Dead Ramones

I thought we needed a palette cleanser after spending over an hour discussing MCR last week, so I'm turning my focus to another seminal New Jersey band, RORSCHACH. This band holds a level of mystique to me - they're dark and hostile and ugly and there's not too much info about their time, but their legacy stands. The bands they went on to form, and the bands they influenced retroactively crystalli...

Returning champion Andrew Hastings, aka EL PERRO GRANDE, takes over on this episode discussing New Jersey emo-core/horrorpunk/rockstar figureheads, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. Treat this episode as a teaser for the Patreon. In Part 1, we cover Bullets and 3 Cheers, and Part 2, all going to plan, will be on the Patreon soon(ish). Andrew does NOT come out on this episode. What if Gerard Way had the same pe...

BRIDGET HASSED joins the pod to discuss DIY in comedy, the pitfalls of being an "independent artist" and exactly what a pap smear is, in technical terms. Bridget is an MICF Best Newcomer nominee, and for all intents and purposes, the ringbearer at my wedding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A deep dive into the story and discography of maybe the best band to have played hardcore music, Philly's BLACKLISTED. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first of many solo episodes to come, I recap our first season together, reflecting on the albums we discussed in chronological order, and allowing the dry creek bed that is my brain to occasionally flow with a flash flood of random thoughts. Thanks for coming with me on this journey, thanks for tolerating my choices of albums, thanks for all the high-level autistic fact checking. 4 more years!...

Josh, guitarist from Speed, long-standing Sydney hardcore mover & shaker, Legions frontman, general legend, is in the Dead Ramones studio (my incredibly stepdad-coded office) to talk about Speed's debut album, potentially the defining hardcore record of the year. We talk about having enthusiasm, the globalisation of hardcore, having fun, living your dreams, Kardashians, etc - flute chat is kep...

Drew Bensley from the esteemed Community Noticeboard podcast returns to discuss last year's best album, Death Is Nothing To Us by the amazing Fiddlehead. We discuss the legacy of Pat Flynn and Have Heart, the place that profundity, poetry and history holds in hardcore, and also in the cultural landscape of 2024, and simply being old in a youth sub-culture. Heavy themes on this one, but don't worry...

Part 3 of the COVID series, and very emblematic of that era that I fucked up the year. This is another 2021 album, sorry, but I do believe its effects were seen extensively throughout the following 12 months. I also don't think I can do a podcast series about modern hardcore and not spend an episode talking about the phenomenon that is Turnstile. Anyway, Shad's back, we talk for too long about Mar...

Jamie Kirk from Community Noticeboard rejoins the pod to talk about one of the flagship bands in the metalcore genre and their unexpectedly final record. Lotta drama here, harking back to the messy bitches in Cro-Mags. We talk about the band's legacy, the boring legal drama that capped off a band that util that point had been painfulyl human and chaotic, and the dichotomy of this album being 1) a...

We've hit the COVID years, and GULCH represent the start of a new wave of bands taking advantage the internet to continue growing, either through videos of spectacular live sets, meme-able moments & hyped merch. Luckily this album backs up the hype in a real way. It's dark, violent, mysterious and fun all at the same time. Juliet Rae Timmerman, aka the funniest person and no stranger herself t...

Serbian poster boy Aleks Milinkovic joins the pod to discuss the 2019 Knocked Loose record 'A Different Shade Of Blue.' Big episode talking about what seems now like a fork in the road not only for KL, but hardcore more widely. These guys are now playing Coachella and getting nods from Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa - truly one of the biggest heavy bands currently touring, but was that on the cards in...

Okay, I do owe Alexei and you all an apology - I scanned through to find the sneezes so I could edit them out, but the episode was already late and I couldn't find them quickly so they stayed in. Sorry. But. Certified Movie Boy Alexei Toliopoulos gives us one of the best episodes yet, talking about Drug Church's amazing 2018 "sell out" record "Cheer." This is interesting in terms of looking at har...

Brisbane's stepson, Ben Hunter, joins the podcast to talk about Long Island figureheads Incendiary. I know everyone loves 'Cost Of Living' but 'Thousand Mile Stare' was really the record that made me turn my head. We talk about how these guys manage to be functioning members of society & living proper adult lives, while still making hardcore music that "means something." Topics discussed: Croc...

Melbourne comic Daisy Webb joins me to discuss the 2016 molotov cocktail that was Trans Day Of Revenge by the band G.L.O.S.S. (Girls Living Outside Society's Shit). The band only existed for about 2 years but in that time did so much to push trans-feminism into the wider consciousness of punk and hardcore, and even mainstream culture. We talk about that era, when both Laura Jane Grace and Caitlyn...

Michael Cho joins the pod this week for a sleepy night time episode - this is Dead Ramones After Dark baby, so grab a cognac and settle into your favourite chair. We're talking 2010s straight edge icon Foundation and their final release, the Turncoat EP. In a very distracted, tangential episode, we cover the legacy of Foundation, the shortlived fanfare around them in the early 2010s, as well as th...

Another red hot episode. Annabelle James is the best, she's so funny, and she dropped in before she heads off to Scotland forever to discuss Bane's final album (although they have been pretty active of late, so we'll see). This record does so much in such a short time, exploring the concepts of grief, both literal and figurative - the weight of 20 years resting on songs that for the most part go f...

Alice Tovey is a comedian and writer for shows like Gruen and Question Everything. She's also an absolute sweetheart. We psychoanalyse Uncle Hardcore himself, Todd Jones, and get into the virtues of unhinged anger in art. Great album, great episode. Topics discussed: white guys with dreadlocks, metal as being camp, crunchy noise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First episode in Dead Ramones HQ, Hastings is back to deliver his expertise on the state of the Scene (capital S) in 2012. Skinny jeans. Black vans. Grotesque designs on all your band tees. The Ghost Inside. I'm drinking haterade on this episode - I know this band is beloved in certain circles but I really couldn't find any redeeming value in this investigation. But they were a big deal, and I thi...

Sophie, the other half of the genius Basecamp podcast, joins us this week to discuss everybody's favourite album, Shed by Title Fight. I thought Shed was commonly acknowledged as THE TF album, turns out it's actually Floral Green, but I don't like that one as much. I really think Shed did a lot to push the genre forward and it's imprint on the scene can still be felt today. Every new band either s...

Nic is on the pod! Cohost of the amazing Basecamp podcast, stand up comedian, lawyer - what can't she do!? Nic brings some awesome insights and a good lexicon of influence to discuss Ceremony's third, and arguably best, full length record. A great way to kick off the new decade of hardcore, with an album that in equal parts looks back on it's heritage, and forward to whatever comes next. Topics di...

The great and patient Tom Witcombe from the Flog Cabin podcast joins me for a great little chat. We're talking about one of my favourite ever records this week, and Tom couldn't be more ambivalent about it. I think TUI really embodied the spirit of hardcore for a period in time there, combining all the things that make it so cool - the toughness combined with the vulnerability of being a "confused...

Australia's favourite nephew Luka Muller joins the pod to discuss Have Hearts's second & final record. We discuss our mindsets at the time, how this record smashed our expectations of hardcore more widely, as well as all the cool bands we were in. Topics discussed: scents, smells, aromas, comedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My producer/manager/promoter for Powerbomb Comedy joins the pod to discuss Australian heavy music heroes, Parkway Drive. We discuss their 2007 watershed album, Horizons, and how it changed everything for heavy music in Australia, as well as a couple of detours into the winding roads of Nat's brain. Topics discussed: The Amity Affliciton, the Northern Beaches, public transport, flipping cars, data,...

Brisbane's favourite sovereign citizen/former military operator/creek dweller Jack Knight was down in Sydney for the comedy festival, so I got him on to discuss the 2006 Hope Con classic, Death Knows Your Name. Jack and I don't see eye to eye on many things, but that only makes our friendship even stronger. Topics discussed: the killdozer, apes, ape sounds, eggs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

Alright, it's the big one, the record I named the whole damn podcast after, and we have returning our first ever guest, the queen herself Edan McGovern. 'Witness' by MLIW is yet another turning point in my own musical lifespan - not only did they redefine what hardcore was capable of, they turned me onto authors, poets & other styles of music I never thought to look to for inspiration in makin...