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The Fleshtones: Hexbreaker!, plus Standells and Chocolate Watchband best-ofs

Mitchell Cohen, Creem, November 1983

WE'VE HEARD THIS before, and the Fleshtones know it: "Your scene isn't really so strange/Some things never really change." Hornet-nest guitar. Gnarly vocals. Lyrics that yoke adolescent nastiness and prurience to a social context: Take Us Seriously, But Leave Us Alone. If Dylan plus the Beatles equaled Folk-Rock, Dylan plus Rolling Stones equaled Punk-Rock I, aggression multiplied by itself and the same old complaints given renewed fervor by their implied political basis. The Standells put it so well when they asserted their preference not to be bugged because of their long hair, and boiled campus unrest down to a plea for a more lax curfew at B.U. so strolling couples wouldn't have to be subjected to the muggers by the Charles River.

Total word count of piece: 635

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