Aquarius
Records
POP-O-PIES,
Pop-O-Anthology: 1984-1993 CD
"Hardcore
is a place where upper-middle-class white kids take all the good pan handling
spots away from the bums who really need them". So said the
irreverent punk rock sage that is Joe Pop-O-Pie in his classic "The
Words of Jamal -- The Rainbow Bridge Version".
Along with the Butthole Surfers, the Pop-O-Pies were the perfect antidote
for punks who were tiring of a stale, formulaic genre and a scene that
took itself way too seriously. Started in 1981, the Pop-O-Pies were
the brain child of New Jersey raised, 'Frisco' transplant Joe Callahan
(A.K.A. Joe Pop-O-Pie).
And for those who weren't there for the legendary first two years of its
existence, the rumor is true, the Pop-O-Pies really did play only one
song: "Truckin'". According to Joe the reason was because
the band's lineup changed so often, there really wasn't much time to learn
anything more.
The end result however, was a band tailor made to piss off punks and hippies
(or pseudo-radical youth culture) alike. Joe eventually found a
competent, and consistent backing band in the form of none other than
Faith No More and recorded the now out of print (and master tapes lost
forever, sigh) "White EP" on 415 Records. But that, due
to its nonexistent nature, is not the subject of this anthology.
The bulk of the material here are the complete Joe's Second (also featuring
Faith No More) and Joe's Third Records released in 1984 and 1986 on Subterranean
Records -- at the height of punk rock's uber-hip, uber-tough, uber-serious
"hardcore" era.
If there's one thing that self righteous punks needed at that time, it
was a good satirical slap in the face and Joe Pop-O-Pie was there to administer
it. And administer he did, replete with well played, overindulgent
Hendrix-esque guitar parts market tested to irritate the minimalist punk
rock purists.
To be fair (to the punks and Joe), that isn't all that the Pop-O-Pies
satirize. Joe takes on the music industry ("Industrial Rap"),
New York City ("I Love New York"), the Beatles ("I Am the
Walrus"), bummed out guys ("Bummed-Out-Guy"), morons ("World-O-Morons"),
the Grateful Dead ("Truckin' Slow Version" and "Sugar Magnolia")
and much more and all throughout peppered with the unique punk rock salt-of-the-earth
wisdom of Joe Pop-O-Pie.
Not only does this anthology contain the Second and Third Records in their
entirety, but also includes four additional tracks: two from Joe's
1993 comeback "The In Frisco Single" released on Amarillo and
two previously unreleased tracks from the same recording session (featuring
Mr. Bungle alumni Trey Spruance, Danny Heifetz and Dieselhed bassist Atom
Ellis).
Included with the disc is a three panel fold out featuring historical
notes on the Pop-O-Pies, photos new and old and a brief account of an
actual conversation overheard by Robert Mailer Anderson. And what's
best is that, buying this, you don't have to worry about the artist getting
screwed.
Yes, that's right, Joe has come out of hiding himself to put this collection
together in 100% true D.I.Y. fashion. So every dollar goes to Joe
and not some A&R clown in some office building somewhere.
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