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The Vindictives are easily categorized as punk rock. And when I say that I mean real punk rock, not this goofy Good Charlotte or Sum 41 bullshit that’s plaguing teenage, angst filled children in the year 2000. Real punk rock, to me, means stuff like Screeching Weasel or Dillinger Four, stuff that has the standard power-pop driven edge with the hilarious/witty lyrics, the thing that gives punk rock it’s attitude.
Hypno-Punko takes the punk rock sound to places it’s never even dreamed of; and remember, when I say punk rock I’m still talking about real punk rock. With this release The Vindictives take the standard power-chord punk rock and splice in funny "experimental" pieces that make the whole thing come together in an epic punk masterpiece.
I don’t mean "experimental" like John Cage or "What-Some-People-Would-Consider-Experimental-Somehow" Radiohead. When I say "experimental" I guess I mean something like "We’re The Vindictives And We Are About To Smash All Of Your Punk Rock Taboo’s".
Within the liner notes for Hypno-Punko there exists a brief explaination of the album, almost a manifesto of sorts. Below is a transcription of that manifesto.
WELCOME TO HYPNO-PUNKO™
Congratulations, you have just taken the first steps towards attaining a brand new "punker" you. A magical new world of Punk Rock Attitude!, Punk Rock Sex Appeal!, and Punk Rock Awareness awaits you! And to think it’s all sitting in the palm of your own hand right this very second, at YOUR beckon call! Could anything be more exciting?
It’s All In The Disc!
The disc that you are about to play has been recorded using "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Technology. "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound has been created specifically for "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Therapy applications. Through rigorous research and methodology and relentless experimentation the "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Therapy Research Group has found that through regular exposure of approximately 3 applications of "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Therapy sessions per day continued for a period of 3 weeks or more may increase your "Punk Cognition Aptitude" by up to 99%. Talk about results! WOW!
How Is It Done?
It’s all done through the "Psycho-Acoustic-Aural-Stimulus-Repettion" system. Now, don’t let the ten penny words scare you, it’s simply another term for what is commonly known as "Brainwashing". That’s right, just all natural, good old, WWII "Brainwashing". Simple, Safe, and Effective!
This Is HYPNO-PUNKO™, This Is Your Salvation
Let "HYPNO-PUNKO™" scrub your brain clean! Say "Goodbye" to The Willingness To Co-operate, The Urge To Socialize, The Desire To Love, Living Up To Your Obligations, Faith, Ethics, Morals, Fairness, Humanity and more! (or should we say less…) With "HYPNO-PUNKO™" ALL is possible!
HYPNO-PUNKO™ Is Different From Any Other Recording You Will Ever Own
You will soon find out that the "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Experience is different from everything else in your record album collection. "HYPNO-PUNKO™" recordings are full of sound that eradicate old triggers and create brand new ones loaded with brand new shiny bullets. What this means to you is that the "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound improves upon each and every listening and as its effectiveness soars so do you! You will play your "HYPNO-PUNKO™" recording over and over again without ever tiring of it’s "sounds". At first, you may find it difficult to "listen" to a "HYPNO-PUNKO™" track. If you do attempt to "listen" you may find the experience both unusual and initially quite unsettling. While total reactions are completely your own, most individuals find that "HYPNO-PUNKO™" conjures up images and idea that they ordinarily avoid thinking about. It is for this reason that we suggest that new users allow "HYPNO-PUNKO™" to play them, as opposed to the other way around.
How To Use HYPNO-PUNKO™
To achieve the life altering hypnotic effects woven throughout your "HYPNO-PUNKO™" recording, it is recommended that while using headphones (for maximum effectiveness) one should start out by activating the repeat function on their CD player and setting it to track #11 and then retreating to a private are or simply retiring. *In the case that you own the phonograph recording of "HYPNO-PUNKO™" might we suggest "looping" (recording over and over again) track #11 onto a audio cassette tape. This is the most "new user" friendly "HYPNO-PUNKO™" track on your disc and it is where we have found that most subjects most safely can begin their therapy. The "unconventional" dreams that may occur will subside in most cases.
A Few Wrods of CAUTION:
"HYPNO-PUNKO™" is NOT a Toy!
"HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Therapy may not be applied more than three times daily as dependency may occur.
Misuse of "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Therapy may result in unprovoked violent outburts, uncontrollable laughter and a wide variety of strange behavior and harmful mannerisms. DO NOT! abruptly discontinue use of "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Therapy as cases of severe withdrawal have been documented. Instead contact our offices to report any such occurrences and weaning instructions will be offered to you (for a small fee) from our staff of highly trained "HYPNO-PUNKO™" professionals. DO NOT practice "HYPNO-PUNKO™" while driving a motor vehicle, operating heavy machinery, or while in possession of a flamethrower. The "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Therapy Research Group assumes no responsibility for proper or improper use of "HYPNO-PUNKO™" recordings and products. Use "HYPNO-PUNKO™" at your own risk.
The Whole "HYPNO-PUNKO™" Sound Therapy Research Group Team of Scientists Wishes You Luck On Your "HYPNO-PUNKO™" JOURNEY.
And with that behind us we can look ahead, towards the music.
Hypno-Punko was released on Coldfront Records in 1999. The Vindictives hadn’t released a full-length album for four years, although they had put out several re-releases of harder to find albums. Perhaps that is a reason for some of the albums content; the band had taken the time off because they didn’t like the way the punk rock music scene was headed and didn’t want to take any part of it. When they came back they gave a direct slap to the face to the punk rock scene and, surprisingly, the punk rock kids ate it up.
Hypno-Punko is a staggering seventy-two minutes long, but, of course, the final track accounts for close to forty-five of those minutes. Then consider that less than a handful of the tracks are actually real songs, and you have yourself a whole lot of wasted, but brilliant, time.
All right…here we go…
"HYPNO-PUNKO™"
1. Medication Time (1:36)
Description: This track is a real song, which is some what of a rarity on this album as I have stated above. Medication Time includes the obnoxious and hilarious vocals of Joey Vindictive placed over a standard punk rock song with typical NOFX-double-bassdrum style percussion. The song is very short, but effective as an introduction.
Lyrics: "Now it's celebration time / nothing else will make me smile / I've been waiting quite a while / it's my medication time / tick tock-it's medication time / pop pop-it's medication time / now it's celebration time / now it's medication time / I'm so glad that it's finally medication time / and I can't believe that I made it to medication time / give me more (6x) / more (6x) / fuck me up (6x) / dirty motherfucker / now it's time to scream and shout / now it's time to come unwound / my favorite time is coming now / Now it's medication time for me / make it burn (6x) / burn (6x) / hit me hard (6x) / hit me hard you motherfucker / motherfucker fuck me up / fuck me up you poodle butt fucker / give me more (6x) / give me just one more!"
2. I Will Not: Pt. I (section A & B) (2:49)
Description: This song begins with a very rhythmic strumming bass line that continues until the vocals come in. After about a minute of the bassline and vocals an organ and bagpipe section comes in while a distorted guitar solos. A swelling scream comes in and the song is joined by pounding drums with a screaming Joey Vindictive. The screaming continues as all other instrumentation fades out. The screaming carries over as the first "HYPNO-PUNKO™" sound song begins…
Lyrics "I will not be found with a bullet in the head with a gun in my mouth curled up in my bed standing on the ledge looking down at the street diving on the people underneath my feet / I will not / I will not / I can hear you calling, but I will not / I know you wanna make me, but I will not / I will not lie me down on the tracks of a train / I will not use a knife to disconnect my veins / I will not close my eyes, I will not shut my mouth I will not, I will not, I will not I will not / I will not / I will not go insane, I will not be the same next week / I will not go gently into the big sleep / I will not hide / I will not run / you cannot make me / I know what's going on / I will not / I will not / I will not / I will not play dumb / I will not be fooled / I will not be used by any one of you / I will not / I will not, I will not / I will not be a man / I will not bear a cross / I am moving on and you can't turn me off / I will not / I will not, I will not / I will not mind my own business / I will not beg for forgiveness / I will not be embarrassed to piss on all you cherish / I will not, I will not, I will not / SCREAMING"
3. I Will Not: Pt. I (section C) (featuring "HYPNO-PUNKO™" sound) (1:43)
Description: As the screaming continues a keyboard playing a somewhat lullabye rhythm fades in. A robotic voice saying "I will not" is lopped and in the background a man whispers "I will not". A fuzzed out guitar and bass fade in to join the voices and keyboard. After a while everything fades out except the voices which continue on for another fifteen seconds before ending abruptly.
Lyrics: "I will not"
4. Structure and Function (3:07)
Description: Perhaps the best real song on the whole album, Structure and Function highlights The Vindictives sense of melody and harmony. This 50’s feeling song is littered with backing oo’s and ahh’s and la la’s that give the song a fun, joyous tone. A middle bridge part if thrown though a lo-fi filter and gives a very cool swelling effect. All around this song is a very strong piece of music that is worth a listen.
Lyrics: "Hanging off my arms are the pair of hands that I have used to crawl across the lines / down the middle of the road thought I had enough, but I didn't have a dime to drop at this stop / thought I'd take a break but I was running out of time / pay close attention while I read the rules / these are the things that make us move / muscle just a little, but pain the most / peel the scabs off of your ghost / set me loose with a fine to divide / before the meter expires and I have to play "Pies in the Faces" / this is the translation and I'm losing my patience / as well as my faith in a paid vacation / metaphase, telephase, prophase, anaphase is how to erase / "Bad Tastes" creations stand up, look around, pull together, fall apart, / go on sit down and witness your decay / shut up, sit down, pay attention, walk don't run / keep out dead end, pay attention don't look into the sun / this is fast and this is slow / watch how I can stop and go / learn everything that you should know / aim down the middle and hog the road."
5. Moms’ Message: Pt. I (0:14)
Description: One of the three answering machine messages by Joey Vindictive’s mom that are scattered throughout the recording.
Lyrics: "There’s a group of guys out here looking for you Joey / they’re a freaky looking band group / I guess is who they are I don’t know who they are / they’re got a van parked out front here / are you guys awake?"
6. Accentuate the Positive (1:07)
Description: A short, full-band song with swinging bassline that leads the beginning of the song. After the slower, bassy line the whole thing is repeated in a pesudo-hardcore punk sing-a-long style that is really funny. A horrible one measure guitar solo ends the track.
Lyrics: "Ya gotta accentuate the positive / eliminate the negative / latch on to the affirmative / don't mess with Mr. In-Between / ya gotta stretch high up to the maximum / bring gloom down to the minimum / have faith or pandemonium / liable to walk upon the scene to illustrate this last remark / you must allow yourself to fall apart / and when you do, you'll absorb something so dark / just breathe it in, don't chicken out / let it dig a deep hole inside your heart / and once you do, I'd like to see you throw it out."
7. Another Bad Day Pt. II (1:23)
Description: A remarkably funny song. A fast, piano-driven skit that involves Joey Vindictive singing through the lyrics while a fake crowd laughs and claps in the background. I highly recommend that you read through the lyrics on this one.
Lyrics: "Hey remember this one? / While walking down the avenue one bright and sunny day / I came across a woman who wouldn't get out of my way / I asked her to please step aside so I could get on with my day / she said, "I don't mind being cum across just as long as it's wiped away" / (laughing) / so I went home to watch TV and catch my favorite show and plopped down on my rocking chair and out came a screaming howl / I ached and moaned and groaned and hoped the pain would quickly pass / either that's just my remote control or someone's' dick's shoved up my ass / (laughing) / then I thought I'd take a drive around and see what I could see / but just a couple minutes later, I had to take a pee / I pulled into an alley and stuck my pecker through the fence / but I didn't even see the watchdog running off with my fucking prick / (laughing) / so they rushed me to the hospital to see if they could fix it / cause instead of chewing it to bits he very gently licked it / they said that I was lucky that the mutt lost all its teeth / so I went home and went to bed and then I had a dream / about that sweet little poochie… (laughing and clapping)"
8. I Will Not: Pt. II (3:24)
Description: This section of I Will Not stars off with a filtered version of a full punk song. Added to that is an unfiltered guitar solo over the filtered hoopla. Without noticing it the filtered section begins to fade into a regular sounding song. A group of guys begins to scream "I Will Not" until everything fades out except the still soloing guitar. Everything fades back in under the filter again. Suddenly tape manipulation kills the song.
Lyrics: "I will not."
9. Stupid Song (1:33)
Description: Your very standard punk rock song that starts off with call and response guitar solos. The lyrics are virtually screamed. Nothing much can be said about this one. Ends with the same call and response guitar hooks.
Lyrics: "Why the fuck are you so stupid? / How could someone be so dumb? / You're stupid / stupider than me / so stupid and getting dumber by the day / you're an idiot, a stupid idiot / you're an idiot, you fucking idiot / you're an idiot, a stupid idiot / you're an idiot, you fucking idiot / stupid, stupider than me / so stupid and getting dumber by the day / you're so stupid / you're so dumb."
10. More Than Nothing (0:54)
Description: An acoustic mock-ballad that closely resembles Green Day’s "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and is more than likely a direct insult aimed at the band. The song ends with "The sucked, rewind."
Lyrics: "You could never be enough / you could never be enough / never, never no, no, no / you could never be enough / you're nothing now and you never were / you're the empty core of a hollow shell / and all you are or will ever be is nothing / did you think that you could be more / than nothing to anyone but me / you could never be enough / you could never be enough / never, never no, no, no / you could never be enough."
11. I Will Not: Pt. III (featuring "HYPNO-PUNKO™" sound) (2:04)
Description A whole lot of voices are saying "I will not" on this album. The main ones include two male voices harmonizing a low-end "I will not", while two female voices give off their "I will not". Through out the whole song the voices are rotating through the left and right channels. Very cool.
Lyrics: "I will not."
12. First On The Block (0:28)
Description: Before it’s here it’s basically over. The male and female voices from the last song are mixed into this punk explosions.
Lyrics: "Buy one of these things today / it's bright and shiny and on sale / see all of the time / it saves and when you're done just throw it away / be the first one on the block! / this will take the pain away / then you can go out and play / buy a few to put away / save some for a rainy day / be the first one on the block! / this cookie crumbled / it burst my bubble / my thoughts are jumbled / I heard a rumble / it made you stumble / I took a tumble / be the first one on the block!"
13. Moms’ Message: Pt. II (0:10)
Description: The second installment of the answering machine messages.
Lyrics: "Jooooey / Is anybody there? / Jenny? / Joey, Jenny?"
14. I Will Not: Pt. IV (2:05)
Description: The final I Will Not song on the album. Still the same basic layout from the other I Will Not songs on the album, but the lyrics are sung by different people this time around. It sounds like one of those things where someone’s like "Hey, wanna be on my album?" It works very well though. The song ends with a reprise of the third I Will Not section.
Lyrics: "Now I will speak and I will laugh / nobody can touch me as long as I can think / now I'm living in heaven / can you feel my motor revin' / I said it's good and all is right with the world / now I can breathe and I can bleed and I can scream like a motherfuckin' demon / I am the Alpha and Omega and the sole surviving savior / all there ever was is all there'll ever be / now I can see and I can feel any way I want to / I cut my own deals / I'm in the place that I created / the voices finally faded / nothing's left but me as far as I can see / and I will burn and I can sting and I can fight like a wild, wild thing / I don't know what I believe in but I know the thoughts I'm thinking / I am in everything, and everything is me / I will not, I will not, I will not."
15. Mom’s Message: Pt. III (0:04)
Description: The last one.
Lyrics: "I don’t know what you want to do with these guys / you want them to come up and knock or what?"
16. In Pursuit (5:16)
Description: This is another song, like Structure and Function, that really shows all of the potential that The Vindictives hold within them. This song is another direct slap in the face of the punk community because it highlights all of the possibilities punk rock holds. The ending of this song is looped over and over again in In Pursuit Pt. II.
Lyrics "Pumping at a patterned pace / pissed on in this measured space / there's interference, it's so unstable / but close at hand / I've hoarded all my curiosities / objects numbered and in place / in succession, like a squadron aimed to please / but makes mistakes that are regrettable / casualties must lose their skin / every movement, every stillness means the same thing / nothing's almost always accurate / gauges cannot take you home / if I'm mistaken, I'll never know it / here I go / so I'm in pursuit / I've got new clues / will you pull over please / I'm in pursuit, of something new / will you pull over please / I'm in pursuit, I'm in the loop / will you pull over please / I'm in pursuit, blew a fuse / pull over / I wanna fly while every single engine dies / one at a time like a soldier fighting paradise / out in the field underneath a snipers eagle eyes / so when I sleep I can dream about it every night / I wanna run and feel the devil underneath my heels / I wanna whisper in your ear while you're half asleep / and when I scream like a baby for my mommy's milk / I'll take the lead to burn it down and rip it out / last one there is a rotten egg / catch me if you can / arrivederci, sayonara, aurevoir, adios, / see you later alligator, / in awhile crocodile / say bye-bye, bye-bye."
17. In Pursuit Pt. II (featuring "HYPNO-PUNKO™" sound) (44:39)
Description: After In Pursuit fades out it fades back in as another track. The last four measures of In Pursuit loop over and over and over and over. Throughout the track harmonizing vocals join and leave, making no two sections a like. Although I haven’t sat down and listened to the whole thing, although I imagine there is someone out there who has, I know the that song ends with the drums messing up.
Lyrics "last one there is a rotten egg / catch me if you can / arrivederci / sayonara / aurevoir / adios / see you later alligator / in awhile crocodile / say bye-bye, bye-bye."
The Vindictives
Joey Vindictive: Vocals
Johnny Personality: Lead Guitar, Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Billy Blastoff: Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Angel: Drums
Additional Musicians
Jenny Gee: Vocals, Whistlin' Dixie, Tamborine
Antonia Vee: Vocals, Bongos
Lacey Cool: Vocals, Maracas
Stephen Hawkings: Vocals
Additional Information
Produced by: Joey Vindictive and Mass Giorgini
Recorded at The Sonic Iguana and Ruby Street Studios
Engineered by: Mass Giorgini, Dan Wlieklinski, Fergus Daly, Dan Lumely, Denny Muller, Ryan McClintok, at Sonic Iguana in Lafayette, Indiana. Also Joey Vindictive, Johnny Personality, Billy Blastoff, Dan 88, and Jenny Gee at Ruby Street Studios in Schiller Park, Illinois.
Mixed at Ruby Street Studios by: Nass Giorgini and Dan Wlieklinski (except for "Structure and Function" which was mixed at The Sonic Iguana)
Edited by: Dan Lumely at Ruby Street Studios.
Art Design and Graphic Layout by: Alison Wunderlandt.
"HYPNO-PUNKO™" concept: Joey Vindictive.
All Compositions Written and Arranged by: Joey Vindictive (except Accentuate The Positive; which has been altered from it's original Bing Crosby version).
Presto-Chango
it's
HYPNO-PUNKO™!