I Have No Gifts To Bring

Holiday-themed posts aren't usually my thing, although last week I posted a Thanksgiving one ("Wishbone Fight") and not one of you even mentioned it. Seeing as I'm not one to learn from experience, I'm going to go ahead with a Christmas carol now, even though Christmas carols are pretty lame. I mean, it's hard to listen to "Little Drummer Boy" without picturing Bing Crosby and David Bowie standing together and wishing you were there to take 'em both out with a hand grenade. Luckily, Rifle Sport's version doesn't come off like complete shit; Gerard Boissy's guitar is set to full blast, and with Todd Trainer kicking the crap out of his drums, this actually sounds pretty rocked, like it coulda been on Motley Crue's "Shout at The Devil" or something. Endnotes: 1) Rifle Sport are one of the best bands to come out of the Midwest back in the '80s (it's true, you can look it up). 2) Back cover hastily retouched so that Photobucket doesn't have one of their usual shit fits, sorry.




Rifle Sport -

"Little Drummer Boy"

Don't Think That I Don't Care

Rifle Sport were one of my favorite bands back in the 80's, even if they didn't get the same recognition as some of the other Chicago/Minneapolis bands that they shared similar writing styles, lyrical themes, and occasionally even band members with (Big Black, Breaking Circus, early Naked Raygun, etc). Rifle Sport truly had some monster songs, though, along with Gerard Boissy's guitar work, which was probably the main thing that separated them from their brethren. While a lot of the Mid West bands of that era were suggesting icy Joy Division-type post-punk and even hardcore with their riffs, Boissy's playing style had hard rock written all over it. Check out especially the sprawling glam-rock stomp, "Box of Dirt", a live track that has Boissy going positively all Marc Bolan/Jimmy Page up in the joint by the time it's finished.

If you've ever dug the sound of the Chicago/Minneapolis bands from indie rock's 80's heyday but haven't gotten around to cranking up Rifle Sport yet, this here's an adult dose.




Rifle Sport -

"Complex"

"Bedroom Full of Ice"

"Box of Dirt"

(these files are now listen-only)