Kudos to Ice-T and his metal band Body Count for at least trying to update Suicidal Tendencies' classic 1980s punk-thrash song Institutionalized for the 21st century on their 2014 album Manslaughter.
Sure, we're a long way past the terrific self-titled first album in 1992, with had such tracks as The Winner Loses, C-Note, KKK Bitch and the controversial Cop Killer (on the first pressing, replaced with Freedom Of Speech in subsequent releases after the first week), but the band is still trying to hold its own despite no longer having the backing power of Sire/Warner Brothers behind them, and they're mostly successful at it.
They talk about social issues, they make some noise, they're energetic, they play shows and festivals, they get out there and spread their message.
This video, directed by Frankie Nasso and featuring Ice-T's real-life wife (model Coco Austin), is a tad too 1980s-ish for my taste - representing the lyrics a little too literally - but it fits with Ice-T's current message-with-humor theme.
I'll give it a B for effort.
Showing posts with label Suicidal Tendencies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suicidal Tendencies. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Monday, February 10, 2014
Video Of The Week: Infectious Grooves
Long considered a Suicidal Tendencies spin-off band because they shared a frontman (Mike Muir), a bass player (Robert Trujillo, now in Metallica rather than ST) and guitarist Dean Pleasants (from 1997 onwards), as well as a range of influences that dive deep into funk, punk rock and metal, Infectious Grooves also had among its ranks art-alternative-rock Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Adam Siegel.
And while ST's crowd appreciated their metal-meets-skate-punk style with funk undertones, Infectious Grooves puts its funk in front and everything else is complementary (though one could argue that in the mid-1990s, both bands did influence one another and almost became interchangeable and/or symbiotic, to the point where they released dual-band compilation albums) in a way that was original to them. Heavier than the Red Hot Chili Peppers and not as ''out there'' in terms of free-range experimentation as Faith No More (whose guitarist Jim Martin now replaces Siegel in IG...), the Groovers are in a special category of the funk-punk spectrum that is all their own.
Truth be told, I was more a fan of Infectious Grooves than Suicidal Tendencies, though I feel ST got the better lyrics and IG went so far in being humourous that they used (pretty dumb) skits too often between songs, messing with the pacing of their records, and were a tad too conceptual, based around a fake family of psychotic clowns not unlike the Juggalos, just less ridiculous.
Still, they rocked. Here, they can be seen and heard doing what they do best, Punk It Up:
After a long hiatus, Muir and Pleasants revived the band in 2008 with hired hands instead of the rest of the original members, though most came back in the fold in 2013, except for Siegel, replaced by Martin.
And while ST's crowd appreciated their metal-meets-skate-punk style with funk undertones, Infectious Grooves puts its funk in front and everything else is complementary (though one could argue that in the mid-1990s, both bands did influence one another and almost became interchangeable and/or symbiotic, to the point where they released dual-band compilation albums) in a way that was original to them. Heavier than the Red Hot Chili Peppers and not as ''out there'' in terms of free-range experimentation as Faith No More (whose guitarist Jim Martin now replaces Siegel in IG...), the Groovers are in a special category of the funk-punk spectrum that is all their own.
Truth be told, I was more a fan of Infectious Grooves than Suicidal Tendencies, though I feel ST got the better lyrics and IG went so far in being humourous that they used (pretty dumb) skits too often between songs, messing with the pacing of their records, and were a tad too conceptual, based around a fake family of psychotic clowns not unlike the Juggalos, just less ridiculous.
Still, they rocked. Here, they can be seen and heard doing what they do best, Punk It Up:
After a long hiatus, Muir and Pleasants revived the band in 2008 with hired hands instead of the rest of the original members, though most came back in the fold in 2013, except for Siegel, replaced by Martin.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Video Of The Week: Suicidal Tendencies
Many people judge Suicidal Tendencies on the basis of their name, which used to scare parents and entice teenagers; others see them classified as ''crossover thrash'' (a term used to define when hardcore punk meets speed metal with thrash) and decide to move on.
Big mistake.
Throughout their career - which started in 1981 - they've evolved and experimented a lot, and it just accelerated when Robert Trujillo (now of Metallica) joined the band in the late 80s, incorporating funk in the mix - which would lead to brother band/side project Infectious Grooves running a parallel career for nearly a decade.
Their most acclaimed effort may have been Lights... Camera... Revolution!, but I feel 1992's The Art Of Rebellion (released on Sony's own Epic Records, a label that also distributed Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Ozzy Osbourne, Rage Against The Machine and Alice Cooper - all artists with clear visions) went even further, incorporating psychedelia, ballads and spoken word poetry in the mix. It even had thrash metal songs with the rhythm played on... acoustic guitar.
That's where this video comes in: it's two songs merged into one, with I Wasn't Meant To Feel This feeling a tad like a Syd Barrett piece, and Asleep At The Wheel as the pièce de résistance, catchy, smart, but with an undertone of subdued anger that warrants a second listen. And a third. Then gets incrusted in your brain.
Big mistake.
Throughout their career - which started in 1981 - they've evolved and experimented a lot, and it just accelerated when Robert Trujillo (now of Metallica) joined the band in the late 80s, incorporating funk in the mix - which would lead to brother band/side project Infectious Grooves running a parallel career for nearly a decade.
Their most acclaimed effort may have been Lights... Camera... Revolution!, but I feel 1992's The Art Of Rebellion (released on Sony's own Epic Records, a label that also distributed Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Ozzy Osbourne, Rage Against The Machine and Alice Cooper - all artists with clear visions) went even further, incorporating psychedelia, ballads and spoken word poetry in the mix. It even had thrash metal songs with the rhythm played on... acoustic guitar.
That's where this video comes in: it's two songs merged into one, with I Wasn't Meant To Feel This feeling a tad like a Syd Barrett piece, and Asleep At The Wheel as the pièce de résistance, catchy, smart, but with an undertone of subdued anger that warrants a second listen. And a third. Then gets incrusted in your brain.
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