Favorite Track from Punk-O-Rama Vol. 2

On any given weekend in my teen years, me, Beef, and Dr Feelgood were likely driving out to Circuit City to buy some CDs. Those are discs that you would put into a player in order to listen to music. I say that, because it’s important to note that this was the mid to late ’90s and while the internet existed, streaming music did not. For a frame of reference, Napster didn’t launch until 1999 and even then, it would take a while for someone like me to be able to download a song on shitty dial up internet.

With that in mind, it’s easy to understand the temptation of a guy with $10-15 in his pocket to reach for that compilation disc. Soundtracks fall into the same category. What set Epitaph’s Punk-O-Rama CDs apart was that they were typically only a few bucks. Heck, I might even have money for Arby’s after that transaction.

For me, this was an easy choice. I already knew bands like Bad Religion and Pennywise, so I get those tracks AND get to listen to a whole bunch of new stuff. Most of the bands on the disc, I had never heard of. And I will admit, even though I liked this track, I had no idea Scott Radinsky was singing it.

It is 17 tracks of glorious ’90s Epitaph bands. So picking a favorite is no easy task. I’m gonna toss out Bad Religion, Pennywise, and Rancid because I am sure this was not my first listen to them. The Descendents probably fall into that category and while I like Coffee Mug, it’s not my favorite on this album.

It’s gotta be Jukebox Lean by New Bomb Turks.

I honestly don’t know what clicked with me about this song. It’s a pretty straightforward punk song, but the energy about it, the singer, that I actually knew the Newbomb Turk reference, something made me love this. I’m still happy when I here it.

It’s really just a song about a guy standing against a jukebox. A whole song about that. And I love it! Maybe it’s just tied to memories of being young and dumb, but whenever I hear something from this album, I’m reminded to throw this on.

-Chorizy-E