Punk’s mythical origin story portrays the genre as the middle finger to the mainstream, born in a leather jacket with a safety pin through his nose while all the while mocking mid-1970s pop, country, arena-rock and disco. Punk wasn’t always so… antisocial to those sounds, though. To the blah dahlia – the frontman of gnomes, the sardonic (and sometimes obscene) kings of the punk world – this music formed the bedrock of a career that has lasted strongly since the mid-1980s. It’s also a career that has shown many different facets, most recently Introducing Ralph Champagne.
Labeled “American humor record”. Introducing Ralph Champagne Blag sees a new personality that blends rockabilly, country, lounge and other classic sounds of yesteryear. “Ralph Champagne is my alter ego, so I can do the old stuff,” Blag said Turn when discussing the record ahead of its release last fall. “He’s the old and handsome version of the lead singer from The Dwarves. He’s kind of the logical extension of where the guy from The Dwarves gained 30 pounds and retired.”
Introducing Ralph Champagne is a way for fans of Blag and Dwarves to see what inspired these iconoclasts to start making music in the first place. “Punk rock saved my life because I needed music and I couldn’t really do the really fancy shit that I came across,” Blag said Turn. “What’s funny is that after years of punk rock, I’ve found ways to make it more complex, weirder and weirder and more sophisticated.”
Although demanding in sound, Introducing Ralph Champagne contains the same biting wit and playful antagonism that has defined Dhalia’s career. (You can take the blag out of punk, but you can’t take the punk out of blag.) That being said, while the emphasis is on humor, the musicality is just as perceptive. Blag’s varied vocals show he’s an avid student of the genres on the record it’s a welcome addition to the secret Americana/Outlaw Country collection.
It’s not hard to spot some of Blag’s influences Introducing Ralph Champagne, but thanks to a playlist he made EXCLUSIVE for HollywoodLifeFans can see the exact sonic recipe behind this new collection of songs.
Ramones, “I don’t care”
Blag: The Ramones were my introduction to making music. Before them, I wondered how I was ever going to get my “license” to rock if I wasn’t very talented and always got into trouble. When I heard the Ramones, a bright light came to me: I CAN DO THIS! And the more trouble I got, the cooler it got! I Don’t Care isn’t a huge crowd pleaser, but the fact that they dared to make a lyric so simple that it repeated a three word phrase over and over just blew me away. Joey, the heart; Johnny, the guts; Tommy, the brains; and Dee Dee, the soul. The greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of all time really is the Ramones.
Frank Zappa, “Bobby Brown”
Before I knew what punk rock was, I had almost every Zappa record I could find. The way he switched genres, veering effortlessly into rock, jazz, pop, country, funk, noise and experimental, was ear-opening in the best way possible. “Bobby Brown” is one of the dirtiest, meanest, meanest songs ever written. My first band, Sexually Deprived Youth, performed this at a Focus on the Arts day at my high school in 10th grade. Still one of the proudest moments of my life.
Outsider, “Green Hell”
The dwarves have stolen so much from the misfits it’s amazing. Danzig was the best singer-songwriter of the punk era. Green Hell is a favorite because there are so few ways to be melodic with a repeating chord progression played way too fast, but somehow he pulls it off. I’ve never known the words to it, and I don’t want to either.
Bill Monroe, “You’re All Coming”
I really like old mountain music, you can feel the authenticity of back when real country people were the ones making country records. Bill Monroe was the first to adopt this style and infuse it with the blues rhythms that were beginning to merge into R&B. Monroe has written many classics, including the flip side of Elvis’ first hit Blue Moon of Kentucky, and while he didn’t write Y’all Come, his version has always struck me as the purest example of the fusion of blues and country that forges bluegrass.
CW McCall, “Convoy”
It was a huge hit when I was a kid but years later when I heard it again it killed me for a number of reasons. First, it’s an epic story, second, it told me about a world I’d never thought about before, and finally, it helped me square the circle between country and hip-hop. Blowfly knew about it long before he invented dirty rap, and Lil Nas X drove him to worldwide acclaim. It’s there if you know where to look! Inspired by this song I wrote Contraband from the Introducing Ralph Champagne LP. Another classic is forged from one!
Wu-Tang Clan, “Reunited”
Speaking of hip-hop, Wu-Tang created the system we still use with the dwarves to this day: form a huge group, keep adding new ones, but never lose the old ones. So the midgets keep getting better while our contemporaries struggle to match their own mediocre 1995 records. Nobody makes beats like that RZAits sound is unmistakable, but this track is particularly odd with its pretentious string section and combination of rappers.
GZA begins with a calm explanation of why the record you are about to hear is so important The old dirty one bursts in and one wonders if the whole thing is about to fall apart. RZA then contributes a rare verse of his own and hits up Method Man to smack the track home with his untouchable flow. Honorable Mention to my dearest Clansman, Inspectah deck, who doesn’t appear on this track but kills the first verse of the next song on the record, For Heaven’s Sake, sending the record in a different direction. A mind-blowing selection of rappers, tracks and images that cement WuTang as quite simply the greatest rap group of all time.
Sugarhill Gang, “8. Wonder”
When hip-hop was fun and rappers limited their flesh to wax Sugarhill Gang ruled the quarter. Aside from inventing the term hip-hop and creating the first rap hit (Rapper’s Delight), they created this brilliant work that has spawned so many imitators that it’s impossible to list them here. That’s where Busta Rhymes got “Woo Hah Got You All in Check” as well Kid Rocks Dang Dang Diggy Monstrosity. This song points the way to hip-hop’s final total eclipse of rock music. Let’s scream, let’s scream, let’s turn this feature off.
Alicia Bridges, “I Love the Nightlife”
Disco has a bad reputation but my mom really loved it and I listened to this song like a thousand times before realizing how brilliant it is. The lyrics are cynical in the verses and upbeat in the chorus, the beat is infectious and her voice is on par with the greatest soul and R&B divas of all time. The rest of the LP is great too, although mostly lost in the mists of time. When people say “one hit wonder,” I always wonder why that’s an insult. I’m a fucking genius and I’ve never made a hit! Still…
Jackson 5, “ABC”
Along with “Sugar Sugar” and “Yummy Yummy Yummy” this is one of the first songs I heard on the radio as a kid. Instantly infectious with unbeatable pop lyrics, this is a prime example of why songwriting is simply better. You know this song, you love this song, admit it!
The Sonics, “He Waits”
The Sonics are ground zero of punk rock. Tougher than any British invasion group, including the Kinks and the Who, they embody the ethic of ’60s garage bands. Play lots of Little Richard and James Brown songs in your set and then write something original the night before you go to the studio because you really just want to cover Little Richard and James Brown. While the UK-based Beatles were releasing Do You Want To Know a Secret, the Seattle-based Sonics released this instant classic about a wayward girl condemned to an eternity with the Dark Lord. I had the opportunity to sing this live with the band in Portland a few years ago, a moment I will treasure forever.
Johnny Burnett & the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio, “Train Kept a Rollin'”
For those who say the R&B original is always better than the rock ‘n’ roll cover, I refer you to the definitive version of this song, made famous by the perpetually anemic Aerosmith and a host of other even lesser bands. No version, including Tiny Bradshaw’s original, has ever come close to the sheer power shown here. Burnett’s vocals shred like no ’50s hit singer ever did, but it’s Paul Burlison’s insane guitar lead that points the way forward.
Johnny Marvin, “Me and My Shadow”
This may be hard to find on modern streaming platforms, and there are countless versions of this song, but this early jazz-era version kills me every time. From the sparse ukulele rhythm to the mournful clarinet solo, it’s the lyrics that really grab you here. No song sums up the loneliness of being human better than this one. But it has to be this version!
Fred Astaire, “Cheek to Cheek”
Irving Berlin is the most brilliant and prolific songwriter of the golden age of American pop. This song is lyrically perfectly constructed, from its opening phrase “Heaven, I’m in Heaven” to its playful bridge over “Fishing in a river or stream” to its dramatic minor-chord exhortation “Dance with me, I will”. my arm around you, the magic around you will carry me through”, straight back to “heaven, i am in heaven”. As my father might say, they just don’t write them like that anymore. I also love the jazzier Boswell Sisters version, but Astaire’s smooth delivery and flawless movements make this the perfect marriage of dance and song.