10 Records Worth To Die For: 28 mit Ripoll (Burning Lady / Ashtones)

When I was around 11 or 12, my dad used to give guitar lessons in our living room. I’ll never forget the day when one of his “pupils” came with Punk in Drublic and asked him to teach some songs of it. I had my ear on the door and was totally stuck by what I was listening too. The guy left the cd at home, so I could record it on a tape that is completely destroyed now. Too much played…

After the nofx experience I needed more… I had the chance to meet one or two people that were into punk rock, but in New Caledonia, it’s pretty rare… one of them had internet at home, it was the beginning of it and he used to make samplers for me with lots of good bands… and then he landed me Unknown Road from Pennywise… I knew some songs of the band, but this album is the first I listened to from A to Z … the drum sound and the drummer energy made me realized how intense punk rock playing could be… when we met in 2013 in Paris, I couldn’t say a word, like a kid. It seemed so incredible to be there with these guys when I think about the time I discovered them, musically, at the other side of the planet… what a night!

And then I met this masterpiece… I think that in a way this band saved hardcore punk including the melodic and consciousness side. To me, this album should be listened by any punk rockers, no matter if you prefer it brutal or clean, fast or mid, this one is the one. This one made me want to learn English and helped me to understand a point of view that no one had around me when I was younger, the fact that anyone can make a difference, by breaking the rules and having the possibility, or taking the possibility to think on your own. Without it, the masses of humanity will always have to suffer (haha).

But would it have been happened without this band? First times were a little bit hard to me with this compilation because of the old sound, but finally it was not so different than the albums before. The first song I heard was “Straight Edge”, an attitude that I totally respect when the goal is to stay clean for thinking and acting right. The lyrics are more sanctimonious and violently radical, but it is one of the ways that I think to be effective on people that never heard about these different points of views. Anyway, the songs wind on with an energy you could awake dead people with. That’s important point in punk rock to me.

Oups… my pop rock side … yes, I love this record… I can’t say so much about it except that all the songs are well composed, that the guitar sound is a blast, and when you’re young and have nothing to complain about, so this one’s for you.

I could nearly talk about this one as the one before, a record I don’t listen for the awareness, even when you see the songs the band likes with all the covers inside: Toots, Bad Religion, The Toyes or The Descendents… but it’s really smell more like going for a surf session with beers and more, friends and more, reggae music and more… a perfect record to listen from the start till the end when you are on the road for hours on tour for example…

The first non American record of the list… when I was in New-Caledonia , it was not so easy to get records, and most of the punk rock ones you could easily found at the main record store was from the USA. This one is from Finland. And it’s not punk rock… I was nearly 14 when a friend of mine gave me this record for a listening. I think that I was playing video game when I first listened to it, and I stopped playing game cause the song Target, opening the album started really loud in my room and I couldn’t do anything but keeping on listening to it, my eyes big open on the stereo. I listened to it twice before standing up and trying to put words in my mind to describe what has just happened… this one was the start for me to get into Grindcore. My grindcore friend had a lot of more, some good things and some really shitty incomprehensible band to show me… it was the beginning of my interest for harder punk like Crust punk and Powerviolence. I’m still into it, but not my friends from Burning Lady. It’s a real pleasure for me when I drive the van and can play some of my favorites grind albums… you should see their face!!

This band is really special to me. It really helped me to get what pop punk could be interesting for. I was really young and I totally could see myself in the lyrics… it’s a little bit like the others pop punk band but with something really serious and lots of dramatic words… I really think that these guys found a perfect way to synchronize bass and guitar lines, the kind of band that doesn’t need a second guitar to make it more powerful. I’m pretty fan of this record and especially of all the EPs they released. Check the split album with Hot Water Music. I don’t like HWM but the AK3 songs are just astounding.

Another soft way to get into Crust. L.C. is a whole universe by itself. The crack rock thing you heard with chocking victim before was on my opinion the presages of something really accomplished with LC. The story about this art cover that hellcat records didn’t want to release, and Alternative tentacles jumping on this opportunity to deal with a band that spell it the way it is really funny I think. And the mix between crust, punk, ska and folk at the end, the violins and piano parts on Life is Pain and and and !!! all this was something really new for me at the moment. A great time of music, with a simple and accessible sound.

To Finish I have to express my love for this French band that end some years ago. It is also a way to give you some band name from my area hat deserve many ears on them. Live shows from this three pieces Funk Hardcore band were always a blast. Sometimes for the attitude, sometimes for the music, sometimes the both, but you couldn’t be disappointed. Full of energy, full of humor, and music ideas were incredible. These three guys now play in different band in Lille (fr), band you have to check: Psykokondriak (hiprock) Alabasterds (fast and loud grunge), Grüppe (?), Toxic Waste (25 years old French Punk rock) Jodie Faster (clear fastcore)  Bow(Psyfunk)… well, now you know what to listen if you want to discover great band from my hometown !