how come theres no thread for the great hardcore band Negative Approach?

"It's hard for me to pinpoint my favorite song ever. It would probably be something by Negative Approach or something, maybe "Nothing". That could be my favorite song ever, actually. "

Thurston Moore

They were pretty great at ATP in Dec. A bunch of middle aged guys fronted by an ex-smackhead, playing on a huge stage with a barrier. Still completely smashed it. Total stage presence without seemingly even trying.

I guess hardcore gets dicussed on here in the broad sense rather than individual bands normally, apart from the two or three biggest cheeses?

you are right, but Negative ARE one of those big cheeses.
(underrated though.)

i do not get what is so exciting to old hardcore dudes about this band. i guess i'll try them again sometime.

i mean the "Tied Down" LP is so much much better than anything Black Flag ever recorded...

this is really really not true, but NA kick ass. i'm not crazy about the sound of the LP tho; curse of the '80s strikes again. the preceding EPs fucking kill it though, and "nothing" rules the school

hm ts: "tho" vs. "though"

Yeah the 1st EP is way better than Tied Down, and it is the thin sound that lets it down.

At ATP they played Can't Tell No-one TWICE. It was so awesome.

I am listening to Dropdead right now btw :) I <3 HC

i was always pretty repelled by non-West Coast but this was always a huge exception.

Negative Approach are definitely in my top five HC bands somewhere. Along with the Necros. The Fix might be a contender, too... early T&G was so good.

I have vague memories of seeing them live in the early 80s with Brannon screaming even more intensely than most hardcore vocalists. Haven't listened to the records in years though.

i love them

i do not get what is so exciting to old hardcore dudes about this band. i guess i'll try them again sometime.

I think the idea of taking the hardcore that had already been in place and reducing it down even further, to its absolute base elements and emotions and subject matter, is definitely appealing to a lot of people. Even if it's just for the sake of variety in one's diet of HC, as a kind of corrective to that Dead Kennedys verbosity or whatever. To put it another way, NA function as Oi for people who like the idea of Oi but find the reality of it too silly or in some cases too dubious

Probably because no-one started it.

na definitely were kind of an hc equivalent of oi. pissed off, working class but tighter, nastier and american.

They covered Blitz & the 4 Skins so they were obviously Oi fans.

mencap, thanks for that. i think you kinda summed up what i don't really like about them, which is why everyone else seems to dig them. maybe someday it'll click.

(i like oi, though. and iron cross.)

"i'm not crazy about the sound of the LP tho; curse of the '80s strikes again"
don't agree.
the sound of the album is great, the 80's sound - that what makes it intresting,compared to the banal sound of most HC bands (along with the screaming vocals i guess)

attempts at metallic gloss + no recording budget/bad engineering = ehhhhhh no thanks. it just sounds kinda thin and wimpy to me, whereas the earlier stuff is (comparatively) thick and raw and powerful.

a lot of '80s hardcore suffers from this - attempts at cleanish production where it just doesn't suit the material. see also out of step as compared to early minor threat EPs, or bad brains' rock for light up against the ROIR tape.

btw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE-CWsUqkbQ

I worked with one of the members. He's a raging alcoholic.

John Brannon was his name. Nice guy though.

So I've seen these guys like three times now and I think John is the only original member but FUCK they still destroy live. Something about the dynamics. That mix of fast HC and sludgy Detroit. And John's vocals are STILL so raging and furious. NA consistently called out as one of the greats in the hardcore scene, and even though I liked their records growing up I didn't really get the holy praise. Totally get it seeing it live. Decades later with like a fraction of the original band.

Saw 'em live a few times way back when, and they were intense and energetic live.

Check it out... Anyone seen them on their current tour?

i saw them in 2017 and they ripped pretty hard then

I miss the Laughing Hyenas, still his best band imho, RIP Larissa

Check it out we don't have a dedicated Laughing Hyenas thread?

Anyway just finished the new book (which is not be confused with the other LH book that a guy is supposedly still writing) by Steve Miller, formerly of the Fix.

https://www.jcardpress.com/shop/p/laughing-hyenas

It's a good read, Miller, along writing with "Detroit Rock City" and an ICP bio (!) has written a few true crime books, so he's basically the perfect person for this, it is really a fascinating look at a band who are so close to breaking through (Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Jon Spencer, Butch Vig are all their peers) but for various reasons don't, "Life of Crime" being less metaphorical then most bands for inst

I blew through it in about a day, what a great band

19 years or so since Larissa passed.

wow thanks, will totally read that xp

RIP to drummer Jim Kimball (of Laughing Hyenas, Mule, Jesus Lizard, Dennison/Kimball Trio, and many more).

Check it out, Laughing Hyenas live record is finally coming out

https://thirdmanrecords.com/products/that-girl-live-recording-1986-1994?utm_source=home_hero_slide_1

!!!

one of the best live bands I ever saw