Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Action Swingers - Fear of a Fucked Up Planet (Primo Scree)

Lead Action Swinger, the irrepressible Ned Hayden, pulled Julie Cafritz and Don Fleming into the band's ever-rotating line-up for this 1990 single. Ned's music is a pitiless concoction of grazed guitars and low production values. The none-more-punk sound of the Swingers is pockmarked by Ned's gruff vocals, which emerge from somewhere deep inside the musical mêlée, and are usually drawn from a base lyrical palette that simply revolves around the words "fuck" and "motherfucker." "Fear of a Fucked Up Planet" and its b-side, "Blowjob," are as good a way as any to witness Ned unleash his unrepentant fury, and the phrase "short, sharp, and to the point" could practically have been invented for the unrefined ear-grinding of the Action Swingers (full-length album Decimation Blvd. clocks in around the 21 minute mark). Of course, Ned's bullish reputation perfectly fits the music, but probably added to the fact that the tactless singer could never really keep a steady line-up of the band together. The Swingers' revolving door policy even saw J. Mascis and former Sonic Youth sticksman Bob Bert drop by to play on a few songs over the course of the band's chaotic lifespan. Ned's ire hasn't wilted though--at the present time he seems to spend most of his days hunting down and berating Matador boss Gerard Cosloy on various internet message boards.

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