Hey Robin, stop dreaming…
Today’s entry concerns a rather odd cassette tape I found, about a week ago, in this disaster of a home office. An old friend gave me a bunch of cassettes years ago and most of them were old junk music he’d aquired in his travels - I think I only kept the Bartok and this little gem.
This pseudo-feminist punk manifesto compilation (I assume this only because there is only two bands with male vocalists on the tape - a welcome rarity for the 1980s(?)) was put together by the label “Hide” in Toronto when bands like United State and the like were a Queen Street staple.
With songs that sound like a cross between Girlschool meets L7, this stuff was around long before some of those bands hit the scene. There is one absolutely bizarre cover of “Do you Know the Way to San Jose” by Word of Mouth, that sounds like a drunken imitation of the B52s. (Actually a lot of this stuff reminds me of the bands at the “Rock Fight” in “Up in Smoke“…)
My favorites (and they still kind of stand the test of time if you want to disregard the sloppy-ass playing in front of less than enthusiastic audiences in Toronto clubs) are Fifth Column’s “Right Hook”, A.S.F’s “Frat Boy” (with more than a little Hole in it before there was a Hole), and anything by The Curse and The Bettys - “Robot Band” fucking rules in it’s deliberate deconstruction.
I’ve tried to track down a lot of these bands, but sadly, the majority of them are gone now. I think Fifth Column was the only one to stick it out for the nineties, in the midst of a slew of other girl-punk bands that had already stolen their thunder. Proof positive girls can be just as nasty as boys…if not nastier…
Great stuff for a really out of control, drunken house party. Or a heroin flop-house get together.
January 27th, 2005 at 10:44 pm
Because the internet is such a ridiculously ephemeral nightmare, I’ve decided to post the only thing I could find in regards to this entry:
fifth column bio
This Canadian rock group formed around 1980, first performing under the name Second Unit, then later switching to Fifth Column. Members were all female and preferred not to use their last names when it came to the press, using only an initial instead. The reason was listed as something like female power and not using a name that was passed down to daughters from fathers. During the group’s lifetime, the lineup for Fifth Column went through some changes, like most groups. Along the way, members included vocalist and guitarist Caroline Azar, drummer Joel Wasson, vocalists Kathleen Robertson and Janet Mascis, guitarists Michelle Breslin and Charlotte B., bassists Beverley Breckenridge and Anita Salmon, and drummer and guitarist G.B. Jones. The girls recorded their last album in 1994.
When Fifth Column began, its fans were found on the Queen Street club circuit in Canada. In 1981 and 1983, the group landed a few tunes on compilation cassettes with some other artists. In 1984, the girls did their first single. It contained three songs: “The Legionnaires,” “Monsieur Beauchamps,” and “Boy, Girl.” Two years later, Fifth Column completed a debut album, To Sire With Hate. It was followed after another two-year span by Work and then again two years later by All-Time Queen of the World. In 1994, a fourth and last album appeared, 36C. All of the albums were released under the Hide Records label.
In between the full-length albums, Fifth Column released singles, made music videos, and worked on a number of other compilations. Some of the tunes from this group are “Free to Fight,” “Rock Stars Kill,” “All Women Are Bitches: Repeat!,” “Hit the Dirt,” “Right Hook,” “Your Love Glows in the Dark,” and “It’s a Really Weird Thing.”
~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide
source:
http://www.artistdirect.com
May 22nd, 2005 at 4:44 pm
Its so funny to see this tape on your website. Thanks for the review. Unfortunately, almost all the information in that bio your correspondent sent you is wrong. If you go to the entry on Fifth Column on the Wikipedia site you’ll find the information there is much more accurate.
In regards to the bands on the tape, on side two almost all the bands have guys in them. Polkaholics, Really Red, New Mr. Orrs and Racer-X, a side project of Brian Brannon of J.F.A. are all boy bands .I hope that ’s not disappointing but…just so you know!
GB