Might as well get right back to it.
Fall days like this always stand out in my mind. Not unlike the bright and vibrant days of spring, there are certain qualities to the days of fall that are distinct and lasting. They stay with you in strange ways. When the days get shorter and colder, I'm always reminded of the fall I spent listening to Punk In Drublic by NOFX.
Not to date myself, let's just say it was more than a year after the album came out (1994) that I was introduced to it. Up until that point, my understanding of punk music was limited pretty much to Green Day and little else. I know. I was ultra hardcore. So I went to visit some family out West on the coast of Washington (a place I adore and would love to live someday) when my infinitely cooler and more more culturally aware cousin introduced me to a few things. One was the then-ascendant ska and reggae resurgence. The other was Punk In Drublic. It was not only completely fresh and alive in my radio-reared ears, it was coming recommended by the authority on cool. So I took his word seriously and picked up the seminal NOFX album (along with a few other recommendations I'll write about later) and listened to it nonstop for that entire fall. Over the years it's become a staple in my upbeat, sing along in the car collection of albums.
It's no surprise this album has been such an enduring success. Despite NOFX's defiant stance on corporate distribution or structure, the album has sold over a million copies worldwide. That's insane for an independent punk album, especially given the musical landscape of 1994. We had no iTunes or mp3s or bit torrent back then. All there was, was word of mouth, live shows, radio and MTV. This California crew of miscreants crafted some audaciously catchy songs with funny and intelligent lyrics to compliment them. On top of that, they stayed fresh through the whole album. No two songs are carbon copies of another, which is a difficult feat for any band but particularly in the punk genre.
'Linoleum' is fantastic, both as a song and an opener. It's full of huge melodies and harmony, with a great riff and heartfelt lyrics on the nature of materialism. I love strumming it on an acoustic guitar - it actually works surprisingly well as a stripped down tune, a sign of great songwriting. 'Leave It Alone' shares the same sense of poppy qualities paired with dingy punk aesthetic. 'Dig' has a wonderfully unexpected break in the middle for some ska-tinged guitars and trumpet. An amusing take on racial assumptions, 'Don't Call Me White' still has some of the same bite in today's climate as it did 16 years ago. My cousin was a huge fan (and won me over with) the epic and shimmering absurdity of 'Perfect Government'. This song, despite the tongue in cheek guitar heroics, has incredible hooks and some simple, yet ever the more timely lyrics. Give it a listen. 'Dying Degree' is as ear-catching as it is frenetic. In a surprise move, the closer 'Scavenger Type' is a poignant and moving little tale of a homeless man at his end.
Man. Great album. The trick of it, the real staying power of it, seems to stem from the real beauty and strength of writing hidden underneath the grime of speed-ball punk ethos. Dust this one of and see how the punk genre can really shine when given a chance. This album is proof that it's more than the reductive assumptions of 'three chords and an attitude'. Punk In Drublic is still phenomenal.
Fall days like this always stand out in my mind. Not unlike the bright and vibrant days of spring, there are certain qualities to the days of fall that are distinct and lasting. They stay with you in strange ways. When the days get shorter and colder, I'm always reminded of the fall I spent listening to Punk In Drublic by NOFX.
Not to date myself, let's just say it was more than a year after the album came out (1994) that I was introduced to it. Up until that point, my understanding of punk music was limited pretty much to Green Day and little else. I know. I was ultra hardcore. So I went to visit some family out West on the coast of Washington (a place I adore and would love to live someday) when my infinitely cooler and more more culturally aware cousin introduced me to a few things. One was the then-ascendant ska and reggae resurgence. The other was Punk In Drublic. It was not only completely fresh and alive in my radio-reared ears, it was coming recommended by the authority on cool. So I took his word seriously and picked up the seminal NOFX album (along with a few other recommendations I'll write about later) and listened to it nonstop for that entire fall. Over the years it's become a staple in my upbeat, sing along in the car collection of albums.
