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 SNUFF-
Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other (Fat
Wreck) I’ve been thinking about what drug would go best with this.
Ecstasy? Not unless you
want to pummel the love vibe right the hell out of yourself.
Acid? You’d probably end up with some sort of psychotic break.
Speed? Yeah, that’s
the one! (Or if you want to make this totally 2005, let’s go with
crystal meth). Snuff mixes up
a potent syringe-full of punk, hardcore, ska, soul and oi, and this stuff
moves with an energy that courses through me and just makes me feel fuckin’
GOOD. This 50 song, 2-disc set
features material released between 1986 and 2002.
Much of it rules, and it pains me greatly that I’d never heard of
these guys until I got this CD to review.
One of my favorites on Disc 1 (greatest hits) is “Martin,” a
fist-shakin’ pounder that would definitely have ended up on my Top 17
Guy Name Songs of All-Time list had I known about it 2 years ago.
“Sunny Places” has all the smooth power of Husker Du at their
best. “Marbles” blasts
along maniacally and incorporates a great ska trombone that appears nicely
on a number of these cuts. “Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads”
blisteringly contemplates life changes, and it’s also a helluva good
song. In fact, while there are
a bunch of good songs on Six of One,
Half a Dozen of the Other, these 4 tracks alone make it worth buying
this whole release. Disc 2
(rarities and unreleased tracks) really brings Snuff’s sense of humor
and eclectic tastes into focus. They
make songs I previously didn’t like much (“I Think We’re Alone
Now” “I Will Survive” and “I Can See Clearly Now”) sound cool as
a muthafucka. And they take
songs I was into in their original form (“You’re Wondering Now” and,
I’ll sheepishly admit, “Don’t Fear The Reaper”) and make them
totally their own in a beautiful way.
And while CD 2 isn’t as strong as CD 1, its original B-sides and
host of covers still make it quite listenable.
So what are you waiting for? It’s
time to go score some amphetamines, pick this disc up and come over to my
place so we can listen to it while we kick the shit out of each other.
–Ben Hunter
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