The E-Z Tones - Tonight Is The Night

As a teenager getting into punk music in the very early 00's I really had the pick of the litter. The genre had been steadily growing since the late 70's, and many acts had come through and stretched the boundaries of the style defined decades earlier. At this point in my life, my favorites were that of the typical "starter bands." Black Flag, Anti-Flag, Casualties, Minor Threat, etc. These bands were in my heavy rotation. 

However, my interest began to pique when I learned about the bands who birthed the genre. Velvet Underground, Richard Hell, Television, Elvis Costello, Blondie, all the classic New York acts. I started checking out these albums from the Rolling Meadows library, excited to hear the bands that created the genre I had fallen so hard for. 

Suffice to say, I was very disappointed. Velvet Underground was too slow! Too soft! Too pretty! I wanted a singer who sounded like Jello Biafra, not Joan Baez! I shelved those types of records for years, and returned to listening to NOFX and whatever ska band I was into that week. 

However, when I returned to Velvet Underground during my college years I fell head-over-heels in love. I finally got it. I understood what the 1970's "punk" scene in New York stood for. They were striving for diversity, not uniformity. It made me realize that, whenever I approach something new with a preconceived idea of what I'd like it to sound like, I've already set myself up for disappointment. Listening to the Velvet Underground and expecting something like Tilt is what killed it for me. I buried it myself. Knowing what to expect made me break those boundaries I set for myself, and let me really enjoy the beauty. 

Which leads me to today's release, Tonight Is The Night by The E-Z Tones. Cracking into this for my first time, I expected something a little more rustic and classic. Instead I was treated to a very modern polka sound. It rubbed me the wrong way as it was not at all what I was expecting. I again buried another band for myself. 

But with my later listens, these little ear-worms dug a hole in my head and made their home. Tonight Is The Night and I Love Everybody Waltz are great, authentic polka songs. Why, Because I Love You and I Love You Polka brings visuals of me spending time with my lovely fiance, Danielle. These are really genuine songs, and I feel silly for having ever disliked them. Great release here, and well worth a download. 

I also want to note that I LOVE this album art. So much in fact that I suggested to Danielle that we get this as a matching tattoo. 

I do need to make a note though, and this really sums up the story of my life. The first three tracks were ripped in perfect quality. I remember thinking "oh wow, what am I doing differently now than I did previously? This sounds great." Then...To The Left Oberek began to play...and the quality plummeted. Unfortunately, this is just a side effect of these old tapes. I assume the person I bought them from did not store them well. Oh well. It adds character! 

DOWNLOAD HERE: 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/vc74dy0xxz8loe7/The_E-Z_Tones_-_Tonight_Is_The_Night_MP3s.zip/file 

Frankie Liszka And The Brass Connection - The New Generation

The more I try to understand polka, the more I find myself confused. With the exception of last week's post, the tapes I've been posting recently fall under the genre of Slovenian-American polka, specifically Cleveland-styled Slovenian-American polka. Wikipedia describes the genre as:

"...generally played at a smoother tempo and features different instrumentation. Whereas the Polish style utilizes trumpets and concertinas, the main melody instruments in the Slovenian band are the accordion and tenor saxophone. A diatonic accordion or "button box" is sometimes used instead of the piano accordion or chromatic accordion and offers a different sound. The Slovenian style also adds a banjo or guitar to bolster the rhythm section (most commonly banjo for polkas and guitar for waltzes)."

If I can be candid, I'm growing a little tired of what (I assume) is the Slovenian-American style. It's pretty much all I've been posting lately, and I miss the polka stylings of my earlier entries.  So what exactly is that genre of polka? Is is Chicago-style Polish-American music, aka "push-polka?" Upon further review, no, it is not. The sound is pretty identical to Slovenian-American polka. In fact, here's Wikipedia's definition of push-style:

"The typical Chicago-style polka band includes one or two trumpets, an accordion, a concertina, drums, a bass, and sometimes a clarinet, saxophone, or fiddle. This style is connected to the '50s rock-and-roll era and is sometimes referred to as "push" style because of the intense "bellow-shaking" of the accordion."

Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me, but this definition seems pretty similar to Slovenian-American polka. Maybe it's German-American polka I long for? However, my research brings me to the same conclusion as the latter cases, and Wikipedia greets me with another near-identical definition:

"The German-American sound is often described with the term "oom-pa-pa" and is characterized by an emphasis on brass (especially the tuba), accompanied by drums and reed instruments (including the accordion or concertina, although for the most part the concertina is usually favored over the accordion in German-American bands)."

It's at this point I realized where my distinction in taste comes from. I long for the classic days of polka. How can I be such a curmudgeon over an era of polka that existed long before I was born? I will not let myself become old at heart. I must embrace the new! Well...new-ish. Today's tape is after all nearly 30 years old.  So let's talk about it!

When I first saw the cover art for Frankie Liska and The Brass Connections "The New Generation" I was under the assumption that it would be Star Trek themed. However, like most of these tapes that I've posted so far, the theme of this album is only surface level. That's not to say that this tarnishes the album in any way. There are still great tracks like Good Friends Polka and Gonna Have My Love Polka.

I'd dedicate My Buddy's Wedding Polka to my buddy Connor, but I have no idea what's actually being said. I'll dedicate it to him anyways. Don't Tell Me Polka comes off a little too "nice guy" for me, but some may find comfort in it.

Not a bad release, just more of the same that we've been seeing lately. Well worth a listen through! Hope you're all well. Take care of each other. There's a light at the end of this tunnel.

DOWNLOAD HERE: 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ntb4epdadpalyzn/Frank_Liska_TBC_-_The_New_Generation_MP3s.zip/file

Marisha Data ‎– Na Wesolo

I'm a mutt. My heritage does not consist of merely one nor two nor three nor even four ethnicities. I am Irish, German, Italian, Scottish, and French. Like most white guys with an Irish last name, I self-identify with the Irish side more, but it's very likely that I'm more German than anything else. In the end, none of this even matters. I've never been to any of these counties. My family does not partake in any of these culture's customs (unless you count drinking beer, eating pasta, drinking more beer, etc.). I'm unfortunately just a boring old American. Most of us in this country are. However, it is fun to throw on a green shirt on St. Patrick's Day and pretend like I have a clue what clan my family comes from.

What always surprises me is that, as a cracker with the "blood" of many European cultures "running" through my "veins," none of my family comes from Poland. So when I decided it was time to upload this album, Marisha Data's Na Wesolo, I knew I wouldn't be able to provide any insight as to what the fuck is going on in these skits. Na Wesolo is to polka as the Blue Collar Comedy guys are to country music. At least that's the insight I've gathered. I have no clue. Marisha is from Chicago, and the cover art for this LP is hilarious. This is good enough for me to upload it to this blog.

Especially because I uploaded it to celebrate TEN POSTS ON POLKA HOLE!

Wow, what a long, strange trip it's been. Thanks for being here, and thank you for making this all worthwhile. I may be posting less often going forward. I  may be posting more. Who knows. Covid-19 has made it harder for me to make it to thrift stores. But I ain't going nowhere.

Take care out there, and enjoy your summer safely. See you soon!

DOWNLOAD HERE: 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/hp8o21wb7z0t3fp/Na_Wesolo_-_Polish_Comedy_Album_MP3s.zip/file