Short Music for Short People

Various Artists - Alternative - Punk

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 1, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fat Wreck Chords
• ASIN: B00000J631
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,993 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Alternative Rock > Compilations > Punk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Punk rock has long been known for its short, loud, and snotty anthems, but this is taking things to extremes. None of the songs found here reaches the one-minute mark. Some are among punk's most esteemed anthems, while others are casual additions to the canon. In either case, even if you don't like one tune, well, there's another one coming in just a few seconds. This isn't the best introduction to these bands. The Descendents, for example, are punk-pop titans who and not at their best when aping the hardcore set. However, where else can you find Less Than Jake, Nerf Herder, Blink 182, Green Day, the Mr. T. Experience, Gwar, the Circle Jerks, D.O.A., Agnostic Front, and the Muffs all on one CD? There's no shortage of top-shelf names here, and more than a few surprises will keep you hopping. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great idea, most good songs, a few bad..., October 10, 2000

By	"fenixmxpx" (NJ) - See all my reviews

...but what do you expect? It's the newest project from one of punk rock's most innovative minds today, Fat Mike... 101 bands on one album playing 30 seconds-and-under songs. The album taps the scenes of over ten countries, and leave it to Fat Mike to collect the most varied lineup of punk, old-school, hardcore, emo, ska, and radio bands of any compilation. So unplug your phone, remove all distractions, and lock yourself in your room before listening or else you might miss half of the bands. Don't plan on doing anything afterwards either, because your attention span will be completely shot.

There are a lot of cool tracks on the comp, mostly from bands that have mastered the art of the short song, such as the Descendents. The lineup features everything from legends like Bad Religion, Black Flag, and the Subhumans to today's popular punk bands like NOFX, Pennywise, and the Bouncing Souls. But with such a screwy setup, you're bound to get plenty of bands that don't really take the project seriously, and there are some disappointments. Out of 101 bands, though, what did you expect? There's enough good stuff that you can skip over the crap and still get your fix. Plus, the full-color booklet features a little something from each band, including as pictures, contact information, lyrics, or random band jokes. It's hard to take this CD seriously, but it's a good opportunity to hear a wide mix of punk bands or just sit around with some friends and see who can name the most bands (or count which bands can swear the most in under 30 seconds).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential Punk Comp., October 16, 2003

By	godhatesacoward "godhatesacoward" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

It might not be the best punk compilation (check out the Peace/War double album or the Dischord box-set or the Punk-O-rama series for some alternatives) but its definitely an essentaial one. And not just for minutemen fans either, anyone who likes fast, loud punk should take a look at this.
Obviously, its good for anyone with a short attention span, but some of the songs are good enough for you to put them on 'repeat' and listen to them 14 times. It's got huge variety (blink and Black Flag, GWAR and The Descendents, AFI and Wizo....) so theres gotta be something you'll like. Even if you hate some of it ( I still don't know what to think about the Real McKenzies's track) it'll be over in 24 seconds.
Obviously the huge variety is an incentive to check this out, but theres also a whole lot more quality than you'd expect of an album with 101 songs (99 tracks, ... punk fans......). How many albums do you own that can claim to have 74 great tracks?

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good idea, good cd, December 8, 2002

By	Angela M. Healey "AngelaMHealey" (Hull) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What is it?

This CD is 101 punk bands, each doing 30 second songs. This is a very good idea, and some of the songs are actually ok.

Will I have heard of any of the bands?

Yes, it has some gread bands such as Less Than Jake, Unwritten Law, Blink 182, Green Day, No Use For A Name, Guttermouth, Lagwagon, The Offspring, Youth Brigade, The Misfits, Snuff, Penywise, NOFX, Rancid, and a lot more. This is also good to get a taste of what some other bands are like, it can introduce you to so much more great music!

Is it good value?

It's not bad, ten dollars for 50 minutes of music. I think the value is good.

So should I buy it?

Definitely.