scannest wrote:John Lisa would play that WHACK AND BLITE 7" for anyone who would listen and the response was often "This is the great...but that voice?! What the fuck is up with that voice?!" That continued with UNFUN - a general sense of how amazing this band would be if they had an actual singer. Of course, that wasn't everyone. But it seemed like a dividing line for those of use who gravitated towards the more melodic side of things and those who liked their punk/hardcore with more dirt under the nails.
That all makes sense except that I never really thought of Blake as a non-melodic singer. That's probably because I was listening to a ton of punk/hardcore of the "more dirt under the nails" variety back then as that was the music of my teen years and I loved the shit out of both Whack and Blite and Unfun (though I first heard them on the CD with both), but even then I loved a good hook/melody. Yes, his voice was really raspy pre-surgery, but I think part of their greatness early on is that exact divide they had between their punk/hardcore roots (you can see Blake wearing a Soulside shirt in early photos and I think Unfun is kinda DC-ish) and their pop ambitions and for lack of a better way or saying it, the new wave in them, too (shown by the Joan Jett, Pretenders and Psychedelic Furs covers later on). They weren't on one side or the other and it's one of the things that made them great IMO. I always appreciate individualistic bands who don't really fit in, but in Jawbreaker's case I am glad they're getting their due now both financially and otherwise.