Screeching Weasel - My Brain Hurts

I was merely 7 years old when this record was released, and it would be almost another decade before I knew who Screeching Weasel was. To me, 1991 meant afternoons of action figures and nights dressing up like a ninja. But to Ben Weasel & Company, 1991 was the year in which their musical career took a drastic turn--the year that My Brain Hurts was released, and punk rock found new stars. This re-release is the second installment in a series of five Screeching Weasel albums, courtesy of Asian Man Records. Most people probably identify this band with Lookout! Records, but seeing as how that label is no longer putting out these albums, Asian Man Records stepped up to the challenge and is doing a fine job. My Brain Hurts is arguably the best record Screeching Weasel ever released. Their update on the pop-punk style of the Ramones created a blueprint followed by countless bands since, and it's this foundation that is partially responsible for Green Day, Blink 182, and so on. This album saw the band's songwriting mature tenfold, partially due to the addition of guitarist Danny Vapid. I won't go into the details of all these songs--most people who would care for this music are already familiar with Screeching Weasel, but I know there are lots of young kids into some of the other bands I mentioned, and while that's all good and nice, it's important (to some extent) to understand where all that came from. And looking for that, you'll find Screeching Weasel. I consider this to be the defining moment of the band's career, and I think this is the point in which the band became something more than 5 guys playing music. This is Screeching Weasel putting their notch on the Punk Rock Timeline. This is classic; this is essential. [www.asianmanrecords.com]