The Official video for Cee-Lo’s new single

The official video for Cee-Lo’s single entitled “Fuck You” has been released. Very charming concept. Enjoy.

http://www.twitvid.com/IAPVG

Bad Assets of Detroit feature

A good friend of mine from Chicago posted a link to an Oi! band out of Detroit that featured “Death in Custody” vocalist Ralph Thrash. For those who aren’t aware of Oi!, Oi! is working class street-level subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late ‘70s The music and associated subculture had the goal of promoting unity between punks, skinheads and other non-aligned working class youths. The Oi! Movement was partly a response to a sense that many participants in the early punk rock scene were, as The Business guitarist Steve Kent stated, “Trendy university people using long words, trying to be artistic…and losing touch.” André Schlesinger, singer of The Press, said, “Oi! shares many similarities with folk music, besides its often simple musical structure; quaint in some respects and crude in others, not to mention brutally honest, it usually tells a story based in truth.”

One of the downsides is that Oi! has been linked to right wing extremism in the past. With that contingent being visible, mainstream media depicted all Oi! as racist due to the action of racist fans of the genre. Oddly enough, none of the bands associated with the original Oi! scene promoted racism in their lyrics. In fact, oi! bands, such as Angelic Upstarts, The Burial and The Oppressed were associated with left wing politics and anti-racism. Go figure.

As cliché as it might sound, Bad Assets sound is straight up no frills rock and roll fury that’s based on rocking out for the sake of fun and just kicking out the jams which is what oi! is about. In punk fashion, these are very short and to the point songs and the longest doesn’t even clock in at 2:20.

I really dug all four songs, but they’re two main songs that I really enjoyed by them.

“Too Far”
Nothing out of the ordinary, very “back to basic” power chord driven, 2/4 beat, song with shouted vocals song about living in Detroit. Kind of sounds like Warthog by the Ramones.

“Factory Rat”
This is a song about being a blue collar worker and busting your ass working in a factory. Good guitar work from “The Kid Bishop”

In closing, Bad Assets is a good band and stay closer to the original roots of the genre by keeping the aesthetic of oi! about working class life and not about right wing politics.

http://www.myspace.com/badassetsdetroit

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Detroit-MI/Bad-Assets/193982777199?v=wall