Contributor Archives: Noise in the Zen Arcade

Raw Nerve – Everything I currently have by them (2009-2011)

Posted on 06.07.12 by Luke of

So Raw Nerve disbanded a few months ago. I’m still kicking myself for not making it out to their final shows in Chicago. I’m just glad I did get to see them a couple of times while they were around. Luckily though, the final set was recorded, and you can watch the whole thing (and mosh the fuck out in the comfort of your own home) here. At the moment I’ve got their music on blast — hopefully it will sufficiently irritate my wannabe-fratboy neighbors. For those who don’t know, Raw Nerve has been one of the best hardcore bands … Continue reading →

The New Yorker – Living Among Winners and Losers 12″ – 2012

Posted on 14.06.12 by Luke of

From lastfm: (1) The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. Originally a weekly, the magazine is now published 47 times per year with five (usually more expansive) issues covering two-week spans. (2) The New Yorker is a melodic punk/post-hardcore band from Northwest Indiana. Now that you’re all sad about Raw Nerve being gone, have yourself a listen to this slice of Chicago/NW Indiana melodic hardcore. Members of this band are also in Lord Snow and Expendable Youth, and one was in Raw Nerve. Furious bass playing, harmonic feedback tunes, and drums that … Continue reading →

Happy May Day, Comrade

Posted on 01.05.12 by Luke of

  Happy May Day, comrade. It’s a holiday that is widely uncelebrated in my country, even though it is meant to commemorate the Haymarket Massacre, which happened in my hometown, Chicago. According to Wikipedia, the US government instead assigned May 1 such comical/Orwellian names as ‘Americanization Day,’ ‘Loyalty Day,’ and ‘Law Day.’ In any case, if you’ve got the day off or are working an 8-hour day (rather than a 14-hour day, or at least getting overtime pay), you’ve got unions, socialists, and anarchists of past generations to thank for it. For today’s post we’ll talk about the Ex‘s 1936, … Continue reading →

Grazhdanskaya Oborona

Posted on 20.04.12 by Luke of

  Гражданская Оборона (English: “civil defense”, or abbreviated GrOb “coffin”) is the most famous and probably the most influential of the 1980s Soviet punk bands. The only constant member was Egor Letov, who was active right up to his death in 2008 (many of his friends, bandmates, etc. ended up committing suicide in the ’80s and ’90s). I don’t speak Russian, but the songs seem to be about anarchism, running from the KGB (they had Letov committed to a mental institution in the mid-’80s), totalitarianism, depression, feelings of powerlessness, and all that kind of stuff you’d expect to hear from a … Continue reading →