PUNX WIN AT SCRABBLE

"Why don't you rip off your badges, you look like a christmas tree!", The Ex sang in '82. I guess they weren't too crazy about the identikit "leather, bristles, studs and acne" punk hordes. But for a 15-year-old living in the sticks like me, wearing badges (and writing band names) on your jacket was another means of communicating with kindred spirits. It's hard to believe nowadays, but back then if you saw someone looking slightly "punk", you'd automatically start talking, even if you'd never met. In determining this "punkness", the coolness of the band names on the subject's badges/jacket was of far bigger importance than, say, hairstyles. (A friend of mine who had "NV Le Anderen" written on his jacket was once being followed by a couple of skinheads; after a wild chase it turned out they were actually the band in question, and wanted to thank him!)
Most Dutch punk bands had perfect names for printing on badges: Nitwitz, Svatsox, Zmiv, Bizkidz, Kotx, Ex (!): short and with as many angular characters that would give you lots of points at Scrabble as possible. But the coolest-looking band name of all was Rakketax. For a while, everybody seemed to be wearing Rakketax badges, and I have a sneaking suspicion it was more because of the great name and design than the music. Not that there was anything wrong with the music; both Rakketax incarnations turned out some great stuff.
First there was the female-fronted Utreg Punx line-up; their "Van Agt" was one of the very first mp3s I posted here. With singer Fretje they also recorded a single ("Rats"/ "What's for Dinner?") but that was never released. Fretje left to sing for the Pin-Offs (one song, "Rats" - yes, the same one - , on a comp LP), then became a journalist. While Rakketax' second line-up featured almost all new members, they still played the same kind of intelligent, catchy but still noisy punk. Their 6-song EP from 1981 is also one of the best-sounding records of the period (most studio stuff, for instance the Lullabies EP's, sounded too dry and separated). I love the trebly (Fender?) guitar that alternates between punk thrashing and chimey, almost new-wavey riffs. If you like this, also check out their tracks on Als Je Haar Maar Goed Zit from the following year.


Occasion
Unifil
Status
Harpoon
Labour
Decadence Floor