Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Gheorghe's Six-Pack: Social Distortion

Nothing like a little mid-week six-pack. Nothing like a little mid-week punk rock show.


I'm breaking up the mundane workweek with a trip to the Norva tonight to see one of my all-time punk acts, Social Distortion. I credit Rob for this.

You see, once upon a time, he parlayed our Williamsburg Summer of '90 40-oz. lethargy into something worthy. Amid the dreck of that era of MTV, he identified "Ball and Chain" as potential keeper material, so after a quick jaunt to the Patrick Henry Mall, we played their S/T release. Over and over. Loudly. The first song is still one of my favorites.

In the interest of spreading the love of good music, we will throw out six suggested songs by certain bands you may or may not know much about. Not much of a time commitment, just a little something to get the flavor and get you going.

Gheorghe's Six-Pack: Social Distortion

Vitals
Where: Los Angeles, CA
When: 1978–present
Who: Mike Ness, Jonny Wickersham, Brent Harding, David Hidalgo Jr., David Kalish... Ness's HS buddy and lead guitarist Dennis Danell died along the way, which was a big loss, but they still rock

For this edition of the Six-Pack, I am going a little away from the most obvious choices.  Those would be the aforementioned "Ball and Chain," "Mommy's Little Monster," "I Was Wrong," "Story of My Life," "Sick Boys," or the cover of "Ring of Fire."  All are outstanding and where beginners should start.  But let's dig into the second six-pack...

Their live stuff is way way NSFW, just so's you know.

Enjoy.

"Prison Bound [Live]," Prison Bound, 1988 (from Live at the Roxy, 1998)


"So Far Away," Social Distortion, 1990


"Sometimes I Do," Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, 1992


"Untitled," White Light White Heat White Trash, 1996


"Under My Thumb," White Light White Heat White Trash, 1996


"Reach for the Sky,"  Sex, Love, and Rock 'n' Roll, 2004



40 comments:

rob said...

super jealous of whitney's wednesday night. me, i'll be attending my daughter's first high school cheerleading competition. which, y'know, is a different group of mommy's little monsters.

TR said...

I’ll be finishing my 3rd straight 12+ hr workday tonight as I continue efforting to push a project over the finish line early next week. I now want to finish by Tues night next week b/c the Yanks have their wild card game the next night. Priorities.

zman said...

Anyone want to join me in Jersey City on 12/3/18 for "An Evening With Mike Cooley"? It's a Monday night so I don't anticipate a slew of hands in the air.

rob said...

if anyone's trying to reach me, whether to coordinate rock and roll behavior or to schedule tea, my cell phone's been inoperable since sunday and i won't have a new one for a few days. so best to send me an email, i guess. if you're not trying to reach me, carry on.

zman said...

I've been trying to reach you but it's hard when I'm standing up, much easier if I crouch.

Whitney said...

If we send you a bunch of funny or almost funny texts, will you receive them all at once in a few days?

Whitney said...

I WANT to join Zman in Jersey City for Cooley. Whether or not I have the sand to pull that off is another story. Still... don’t count me out just yet, Z.

Whitney said...

Curmudgeon comment: best move I’ve recently made is removing my birthday from FB a few days before it occurred. Only a few friends (including Shlara) said HBD, and they were actual friends. Usually it’s a mass of utterly distant acquaintances and a few people you have know idea who they are. Next up: LinkedIn. Good lord, did a number of people I couldn’t pick out of a lineup reach out to extend wishes and/or promote their business. Blech.
Now back to being gheorghey and decent. Sorry.

rootsminer said...

I once had a guy come to town for a conference and LinkedIn told him it was my birthday. We went out on a Tuesday night and things got a bit out of hand.

Whitney said...

That guy sounds totally boss

Marls said...

Listening to Ball and Chain in Hartford right now.

zman said...

Kavanaugh is going to withdraw at the end of his opening statement.

TR said...

What were the odds on opening statement tears? +1600?

TR said...

I HAD CALENDARS!!!

rob said...

oh, he's most definitely not gonna withdraw. i think he's still an odds-on favorite to get confirmed, which, y'know, burn it all down.

in much better, but no less scary news, my daughter got her driver's license today. holy shit.

Danimal said...

rob, is the phone store out of phones? what gives?

rob said...

it's a company phone, d-train. why would i pay my own american money when my canadian company is willing to do it for me?

zman said...

Lindsey Graham goes rogue!

zman said...

Alyssa Milano's faces throughout Graham's rant will be a meme.

TR said...

Why did the producers of Commando decide their villain needed to be a Freddy Mercury impostor?

Sorry. Random Milano-related thought that always nagged at me.

zman said...

I don’t see how he can serve on the court after attacking Democrats today. It was so extreme I assumed the opening was the preamble for a withdrawal.

T.J. said...

TR, the chainmail vest on Bennett was epic

TR said...

I thought it was mesh. And I bet you knew his name from memory, which is fantastic.

T.J. said...

I most definitely did

And even if mesh I will always believe it was chainmail chic

Danimal said...

+1 commando comment

Danimal said...

Ryder Cup eve! Look for updates all morning starting early. I’m here for ya.

Danimal said...

Early prediction after morning four ball....Europe 2.5 USA 1.5

Danimal said...

Furyk > Bjorn

zman said...

zson went through a commando phase, I don’t know how he avoided chafing.

Mark said...

Kavanaugh is getting confirmed and I want to punch a ton of old white shithead GOP senators in the head. Kavanaugh knee he could be incredibly partisan and drop conspiracy theory nuggets in his statement and it would pay far more than it could ever backfire. Fuck it all.

TR said...

My kid had all kinds of on-line math homework that required help. I had put the TV on in the background, and kept hearing score after score score. I missed almost all the first half scoring. But my kid now knows fraction equivalents. So I got that going for me.

rob said...

kavanaugh:

- is the most obviously partisan nominee in recent history
- has been credibly accused of multiple sexual assaults that haven't been/won't be investigated fully by the proper authorities
- didn't disclose over 90% of his legal writings
- arguably lied or dissembled multiple times in hearings

and will be confirmed. mark's reaction is dead right. fuck all of it all the way.

TR said...

Only solace is taking the U, who are only giving 18 to a feeble Tar Heels squad.

Whitney said...

Is the confirmation a done deal?

Also, Lindsey Graham can suck yet another dick.

zman said...

We need a GTB turnover chain.

zman said...

I think it was a done deal from jump street. Kavanaugh devolved into a spitting mad partisan loon. I understand that if he didn’t real commit these acts he’s angry as hell, but I don’t understand how such an experienced lawyer and jurist would put on that emotional display in that particular setting.

TR said...

He gave cover to the right, which can now point to his stout defiance (and his CALENDARS!) as a reason to stick behind him.

TR said...

Good news - vet told us our puppy’s testicles are emerging.

Lick ‘em while you got ‘em, pal.

Mark said...

In better news, this is a highly entertaining football game.

Danimal said...

Naive is me, but I think Flake keeps him off the bench.