closing the night is the title track from Social Distortion's 1988 release. This selection spins the hard luck tale of doing time, no doubt inspired by Mike Ness' rehab stints. Despite the mainstream sound, we here at the Schmooze salute sincerity. Intelligence is necessary when it comes to honesty, and this song is a middle finger to pretension.