fred sonic smith

Tonight we bring you the marvelous City Slang, in which everything that there is to worship and adore about the late Fred Sonic Smith is congealed into one devastatingly direct blast of insurrectionary punk rock aggression.  If you dig the Stooges, Mick Ronson, Johnny Thunders, the Dead Boys, and Smith’s own MC5, then City Slang should be taken with a needle in the most easily-accessible vein in your arm.  For all their crunchy aural violence, the guitars are actually deceptively melodic, making for a tune that’s catchy as hell. The Motor City may be burning, but I'll be damned if the flames billowing out the window of that abandoned Ford plant aren't the most beautiful thing I've ever seen... I grew up listening to the MC5 but didn’t discover City Slang until quite a bit later in life, which is probably just as well as there’s no telling what I might’ve done had I encountered the song when I was 16 and had a perpetual boner popping out my jeans.  I've always admired the way Smith fully recognized the cathartic power of rock ‘n roll.  While Ronson is the undisputed King of Trash Guitar, Smith is a worthy contender to the throne. The two of them play in a way that’s ugly-sexy, if you will, like that girl who’s a little bit piggy, and a little bit mean and bitchy, but carries herself in a way that lets you know she’s a fucking freak between the sheets (though it goes without saying that you'll never find out). I recommend City Slang especially for those times when you’re feeling depressed, beaten down, defeated, frustrated, unappreciated…  Crank it up and enjoy the sensation of having all the toxic badness cleansed from your body, mind and soul. But also make sure there are no breakable objects or loved ones within your reach…