Redd Kross New Album due 2005 Called 'Motorcycle Black Madonna'

http://www.itsoktheband.com/

JEFF: Uh, not anymore--I was kicked off America On-Line for writing a letter to the Barry Manilow fans in his folder. I wrote the letter as if I was Barry's lover. I was only trying to give the fans some insight into Barry's off-stage personality. I said that Barry was as generous to his fans as he was to his lover.

STEVE: What's wrong with that?

JEFF: I don't know, but I was kicked off permanently.

STEVE: You must've wrote some really weird shit.

JEFF: No. I just traced the history of our relationship. How we met at Studio 54 and how we went to Barry's penthouse apartment to listen to a test pressing of Donna Summer's new album. We drank a little bit of wine and it blossomed into a secure relationship from there.

STEVE: Did Barry leave him in the end?

JEFF: Yeah, but they're still friends. But I know that doing things like that, you have to pay karmically. So I stopped for a while. Online services are really great, though, because often times when I'm writing lyrics I need some extra motivation. So I'd go into some abstract area, like Trisha Yearwood's folder and post my lyrics in there. You can actually find original drafts of my lyrics from the last album scattered throughout AOL on various folders.

They claim their new album "Researching the Blues" (WTF does that mean?) is almost done. It's only a decade overdue, and 15 years since their last one.

they've been talking about a new album coming out for so long that I wonder if it's just a hoax.

what the hell does Jeff McDonald do all day, anyway? I think I remember an interview where he says he's never gotten a dayjob.

They must have always been ok for money, they've never sold a lot even then

Hope this is more Third Eye than Show World

i just hope its great. No sub-teenage fanclub stuff

Redd Kross got better with each album

I think Phaseshifter is better than Show World. It took me a while to warm to Show World; at first I was really disappointed with it. I still only rarely revisit it, but find that Phaseshifter does a lot for me, of those two

"It's our best record by far. I know nobody really trust that veteran rock acts can make exciting records late in their careers, but we did it. You'll love it. I promise."

http://punkglobe.com/jeffmcdonaldinterview0212.php

album out on August 7 on Merge!

ned beat you

OH NOES

the new single is out. you can hear it here:

http://www.themajesticshow.com/2012/05/redd-kross-researching-the-blues-new-music/

his voice sounds different. im kinda meh on 1st listen but maybe its a grower.

it sounds like it could be on "Neurotica" though

the pitchfork review is up and seems kind of half-assed. they hardly talk about the album at all.

http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16908-researching-the-blues/

also, "Researching the Blues" is a title that doesn't sound very Redd Kross.

My enduring love for these guys led me to pick this up immediately. If you are a Redd Kross fan you will be pleased and relieved that it doesn't suck. It's a short, loud blast of hard rock, possibly their heaviest album. It really feels like a long time has passed though. I was into them in their prime and therefore am now a hell of a lot older and it's hard to put this album into any kind of context other than "let's see what the Redd Kross comeback effort sounds like". Overall I have no real use for this kind of music any more. But I saw them live two or three years ago and it was as good as ever. Looking forward to the forthcoming tour but probably won't play the album much although it is quite good.

do the mcdonald brothers have the best genes in human history or something? Jeff is 50 years old and he looks like he's in his early 20s.

True. Steve's only 45 and Jeff's 49 I think. Even Hetson who was bald at 30 looks alarmingly healthy and youthful. It's a real saving grace that he is back in the band btw. I do miss the keyboards from the Third Eye/Phaseshifter period though.

You mean Robert Hecker.

Sorry, Hecker, yes. I missed his earlier period in the band. Saw them lots of times in the 90s and finally saw him with them in Toronto in 2009. The guy is an amazing guitarist and has a really fun onstage personality too.

The new album contains no trademark Hecker of yesteryear licks, I've noticed. Also, is he out of the band now? I heard they employed a stand-in for some recent European dates due to his teaching commitments, but he's also absent from the Stay Away From Downtown video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6teoeHq6pig

Wow, that video is really bad. WTH. And they just couldn't help but throw in a "Young Dong" gag in there too.

Hmmm, He's still in the band but can't commit to all the live dates I guess. Too bad. I agree the album doesn't really show him off much though. It's solid heavy riffage for the most part.

I've been playing this in the background today, and was struck by how much "Hazel Eyes" sounds like an old Apples In Stereo track, circa Fun Trick Noisemaker. Which is another perfectly listenable album that I own but don't really think about much. I wonder sometimes if Redd Kross were a band that had an important function to perform, but having performed it they're on the more disposable side of things. Wouldn't mind seeing Urge Overkill vs. Redd Kross, and would probably vote for UO. This video by Steve is still (as of this moment) my favorite thing related to them...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_9lUfBs_s0

Wouldn't mind seeing Urge Overkill vs. Redd Kross, and would probably vote for UO

this would be an interesting poll imo but mostly because I hold the opposite opinion lol

Wouldn't mind seeing Urge Overkill vs. Redd Kross, and would probably vote for UO.

have been thinking about both these bands a good deal lately, along with teenage fanclub and (in a distant sort of way) the lemonheads. 90s power pop revisionists, though the lemonheads never flew the retro 70s flag, and fanclub never made a joke of it. who else fits in this box?

Material Issue, maybe Dramarama.

Eugenius, Matthew Sweet, Posies....lots more I'm sure. Memory is fuzzy.

I fell in love with Redd Kross on the tour they did with Teenage Fanclub back in '92. Both were quite stunning at that point in their career. Basically I walked into a concert hall and there was Redd Kross halfway into a song. Within about 10 mins I was completely over the moon about them, and remained that way for a long time. Until I heard Show World I guess.

oh yeah, matthew sweet and the posies! how soon i forget...

Also, Velvet Crush.

Does this count - one of my favs although a late entry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6nYY80eSn0

yeah, sure, though i've never heard of them. another that just occurred to me: the push kings. maybe too twee though. sounded a little like barenaked ladies at times...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LbO-DGhpos

^ far cry from redd kross and urge overkill

I am a huge Velvet Crush stan
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uh
http://www.youtube.com/embed/qbchaN7EnSE?feature=player_embedded%22

http://www.youtube.com/embed/qbchaN7EnSE

eh fuck it

conterderizer, the Pearlfishers are a Scottish band that, like the TFC, share members with the BMX Bandits.

Redd Kross wipe the floor with most of the aforementioned

Velvet Crush had two albums in them, and I just sneezed the third

If you think about it, Redd Kross didn't really have a consistent sound for any of their albums:

1. Born Innocent - bratty hardcore
2. Neurotica - punkified classic rock
3. Third Eye - hippified paisley underground shit
4. Phaseshifter - grungy alt rock
5. Show World - well, this one sounded a bit like phaseshifter, but poppier and more shiny productionwise

I love Redd Kross, but I think they're a better idea than a band. And one of the rare instances where the first EP genuinely is the best thing they did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR5-RLbQfTM

On the other hand I reckon Show World may be the best album by anyone, ever

I love Redd Kross, but I think they're a better idea than a band.

What do you mean? I don't really think of them as a 'concept' band really.

they're a great band.

I reviewed the new album, fwiw.

http://www.spin.com/reviews/redd-kross-researching-blues-merge

I liked the review for its historical perspective, but I didn't really get much of a sense for the new album except these two brief lines:

In other words: power pop.
Uniformly medium tempos, but plenty of somersaulting nasal harmonies

Well, yeah... but what else does it sound like? Does it touch on anything they've done in the past? What album is its closest relative? What about Hecker's guitar playing? You did mention that "Downtown" was catchy, but is there anything else worthwhile? What songs didn't work?

Maybe you missed the third paragraph? But yeah, if I had more than 800 words, I would've gone into more detail about what exactly didn't work etc. (i.e,, most of the album -- don't hate it, just think it lacks personality and isn't very distinctive.). I thought the historical perspective was more interesting (because the band used to be way more interesting), so I spent more time on that.

Also, they now remind me of a less hard-rocking Enuff Z'Nuff. (That got edited out, though -- probably because most *Spin* readers would have no idea who Enuff Z'Nuff were.)

I don't really think of them as a 'concept' band really.

― Poliopolice, Wednesday, August 22, 2012 5:42 AM (2 hours ago)

they pretty much define the "concept band", imo

not necessarily a bad thing

possibly their heaviest album

A very good thing as their big problem IMO is being too wussy and not having the hooks to back it up.

agree w whathappens that the posh boy EP is the best thing they ever did. love phaseshifter and neurotica though.

Me calling their debut EP their best record got edited out of that *Spin* review, too, fwiw.

lol @ spin hating the truth

Well, they probably just figured I sounded enough like a grumpy old grandpa without that in there.

Maybe you missed the third paragraph?

No, I did read it. I guess I didn't really feel like it helped me understand the new album that much.

agree w whathappens that the posh boy EP is the best thing they ever did.

Posh Boy EP sounds like generic hardcore to me, and also not really indicative of where they would go in the future.

they pretty much define the "concept band", imo

How so? They have mentioned a few famous people and have a song about breakfast cereal, big deal. I don't understand why every mention of Redd Kross has to fixate on that stuff. Does it really make them a 'concept' band?

Hah - they have done a great deal more than that. Appeared in several retro/homage themed movies, done numerous jokey tribute albums (and singles) to various music styles (Tater Totz/Anarchy6/Red Stripes etc). A Redd Kross gig would not be complete without a surprise Beatles tribute or a 70s theme song or two. A list of their retro fixations would be a long one. I get your point though - their actual Redd Kross albums all sound pretty contemporary.

everything they do sounds tongue in cheek to me. perhaps that's more a product of my awareness that everything they do actually is tongue in cheek than anything objectively present in the music, but that's an impossible distinction to make, imo.

and i think you can hear everything they would later go on to do less well loud and clear on the posh boy EP.

okay, "less well" was bullshit. snide hardman talk for no reason. i love that EP but also i love a lot of other stuff by the band.

Does this mean that every metal band is a 'concept band' because their songs revolve around death and doom and horror movies? And now that I think about it, I don't really understand what 'concept band' even means.

in this case, i'd say that irony has a lot to do with it

yeah idg what a "concept band" is. all bands are concepts.

sure, to some extent. conceptual jokeyness, i guess. costumes, irony, snark, referentiality. would call urge overkill a concept band in the same sense.

i'm sure there are better ways to describe what i'm getting at. went along with the term cuz it'd been suggested and i thought i could see why.

so, Devo, Parliament/Funkadelic, the Beastie Boys, the White Stripes, ZZ Top, The Nation of Ulysses, most metal bands, the Butthole Surfers, Wu-Tang etc

I believe they quite earnestly aspire(d) to be a rock band in a similar way to Kiss, Wings, MC5, BTO etc. They adopted various tropes, iconography, song topics and so on because they recognise that those elements are genuinely fun, entertaining and a legitimate focus for creative endeavour and performance. And maybe back in the 80s there was not much of that around. There certainly wasn't in my world. They are very active and creative guys (even though there's been no RK album for ages they have always been extremely busy as musicians) and their messy discography and varied activities make them pretty difficult to pin down I think.

idg what a "concept band" is. all bands are concepts.

Sure, but you don't want to obliterate the topic from discussion. It seems to me that it becomes a subject when there's some consideration of the concept being a limiting factor in an artist or band's aesthetic (in either a positive or a negative way).

so, Devo, Parliament/Funkadelic, the Beastie Boys, the White Stripes, ZZ Top, The Nation of Ulysses, most metal bands, the Butthole Surfers, Wu-Tang etc

yeah to several of those, esp devo & the surfers, early beasties. part of what i'm getting at is the sense that the music is being presented in quotation marks, as a comment on or mockery of something else - especially if the rest of the band's persona seems like an extension of the "joke".

you can stream the full album here:

http://mergerecords.com/store/store_detail.php?catalog_id=865

"Winter Blues" is very good. Probably my favorite song on this album so far

yeah, "winter blues" is GOOD, like written-just-for-me-type good! holy shit, i didn't expect this (listening on spotify). loving "hazel eyes" too, though it makes me wish the production lived up to the "possibly their heaviest album" billing. i guess the competition ain't stiff, but the tougher moments on phaseshifter kick holes in this.

Hecker seems to be playing gigs with his band It's OK! still. Is he now out of Redd Kross?

it makes me wish the production lived up to the "possibly their heaviest album" billing.

Yeah, I'm not really sure why people are saying this. "Researching the Blues" is a pretty heavy song, but I don't think the album as a whole is heavier than Phaseshifter.

Hecker seems to be playing gigs with his band It's OK! still. Is he now out of Redd Kross?

Their Facebook page says he's currently finishing a "PhD in Humanities", whatever the fuck that means, and can't tour with them right now. It's OK is probably just playing local gigs, right?

"Winter Blues" sounds ridiculously like Fountains of Wayne to me.

The guitars remind me of early Weezer too.

http://i.imgur.com/YadTu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YadTu.jpg

i'm unclear about whether that press shot is a joke or not

btw, that's the same as current lineup

Just got this and it's pretty good, if a little samey (a problem with Phaseshifter and Show World IMO)

I don't think enough is written about Third Eye, what an interesting album that is, the timing of its release a year before Nevermind came out. You've got straight jangly power pop, almost late 80s hair metal moments, some 70s hard rock stuff and widdly Hecker all over that album. It's commercial as hell, right down the production, major label debut, yet if I'm right it completely flopped.

Winter Blues!!

Hazel Eyes!!

Stay Away From Downtown!!

Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee this weekend!

http://reddkross.com/shows/

Saw them in Milwaukee. They fucking killed it. Anyone else see them on this tour?

Hell yeah! Saw em last week - super fun show. All the early punk stuff in the encore was a real treat, and they seem to be having a ball.

Can you imagine being 50 years old and playing songs you wrote when you were 14? Who gets to do that?

for sure - and Steve was even younger. 11 when they started!
This shows my age, but I saw them first in maybe 87(?)- I snuck into a tiny shithole club when they were touring for Neurotica when I was still in high school. None of my punk rock buddies would even go with me as the dogmatic hardcore kid jury was out on whether they were faggots or sellouts. I remember them playing all the wailing sorta hair-metally stuff, then pulling out 3 acoustics to cover "Blackbird" in the middle of it all. Blew my little pinhead mind at the time - they were so snotty and funny and great and they turned all the pretty punk rock girls into Jan Brady.