​Written by GE 138.

This new album by T.S.O.L. sucks. There, I said it. So what? "Opinions on music being subjective...", yada yada yada but still, this album is soooo bad it hurts. Damn. What a shame. It's too poppy, it's too wimpy. It's got people singing 'la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la' background vocals all happy sounding and shit, like some ghey ass 60's hippy music does! Blah! I hate when bands chat up their upcoming release by hinting that it's going to sound like their earlier, classic material, because then I get all hyped up on wanting to hear it, and when I do, I'm usually hugely disappointed, like I am with this latest release from T.S.O.L., one of my favorite bands ever. I mean, I wasn't looking for Dance With Me, part 2, or even a follow up to Beneath The Shadows, but I was looking for something good, something rocking, and didn't find it in this 13 song release. Look, I'm a fan of later era T.S.O.L. albums - I thought Divided We Stand was hugely underrated, and Disappear is filled with all sorts of classic ragers that get the pits started every time the band plays them at a gig, but this album is wimpy, embarrassing, it's polished melodic, and lacking any ear candy whatsoever, there's just nothing here man, nothing. The old original keyboard player is back in the band, and his dynamic is all over the place on these tunes, for better or for worse. His riffs replaced a lot of Ron's stuff, relegating him to accents and background fills, which is sad. Was that some auto tune shit I just heard? Oh fuck this album. I've listened to it a few times now, and just can't find anything worth noting about on this album. Maybe Going Steady would sound good live, but I dunno, the majority of the stuff on here is just soft, watered down, old guy T.S.O.L. singing about Love and what went wrong with their lives versus singing about necrophilia and abolishing governments and pseudo spy novels set to music. Maybe it's me, I dunno, buy again, you ask me, I say this album sucks. It's very The Damned Phantasmagoria era sounding, if you know what I mean. 1 (almost) song out of 13 does not make a record good. I was expecting more, and I got duped. Phooey.

Put out by Release Records on beautiful splattered colored vinyl, CD, and cassette tape, if you can believe that, all of it available from the labels website by clicking here. It's also available from the band at every gig they play to make their mortgage payments or as an excuse to get out of the old folks home they all reside in, sedated and safe and happy. Available on iTunes (click here) as well as all sorts of places all over the Interwebz where Punk Music is sold like the cheap commodity that it is nowadays. 'Like" the band on Facebook by clicking here. T.S.O.L. I heart you. <3

​​Written by GE 138.

The Fat Dukes Of Fuck are one of the best bands to ever come out of the slimy, drug addled cesspool we lovingly call the Las Vegas Music Scene. One of the Best. Bands. EVER!! What started out as 2 guys and a drum machine noise / joke band project has evolved into a Metal tinged, musically mutinous monster of Mayhem that's capable of melting faces, shredding faces, pulverizing faces and any other aggressive facial attacks you can think of. Somehow now associated with David Yow of The Jesus Lizard and Dale Crover from The Melvins for some reason, The Fat Dukes Of Fuck just keep testing their creativity and pushing the boundaries of what's expected from musicians and what bands are "supposed to do" in order to be successful. While I don't always "get" what they're going for, I'm always thrown back by the fact that they're out they're out there doing "it", whatever "it" is at that particular moment, whether it's recording some Zappa-esque musically dexterous melodious nightmare, or using their home made toilet paper guns to engage a boring crowd into giving them a reaction, or maybe just pummeling a drunken late night crowd at a bar into submission with some heavy ass Metal riffs and Brent's slurred, drunken ramblings. Whatever it is, it's quite a sight to see, something I've been lucky to have witnessed on many an occasion. I consider myself a Fan, a longtime Supporter of the band, as well as a Friend. I love these guys. They are, as the kids say, 'The Shit'. Do kids still say that nowadays? I dunno... who cares? LOL

And what does all that have to do with this sprawling, 2 CD, odds and sods collection from The Fat Dukes Of Fuck? Nothing really, but when given the chance, I love extolling the virtues of this band to anyone bothering to check them out or pay heed to what I have to say. Yeah, I have no idea what's up with this 2 CD collection though. Some songs are live versions of early The Fat Dukes Of Fuck songs, like Speedball Trucker, which was on their first release Bafomitorium, and others (I think) are brand new recordings of songs only previously available in live form, like Grandma Mormon vs. The Beast In Jason's Dick, which is one of my favorite songs by them, but it was previously released on the High 'N' Dry album in a live form, which is odd but whatever, and other tunes on here are just instrumental tracks to previously released material. Sonically it all sounds amazing, and musically it's both baffling and unsettling, which is how good music is supposed to be. Oh, and it rocks too, believe that. Yeah, I don't know what to make from this assemblage of musical arrangements from The Fat Dukes Of Fuck, but I will tell you this - I'm happy to have it to listen to. Check this shit out. If you're a fan, you'll love it, and if you're not, well, give it a listen, and it will grow on you like a poisonous psychedelic mold that both thrills you and terrifies you, and then gives you the best orgasm you've ever had right before it kills you. Yeah, it's that good! 

Available from the band at every gig they play. It's also available digitally as well as physically from the bands Bandcamp page, which you can go to by clicking here. They also maintain a The Fat Dukes Of Fuck website, ClownPenisDotFart.org, which is a trip, to say the least. Watch the eyes! hahahaha "Like" The Fat Dukes Of Fuck on Facebook by clicking here.