"I'm spendin' all my money, and it's goin' up my nose!" - Eddie and the Hot Rods

Hey kiddos, if you ain't down with Eddie and the Hot Rods, get on the ball already! It's a pure rock 'n' roll jizzsplosion of sonic ecstasy. It's like having an orgasm in your ear. Ever wonder what first-wave British punk would have sounded like if the tarted-up fashionistas could have actually learned to play something other than barre chords?

Existing in that nebulous time in British rock history before punk but after everyone started realizing that Emerson, Lake, and Palmer and the Eagles were pretty much the most boring examples of why rock music was stupid, bloated, obnoxious, and full of self-serious, "sophisticated" nitwits who thought being mellow was way more important than being anything resembling thrilling. IT'S GODDAMNED FUCKING ROCK 'N' ROLL MUSIC! IT'S SUPPOSED TO GRAB YOU BY THE BALLS AND SWING YOU AROUND OVER ITS HEAD! Sgt. Pepper's ruined rock for a good stretch.

Nah, before the Ramones and the Dead Boys and the Clash came along to kick everyone in the ass and go "hey, liven up, Chester," Britain's rock scene went through a brief phase of pub rock. Since the Sonics never made it out of the American northwest, these drunken hooligans brought back the revved-up r&b of Chuck Berry and the early Who (back when they made records instead of boring-ass operas) and doubled the tempos and the volume and in the process made bar music that goes OFF.

Eddie and the Hot Rods were at the forefront, and the only group on the pub rock scene that could shut down the 101ers (featuring a stoned, young, pre-punk Joe Strummer). They turned standards (lord do I loathe that fucking word) like "Gloria," "Shake," and "96 Tears" and whipped them into horny, sweating balls of pure energy. They also wrote a ton of great songs, unusal for a scene dominated by cover bands doing "Maybelline" every night.

They dropped the "Teenage Depression" single in 1976, and holy fuck does it rip. If you think "Yakkity Yak" by the Coasters is the archetypal teenage experience song, you'll love this. Doing coke, looking trashed, drinking at school, telling your dad to fuck off...FUCK YEAH! Then you got the record of the same name that came out shortly thereafter, and it's fucking essential. Too bad it's never been released on CD. The only Hot Rods CD out there is a best of that's not bad, but the first two albums they did are fucking priceless.

Teenage Depression charted in England, and these sods even managed to get on Top of the Pops, although they had to change the lyrics to their songs significantly, which is stupid and gay. "Oh my god, he drinks gin! We must protect the children!" Anyway, they came back in '77 with the "Do Anything You Wanna Do" single and the Life on the Line album, both of which are crucial. The sound was slicker and more radio-friendly, but it still explodes with insane rock amazingness.

The band broke up in 1981, after shunting between various labels and releasing an awful piece of crap called Fish'n'Chips. They got back together in 2005 for a reunion album and tour, but don't bother. Why would you want to go see a bunch of old men sing about being teenagers? Talk about lame.

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/9412229/Eddie_and_the_Hot_Rods_Teenage_Depression.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/2739901/Eddie_and_the_Hot_Rods_Get_Across_to_You.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/370874/Eddie_and_the_Hot_Rods_Quit_This_Town.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/4694732/Eddie_and_the_Hot_Rods_Do_Anything_You_Wanna_Do.mp3.html