THINK I'LL DO THIS NOW

Todays procrastination session began with a hunt for some elusive Lawndale mp3s. A non-surf instrumental band that was on SST (home of Black Flag among many others), they're all but ignored online. It's as if they never existed. Well, today the hunt paid off, but not how I expected. I did find one Lawndale cut, "Wing Tips," but where I found it turned into a couple hour detour. It was on Dave Markey's We Got Power Films site. Markey is something like a punk rock renaissance man. He put out a couple fanzines, played in a couple bands, made some movies (both feature length and shorts), and did some music videos. You'd think that after all that, he'd be a household name (at least in punkier households), but that's not the case.

Trailer for Lovedolls Superstar Fully Realized

The first time I heard about him was in the early '80s. He had made a film called Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, about a fictional girl punk band, the Lovedolls. Despite the primitive quality (I think it was filmed in Super 8), it had a who's who of L.A. punk rock scenesters, notably Jeff & Steve McDonald (from Redd Kross), Dez Cadena ( Black Flag), Janet Housden (Redd Kross), and Annette Zilinska (Bangs, Blood on the Saddle). Among many cameo appearances were a young Saul Hudson (who would later surface as Slash, in Guns n' Roses), and Sky Saxon (the Seeds). The whole thing is so amateurish, the script so bad, the acting so limited, that it really is a hoot; like a friend's weekend film might be.

Middle Class - Situations and Above Suspicion, filmed by Dave Markey. Reunited after 27 years, filmed in November 2010. From Markey's YouTube page.

Markey's website is a full on multi-discipline time suck. Fanzines, fliers, short films, trailers for the feature films, music videos and music. Seriously, I was on there for a long time and still have only scratched the surface. Among the music videos, there's some choice stuff: Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Mudhoney, and the Posies. The Posies video cover of the Germ's "Richie Dagger's Crime" is remarkable in a "Relax you purist cynic, this is a tribute to the Germs, nothing more. Get your head out of your ass and enjoy it for what it is" sort of way. There are blue Circle One armbands and flags everywhere, and a nod to Shawn Kerri's Circle Jerks skanking kid logo. I'm going to avoid spoiling it for you, just dig the interpretation and prepare to smile. Punk rock has never been so warm and fuzzy.

The Posies - Richie Dagger's Crime (Note: a much better quality, ad-free version is on Markey's site, on the music video page (click on the "multimedia" tab).

The music that Markey has on his site is great too. The Lawndale song that started all of this meandering, "Wingtips," is one of 23 mp3s on his site that comprise the entire soundtrack of Lovedolls Superstar (the sequel to Desperate Teenage Lovedolls). On that one alone, there's Redd Kross, Sonic Youth, the Meat Puppets, the Dead Kennedys, Kristan Hoffman, and the Lovedolls themselves, backed by Redd Kross. On top of that, there's two other compilations. This shit is exhausting. Just go there and click on everything.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Redd Kross - Lovedoll Superstar mp3 at We Got Power Films
The Lovedolls w/Redd Kross - Beer & Ludes mp3 at We Got Power Films
The Lovedolls w/Redd Kross - Rex Smith (I Want to Be A Cholo Chick) mp3 at We Got Power Films
The Lovedolls w/Redd Kross - Sunshine Day mp3 at We Got Power Films
Sonic Youth - Hallowed By Thy Name mp3 at We Got Power Films
Lawndale - Wing Tips mp3 at We Got Power Films
Directed by Dave Markey:
Mudhoney - Fuzz Gun at YouTube
Sonic Youth - Cinderella's Big Score at YouTube
Desperate Teenage Lovedolls trailer at YouTube
Get lost, really lost:
We Got Powers Films - The site of Dave Markey. Note: Most of the films and music are on the multi-media page.
Markey's YouTube channel
Additional info:
Dave Markey at Wikipedia
Dave Markey at Internet Movie Database