Guest Mixer - Benjo (porches)

Howdy, internets. My name is Benjo, and i'm in an ever-shifting band called Porches with a facebook page in a neglected infancy. I'm also part of First Friday Night Live, a sketch comedy show in downtown Phoenix, and The Encyclopedia Show - Arizona, a monthly variety show in Tempe.

The theme of this musical cocktail will be "Stickin' it to the Man, with Brains and Heart"

1. The Minutemen: "This Ain't No Picnic"


Minutemen - This Ain't No Picnic by mrfnk

Oh, man. Where to start? This song is so confrontational, self-confident, and triumphant. And it isn't just angry - it's fun, like your first mosh pit or the first time you did pulled some dumb prank in a Wal Mart. D. Boon's irrepressible bouncing, Mike Watt's fist pumping, George Hurley's goofy snare-only-with-the-sound-a-full-drum on the track. The serious imagery of the people working while The Man bombs them, detached, from above, that still makes you smile for the silliness. The "we're-in-this-together" idealism of this band is so much more gosh-dang infectious, and eternal in a way that "burn everything, kill the bosses" street punk never is. When D. Boon declared "No hope - see, that what gives me guts!" on another cut, I feel like he was giving us all a a mantra - especially in Arizona.

2. The Parting Gifts - "Keep Walkin'"



I love that the dude who uploaded this is a Bob Seger fan. Greg Cartwright and CoCo Hames suffer no fools - "I ain't punchin' no clock, ain't gonna give you my time / livin' in a dump month-to-month suits me fine!" I guess this song is about a lover, but it might as well be about anyone lookin' down their nose at you - the kinda nose that uses American Apparel undies for handkerchiefs, ya heard?

3. Hot Snakes - "Braintrust"



I gotta admit, I love this band, but I'm only half sure what they're talking about sometimes. I'm pretty sure this song is about keeping your wits about you and not losing your moral compass in the face of equivocation from well-trained Chicago-school economists. You know, the Chomsky-ian idea that the Ivy League is really a factory, wherein the most brilliant/privileged minds of a generation enter to have the compassion and empathy inside them molded into a status-quo-upholding moderate mindset. Who knows, man, coz, like, songs are what you make them, riiiiight?

4. Ted Leo - "Sword in the Stone"



I love when an intelligent, well-spoken songsmith like Mr. Leo indulges in a lil' good ol' fashioned smack-talkin'/anger-ventin'. If ya don't do the work, "you'll still just be a little shit in a world that's just a big shit hole," so do the work, kids! Nothing is more frustrating than playing shows with people who bad mouth "the scene" or "the city" because people don't fawn all over their intricate guitar licks. (Big words for a man whose band has 36 facebook followers, amiright? Clearly, my "work" is cut out for me.)

5. Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band - "The Promised Land"



I'd argue against anyone, all night, that this is The Boss's most punk song. It touches all the same notes for a suburban kid who knows there's gotta be something more out there that The Arcade Fire's Suburbs does. I wouldn't be surprised if their "Ready to Start" is a reference, intentional or not, Springsteenians that they are. Side note, a friend gave me an awesome patch once with a stencil of Springsteen that said "The only Boss I'll ever work for."

I've done my best to live the right way / I get up every morning and go to work each day But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold / Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode Explode and tear this town apart / Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart Find somebody itching for something to start


6. Bangarang - Get What I Need

Bangarang - Get What I Need by benjoh

This tragically short-lived Phoenix band was one of my favs to see play last year - or was it the year before? On this number, drummer Liam (of Liam and the Ladies) howls, "I just wanna use you to get what I need / I won't let you suck the life out of me... Fuck the banks - won't give my family a loan!" while Tristan J (too many bands to name, but especially Dogbreth) characteristically riff-shreds. It's pretty well documented that banks can be terrible things, but I don't know that I've heard any song this personal about it - much less one this good. You can get this whole album for free at cllct.com.

7. Florence Reese and Ani DiFranco - "Which Side Are You On?"




I got to talkin' to one of my co-workers about music in December, in Detroit, and we got around to Billy Bragg. This 60+ year-old warrior from Tennessee actually knew Florence, and was good friends with her, and it kind of blew my mind. I hate how easy it is to forget the wealth of knowledge and stories our elderly friends can have.

If just ten percent of the "folk punx" walking around with their lazy chords and fake whiskey voices understood why this song has endured 80 years, maybe there would actually be some folk in their punk. Like the aforelinked Hot Snakes song, this song's about how there are some things that are so basic to pushing the world in the right direction, so essential to our rights as human beings, that there can be no compromise. As someone whose day job is in the labor movement, I sure hope everyone starts to remember that in the post-Wisconsin/Walker daze.

8. Strike Anywhere - "Sunset on 32nd"



Strike Anywhere's singer must be completely out of breath, all the time - and it's appropriate, given the breathless idealism he espouses. Infectious! The mere fact that he admits that good cops could actually exist gives the tune a credence most "Fuck the Police!" anthems lack - anyone who has spent any time working in dispossessed communities knows it's so more complicated. Still, it's nice to remember - "Complications! Injustice! Deliberations - what's the deal? They fake it, we break it, and take back what they steal."

9. Sonic Youth (f. Chuck D) - "Kool Thing"



I love the palpable acidic sarcasm Kim Gordon summons when she writes songs taking the masculinity in the hipster circuit to task. Actually, I just kinda love the acidic sarcasm Kim Gordon summons when she writes almost any song. Also, there was a show called Post-Modern MTV?

10. Femi Kuti - "Do Your Best"



This song gets me so pumped. I have nothing else to say.