From The Vaults: I Don't Wanna Live in the Slums No More (originally posted September 2011)

I felt compelled to post this awesome vid. It features a rock band called Real Problems based in Vancouver, Canada.  The sound is sorta informed by groups like The Stooges, Mc5, The Rationals, Ramones, Forgotten Rebels, Hellacopters, and a buncha others. At least that's what I hear in it. The lead singer/guitarist, Mickey Delaney, is one of my good friends. So far as I know, Real Problems have released an EP called 'Scum City Girls', and an album is coming soon. 'Scum City Girls' is cool....but I wasn't like all "holy fuck, man." Then THIS, this vid I saw like yesterday....and I was like "holy fuck, man!" You know? It was like.. they arrived or something. Sure, it is 'Johnny Three Chords' and simple, but it's rockin' and infectious. It was in my head at work today. You know shit is good when it clings to your head like that. I like the bits of humor in the vid too.

Real Problems seem to stay true to the original spirit of punk, even though Mickey himself said very recently he hates punk. I don't think he hates any legendary music that came from the punk movement, rather I think he means he hates it as some contrived sort of thing or label that poses as some grand looming tower of social idealism, like as if any old loser can get a mohawk and piece of shit guitar and bitch about something stupid and think it's cool and call it 'punk'. To quote Mickey- "I'm in the scene and I hate it. There can be some really good music, but the very idea of punk turns me off. It's all such a load of shit. Really it's just a bunch of socially retarded losers with guitars, some phoney ideals and a chip on their shoulder." And he said further: "It's for man-children. Ask any girl that's ever dated a punk rocker."  I hope if Mickey sees this (he technically has the link to this blog!) I hope he likes this little thingy I wrote, otherwise I guess he can punch me in the stomach or something the next time he sees me. Then I'll go "oof!" like some loser. 

Who Is Jet Black?

He's a dude from a groovy anime series called Cowboy Bebop. Like all the better animes, it is more oriented toward mature audiences with a great storyline. The gist is this guy Spike is an intergalactic bounty hunter, and Jet is his right hand man. Jet was an ex-cop and is definitely as tough as he looks (especially note the eye scar and cybernetic arm!) and though he's a good fighter and gunman and mechanic, and all that macho so on and so forth-- he cooks, cultivates bonsai trees, listens to jazz and blues, and is into philosophy ('specially Goethe).

Rugged yes...Jet can look very stylish too

Yet who else is Jet Black? He's the drummer and a founding member for the legendary British punk band The Stranglers. Whether the anime character creator took subconscious influence from the real Jet, or whether it was more deliberate is to be determined. The Stranglers were one of the few original punk bands to use synths, usually not seen as very 'punk' by people who subscribe to a certain brand of punk ethos. They also weren't afraid to do weird shit like wear mascara and face makeup, and unlike so many punks, grow actual facial hair! The Stranglers were a gang of sort, almost like Alex and his cronies from Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange.' They have been chugging along since the mid 70's. Their sound is poppy, yet with tinges of madness and a sort of flair for a Doors inspired sound, almost bluesy melting pot gothic. Yet the sound is not as earthy as a group like the Doors, it is way more synthetic and precise, it almost sounds like video game music at times for chrissakes. Most of the edge in their sound resides in the lyrics themselves. Thought by some to be misogynistic, I have delved a bit into the Stranglers and I've come to the conclusion that they probably love girls more than anything (case in point, the song 'Peaches' off their legendary '77 debut album 'Rattus Norvegicus'.) I would also venture they would harbor for a certain brand of girl known commonly as the 'bitch'. Many of their songs drip with disdain and lost romance. I also think like all the REAL punk bands out there the Stranglers have had the guts to be very opinionated, sometimes at the expense of the critics and touts.

The arghsome cover art for Rattus Norvegicus

But back to drummer Jet. He's much like the cartoon Jet, rugged but with a strange yin to the yang thrown in. He has been a successful businessman before his main music years, and once owned a fleet of ice cream trucks and and off-license alcohol shop called The Jackpot, which served as a sort of base of operations for the Stranglers in the beginning. He designs and builds wooden furniture, has done home brewing, and is involved in all sorts of interesting hobbies. The man is a weathered soul like his cartoon counterpart, I think he is well in his 70's now!

Ok, ok you want to SEE Jet? He's the chap on the far right here...