midwestern punk Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Smart Shoppers “Leftovers From Tomorrow”

sfilzen — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:25:48 +0000

Smart Shoppers “Leftovers From Tomorrow” 2023. Bulge Records. Fun and a bit dorky punk (or as they call it “Dweebcore”) from Green Bay. We finally caught a Smart Shoppers set this past weekend at X-Ray Arcade when they performed as part of Dirtnap Records 25th anniversary fest. Definitely one of my favorite acts of the weekend, especially for the weird entertainment factor. A Rev. Norb (aka Norbie Shopko, Norb Rozek, plus a million more aliases of Boris the Sprinkler, Rev. Norb & the Onions, Nøb Dylan And His Nøbsøletes, Suburban Mutilation and more) project so it’s gonna be weird, it’s gonna be good and you will absolutely be entertained. Leftovers From Tomorrow is the band’s second (of three) LP’s – its lo-fi bouncy punk, with an occasional key-tar moment courtesy of bonkers frontman Joey Shops. Fun story that lies squarely in the Wisconsin is a small town category: when I texted my friend Melissa about the weekend and how great Smart Shoppers were she told me that she was Joey’s 8th grade music teacher. Anyway, despite not having heard this LP before the show (we picked it up from them day-of), I recognize several of my top picks: “Store” which is bat-shit crazy and hilarious, “Saltwater” with a slide whistle and “Slacks” – always love a good song about pants. I’m not sure if they played “So Clever” but it’s got a great high speed snappy groove with an 80’s hardcore vibe. “Snow Blower” is funny in a very Midwestern way; the lyrics are about not wanting, needing or being able to afford one but feeling good when you get one (also the words “snow blower” never actually show up in the song). “Big Love” is high speed poppy punk, like the Ramones on a triple dose of speed.

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The Replacements “Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash”

sfilzen — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 17:11:11 +0000

The Replacements “Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash” released 40 years ago today, August 25th, 1981. Twin/Tone Records.* Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash was the band’s first studio LP and is considered to be one of the vanguards of the Midwest 80′s punk sound, though for the most part I’d call it power pop with a messy punk mentality and some Sex Pistol-ish riffs (the LP’s cover states it should be “filed under power trash” – also accurate). I’ll admit to never having been a big Replacements fan (partly because I’m not crazy about Paul Westerberg’s voice) but I do have a fondness for most things coming out of Minneapolis, a city I visited frequently as a teenager in the 80′s and we continue to go to every year or so for shows and friends (and a few good record stores). Of the handful of Replacements albums we have, this is probably my favorite, with songs that reference fellow-MN’ers Hüsker Dü (“Somethin to Dü”), New York Dolls’ and Heartbreakers’ Johnny Thunders (“Johnny’s Gonna Die”) and a totally 80′s Midwest punk pastime “Hangin Downtown.”

*edited reblog of my post from 2018

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Suburban Mutilation “The Opera Ain’t Over Til the Fat Lady Sings”

sfilzen — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 20:50:50 +0000

Suburban Mutilation “The Opera Ain’t Over Til the Fat Lady Sings” 1984. 2014 reissue on blue vinyl, Beer City Records. 80′s hardcore punk from Green Bay, Wisconsin. We’re heading up to Green Bay tomorrow for a show (not a punk show, though) and it’s been awhile since we’ve been to ANY shows but even longer seeing one in Green Bay. In the 80′s I saw a ton of bands up there…not Suburban Mutilation as they were broken up before I was going to shows though I definitely saw Rev. Norb (SM’s singer) a few times over the years – he continues to perform with Boris the Sprinkler. It’s fast, hard, loud as pretty much all hardcore punk is, with a dose of juvenile humor, vague 80′s political commentary (ie one of my favorites “El Salvador Stomp” – “Brand new dance that you can do because Uncle Sam wants you. Find yourself a nice dictator, shoot first ask questions later…”), and general anti-suburban culture rants (another favorite is “Plastic Chicken” – “I go down to the shopping mall, see all the suburban mothers! Oh they like to go shopping with their suburban daughters!”). Other top picks are “Ya Buncha Morons” and “Regurgitate” (which is hilarious – “1234 You’re a fucking preppy whore! 2468 You make me regurgitate!”). I got a copy of this record from my friend Chris (originally from Green Bay) awhile back – he is credited with taking some of the photos on the record sleeve.

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The Haskels “The Haskels”

sfilzen — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 22:43:43 +0000

The Haskels “The Haskels” 1979/2019. Splunge Records. Milwaukee punk/power pop recorded in ‘79 but never released until the master tapes were compiled (by MKE author/producer/music scene fixture and historian Clancy Carroll) and released on limited edition vinyl. The Haskels had a huge influence on the Milwaukee scene in the late 70′s and its members would go on to perform with bands like the Oil Tasters, The Dominoes, Violent Femmes and the BoDeans. While their sound is definitely their own, some tracks (written by singer/guitarist Presley Haskel aka Jerome Brish) are reminiscent of the Ramones – a 60′s pop-influenced punk/power pop sound – like “Baby Let’s French” (it’s bouncy and catchy as hell) and “Stay Up All Nite.” Others songs (written by Richard LaValliere) have a much darker edge, more Dead Boys-esque with a touch of Cramps psychobilly like one of my favorites “Liberace Is Coming” (also hilarious because the song makes the flamboyant Milwaukee-native pianist feel like a force of evil) and also “Chinese Vacation” and “Psycho Hairdo.” I was way too young in ‘79 (and anyway not even living in Milwaukee yet) to have been a part of that scene, but continue to reap the rewards of a scene that still has musicians performing who were directly influence by The Haskels.

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The Crusties “Don’t You Think”

sfilzen — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 20:21:02 +0000

The Crusties “Don’t You Think” 1995. Split 7″ EP on Rhetoric Records and Beer City records. Last night Joe put in an old mixtape we made from 45′s back in the mid-90s titled “(I Don’t Care What You Say) 7″ Should Be Enough for Anyone” and included on it is this EP from Milwaukee’s own The Crusties.

Irreverent punk, blazingly fast and tense bombardments of sounds (and, occasionally, trumpet), the UK’s online zine Mass Movement reviewer described them as a“mid-eighties Milwaukee band [who] straddled the middle ground between Toxic Reasons and D.I. and blasted out melodic skate-core that was infused with a mild dose of cowpunk.” My favorite track on this 6 song EP is “Final Regret” which is a great example of hardcore 80′s punk, the era when The Crusties would play shows with bands like Circle Jerks and Die Kreuzen. Here’s a video of “Final Regret” live in Madison in ‘87 – totally insanity – and another performance from 2012 in Milwaukee.

The cover is by artist Eric Munzinger who now goes by Eric Von Munz. Von Munz is responsible for about a zillion show flyers, posters and recording art around Milwaukee (and beyond – most famously for The White Stripes) from the mid-90s to the present.

Here is a copy of a flyer posted on The Crusties Facebook page, with the caption “This show ended with the Madison police department asking us to go back to Milwaukee as soon as possible. We did.”

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