Something Better Change
Encyclopedia
Something Better Change is the debut album by Canadian
punk rock
band D.O.A.
. The album was recorded between 1977 and 1980 in Vancouver, BC, Canada
and was released in 1980 in on the label Can. Friends. (See 1980 in music
).
For nearly two decades since Something Better Change and the follow-up album Hardcore '81
went out of print, the albums were compiled into the compilation Bloodied But Unbowed, and then, to address the numerous songs removed in the process, the Polish import greatest hits album Greatest Shits was released. Music critic Jack Rabid stated that "when one considers how revolutionary and yet how distinct from each other those two LPs were, this state of affairs just made no sense.".
In 2000 the album was re-issued on lead singer Joey Shithead's own label Sudden Death records
for a native Canada release. In 2002 it was re-released on Dead Kennedys
former front-man Jello Biafra
's Alternative Tentacles
music label. The re-issue included a single bonus track, a re-recording off their first EP originally titled "Disco Sucks", but now titled "New Wave
Sucks". . In May 2011, a remastered version of the album was released by Sudden Death Records on CD and vinyl LP.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band D.O.A.
D.O.A. (band)
D.O.A. is a hardcore punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are often referred to as the "founders" of hardcore punk, along with Black Flag, Bad Brains, Teen Idles, and Minor Threat. Their second album Hardcore '81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to...
. The album was recorded between 1977 and 1980 in Vancouver, BC, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and was released in 1980 in on the label Can. Friends. (See 1980 in music
1980 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....
).
For nearly two decades since Something Better Change and the follow-up album Hardcore '81
Hardcore '81
Hardcore '81 is an album by the Canadian hardcore punk band D.O.A.. It is considered by some to be the first reference to the North American punk scene as hardcore.-Track listing:#"D.O.A"#"Unknown"#"Slumlord"#"Musical Interlude"...
went out of print, the albums were compiled into the compilation Bloodied But Unbowed, and then, to address the numerous songs removed in the process, the Polish import greatest hits album Greatest Shits was released. Music critic Jack Rabid stated that "when one considers how revolutionary and yet how distinct from each other those two LPs were, this state of affairs just made no sense.".
In 2000 the album was re-issued on lead singer Joey Shithead's own label Sudden Death records
Sudden Death Records
Sudden Death Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia based record label run by Joe "Shithead" Keithley.Sudden Death Records arrived in Canada's burgeoning punk scene in 1978. It was only a part-time label until 1998, when they began to expand further into punk rock music...
for a native Canada release. In 2002 it was re-released on Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
former front-man Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
's Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
music label. The re-issue included a single bonus track, a re-recording off their first EP originally titled "Disco Sucks", but now titled "New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
Sucks". . In May 2011, a remastered version of the album was released by Sudden Death Records on CD and vinyl LP.
Track listing
- "New Age" (David Gregg, Joey Shithead) – 2:18
- "The Enemy" (Chuck BiscuitsChuck BiscuitsChuck Biscuits is a Canadian-born drummer, now a U.S. citizen, who is best known as an original member of the heavy metal/hard rock band Danzig. Most recently, he was a member of the punk rock band Social Distortion in the late 1990s...
, Shithead) – 2:53 - "2 + 2" (Biscuits, Shithead) – 4:08
- "Get Out of My Life" (Brian Roy GobleBrian Roy GobleBrian Roy Goble, also known as Wimpy Roy or Brian "Sunny Boy Roy" Goble, is a Canadian singer and musician. He played bass for many Vancouver punk bands. First with Stone Crazy, Brian then went to punk rock, playing bass with The Skulls before becoming lead singer for The Subhumans when The Skulls...
, Joey Keithley, Ken Montgomery, Simon Werner) – 2:07 - "Woke up Screaming" (Shithead) – 2:42
- "Last Night" (Biscuits) – 3:23
- "Thirteen" (Shithead) – 2:23
- "Great White Hope" (Biscuits) – 2:53
- "The Prisoner" (Shithead) – 2:01
- "Rich Bitch" (Shithead) – 3:00
- "Take a Chance" (Shithead) – 1:48
- "Watcha Gonna Do?" (Shithead) – 4:44
- "World War 3" (Biscuits, Shithead) – 3:46
- "New Wave Sucks" (Shithead) – 1:01
The band
- Chuck BiscuitsChuck BiscuitsChuck Biscuits is a Canadian-born drummer, now a U.S. citizen, who is best known as an original member of the heavy metal/hard rock band Danzig. Most recently, he was a member of the punk rock band Social Distortion in the late 1990s...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - David Gregg – GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Randy RampageRandy RampageRandy Rampage is a founding member, bass player and occasional vocalist of the Canadian hardcore band D.O.A.. He played on D.O.A.'s seminal early punk albums Something Better Change and Hardcore '81, along with vocalist/guitarist Joe Shithead, drummer Chuck Biscuits and guitarist Dave Gregg in...
– BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Joey Shithead - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Technical staff
- Richard DrakeRichard DrakeRichard Drake of Esher , Equerry of the Stable to Queen Elizabeth I, was the son of John Drake, of Ashe, and Amy ; he was a brother of Sir Bernard Drake...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineer - Ron ObviousRon ObviousRon Obvious is a Vancouver punk-rock producer, engineer and studio designer.After completing an electronics degree in Toronto, He started working in the recording industry, September 1976 at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver. Working as a technical assistant to John Vrtacic, also working...
– engineer (on track 12)