‘Can’t Stop Us (Mexico/Japan)’
(Side One Dummy)
If there’s one thing that ‘Can’t Stop Us’ proves, it’s that punk rock is truly a global phenomenon; uniting like-minded people in areas where you might least expect the genre’s influence to exist. This DVD is essentially a two-part documentary, featuring plenty of live Casualties footage, which follows the band on extensive tours of Mexico and Japan.The band play strictly old-school street punk in an Exploited/GBH vein, and unsurprisingly incite moshpit chaos at every show. It all sounds pretty repetitive after a while, though, and the quality of sound is varied, at best. The band/crowd interaction is far more interesting; especially in Mexico, where vocalist Jorge – a son of Hispanic immigrants – is able to sing and speak to the band’s fans in their native tongue. Don’t worry, folks, there are English subtitles included.
Elsewhere, there’s plenty of amusing tour bus footage; rioting fans in Mexico City; interviews with excited Mexican and Japanese punks; and a particularly touching scene where Casualties bassist Rick rescues a kitten trapped on a high roof. Aw, bless.
‘Can’t Stop Us’ is only truly essential for Casualties fans, but it’s well worth a look if you generally like UK82 style punk, or if you’re simply curious about how punk culture manifests itself in Hispanic or Asian territories.
For all your Casualties news and updates, check out www.thecasualties.net
It’s amazing the sort of fame you can achieve whilst remaining completely anonymous. Nobody knows what street cred feels like from the shadows more than London artist, Banksy. Wall and Piece is a collection of the artist’s three books that showcase his genius and provocative work. Some call it vandalism, others street art, in any case the street art that Banksy stencils on any surface definitely gets you thinking. Whether it’s a rat with a ghetto blaster, an ‘authorized graffiti area’ or the Virgin Mary listening to her I-pod, each of Banksy’s pieces are on the spot and spot on when it comes to witty social commentary. Sometimes the subtlety of the statement is what makes its beauty.
‘When punk first started I wasn’t even allowed in this shop,’ laughs Slits frontwoman Ari Up fixing one of Selfridges security guards in her line of vision. ‘This one’s called ‘Shoplifting’ so go and do it.’
The Buzzcocks are not a band to wallow in nostalgia. It’s not like they’ve reformed to cash in on past glories because they’ve never really stopped and new album ”Flat-Pack Philosophy’ is up there with some of their finest material. Arriving onstage with more energy and enthusiasm than men half their age, they blast through a short sharp set comprising of some key tracks from the aforementioned album and then proceed to pile headlong through a greatest hits set that includes pretty much every Buzzcocks song you could want to hear squeezed into 30 minutes. Happy Birthday punk rock, here’s to the next 30 years!
Following their amazing live shows in Manchester, a DVD of the Gorillaz concerts is set to be released in March according to reports. News is that the DVDs will hit the stores in the UK on March 27th with the US getting their chance for viewing with an April release.
Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire’s Tetbury will host legendary act Massive Attack on July 30th with Terry Callier, who appears as the guest on their last single, as support for the group. Tickets go on sale this coming Friday [24th March] and will set you back £27.50. A bargain for all fans.
A full 9 years after his death, Biggie Small’s shooting is being re-opened for investigation by the LAPD. Recently, the family of BIG had sued the LAPD for allegedly trying to sabotage the investigation to cover up for former policeman on the force who had been linked with the murder. A new piece of evidence was “found” which helped the LAPD officer’s case and when this was brought up, the judge declared it was a mistrial and ordered the force to pay Biggie’s family over $1.5m dollars.
Michael Jackson, the once titled Prince Of Pop, is closing his Neverland Ranch so as to save money on expenditure, meaning some of his staff will no be without a job. It was reported that Jackson was forced to pay over $300,000 in unpaid wages to staff after being threatened with legal action, on top of having to pay a fine of around $150,000.
UK Superstars Radiohead have announced dates on their tour of Europe and the UK in May of this year, which will showcase tracks from their forthcoming album.
Damn! Didn’t we say Andrew Brophy would be the next big thing? Well, damn right- Brophy is turning heads and could easily leap over them with his pop.