Off off off off Broadways

For some reason today I just felt like breaking out the Broadways classic 1998 album, Broken Star. For those of who out there who aren't quite sure who the hell the Broadways are, the simplest way to describe them is "the Lawrence Arms before they were the Lawrence Arms. Also, another dude from Slapstick." Yes, seminal (heh heh, "seminal") Chicago ska-punk vet Brendan Kelly formed a band with hetero lifemate Chris McGooch after the former group ended (and Dan Andriano went on to fame and fortune with the Alkaline Trio), wanting to tap into the raw, poppy-yet-inscrutable punk of Crimpshrine and Jawbreaker, in the process helping build the bridge from Leatherface to Hot Water Music.

It's certainly the most political record any of the participants have ever been involved in - Chris and Brendan are punk rock barstool poets in the Lawrence Arms, and Rob and Dan are in the navel-gazing Honor System. "15 Minutes," one of the single best pop-punk songs ever written. When they get to the end of the bridge before they explode into the raucous outro, "I'M NOT CRAZY JUST FRUSTRATED!" I go nuts every time, screaming along at the top of my lungs. Of course, the personal and polemic get juxtaposed. The morning-after lament "The Kitchen Floor" shares LP space with the strident "Everything I Ever Wanted to Know About Genocide..."and they work together when they could be very jarring opposites.

The band broke up the year Broken Star came out, dispersing amongst a variety of Midwestern groups. In 2000, Asian Man Records put out the rarities comp, Broken Van. If you like any of the bands mentioned in this post, you'd do well to give them a listen.

PS - If you like the coke-fueled insanity that is Gil Thorp, you'd do well to check this out: http://gilthorp.wordpress.com/

15 Minutes: http://www.mediafire.com/?92j1qw5n2z7

The Kitchen Floor: http://www.mediafire.com/?0c39cddodxk

Everything I Ever Wanted to Know About Genocide: http://www.mediafire.com/?2q3adzwm2sw

Lake Michigan: http://www.mediafire.com/?axfas1dzdex

Not Necessarily News: http://www.mediafire.com/?2g4mcam0nwg