For this, the twentieth(!) edition of this little series of mine, I take on a couple of punk-inspired records and the entire bill of the last concert I attended. Enjoy, or not. Doesn’t bother me any.

♦The Ramones – Halfway to Sanity: I remember the Ramones always being there in the deep background growing up – they formed in 1974, the same year I was, and occasionally bubbled through the protective(?) cocoon that kept my childhood universe cut off from so much of pop culture. Somewhere in late elementary school, I managed to see Rock and Roll High School, which kind of blew my mind a little bit; a little bit of that was pre-pubescence reacting to PJ Soles in her tiny underpants, to be sure, but a lot of it was the Ramones appearance in the film and on the soundtrack. I wasn’t sure I liked the music right away (it was rather different than the stuff I heard on local radio), but it was different, exotic, and intriguing. In the years since then, I developed an appreciation for these guys, with their interesting mix of punk and sixties pop. I got my hands on this particular record several years ago as a result of a friend thinning out her CD collection. It’s late period Ramones, which means there’s quite a bit of that pop sensibility mixed in; it’s unmistakable on tracks like “Go Li’l Camaro Go” and especially “Bye Bye Baby,” which might as well have come directly from the mind of Phil Spector. “one two three four!”

♦Flogging Molly – Within A Mile of Home: Strangely enough, I found this band by accident while walking past a display of televisions in Target, which for a while in the 2004-05 time frame were constantly playing the video for “To Youth (My Sweet Roisin Dubh).” The mix of punk and Irish/Celtic styles hooked me pretty quickly, and caused the store to sell at least one copy. The whole disc hits my sweet spot between agressive rock and lilting folk, as there’s plenty of both here; from the rapid, rollicking “Queen Anne’s Revenge” to the maudlin “The Wrong Company.” For someone who’s spent many a weekend at the Ren Faire and many a night in a dive bar watching a rock show, this is just about the perfect fusion, and there’s just something undeniably awesome about layering pennywhistles and bouzoukis over distorted electric guitars.

♦Jonathan Coulton – Artificial Heart: This disc just came out a few weeks ago, and in fact, I don’t even own a physical copy yet, but am due one any time now due to my status as a Level 2 Participant (sadly, I did not pony up enough cash to receive my own personal nemesis). Still, I’ve been spinning the digital download version pretty regularly for the last couple of weeks, and have seen quite a bit of the record performed live over the course of a couple of shows in the last year. Folks who’ve visited this site regularly for the last couple of years probably know by now that I am an unabashed JoCo fan; it’s probably not much of a surprise that I’m enjoying this one. The record itself is, in some ways, more traditional than previous releases, but still retains a lot of that same quirky/nerdy vibe Coulton is known for. Songs aren’t necessarily about traditional subjects, but are always interesting and often beautiful and tend to resonate with folks like me (which makes sense, as Coulton, apart from the whole “internet rock star” thing, is in much the same place in life that I am). The whole record is quite good, but for me, the standouts are the sad and touching “Today with Your Wife,” “Je Suis Rick Springfield,” the sad first person tale of Rick Springfield (or not) attempting to pick up french girls, and “Down Today” with it’s pleasant ukulele and sense of reckless joy.

♦They Might Be Giants – Join Us: This is another disc I just picked up in the last couple of weeks, shortly before seeing the band live last month; and I admit up front that the tons of fun I had at that show, from Ape club to the Avatars of They, may color my current enthusiasm for this record just a little bit (but not too much). This record is the band’s first foray into “adult” music in a few years, and it feels like the Johns had some fun working on more esoteric stuff after living with lots of songs about numbers and science for some time (not that they didn’t have plenty of that all along). There’s a lot to like here, from the straight-ahead electro-pop of “Can’t Keep Johnny Down” and “Celebration” to the refreshing absurdity of “Cloisonne” and “Spoiler Alert.” The whole listening experience is fun, fresh, and often a little confusing, like most TMBG records are. And, as a fan, I think I prefer it that way.