MP3 O.L.P.B. - ROCK: Punk

This is what the world might look like to the Ramones' dumber older brothers.

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Punk, ROCK: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock

Details:
O.L.P.B.

O.L.P.B. is short for âoldest living punk band.â This is a sort of inside joke among some members of the band. Itâs from a line in âStiv Bators.â
This project was begun concurrently with the more polished âMy True Story.â It has been stated that it was comprised of outtakes and songs considered not good enough for that piece; but this is not really true. âMy True Storyâ was recorded at an outside studio, in the classic way a recording was done then. None of âO.L.P.B.â was recorded that way. It was almost all done in Gary Applegateâs and Mario Cicerelloâs studios. None of the songs were ever considered âMTSâ material. They were done alongside the demos for âMTSâ, and that may explain some of the confusion about this.
The Clams were still a working, functional band at that time; and it was fairly easy for them to record their parts at leisure. As they gigged less and saw each other less, that became more difficult. The result was that while âMTSâ was a finished piece, âO.L.P.B.â was no more than a half dozen very short songs. It sat on the shelf as an unfinished joke for several years until some of the Clams began looking around for something to do.
The Band attempted to finish it as a ârealâ project; enlisting Damien Cordisco and moving it to his studio. But there was no consensus to how to actually finish the project, or if it was really necessary to do so, and the Clams drifted apart once again. Eventually Gary and Richard Gelbstein finally added a few new songs and a few older unrecorded songs and called it finished.
There are some very interesting things here and some other things as well. âStevenâs Roomâ, âOn My Blindnessâ, and âJerichoâ are songs that could have been on âMTSâ. âThe Kids Donât Careâ is a very accessible rocker. Of the original six songs âI Used To Listen To The Radioâ was the only one that was ever added to the Clamsâ live show. The other five thump away for a minute or so and then end abruptly. They run the gamut from a reminiscence of an old childhood friend, to a tribute to a fallen punk rocker, to a rant about a rap singer turned actress, to a rave-up about tourists at the Jersey Shore.
There are several different versions of many of these songs on the web, as the different band members added and subtracted parts at will until Gary and Richie finalized the collection.
Before you decide that this is some kind of disjointed mess, listen to âLetâs Go Get Some Beer.â See if it doesnât make you laugh. Especially if youâre expecting to hear something along the lines of âMy True Storyâ; this record will surprise you with its schizophrenia. Its lack of direction and coherence is part of its charm. It creates a cartoon world where John Milton and Stiv Bators cross against the traffic lights in Hell to find Elvis dieing at the feet of Cindy Crawford. And most of these little dramas last only a minute or so.

People who are interested in Ramones The Dictators should consider this download.