Saw it myself at Darker Waves in HB this fall. They were so good and it was such a treat to hear the full album like that. DEVO followed right after and killed it as well. @@stevenbley1846
Violent Femmes have legendary songs! Remember being a teenager playing in a band and finding out about them. Loved their style ever sense then. Learning the guitar riffs.
Hahaha…I had this revelation after the fact 😅 - had that strong neck pickup P-Bass sound until I heard it louder and was like “Hmm, that’s awfully resonant for an electric bass. Maybe a hollow body of some sort?” - Very cool.
This album came out in 83, but I remember going to high school parties in the early 90s, and when this song, or Blister in the Sun, or Kiss Off came through the sound system, EVERYBODY was singing along with it and dancing. I was kind of surprised, because like you said, someone introduced me to the band, and I never saw them on MTV or heard them on the radio, and yet somehow all the kids seemed to know them.
They blew up in the 90s because they were on the soundtrack for some movie… Reality Bites, I think. I was so confused because we had been listening to them for years then everybody knew who they were all of a sudden.
They weren't on the Reality Bites soundtrack, but apparently Ethan Hawke sang Add It Up in the movie; I never saw it. They did have songs in The Crow and Grosse Pointe Blank, but in any case all three of those movies came out after I graduated high school, so that wasn't where the popularity came from in my neck of the woods; their first album was already really popular. @@gentlemanjunkie7864
I looked it up, and while they weren't on the soundtrack album, Ethan Hawke sings Add It Up in one scene in the movie. But that movie came out in 94, after I graduated high school, so their first album was already really popular in my area. @@gentlemanjunkie7864
Absolutely! But I feel that because everyone who knows him understands why he is, it’s even better to not be recognized as a bass hero! But he is one of my all time favorite.
I’m from Milwaukee. In 1982, I was a high school freshman. One day I took the city bus from school downtown to Radio Doctors, a cool record store. While the bus was stopped by the Oriental Theater, I heard the Femmes busking on the corner. I had no idea who they were. A year or so later they were discovered busking at that same spot by The Pretenders, who were playing the Oriental. I didn’t hear the Femme’s debut album until I was a freshman in college, about 1986. I instantly knew that they were the band I had seen busking. I’ve seen them live three times, including their 20th anniversary show at the Oriental. Keep exploring, they have a lot of great music.
I was thinking "Incel Punk Rock" Don't get me wrong, I have listened to them since this album released. A lot of the lyrics brought me to this decision in this millennium, since "Incel" was not a term or label used in the 80s,
Ya, especially after it had the resurgence when it was on the soundtrack for that John Cusack movie. I was surprised when I found out they were an early 80’s band.
It is up there with Mustang Sally and Wagon Wheel for cover bands. I dropped a guitar in front of Brian Ritchie. I never dropped a guitar before or since.
The first Violent Femmes album I bought was Add It Up (1983-1991) and I can’t hear this song without hearing the 1-2-3-4 countdown after the vocal intro from that version. Great song and great reaction!! This channel is the reason I go on UA-cam anymore.
VF , especially this album, is an absolute WATERSHED Masterpiece. When you go to a show the crowd doesn’t just know the words, they all master each little inflection in each word.
I watched Mike Watt change a bass string in less than a minute in the middle of a song. It was absolutely amazing, and to this day one of the greatest live things I've ever seen
Saw them right before Covid and Gordon's voice sounded EXACTLY like it did 40 years ago and they played just as tight. One of the best shows ive seen in a long time.
The Femmes were Discovered by James Honeyman-Scott (of the Pretenders) on August 23, 1981, while the band was Busking on a Street Corner in front of the Oriental Theatre, the Venue that The Pretenders would be Playing Later that Night... Chrissie Hynde Invited them to Play a Brief Acoustic Set after the Opening.. And the Rest, as they Say ~ 'Is History'
Minutemen Double Nickels On The Dime is my all-time favorite album. Boon/Watt/Hurley are one of the most unique trios. And beware, the cd release cut out several pieces from the original double vinyl. I luckily got to see the, Minutemen Duet on the Queen Mary at ATP festival 2003. The ballroom floor and the balconies all the way up the boat were filled with people pumping their fists to every song and I swear you could hear the guitar parts, like seriously, could hear D Boon’s guitar. Wild experience.
If you want go further down the rabbit hole, do Bad Brains with Banned in D.C. They were a jazz-fusion band that heard about how fast punk was, and then they heard the Ramones and decided to show the punk scene how to play _fast_. Their influence was the start of thrash metal too, so they can not be understated
Saw them live three times and everyone was dancing at each show. One guy fell through the suspended ceiling on to the stage. That's next level stage diving.
Got to see Violent Femmes play in 2022 at a punk fest at a winery. I can check them off my bucket list! They were busking outside of a theater where The Pretenders were playing that night, and the band saw them outside and invited them to open for them that night! And the rest is history
8:32 - Nailed it. Folk music with subversive lyrics and the most extremely aggressive bass playing on an acoustic maybe ever recorded. That was the Femmes style. You should check out their live version of this same track off of their "Add it Up" greatest hits - bassist goes full h.a.m. and it's amazing. Unique band, unique sound.
Voot Warnings wrote that. Genius Milwaukee underground guy He can write. Live he can be as strong as Neil Young. Often in a wig and dress. Voot Warning, like on a submarine getting depth charged in a movie..'voot voot" Yay Bob Weidenbaum and Day One Delivery. Jackie Yost too if you are out there. My drummer in 1983 who was 14 at the time insisted I listen to his record, their debut.
Omg....Please Dont Go is the saddest and best song ...its sooo simple but the bass at the end is ridiculously good. ...theyre just a good band . I regret ive never seen them live
I saw the Femmes like at the Waldorf in San Francisco for their tour after their 4th album. The crowd was super interesting because there didn't seem to be a single "aesthetic". All different ages, and types. They saved all the songs from the first album to the end of the set, and when they started playing them, everyone in that sold out show started singing along. Over 2k people, and we sounded good (well, you could understand the words we were singing). All those different people who probably would never meet outside that theater knew every lyric and nuance to those songs.
The Decline and now Add it Up. Both classics. There is a entire world of amazing music that you never hear on the radio. The real stuff. Glad you are finding it.
Kiss Off, the live version from the Violent Femmes greatest hits album, would be great. I first heard these guys in 85 or 86 in jr high. They stuck in my head forever. It was around the same time as I first heard the Dead Milkmen, the Dead Kennedys, and DRI.
They were amazing live. Ritchie with his acoustic bass and Victor Lorenzo having like two drums and a high hat, standing through the whole set... wild stuff.
I was going to mention that their live album, I believe recorded in Green Bay is really good. They're certainly older, but the recording quality is so good, especially on the bass
100% agreed, and then journey into Hallowed Ground for the change in sound and a deeper dive into dark Americana Punk... AlCountry Death Song and I hear the Rain have been songs circling my head for some 35 years or so and still I sing them out of the blue... Of course, now as a dad, singing Country Death Song outloud is done with caution 😂
one thing about the femmes: they were/are the kings of college radio, which was a huge thing in the 80s/90s. every single college kid in the US had that first violent femmes record. the punks, the squares, everyone. my parents even loved them. they were not on mainstream radio, but they were huge, and they still have a massive global fanbase. they are akin to the ramones in that regard, famous and massive but never in the mainstream media. i am from milwaukee, and saw them from the start, and when that slash records album hit it was like beatlemania when they played at summerfest that year. the second album, hallowed ground, is also excellent. i think the reason you like brian's bass sound so much is: he is playing an oversized mariachi bass, that gives it that thick sound.
The Femmes are PURE GENIUS. Back in the day there was "College Radio" where they got their following. In my part of the world it was WVXU ... POW the future of rocknroll (see the movie Rain Man)
Gotta tell ya man, it’s been so terrific to watch you get into all this punk, primarily because your excitement and joy at hearing this stuff is endearing and it makes me realize there is value in bass that isn’t virtuoso-slap / tap. Keep up the positive energy and vibe, I love it. Also, check out either Failed Imagineer or Adventures in Zoochosis from Propagandhi!
Amazing song from one of my favorite albums. It's such a shame that most people only know the Violent Femmes because of Blister in the Sun. The bass line in this song has always really stood out to me too.
When you were like me, born in Milwaukee in the 1970's grew up in the 1980s, this was the best. The whole album was a must have in Wisconsin. We love them.
My greatest joy, in the 80s, was walking out of my room, and hearing my Southern Baptist mom grooving to The Blind Leading the Naked by Violent Femmes. It was a moment of two different ideologies connecting through music.
I never heard this song on radio during the 80s. But in the 1990s? I heard it a lot. Funny enough in those decades I never knew who was the band playing it. I thought it was a 90s song because of that, so it's a surprise to hear it was an 80s song. I loved this song. It was surprising to hear this song came out in 1983 but I never heard it on the radio until the 90s.
Saw them a little later at Humboldt State University. Seated 862 and we were on our feet the whole time. It was a great night out with my brother - we grew up in L.B. and saw hundreds of shows over the years
@@KlingonPrincess they didn't play Add it up but the crowd kept chanting for it. It was a day time "family" event. They did eventually play it after a quick huddle on stage. They but omitted certain words when they sang it. Just left a blank and the crowd screamed the lyrics. It was awesome.
They really were not that obscure - the indie radio boom of the 80s was pretty big, and the Femmes were a staple on those stations. But definitely a great band - I haven't listened to them for years, but this video gives me a new appreciation. Maybe give the Wipers a try? Or the Minutemen? Or Mission of Burma? You won't regret it.
I grew up in New Iberia and Lafayette and I can tell you nightcaps back in the late 80s and early 90s Violent Femmes were a nightly play and always a hit with the ladies. The acoustic bass gives these guys a very unique sound.
Kiss Off is another good bass song by the Violent Femmes. And Never Tell. I know I'm going more two-tone/ska here, but after some of the bands you mentioned at the end, maybe The Specials? Concrete Jungle Horace is fun to watch in the live videos from the late 70s/early 80s. 😅
I was huge into Violent Femmes when I was in high school. Still love to play several of their bass lines (including this one) to this day. Late in high school, me and my friends from Minneapolis took a road trip to Madison, WI to see them play a free outdoor show on the terrace behind the UW Student Union.
You should check out the epic Violent Femmes banjo/bass jam at the end of "Lies (Live)" off of the Add It Up album. The banjo gives strong folk vibes. Keep up the good work. I'm digging the reactions and new insights into songs I've heard a thousand times before as a teenager. Good times.
Love this band! Your brother made a good choice recommending Add It Up instead of Blister in the Sun (still great song though!). I recommend Too Shy by Kajagoogoo if you are interested in reviewing some cool 80s synthy slap bass.
One of my favorite albums of all time. They are one of of the best bands ive seen live. I love the resentment in the music and the embodiment of punk rock energy.
One of the best songs on one of my favorite albums. Been listening to this for almost 30 years. This was the first video I've seen of yours, and what an introduction! Keep up the great work!
The "folk" part is probably because they regularly played acoustic guitar and acoustic bass and the drummer only used a snare drum. So kind of like a rockabilly setup a la the Stray Cats but with a way less flashy guitar and acoustic bass instead of an upright.
My Violent Femmes experience and how I first heard them is pretty unique. I worked at Wendy's in HS and I was walking home after working at night and I found this CD thrown in the street. Granted I live in S. Texas and I am Hispanic, so when I read the name of the band I thought it was a Spanish CD. So I took it with even though I didn't listen to Spanish music I was like what the hell it was free Ill give it a listen. And when I played it for the first time it blew my mind. What I had found was their greatest hits CD on the street that night in 1994.
This is one of the best bands of all time and definitely the best bass player ever. I'm not sure if it's yourtube content, but their song Black Girls has my favorite bass riff ever.
I was raised around them and the Replacements. The Back ground music in the 70s and 80s in everyday life in the Midwest was polka , lounge music and classic country. You’ll find elements of this in almost every song.
I met Brian once when he stayed at my dads inn to do a show nearby. Super chill guy with a very down to earth family and his wife was probably even more interesting than him, which is saying something considering I've been listening to his music all my life. They even gave us free backstage tickets to the show and the whole band was just really nice and pleasant and friendly and one of the best live concert experiences I've ever had. They're the real deal. Also this is 100% the song that convinced me to get an acoustic bass guitar.
I saw the Femmes on this tour in Providence. I'd been to countless hardcore shows, but the energy at this one was so bananas it was the first time I looked around for an exit door just in case. Top five show for sure.
I was like you introduced to this band by my older brother and we don't typically share the same musical taste. These guys are definitely a nontraditional band and aren't scared to try different sounds. I would have loved to have attended a live show. I've watched an Austin City Limits session of theirs and love it. I turned most of my friends on to them then growing up and I love that you reacted to them cause they are a fun band. Enjoy your reactions.
I was fortunate enough to see them in 1988 in Toronto. Someone threw a light stick on the stage and Gord Gano said...I wouldn't do that again, I'm a pissed off paranoid American. It was a terrific show.
When I first heard Violent Femmes on the radio in 1999 I instantly loved what I heard and spent the next two months trying to figure out who they were. The reason it took so long was because I thought they were a current (at the time) late 90s band--I was asking people about a new band instead of a band from the early 80s. When I figured it out I couldn't believe it because the songs on this album sound so fresh to me, even today in 2024.
Excellent vid. The Descendants would be a great dive, especially since Fat Mike has openly expressed his own love of the band. Personally, I think you'd have fun looking at " 'Merican " , or quite literally anything from their album Milo Goes to College.
I went to college in the late 80's and there were 3 albums that were played at every party I went to: U2-War, Bob Marley & The Wailers-Legend, and Violent Femmes.
They made me want an acoustic bass guitar and this came out in high school so they really related to me with that high school feel. I can sing the whole first album and still relovant today. My teen kids like it too.
A friend gave me a bootleg copy of their debut back in 87-88 and I've been hooked on the Violent Femmes ever since. Thanks for this pick! Definitely have to check out Minutemen. Mike Watt is amazing!
Mark, as one who’s known about the Violent Femmes since I was in early high school and has seen them live at least twice, I’m sorry that you’re just now getting into them. They are a quite delightful and seriously underrated band for sure. I’m glad that you’ve had a taste of them and shared it with all of us. It truly took me back in time and helped remember why I got into bass. And I believe his tone comes from an acoustic bass actually, although I don’t know if he just had it miked in the early days or if he was running direct into the board. Oh, and along with playing bass, he also plays and is actually certified to teach shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) AND, one of the times I saw them live, he actually played a didgeridoo in the opening song while marching with the band onto the stage. Completely mind BLOWING!!! Thanks for taking us on this journey with you and bringing back all these found memories.
Brian used an Ernie Ball acoustic. He is the bomb. Victor and Brian got around as a rhythm duo for hire before getting together with Gordon. Love them ❤
WOW!! You just made my day, first time to your channel, and LOVED your reaction, I loved that you did them period, but I truly enjoyed your breakdown and your enjoyment of the song!! The bass player, Brian Ritchie, usually preferred an acoustic/electric bass. I could have sworn he played a stand up bass, but after a bar bet with a buddy recently, some research and realizing the entire decade of the 1980s is a bit fuzzy for me, his bass of choice most often was a Gold Tone Resonator Bass, I'm sure you're aware, but they look like an oversize bloated 6 string acoustic, lol, and where the band got that unique bass sound. I was lucky enough to see them live in 1987, when I was 17, only my third concert ever, (first was Van Halen, second was Duran Duran, I was all over the place musically). To this day it was one of the best concerts I have attended, not just because of how great they were live, and how much they truly appreciated and connected with the audience and fans, but also because they just finished rehabbing the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, where they performed at. An absolutely iconic and stunning hidden gem in The Lou, an intimate little 4500 seater. Words don't do it justice, here's a link to a photo. Again, great reaction, can't wait to check out your other content!! ✌️💚 live.staticflickr.com/5562/14462826452_e5219b5fcd_h.jpg
Great song and great album. I love the sense of danger that hovers between the lyrics, the wild playing and the rough production. I can definitely understand how they became underground heroes
this was fun to watch! My younger brother introduced me to VF in the 80s, he was into alternative music. I've rediscovered them lately and have watched several interviews. In one Brian Ritchie told the story of how a friend of his told him to go and see Gordon Gano who was only 16 at the time and was a Lou Reed impersonator. The friend said "I think you'll like him." Brian didn't think he would. Then a year or so later Gordon invited Brian to see him play at his high school at an awards ceremony. Gordon started playing an approved song, stopped, and broke out "Gimme the Car". The kids in the auditorium went wild and the principal off to the side of the stage was going "no! no! NO!!"
Folk Punk originated with two bands: the Violent Femmes in the US and the Pogues in the UK. The two couldn't be more different but they definitely are the godfathers of the two main forms of Folk Punk today. Interestingly often adherents of the Femmes style of Folk Punk often hated the Pogues style and vice versa, and fans of earlier and other forms of Punk Rock often hated both. Only a few punk kids in that era actually liked it all, which is kinda funny looking back really.
Being from Milwaukee- I didn't realize the reach these guys have had in other parts of the country- and Australia as well. Obviously, I've seen them live here a few times and of course the audience participates and knows the words front to back. But to hear people in Kansas, or Texas, etc. were doing the same thing kind of amazes me. I know the album sold well over a million copies, but they always seemed to be so underground nonetheless.
Picture it: Burbank, 1988. I've lived in L. A. for 2 years, I'm 13-meet a new friend, whose big bro is in a VF cover band... So yeah. They had reach, even back then❤❤. Wait, do I Hear the Rain?...
This whole album is amazing. One of the best debut albums ever.
You could delete the "debut" part and still be correct.
Last year they toured and played the entire album front to back for its 40th anniversary. It was amazing.
Saw it myself at Darker Waves in HB this fall. They were so good and it was such a treat to hear the full album like that. DEVO followed right after and killed it as well. @@stevenbley1846
@@stevenbley1846sad I missed that but I did see them about 15 years ago or so and it was incredible.
Flawless. Amazing from beginning to end.
Violent Femmes have legendary songs! Remember being a teenager playing in a band and finding out about them. Loved their style ever sense then. Learning the guitar riffs.
Finally, someone is trying Violent Femmes. Their first album is one of my favourite albums of all time.
Same - I have no idea how many cassettes (cassettes!) of it I wore out. It’s my favorite record to drive to and scream sing.
The exceedingly rare Perfect Album.
The self-titled album is perfect, but I feel like Hallowed Ground is better. I honestly love all their records. Underrated discography!!
The whole time I’m yelling at the screen “google a pic of his bass and you will understand the tone!!”
Hahaha…I had this revelation after the fact 😅 - had that strong neck pickup P-Bass sound until I heard it louder and was like “Hmm, that’s awfully resonant for an electric bass. Maybe a hollow body of some sort?” - Very cool.
He was forbidden to.
Acoustic bass
Oh yeah? Well don’t get so distressed. Did I happen to mention I’m impressed?
Streetlight Manifesto please! :D
This album came out in 83, but I remember going to high school parties in the early 90s, and when this song, or Blister in the Sun, or Kiss Off came through the sound system, EVERYBODY was singing along with it and dancing. I was kind of surprised, because like you said, someone introduced me to the band, and I never saw them on MTV or heard them on the radio, and yet somehow all the kids seemed to know them.
They blew up in the 90s because they were on the soundtrack for some movie… Reality Bites, I think.
I was so confused because we had been listening to them for years then everybody knew who they were all of a sudden.
They weren't on the Reality Bites soundtrack, but apparently Ethan Hawke sang Add It Up in the movie; I never saw it. They did have songs in The Crow and Grosse Pointe Blank, but in any case all three of those movies came out after I graduated high school, so that wasn't where the popularity came from in my neck of the woods; their first album was already really popular. @@gentlemanjunkie7864
FACTS!!!!!!
It was a huge underground thing…I had the cassette and all my friends re taped it …lol. I found it at a punk shop in Toronto in 85
I looked it up, and while they weren't on the soundtrack album, Ethan Hawke sings Add It Up in one scene in the movie. But that movie came out in 94, after I graduated high school, so their first album was already really popular in my area. @@gentlemanjunkie7864
Finally, a modern bassist covers Brian Ritchie. He should be a bass hero.
Absolutely! But I feel that because everyone who knows him understands why he is, it’s even better to not be recognized as a bass hero!
But he is one of my all time favorite.
tall dude too... friendly, even when just off stage ... or he was to me.
He IS a bass hero, to those of us in the know.
He is a hero
He is phenomenal onstage. I stood at the stage edge watching him one night, I was gobsmacked at his ability and verve.
Gone Daddy Gone by Violent Femmes! That’s the first song I ever heard by them and I instantly knew I’d love them 🤩
Love gone daddy gone
YES! Can't think of another song that makes the xylophone sound so badass
Me too!! I heard that song and was immediately hooked. I saw them play in Minneapolis at 1st Ave.
Still my fave from them
Great video. It's on UA-cam.
I’m from Milwaukee. In 1982, I was a high school freshman. One day I took the city bus from school downtown to Radio Doctors, a cool record store. While the bus was stopped by the Oriental Theater, I heard the Femmes busking on the corner. I had no idea who they were. A year or so later they were discovered busking at that same spot by The Pretenders, who were playing the Oriental. I didn’t hear the Femme’s debut album until I was a freshman in college, about 1986. I instantly knew that they were the band I had seen busking. I’ve seen them live three times, including their 20th anniversary show at the Oriental. Keep exploring, they have a lot of great music.
Love this story. Thanks for sharing!
Acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, and cocktail drum. That's all you need to rock this hard.
sometimes, less is more. look at morphine ...
And only like 2 drums, too!
@@m1k3g3tz yup. Two string bass, baritone sax, and a cocktail drum. Most unique sounding band from back in the day.
Stray Cats
I was lucky enough to see them in concert in 1986! What a great time!
Acoustic Punk is the closest term I can come to the Femmes. Tough to put them in a category. That whole 1st album is incredible!
I was thinking funk punk
I was thinking "Incel Punk Rock" Don't get me wrong, I have listened to them since this album released. A lot of the lyrics brought me to this decision in this millennium, since "Incel" was not a term or label used in the 80s,
@@cptunderpantz9273that’s more like early RHCP
Folk punk works just fine 😊
Yeah "folk punk" is the wrong term, acoustic punk is better
I think pretty much everyone knows “Blister in the Sun” by now, yourself included, so I’m glad you picked this one!
Yeah he probably doesn't even realize it's this band. Everyone knows this song.
Totally. I hear people say they don’t know who the Violent Femmes are and they hear Blister and theyre like “oooh THIS song..”
Ya, especially after it had the resurgence when it was on the soundtrack for that John Cusack movie. I was surprised when I found out they were an early 80’s band.
It is up there with Mustang Sally and Wagon Wheel for cover bands. I dropped a guitar in front of Brian Ritchie. I never dropped a guitar before or since.
The first Violent Femmes album I bought was Add It Up (1983-1991) and I can’t hear this song without hearing the 1-2-3-4 countdown after the vocal intro from that version. Great song and great reaction!! This channel is the reason I go on UA-cam anymore.
Great reaction. ... Listen to the album in its entirety. Each song is a gem and they build on each other into a masterpiece.
VF , especially this album, is an absolute WATERSHED Masterpiece.
When you go to a show the crowd doesn’t just know the words, they all master each little inflection in each word.
Yes, I’m singing out loud and my dog thinks I’m nuts 🤣🫡
I'm just as good with Hallowed Ground, haha.
saw them live a week ago and that was my experience as well.. it felt nice to be in the same room with 1500 people who loved the same music I do
@@eboethrasher it's of utmost importance
The song Gone Daddy Gone (same album) was on MTV in heavy rotation in the 80's.
Great band to see live they’re unbelievably tight.
I have to throw in a vote for Minutemen. Mike Watt is a bass god.
I second this, specially something from the Double Nickels in the Dime album, like 'West Germany' 'The Politics of Time' 'Spillage'
Indeed. Minutemen were awesome.
Yes!! I was thinking this the other day!
“Me and Mike Watt played for years. Punk rock changed our lives.” Minutemen rules!
I watched Mike Watt change a bass string in less than a minute in the middle of a song. It was absolutely amazing, and to this day one of the greatest live things I've ever seen
I promise they count as a punk band. It's not what you play, it's how you play it. ❤
Saw them right before Covid and Gordon's voice sounded EXACTLY like it did 40 years ago and they played just as tight. One of the best shows ive seen in a long time.
The Femmes were Discovered by James Honeyman-Scott (of the Pretenders) on August 23, 1981, while the band was Busking on a Street Corner in front of the Oriental Theatre, the Venue that The Pretenders would be Playing Later that Night... Chrissie Hynde Invited them to Play a Brief Acoustic Set after the Opening.. And the Rest, as they Say ~ 'Is History'
The Femmes are irrevocably connected to the Pixies in my mind. You should check out Here Comes My Man or Gigantic. Kim is shamefully underrated.
I like to think of The Pixies as Melodic Punk.
@@malomodo "Must like Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary."
@@bradleyheck7204 I love that! I would have responded too.
Minutemen Double Nickels On The Dime is my all-time favorite album. Boon/Watt/Hurley are one of the most unique trios. And beware, the cd release cut out several pieces from the original double vinyl.
I luckily got to see the, Minutemen Duet on the Queen Mary at ATP festival 2003. The ballroom floor and the balconies all the way up the boat were filled with people pumping their fists to every song and I swear you could hear the guitar parts, like seriously, could hear D Boon’s guitar. Wild experience.
Double Nickels is a goddamn masterpiece
DNotD is an epic record. Mike Watt is a great bassist.
have seen Mike Watt many times, amazing guy, exceptional bassist
If you want go further down the rabbit hole, do Bad Brains with Banned in D.C.
They were a jazz-fusion band that heard about how fast punk was, and then they heard the Ramones and decided to show the punk scene how to play _fast_. Their influence was the start of thrash metal too, so they can not be understated
YYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!
Yup. Needs some bad brains. I played bass in a BB cover band 10 years ago... My arm still hurts
"You could dance to this." Oh, I have.
🙋♀️ Same 😂
Many, many times!
Saw them live three times and everyone was dancing at each show.
One guy fell through the suspended ceiling on to the stage. That's next level stage diving.
We would play this whole album at parties. So good.
Lol me too me too!!
It seems impossible to me that someone has never heard of the Violent Femmes. How can anyone never hear Blister In The Sun?
I would love if you did a reaction to Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia. Very polarizing early Punk band and one of my absolute favorites 👍
Moon Over Marin would be good
They had a great song on The Crow soundtrack named Color Me Once. Violent Femmes has an iconic bass sound.
I LOVE the Violent Femmes. This whole album is excellent. Definitely do more of their songs!
Got to see Violent Femmes play in 2022 at a punk fest at a winery. I can check them off my bucket list!
They were busking outside of a theater where The Pretenders were playing that night, and the band saw them outside and invited them to open for them that night! And the rest is history
This reads like they were busking in 2022...and the rest is history! ;) :D
8:32 - Nailed it. Folk music with subversive lyrics and the most extremely aggressive bass playing on an acoustic maybe ever recorded. That was the Femmes style. You should check out their live version of this same track off of their "Add it Up" greatest hits - bassist goes full h.a.m. and it's amazing. Unique band, unique sound.
“When I say ‘Dance!’, you best dance motherf…..!”
Dance MFer Dance is probably one of the coolest songs to see Brian Ritchie play live.
Voot Warnings wrote that. Genius Milwaukee underground guy He can write. Live he can be as strong as Neil Young. Often in a wig and dress. Voot Warning, like on a submarine getting depth charged in a movie..'voot voot" Yay Bob Weidenbaum and Day One Delivery. Jackie Yost too if you are out there. My drummer in 1983 who was 14 at the time insisted I listen to his record, their debut.
Omg....Please Dont Go is the saddest and best song ...its sooo simple but the bass at the end is ridiculously good. ...theyre just a good band . I regret ive never seen them live
Such a wonderfully sad song.
They are still going
they're touring right now, get some tickets, you won't regret it
Agreed. I was surprisingly on the verge of tears when I heard it live
I saw the Femmes like at the Waldorf in San Francisco for their tour after their 4th album. The crowd was super interesting because there didn't seem to be a single "aesthetic". All different ages, and types. They saved all the songs from the first album to the end of the set, and when they started playing them, everyone in that sold out show started singing along. Over 2k people, and we sounded good (well, you could understand the words we were singing). All those different people who probably would never meet outside that theater knew every lyric and nuance to those songs.
The Decline and now Add it Up. Both classics. There is a entire world of amazing music that you never hear on the radio. The real stuff. Glad you are finding it.
I was so lucky to be in range of a college radio station in this era, so much amazing music I didn't hear on any of the other radio stations.
Kiss Off, the live version from the Violent Femmes greatest hits album, would be great. I first heard these guys in 85 or 86 in jr high. They stuck in my head forever. It was around the same time as I first heard the Dead Milkmen, the Dead Kennedys, and DRI.
We used to listen to this album loudly on the bus on the way to school everyday, and everyone would sing along to every song.
You went to a cool school!
Yeah I did. We also listened to Licensed to Ill every day. I can't believe they let us.@@jmachatch6696
"Kiss off "by Violent Femmes off this album has great bass lines
Brian Ritchie was playing an acoustic bass guitar. I have seen them live, they were great.
They were amazing live. Ritchie with his acoustic bass and Victor Lorenzo having like two drums and a high hat, standing through the whole set... wild stuff.
@@fretless05did he also have his grill? Lol
When I saw them at Lollapalooza, he was playing an upright. There were so many amazing bands there and they were easily one of the most entertaining!
When he said Violent Femmes never broke into mainstream I can't help but think of their appearance in an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch
And earlier a song of theirs was central to a scene in “My So-Called Life.”
Also the movie Reality Bites
Also in a The 100 episode
The opening of this song is amazing live, leading a show with a full crowd singing the start is great
I was going to mention that their live album, I believe recorded in Green Bay is really good. They're certainly older, but the recording quality is so good, especially on the bass
YEEEEA BUDDY! Love the Violent Femmes. You should do this whole album!
Definitely a candidate for an album reaction I hope!!
Every song is amazing. One of the best debut albums ever.
100% agreed, and then journey into Hallowed Ground for the change in sound and a deeper dive into dark Americana Punk... AlCountry Death Song and I hear the Rain have been songs circling my head for some 35 years or so and still I sing them out of the blue... Of course, now as a dad, singing Country Death Song outloud is done with caution 😂
one thing about the femmes: they were/are the kings of college radio, which was a huge thing in the 80s/90s. every single college kid in the US had that first violent femmes record. the punks, the squares, everyone. my parents even loved them. they were not on mainstream radio, but they were huge, and they still have a massive global fanbase. they are akin to the ramones in that regard, famous and massive but never in the mainstream media. i am from milwaukee, and saw them from the start, and when that slash records album hit it was like beatlemania when they played at summerfest that year. the second album, hallowed ground, is also excellent. i think the reason you like brian's bass sound so much is: he is playing an oversized mariachi bass, that gives it that thick sound.
Great read!! Thanks Dan 🙏🏼
The Femmes are PURE GENIUS. Back in the day there was "College Radio" where they got their following. In my part of the world it was WVXU ... POW the future of rocknroll (see the movie Rain Man)
Gotta tell ya man, it’s been so terrific to watch you get into all this punk, primarily because your excitement and joy at hearing this stuff is endearing and it makes me realize there is value in bass that isn’t virtuoso-slap / tap. Keep up the positive energy and vibe, I love it.
Also, check out either Failed Imagineer or Adventures in Zoochosis from Propagandhi!
Thanks SO much for the nice words! Appreciate you hanging with me. Propagandhi is on the list and coming soon!
Outstanding band. Very underrated and Way ahead of their time.
Can’t talk about VF without mentioning “please do not go” and that killer bass solo!!
Amazing song from one of my favorite albums. It's such a shame that most people only know the Violent Femmes because of Blister in the Sun. The bass line in this song has always really stood out to me too.
I saw Him play a one string bass in concert. Literally a 2x2 board with one string, one pickup, and no frets. Legendary.
I saw Brian play the one string and balance a didgeridoo upright and play it simultaneously. Blew my tiny mind
When you were like me, born in Milwaukee in the 1970's grew up in the 1980s, this was the best. The whole album was a must have in Wisconsin. We love them.
My greatest joy, in the 80s, was walking out of my room, and hearing my Southern Baptist mom grooving to The Blind Leading the Naked by Violent Femmes.
It was a moment of two different ideologies connecting through music.
I never heard this song on radio during the 80s. But in the 1990s? I heard it a lot. Funny enough in those decades I never knew who was the band playing it. I thought it was a 90s song because of that, so it's a surprise to hear it was an 80s song. I loved this song.
It was surprising to hear this song came out in 1983 but I never heard it on the radio until the 90s.
This album was lightning in a bottle. Timeless.
Just saw your Mike Watt video and immediately thought of Brian. Glad you put some respect on his name too
Saw the Femmes in the early 90's in a theater that sat about 2500, and they were great. Super indie. Super cool.
I saw them in 92(?) at an open air folk fest.
Saw them a little later at Humboldt State University. Seated 862 and we were on our feet the whole time. It was a great night out with my brother - we grew up in L.B. and saw hundreds of shows over the years
@@KlingonPrincess they didn't play Add it up but the crowd kept chanting for it. It was a day time "family" event. They did eventually play it after a quick huddle on stage. They but omitted certain words when they sang it. Just left a blank and the crowd screamed the lyrics. It was awesome.
I can't believe this is STILL the only Femmes reaction on this channel.
Been meaning to circle back to them!
They really were not that obscure - the indie radio boom of the 80s was pretty big, and the Femmes were a staple on those stations. But definitely a great band - I haven't listened to them for years, but this video gives me a new appreciation.
Maybe give the Wipers a try? Or the Minutemen? Or Mission of Burma? You won't regret it.
WLIR was the ish.
WIPERS. Good call!
Minutemen. Double Nickles on the Dime. Toadies.
I grew up in New Iberia and Lafayette and I can tell you nightcaps back in the late 80s and early 90s Violent Femmes were a nightly play and always a hit with the ladies. The acoustic bass gives these guys a very unique sound.
I went to Acadiana HS. Familiar?
Kiss Off is another good bass song by the Violent Femmes. And Never Tell.
I know I'm going more two-tone/ska here, but after some of the bands you mentioned at the end, maybe The Specials? Concrete Jungle
Horace is fun to watch in the live videos from the late 70s/early 80s. 😅
I was huge into Violent Femmes when I was in high school. Still love to play several of their bass lines (including this one) to this day. Late in high school, me and my friends from Minneapolis took a road trip to Madison, WI to see them play a free outdoor show on the terrace behind the UW Student Union.
You should check out the epic Violent Femmes banjo/bass jam at the end of "Lies (Live)" off of the Add It Up album. The banjo gives strong folk vibes.
Keep up the good work. I'm digging the reactions and new insights into songs I've heard a thousand times before as a teenager. Good times.
This is by far my FAVORITE tune to cover live..SOOO much fun!!
Love this band! Your brother made a good choice recommending Add It Up instead of Blister in the Sun (still great song though!).
I recommend Too Shy by Kajagoogoo if you are interested in reviewing some cool 80s synthy slap bass.
I just love that acoustic bass' sound in combination with the punk aggressiveness is what really gets me. The guy can really play.
One of my favorite albums of all time. They are one of of the best bands ive seen live. I love the resentment in the music and the embodiment of punk rock energy.
They played it whole on their last tour. Good times!
One of the best songs on one of my favorite albums. Been listening to this for almost 30 years.
This was the first video I've seen of yours, and what an introduction! Keep up the great work!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words!
The "folk" part is probably because they regularly played acoustic guitar and acoustic bass and the drummer only used a snare drum. So kind of like a rockabilly setup a la the Stray Cats but with a way less flashy guitar and acoustic bass instead of an upright.
Folk punk is also a sub genre of punk. It spawned from the crust punk scene. When living in squats with no electricity acoustic is a necessity.
The drummer also plays on a grill. Lol
Find the live album recorded in 1999 or right around that time. Brian Ritchie is featured a lot with solos.
Watching people's face light up when they hear a song is a great feeling. Your brother was right, we all just witnessed it with you
❤
My Violent Femmes experience and how I first heard them is pretty unique. I worked at Wendy's in HS and I was walking home after working at night and I found this CD thrown in the street. Granted I live in S. Texas and I am Hispanic, so when I read the name of the band I thought it was a Spanish CD. So I took it with even though I didn't listen to Spanish music I was like what the hell it was free Ill give it a listen. And when I played it for the first time it blew my mind. What I had found was their greatest hits CD on the street that night in 1994.
Now you need to do Please Don’t Go by the same band
This is one of the best bands of all time and definitely the best bass player ever. I'm not sure if it's yourtube content, but their song Black Girls has my favorite bass riff ever.
As a bass player you should listen to this whole album.
I was raised around them and the Replacements. The Back ground music in the 70s and 80s in everyday life in the Midwest was polka , lounge music and classic country. You’ll find elements of this in almost every song.
I met Brian once when he stayed at my dads inn to do a show nearby. Super chill guy with a very down to earth family and his wife was probably even more interesting than him, which is saying something considering I've been listening to his music all my life. They even gave us free backstage tickets to the show and the whole band was just really nice and pleasant and friendly and one of the best live concert experiences I've ever had. They're the real deal.
Also this is 100% the song that convinced me to get an acoustic bass guitar.
Love stories like this!! Rad!
He lives in Tasmania now and runs a music festival out there that some of my friends have gone to and say is great.
Dude, we used to dance to this stuff in Mexico back in the mid 80s...great stuff!
I saw the Femmes on this tour in Providence. I'd been to countless hardcore shows, but the energy at this one was so bananas it was the first time I looked around for an exit door just in case. Top five show for sure.
Dude! Thanks so much for doing this. I grew up hearing this stuff on cassette tape. I’ve been rocking and jamming with it all night!
I was like you introduced to this band by my older brother and we don't typically share the same musical taste. These guys are definitely a nontraditional band and aren't scared to try different sounds. I would have loved to have attended a live show. I've watched an Austin City Limits session of theirs and love it. I turned most of my friends on to them then growing up and I love that you reacted to them cause they are a fun band. Enjoy your reactions.
I was fortunate enough to see them in 1988 in Toronto. Someone threw a light stick on the stage and Gord Gano said...I wouldn't do that again, I'm a pissed off paranoid American.
It was a terrific show.
When I first heard Violent Femmes on the radio in 1999 I instantly loved what I heard and spent the next two months trying to figure out who they were. The reason it took so long was because I thought they were a current (at the time) late 90s band--I was asking people about a new band instead of a band from the early 80s. When I figured it out I couldn't believe it because the songs on this album sound so fresh to me, even today in 2024.
Excellent vid. The Descendants would be a great dive, especially since Fat Mike has openly expressed his own love of the band. Personally, I think you'd have fun looking at " 'Merican " , or quite literally anything from their album Milo Goes to College.
Whole album react to Milo Goes to College, let's goooooo
Please Descendants!
I went to college in the late 80's and there were 3 albums that were played at every party I went to: U2-War, Bob Marley & The Wailers-Legend, and Violent Femmes.
They made me want an acoustic bass guitar and this came out in high school so they really related to me with that high school feel. I can sing the whole first album and still relovant today. My teen kids like it too.
Same here !
I can’t express how much I really enjoy seeing people discover this band. You cannot fuck with this band!
A friend gave me a bootleg copy of their debut back in 87-88 and I've been hooked on the Violent Femmes ever since. Thanks for this pick! Definitely have to check out Minutemen. Mike Watt is amazing!
Rad! And, thanks for requesting this one right on time 😎 - I’ve got Minutemen in the queue coming soon. Thanks so much for being here!
Great suggestion! Watt is incredible!
I would bet that bootleg cassette copies of the Violent Femmes exceeded legal sales by A LOT.
In college - a bazillion years ago - listened to and loved Violent Femmes!!! BLISTER IN THE SUN and ADD IT UP are great!!!
Love this song! Violent Femmes are so underrated
Mark, as one who’s known about the Violent Femmes since I was in early high school and has seen them live at least twice, I’m sorry that you’re just now getting into them. They are a quite delightful and seriously underrated band for sure. I’m glad that you’ve had a taste of them and shared it with all of us. It truly took me back in time and helped remember why I got into bass. And I believe his tone comes from an acoustic bass actually, although I don’t know if he just had it miked in the early days or if he was running direct into the board. Oh, and along with playing bass, he also plays and is actually certified to teach shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) AND, one of the times I saw them live, he actually played a didgeridoo in the opening song while marching with the band onto the stage. Completely mind BLOWING!!! Thanks for taking us on this journey with you and bringing back all these found memories.
Folk punk is one thing - Balkan punk is another fascinating style
Gogol Bordello - Underdog World Strike
Lol Blister in the Sun, can't wait to see you react to that!
Another banger of a video ❤ Brian Ritchie is seriously underrated so thank you for shining light on his playing!
Brian used an Ernie Ball acoustic. He is the bomb. Victor and Brian got around as a rhythm duo for hire before getting together with Gordon. Love them ❤
Hey, check out the Band Choking Victim with the Song 500 Channels. Great bass play at the beginning
WOW!! You just made my day, first time to your channel, and LOVED your reaction, I loved that you did them period, but I truly enjoyed your breakdown and your enjoyment of the song!! The bass player, Brian Ritchie, usually preferred an acoustic/electric bass. I could have sworn he played a stand up bass, but after a bar bet with a buddy recently, some research and realizing the entire decade of the 1980s is a bit fuzzy for me, his bass of choice most often was a Gold Tone Resonator Bass, I'm sure you're aware, but they look like an oversize bloated 6 string acoustic, lol, and where the band got that unique bass sound.
I was lucky enough to see them live in 1987, when I was 17, only my third concert ever, (first was Van Halen, second was Duran Duran, I was all over the place musically). To this day it was one of the best concerts I have attended, not just because of how great they were live, and how much they truly appreciated and connected with the audience and fans, but also because they just finished rehabbing the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, where they performed at. An absolutely iconic and stunning hidden gem in The Lou, an intimate little 4500 seater. Words don't do it justice, here's a link to a photo. Again, great reaction, can't wait to check out your other content!! ✌️💚
live.staticflickr.com/5562/14462826452_e5219b5fcd_h.jpg
Violent Femmes were a huge part of my college years back in the 80s. Loved that whole album.
Great song and great album. I love the sense of danger that hovers between the lyrics, the wild playing and the rough production. I can definitely understand how they became underground heroes
Ned's Atomic Dustbin had 2 bass players. Their album God Fodder is something you'll want to listen to.
Been a long time since I saw someone reference Ned's Atomic Dustbin. Nice 😊
I actually went to see Ned's when they opened for Jesus Jones in Ann Arbor back in the day.
this was fun to watch! My younger brother introduced me to VF in the 80s, he was into alternative music. I've rediscovered them lately and have watched several interviews. In one Brian Ritchie told the story of how a friend of his told him to go and see Gordon Gano who was only 16 at the time and was a Lou Reed impersonator. The friend said "I think you'll like him." Brian didn't think he would. Then a year or so later Gordon invited Brian to see him play at his high school at an awards ceremony. Gordon started playing an approved song, stopped, and broke out "Gimme the Car". The kids in the auditorium went wild and the principal off to the side of the stage was going "no! no! NO!!"
Folk Punk originated with two bands: the Violent Femmes in the US and the Pogues in the UK. The two couldn't be more different but they definitely are the godfathers of the two main forms of Folk Punk today. Interestingly often adherents of the Femmes style of Folk Punk often hated the Pogues style and vice versa, and fans of earlier and other forms of Punk Rock often hated both. Only a few punk kids in that era actually liked it all, which is kinda funny looking back really.
Hard go imagine hating either of those bands. 2 of my favorites.
Saw 'em at First Ave in the 80's . You have to see them playing!
Being from Milwaukee- I didn't realize the reach these guys have had in other parts of the country- and Australia as well. Obviously, I've seen them live here a few times and of course the audience participates and knows the words front to back. But to hear people in Kansas, or Texas, etc. were doing the same thing kind of amazes me. I know the album sold well over a million copies, but they always seemed to be so underground nonetheless.
Picture it: Burbank, 1988. I've lived in L. A. for 2 years, I'm 13-meet a new friend, whose big bro is in a VF cover band... So yeah. They had reach, even back then❤❤.
Wait, do I Hear the Rain?...
So much so that it honestly doesn’t make sense to me that someone who is into music and is a bass teacher hadn’t heard of them.
Senior year of high school, 1988, house party. Everyone was drunk and as soon as this song comes on, we all start yelling the lyrics. 😂 good times.
88 is when I heard it playing over the PA in choir class. It was big with the artsy kids.