Belgium produced some great punk rock in the late 70's and two total killers have been re-issued on vinyl recently: the Hubble Bubble LP from 1977 and Raxola's 1978 self-titled LP. These re-presses are brought to us by the good people at Radio Heartbeat Records, located in Brooklyn, NY. With a name like Radio Heartbeat, one might expect a catalogue full of light-weight, limp-wristed nancy boy bands that always pose knock-kneed with skinny ties, leg warmers and pouty lips and play songs about scented love letters with thin, wimpy stereo chorus saturated guitars amped somewhere between 5 and 6. Well, that's only some of what you get with Radio Heartbeat.
You can also get genuine rockers like Raxola and Hubble Bubble. Both re-issues are done properly and are fully licensed and all that fun legal stuff. The pressings are good. The sound is great. Nice cover reproduction. Both worth the money. I like the Hubble Bubble better but that's not a knock on the Raxola. Hubble Bubble is more quirky with weird pop hooks and unique production. The record holds the test of time and really doesn't sound like anyone else. Even when they're chugging through a relatively cliche riff, they're distinctive. Raxola is more of a straight ahead punker with crafty songs of varying tempos. You can decide for yourself which you like better by sampling a little of each below, but you really should buy 'em both.
HUBBLE BUBBLE - New Promotion
HUBBLE BUBBLE - Freaks...Out!
HUBBLE BUBBLE - Sweet Rot
RAXOLA - 84's Man
RAXOLA - Thalidomide Child
RAXOLA - Panic In The Sewers
A short time ago, I got a handful of singles by New Orleans' favorite power trio, Die Rotzz. These fine Southern gentlemen recently came to New York to kick some Yankee ass, and that's just what they did. They played a local Brooklyn establishment, Don Pedro's, on the 22nd of September to a relatively empty house. Despite the thin crowd, Die Rotzz gnarled through a tight 15 minute set with amps and attitude on 11. I must say, Don Pedro's certainly knows how to treat a band like shit. Die Rotzz had to beg for a complimentary beer while they were in the middle of their set and the best that anyone could do for our out-of-town guests was to bring them a few crappy Coronas. Nasty. For a band that has been described as sounding like Hitler farting into a fan miked to a Fender Twin w/holes in the speakers, they're pretty damn good. In fact, how could one not like a band that evokes such wicked words. I read other reviews that referred to them as hate punk and scuzz punk. I don't know what either of those terms mean. To me, it's just simple, good ol' boy rock-n-roll played by a bunch of troublemakers. One could ask for little more when seeking something to clench a fist or some teeth to. For the vinyl junkies of the world, Die Rotzz has put out a number of very limited seven inch singles on various labels, including Jeth-Row Records, Big Black Hole Records and Die Slaughterhaus Records. 
Though some of their cover art has that homemade, slapped together during a hangover at Kinkos look, the band is capable of getting a little artsy (see the excellent Bongoût Graphics pic sleeve art featured above). A few of their singles are splits. One with the Carbonas (who do a spot-on version of Zero Boys' Stoned To Death on it) and another with Scripts. I like all the singles that I have and share a couple samples of this band's greatness below. If you dig these, check their website for more mp3's & info on how to order their fast-selling singles.
DIE ROTZZ - What I Need
DIE ROTZZ - Uptown Ruler
After years of collecting music videos, I have finally stumbled on the Holy Grail (well, my Holy Grail anyway) of punk rock concert footage: San Francisco's first and only rock-n-roll band, CRIME. I'm not talking about the Target Video San Quentin footage. What I have my grimy little mitts on is a full 55 minutes of live footage from several different shows. Some looks like pro-shot (on film) stuff perhaps produced for promo videos. It's amazing (see below). Then there's footage of the band hanging out in a hotel room before or after a show with a whole crowd of happy party goers. Some are wearing CRIME Fun Bus badges, which probably means that this carousing bunch was filmed in Los Angeles on one of CRIME's few trekks outside of the Bay Area. Legend has it, that way back in March 1979, the band packed into a van and, with rabid fans packed into a bus in tow, went south for some gigs. In LA they set up base at the Tropicana Hotel in Hollywood. I suspect that this is where this party footage is from. At some point during these hi-jinks, Darby Crash walks in and people start calling him ugly. It's defintely an ouch, but, then again, Darby was a bit of an ugmo. There's also the live "Piss On Your Dog" from San Quentin that is commonly seen as part of the Target Video promo reel. However, this version is sans Target Video logo. Nice! There's also a live show from I don't know where. The video here is over exposed and considerable whiting-out occurs but it is still very watchable. You can see all the action and the band sounds great as they belt out 10 songs with complete authority. There's a couple of other different live things on the VHS tape but what I described above is the heart of it. I am looking for anyone who might have info on actual dates and places for these shows. Please let me know if, based on the scant description above or video below, you think you might be able to assist me in discovering the origins of these recordings. I've been told that the VHS tape was once owned by a legendary collector who claimed that he got it from the band. At first it sounded like a tall tale but after watchig it (repeatedly) I believe it is very probable. Of course I wouldn't expect my discernible reader(s) to believe something simply because it's posted on the internet. So, I have included a taste of what I am talking about. Check it Out!