This has to be one of my 10 Desert Island Discs. As near a perfect embodiment of the Punk Rock myth that one could possibly find. The song "Rotten To The Core" simply encapsulates the betrayal us teenagers felt when our favourite Punk legends turned out to be hypocrites of the first order.
I don't usually print out lyrics,or even read them, but here goes:
Have you Realised that Rock Stars
Always seem to lie so much?
John Lydon once said he cared
But he never really gave a fuck
Said he'd use the money he made
So that people would have somewhere to go
But now he lives in the USA
and Snorts Coke after the Show.
Why is it that Rock Stars
Always seem to lie so much?
Joe Strummer once said he cared,
but he never really gave a fuck
Said he'd use the money he made
To set up a radio station to make the
Airwaves full of something more than Shit
Have you noticed we're still Waiting?
You must realise that Rock Stars
Always seem to lie so much
Some will always tell you that they care,
But they don't really give a fuck,
Still you suckers don't ever learn
That rock stars deal in money not truth
It's good Business to exploit you
Just look at Lydon or Strummer for Proof.
A bit sixth form poetry in style, but the sentiments are spot on.Kids who were my age(13-16) during the Punk Rock explosion from 76 to 78, believed in these traitors.It was more than a rock'n'roll revival for us. It was a rejection of normality,of the bland,the hum drum, of the, to quote Lie-don, "Old Order"; but they just repeated all the same Sex,Drugs and Rock'n'Roll mistakes.It was more than that for us kids.
I remember the disappointment when i heard these liars did drugs, and don't get me started on what a cock Sid Vicious was.The face that launched a thousand clones.
Lydon was full of great soundbytes, but all he wanted was a Future. A healthy bank balance ,some real estate in Chelsea,and live the Rock Star dream in LA! How he managed to make such perfect records like "Metal Box" and "First Issue", I'll never work out. His enormous ego destroyed one of the most perfect groups that ever walked this planet...yes, PiL; not the fucking Sex Pistols! And now he's every middle aged mums favourite cute interviewee, chatting with TV idiots like the hideous Piers Morgan, and the idiotic Graham Norton among many others; "Ah isn't he luvleh?".....er...NO!
The kids who turned into punk sheep didn't escape Rudi P's disdain either, as the information sheet that came with the initial release included the following quote, "There's nothing I find more tedious than the rows of identical painted leather jackets - how moronic".
Now..... "Death Church"; what more can I say? It exists like a savage bee in your inner ear. Its haunted visions are fleshed out in Blinko's creepy black and white drawings that permeate this superb package; and his simple but devastatingly dark and incisive lyrics.
Some bright spark labelled this music "Deathrock", which kinda sells it short as some type of stupid Lesser Black Metal nonsense; its far more intelligent,unique, and downright demented than that.
RP releases seemed to come when Nick was not wasting away in a mental ward, and if anything, his artwork alone, is a prime example of tortured genius; dare I say a punk rock equivalent of Van Gogh?.....or Van Goth (please excuse the dreadful pun).
"Three quarters of the world are starving
"Three quarters of the world are starving
The rest are dead.
Overdosed on insensitivityNail varnished to crosses"
(1/4 Dead)
Tracklist:
Corpus Christi Side
A1 ¼ Dead
A2 Blissful Myth
A3 The Psycho Squat
A4 Rotten To The Core
A5 Poppycock
A6 Cosmic Hearse
A7 The Cloud Song
A8 Vampire State Building
A9 Blasphemy Squad
A10 When You Are A Martian Church
A11 Pig In A Blanket
Rudimental Human Side
B1 Inside
B2 Nothing But A Nightmare
B3 Flesh Crucifix
B4 Slimy Member
B5 Love Is Not
B6 Radio Schizo
B7 Happy Farm
B8 Alice Crucifies The Paedophiles
B9 Army Of Jesus
B10 Dutchmen
Corpus Christi Side
A1 ¼ Dead
A2 Blissful Myth
A3 The Psycho Squat
A4 Rotten To The Core
A5 Poppycock
A6 Cosmic Hearse
A7 The Cloud Song
A8 Vampire State Building
A9 Blasphemy Squad
A10 When You Are A Martian Church
A11 Pig In A Blanket
Rudimental Human Side
B1 Inside
B2 Nothing But A Nightmare
B3 Flesh Crucifix
B4 Slimy Member
B5 Love Is Not
B6 Radio Schizo
B7 Happy Farm
B8 Alice Crucifies The Paedophiles
B9 Army Of Jesus
B10 Dutchmen
A very great album. I love "Rotten to the Core", and "When You Are A Martian Church" is one of the all-time great song titles. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI believe that martian church related to born again religion? Not sure if that's the truth, i read it years ago when i first bought the album. Love ths album. Blissful myth, poppycock, psycho squat etc
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post and the lyrics. Yes, Bono will save the world--with someone else's money. And Michael Stipe lives in a $9 million NYC penthouse and has Mario Batali open his restaurant at odd hours just for him, then doesn't tip tip the staff. Patti Smith is on our side, but I'm hard pressed to name anyone else. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThis Lp blew my mind as a 14 yr old in 1983, Still love it as much today, love the music obviously and the lyrics have such surreal touches /puns and imagery. Always loved the words to Happy Farm and Blasphemy squad - Hairy Whitemouse and the Rubber Arch Bish...
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to punch my head all the way to the holiday inn. I need more of your top 10.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the RP posts! This one was my first, and very much like Zeroid, this album blew my mind as a 15yr old in '85. It took me ages to find the EP's (which I did in the late 90's or something) and they blew my mind me again! Loved the music and the surrealistic lyrics. That's precisely the reason why 'Rotten' was never a favourite, the lyrics are too straight in your face, and the song is one of the longest in the album :D That was another quality of the album, the shortness of most of the songs, as you mention in one of the posts. Sometimes I think they took that from Wire (Pink Flag era), even though they sound abolutely different. "Happy Farm", oh those changes of chords and keys that keep following the maze of the lyrics and then... stop! Great band indeed.
ReplyDeleteI've gotta check if I have already the 2008 EP...
Saludos,
Fernando :)
one there best release's love this lp.
ReplyDeletei can barely read the last image, do you know where i can find it with better quality?
ReplyDeletethank you for the upload