ERAZERHEAD - The Rumble Of The East 1982

Erazerhead was a four piece from East London and they existed from 1980 to 1984 and consisted of Lee (vocals), Jim (guitar), Gary (bass), Billy (drums) and released in their relatively short lifespan two albums and several singles. Their sound is very reminiscent of the Ramones and they really do it quite well, the length is right, they can play even if some of the recordings are a bit thin, but I think that's exactly what makes this debut so charming. Erazerhead is light fare and doesn't really blow you away, but the magic and the successful cover of a fifties classic are fun and make me look forward to my vacation. With their second album, Take Me To Your Leader, which attempted a more mature approach, augmenting the low budget guitar attack with keyboards and saxophone, more thoughtful lyrics and expansive arrangements. It failed miserably, but at least it tried to forge new ground. The band finally broke up after this miserable disappointment in 1984.

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GROOVIE GHOULIES - Fun In The Dark 1999

One more great stuff from Lookout! Records with the Groovie Ghoulies from Sacramento and on their fifth album were involved Roach (vocals/guitars), B-Face (bass), Kepi (drums) and the three stand for excellent usual Ramones-style sing-a-long songs and is suitable for every party. This little fucker has thirteen of that. You will warm up to the album very quickly because the songs enter your genes unhindered like heroin into your vein and inject the good mood straight into your head, this is mainly due to the melodic power of the songs, the magical singing and ultimately the positive rhythms. This record brings you calm down, checks our visions and ensures a relaxing time. Forget all the new MTV Pseudo Pop-Punker, this is simply the best and original. And my neighbor just tells me: this beauty is reissued 2023 by Stardumb, etc... Records in a pressing of 1000 copies on transparent blue vinyl with black smoke, so watch fucking out!

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RAMONES - @ Sporthalle/Böblingen, Germany 20.11.1989

October starts with an excellent live Bootleg from the no less excellent Ramones. A while ago the record was mentioned in the comments as one of the best live recordings by the four and so I went looking for it. And I found it and can absolutely confirm these words. Top quality for a recording from the end of the eighties and the track list on the cover is not complete, there are a total of twenty-five songs that I filtered out and the rip took almost three hours (cutting, converting, adjusting the sound, etc.) but live slabs are always a challenge that I'm happy to accept. And the result is a perfect rip with the quality I want. I'm really grateful that you continue to provide me with first-class information or recommendations which lead me to discovering new stuff. Please keep it up and don't get tired of it, I thank you with this post, which I know many will enjoy, because a Ramones record, in this case, is always a good reason to get back to yourself... and Life.

Have fun with this Blast, and welcome autumn!

I Wanna Live/Bonzo Goes To Bitburg/Raining/Sheena Is A Punkrocker/Rockaway Beach/Pet Sementary/Seeking High/She Is The One/Mamma's Boy/Animal Boy/Wart Hog/Surfin' Bird/Cretin Hop/I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You/Today Your Love Tomorrow The World/Pinhead/Chinese Rock/Somebody Put Something In My Drink/Let's Dance/Do You Wanna Dance?/Havana Affair/We're A Happy Family/I Just Want To Have Something To Do/Indian Giver/California Sun

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CELA NR 3 - Per Tempus 1985-2020 [2021]

Seventeen melodic songs, very varied anniversary album with many new songs and a few old hits in alternative versions by this Polish combo from Grudziądz, inspired by such legendary bands as Ramones, Sham 69 or Buzzcocks. Orginally formed 1985 as Zanik Pamięci (Memory Loss). In 1986, in the train, which the band went to a concert in nearby Toruń, there were quarrels, which resulted in a forced stay in the Grudziądz detention facility. As if to commemorate that event, the group changed its name to Cela Nr 3. In 1987 they released their first Tape To My and that was it. It tooks more than ten years before the second tape, Kwiaty, and a live tape in 2000 were released. Finally, the first vinyl album Jedynka followed in 2001. The band's most recent sign of life is a live CD, Bulbojugend Live Series Vol.1, which was released in July 2023 on Bulbojugend Records. During more than thirty years of playing together six releases were brought among the people (some of them only on tapes). This particular platter features Gruby (vocals/guitar), Dee Dee (guitar/vocals), Anda (bass), Melody (drums) and it's an amazingly good one.

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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RAMONES - Swallow My Pride EP 1977

Nun, with the Ramones you never can't go wrong and I don't want to write much more about the four from New York, we all know their story. Famous band, one-two-three-four forward Punkrock with a lot of leather on it. This is, I think, the fourth 7Inch and both songs on the A-side were taken from the second album Leave Home while the flip is a goodie which was recorded live at The Roxy in Los Angeles. This music is still absolutely high class and I'm always in a good mood when I listen to and often play them when I'm in trouble or pissed off. In the meantime their original records have increased in value and I advise anyone who doesn't know the band, they really exist, to buy their records because there's hardly a bad one out there.

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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THE STANDBYS - E.P. 1980

A nice 7Inch for the weekend and this is the Standbys one & only record on World Records. Founded 1978 in San Diego by four students and the band consisted of Tom (vocals/bass), Dave & Jeff (guitars), Ted (drums). The roots of the band go back to jam sessions between guitarist Dave and his brother-in-law, including a few party gigs playing Ramones covers, soon accompanied by singer/bassist Tom. According to Dave in a local Snare 'zine interview, "The name of the band came from it being flashed on the TV. It was either that or technical difficulties, but I couldn't spell it." Word of mouth increased after they opened for the Clash at Golden Hall in October 1979. "The Clash were really nice," says Dave. "I've never been so scared in my life was I was at that show. But Mick Jones thought we were really neat." (San Diego Reader) - The Standbys recorded an album alongside this single called Buy Now Or Die Dumb but I'm not sure if its came out, and split up in 1985. One song was later featured on their only compilation appearance, Back To Front Vol.4.

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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JELLO BIAFRA with NOMEANSNO - The Sky Is Falling And I Want My Mommy 1991

Kick off March and to a record which is still fresh after more than thirty years and revitalizes the Punk in you when it's a little rusty. Well, when I bought the album in Hamburg back then, I was of course very excited and wanted to know if Jello Biafra, who had two years before jammed with D.O.A. and conjured up a superb album, would top this with his second trip to Canada, this time to Victoria where NoMeansNo was at home back then. And the result is one more musical and optical highlight in all respects. Eight energetic songs plus Jello's cynically apocalyptic words, that sums up this brilliant record. I would particularly like to mention the artwork, which was again designed by Winston Smith and connects the history with reality and let us see that not much has changed and mankind is stagnating in its actions and thinking, profit-oriented and without regard for losses, especially nature and minorities suffer vehemently and all the generations that will follow can be happy. When man entered this planet, the earth was doomed. Nevertheless, I want to close with an apt review from my favorite site for this, because they can do that:

"After working with Canada's D.O.A. on his previous collaboration album, Jello hooked up with fellow Canucks and Alternative Tentacles signees NoMeansNo for an abrasive, brilliantly skewed thrash of a record, The Sky Is Falling & I Want My Mommy. NoMeansNo, with their angular art aggression, makes for a more distinct vehicle for Jello than D.O.A., bursting with power and screwy inventiveness both. The title track alone is worth the price of admission; Jello's rant about nuclear satellites and paranoia perfectly is matched by the music, and in ways the track serves as the missing link between an older style of Punk and the work of underground '90s acts like Unwound. White-hot guitar lines scrape and snarl over the stuttering rhythm while Jello rages through as only he can. "Chew" starts with minimal guitar snarls and whines floating around a low-key rhythm before fully springing to life, alternating between epic explosions and low-key tension over the song's length. Other tracks have a more straightforward, thrash feeling but still kick along very nicely, often throwing in odd solos or other touches to prevent sound-alike disease. Jello's pithy way around any number of subjects doesn't fail him here, with everything from recontextualized religion ("Jesus Was A Terrorist") to the joys of white-knuckle trips down mountain rivers ("Ride The Flume" with its lyrics "forget log rides in amusement parks, this one's 50 miles long!"). NoMeansNo's Ramones-worshipping alter egos, the Hanson Brothers, sneak in for the song "Bad," which is delivered in appropriately quick time, though Jello avoids sounding like Joey Ramone. The album wraps up with two great stormers, "Sharks In The Gene Pool", which constantly shifts tempos and feels over its length, and "The Myth Is Real-Let's Eat", with a wickedly snarling bassline that helps carry it along. Jello lets go in full effect over both, with all of the energy that fans would come to expect." (Ned Raggett)

One note before you ask, my copy doesn't have a lyric sheet for some fucking reason... well, I think more words aren't needed. In the same year, one more short group therapy convened, Tumor Circus, and is one more pleasure at own risk.

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REDNECKS - Blitzkrieg Bop 2007

"We called ourself the Rednecks because we hated boring sloppy hippies! We played Kick-Ass Rock'N'Roll. The New York Dolls and the Ramones inspired us. The second concert saw us open for our idols, the Troggs. They watched our show and dug us too! We're in heaven! Listen!!!!.... and Kick!!!" All tracks were recorded live on October 18th, 1978 @ Salle Du Faubourg in Geneva, Switzerland (opening for the Troggs). The Rednecks were a Punk band from Geneva and consisted of Francis Seilern (vocals/guitar), Babine (bass), both from Jack & The Rippers, Sandro Sursock (vocals/guitars) from the Bastards and Paul Zouridis (drums) from the Scelerates. The band was specializes in cover versions of their favorite crunchy Punk and Rock & Roll songs by the Ramones, Heartbreakers, Pirates, Chuck Berry, etc.... and these recordings shows the band in absolute top form and all tracks are present here in a consistently recording quality. Hit after Hit and I can imagine how incredible this show was. I think, these songs are the only releases by them, so relax and listen to this limited to 300 copies CD-only!

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THE FIX - Vengeance 7'' 1981

The Fix was a short-lived band of less than two years and had their first vinyl release on legendary Midwestern label Touch And Go. This is their debut (200 copies) with two fantastic short killer tracks and a review can tell you more about it: "Faster and younger than the Ramones, these boys from Lansing, Michigan give us two sides of vinyl and finish it all in two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. This is so fast that you won't even have a chance to sit down, so you better dance with your turntable. This is basic, no frills hard Punk and proves once again that Punk still goes on five years after the initial English explosion." (Sinclair Elrod, Coolest Retard 14, June 1981) - A year later their second and final EP Jan's Room followed before breaking up in early 1982. Really amazing they didn't made an album with their potential, I'm sure it would have been a masterpiece. In 1990, German label Lost & Found Records released a double LP called Cold Days, compiling all six songs from the two singles, the compilation track, four outtakes & twelve live cuts. Excellent Stuff!

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SUZANNES - New Disease EP 1978

Well, this record is nothing new in Blogland, every one of my friends has posted this, and now I'm the last, here we go: Early Dutch stuff now by the Suzannes, a four piece from Enschede who were active in 1976-1978, and this is their only record on De 1000 Idioten Records (cool name). The band consisted of Fedde (vocals), Loek (guitars), Dick (bass), Klaas (drums) and as the cover says, 2000 copies were pressed. Influenced by the Ramones they called themselves after the song 'Suzanne' by Leonard Cohen, and it was always in the repertoire in their own special version. Without an interruption they played all their songs in one go (their concerts were famous for ecstatic proportions). Six cool songs, of which 'Teenage Abortion' is the most famous one and also, besides 'Hippie', invited to some relevant compilations. JoJoJo!

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THE IMPS - s/t LP 2022

Interesting plater by Bollmora Rekords and this combo meets me for the first time and they kick really ass. The Imps started 1977 in Stockholm and members were Anders (vocals), Jonas & Kai (guitars), Magnus (bass), Christer (drums) and unfortunately never made it onto vinyl during their active days. So this little compilation features fourteen songs (recorded 1978-1981, I think) from their rehearsal room and probably also live pieces in an extreme uncooked & raw quality. A few liner notes: "And in the late '70s, when the Sex Pistols and Ramones were putting out their records, musical ability wasn't important. However, we were motivated and formed the Imps at a young age (fifteen and still students) and took part-time jobs to fund our equipment. Somehow we got everything together and started rehearsing in a basement of our school with cover versions and after a while we played our first gig to a full house at a school party in Fisksätra. It was a great loud evening and when we were finished after thirty minutes, only ten people were left in the room, but those ten loved us. The Imps got better and better and they gigged all around Stockholm. In 1981 we opened for the Dead Kennedys at a place called Underground in Stockholm. The band made two demo tapes before we called it a day in 1982." (Anders, January 2022)

You see, this is a little story of how it happened at many places in those days, and the will & desire to make music burns like wildfire and is the drive to start something meaningful with its young age. The Imps are passion, crazy & musically simple but incredibly sympathetic. Listen!

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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ACCELERATORS - s/t EP 1984

One more rare 7Inch, which was reissued by Manufactured Recordings in 2015, original released via Mutha Records with six shots by the Accelerators, a Central Jersey based Punkband whose brand of fast and loud "PowerPop" music has made them local club favorites since the 1980s. Largely influenced by the Ramones and the Smithereens, the Accelerators’ music is defined by strong melodies, unique irreverent lyrics and powerful drumming. The band was started by singer/bass player/songwriter Ron in 1981 with talented but troubled lead guitarist John T. Hansen, and backed by Dave Ross on drums. Their brand of fast and loud music made them local club favorites throughout the late 1980s. Represented on some good compilations and unfortunately I can't offer you one yet, eieieiei..... Well, that'll be fine and for a fucking Monday evening post anyway enough.

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THE MEANIES - Come'N'See 1992

I think, the Soccer World Cup would start today, but this year it's different and I have to say I don't like watching the WM in winter... but that's another story. - Also this weekend I start with a cracker and for that we travel 'Down Under' and visit Melbourne and meet the Meanies there. They were formed 1988 by Link (vocals/guitar), D.D. (guitar), VB (bass), Ringo (drums) and this is their great debut album on Au Go Go Records with twelve unleashed catchy melodic numbers. The level is constantly high and powerful and this full dose of energy pushes you immediately into a good mood mode, oh yeah! A bit background: "the four provides energetic performances, with Link injured on stage on several occasions. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they "were the undisputed kings of the inner-city/all-ages circuit. The band's frantic, Ramones-inspired power pop and hyperactive live shows drew capacity audiences of alacritous fans. The Meanies were also one of the most productive independent recording bands of the day." But shadows hovered over the band, D.D. died in February 2008 after being diagnosed with cancer. Their guitarist from 1993 onwards, Tasman died in August 2008 in a car accident as well. Jaws joined as a new guitarist and they recorded two more albums, the last, their fourth Desperate Measures, came out in 2020. Now I'll leave you alone and have a good start after work with this brilliant music.

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U.K.SUBS - Dance And Travel In The Robot Age 1980

We are slowly approaching spring and heating up once again on the penultimate day of March with the next record. Band: UK Subs Charlie (vocals), Nicky (guitars), Paul (bass), Pete (drums), label: Black & White, recorded live @ Milan Palalido, Italy on 16.02.1980. Seventeen rough classics and the recording was made by the late Tracy Crazy, from the Italian combo S.I.B., who also took the photographs used on the cover. Whilst not recorded with the most sophisticated equipment, but "Dance & Travel" captures the Subs at the height of their powers with a blistering set of what would become the classics that are the mainstay of their live performances to this day. The gig in Milan was part of a seven date European tour that the Subs played with the Ramones. Thus all is said, recommended for Punkrockers aged 12+.

You Can't Take It Anymore/Rat Race/I Couldn't Be You/I Live In A Car/Tomorrows Girls/Telephone Numbers/Kicks/Warhead/Public Servant/C.I.D./Rockers/Organised Crime/Brand New Age/Killer/Dirty Girls/Stranglehold/Emotional Blackmail

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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LES VERMINES - Bad Childhood 1983

Now to a combo that already appeared sporadically in wdthtc on some compilations: Les Vermines from Rouen, active around 1980-1989. Line-up: White Spirit (vocals), Torchon (guitar), Ted (bass), Daniel (drums) and this is their amazing debut on Rive Gauche Records. Bad Childhood is peppered with eleven superb candy canes. Info: To history and purists, punk has only lasted for a season. In 1977, the death knell had already sounded. This did not prevent the Vermines from continuing the adventure in the 80s with two albums in their own juice worthy of the best English productions of the good era. Adopting the language of the Queen of England, the group doesn't seem to care about this detail of the story and rushes headlong into a punk à la Sex Pistols and Ramones from which they also cover the title Blitzkrieg Bop and Warhead by the UK Subs on this album. The Rouen scene can be proud of these boys and you can convince yourself by the excellent songwriting and the amazingly good quality of these four. Recorded & mixed in twenty-two hours during summer 1983. They left two albums, a 7Inch and a tape for posterity, plus some compilation appearances. Brilliant debut in every way!

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THE 222's - I Love Susan 7'' 1978

Glam Punk PowerPop noises from Montreal by Louie (vocals/keys), Chris (vocals), Pierre (guitars), Hoe (bass), Angel (drums), these five were/are 222. This is their first 7Inch on Rebel Records with two cuts [b.t.w., my winner is the flip].

Info from CanuckistanMusic: The 222's formed in summer 1977 and they had one foot in Punk and the other firmly rooted in the Glamrock of the New York Dolls. This is what probably opened the door for the band in a city still awash in disco and prog rock. Singer Chris Barry, who joined the band in 1978 while still a high school student, recalls in Perfect Youth (The Birth of Canadian Punk), The 222s were on TV a fair bit, so I sort of became a minor celebrity in my high school. Along with the Normals and the Chromosomes, the 222s helped kick start a scene centered around places like 364 rue St. Paul, Station 10 and the Hotel Nelson. By the time the guys walked into the long forgotten Le Petit Studio du Nord in September 1978 to record this single, the first punk record to be released in the province of Quebec, the band were as tight as the skinny leather pants they often wore. Barry: "We wanted the show to run like the Ramones, not a lot of time between songs. We wanted to be as slick as we could be (which) just meant doing our best and being in tune and trying to not drop songs in the middle of them."

How the effervescent 'I Love Suzan' escaped the major labels is anyone's guess. With nods to doo wop, the Beach Boys and of course their heroes the Ramones, it's a perfect power pop charmer that should have been the soundtrack to the summer of '79 rather than an obscure collector seven-inch. What's more, the tougher sounding 'The First Studio Bomb' over on the flip takes the lads more firmly into punk territory, making this a potent little double-sider well worth the digging. Ah, but the 222s story was only just beginning. With numerous TV appearances in Montreal, and packed shows in Toronto and at Max's Kansas City in New York, they seemed ready for the big time. But by 1981, the popular band still had not released a follow-up, and well, Montreal being Montreal, they somehow managed to hook up with some of that city's less savoury types, who had plans of their own for the boys. (Michael Panontin)

- Great Thx to Reinhard -

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VANDAALIT - Namuja Lapsille 1980

This gluttony at this time is really enormous, Cookies, Stollen, Roasts, etc.. I'm gradually wondering where it's all going, my scales inevitably show me too many kilos. Do you feel the same way? Well, I don't even want to know. Let's concentrate on the essentials and let's see what musical treasures I dig up these days. Vandaalit from Hyvinkää has permission to open this week, they were a gang of youngsters who played hard blunt Rock & Roll in the mid-seventies, founded 1977 by Vesa (vocals), Piitsi & Klide (guitars), Sepi (bass), Ari (drums), but hearing the Ramones everything changed, and soon the band transformed their style to rough, simple punkrock. Namuja Lapsille is their debut album from 1979, released via Hilse-Levyt, with fifteen melodic straight forward sing along numbers that sound like easy Christmas carols for the whole family and the cover somehow fits as well.

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BIZON KIDZ - Get Your Kicks By Throwing Bricks EP 1981

The icon of Punk (Sex Pistols) had just disbanded and in England nobody cared anymore about rebellious young people with a preference for hard three-chord music. But Punk has proved to be a keeper to this day, both in terms of music style and attitude to life in the Netherlands and had just started in 1978 in many cities, including Utrecht (of course the hype which started 1976 in England & the U.S., had not gone unnoticed by the Netherlands before 1978.) On January 7, 1977, the Pistols performed @ Paradiso in Amsterdam and Iggy Pop scored a top forty hit with Lust For Life. The fierce and primitive sounds of such as the Ramones, the Clash, Sex Pistols, etc... had a great influence on Dutch musicians. This sound might be alive and kicking in Utrecht, but there weren't many places to play. Bizon Kidz were one of those bands that were founded in the late Seventies by Bertie & Ilonka (vocals), Oscar & Philip (guitars), Buffel (bass), Frans (drums) & released their only piece of cake on their own (500 copies) in the early eighties. Ten minimalist short songs with two-part singing are offered that can easily harmonize with the pleasant November sun, not bad at all!

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CRETINS - Man Between Walls 10'' 1985

Hanover 1978, the Ramones number (Cretin Hop) makes the choice of the future band name easier for a couple of 13-18 year olds on their way to fame and fortune. But before they start, the instrument distribution is drawn quickly during the first practice: Mof-Remmington R. (vocals/guitars/keys), Andrew B.Evans (guitars), Frank G. T. Holl. E. Wood (bass), Carl Cesario (drums). The first gigs followed and also the first vinyl releases, a song on the legendary Hannover Fun Fun Fun compilation (recorded at the Glockensee Festival in March 1980) and their first EP Samen In Darm, both on NoFun Records. A long pause begins shortly afterwards. In 1984 the Cretins came back with a slight change in line-up and Weird System released the superb Split 7Inch with the befriended band Blut+Eisen and two more songs on the Keine Experiemente! II compilation. A year later this 10Inch followed on white vinyl, 1000 copies, and with six melodic pieces that clearly no longer have the hard punk sound of their initial phase and are already clearly taking a different musical direction. Another single followed in 1987 and then the Cretins were buried to devote themselves to new projects, which that is will come soon.

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EPPU NORMAALI - Aknepop 1978

Aknepop is Eppu Normaali's first album which was released on Poko Rekords and "has fourteen straighforward Ramones and Sex Pistols influenced seventies goodies with Finnish lyrics full of youthful energy and political zeitgeist comedy influenced by a Finnish proto-punk/rock&roll band Virtanen." Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular bands -- perhaps the most popular -- in the history of Finnish rock music. They have recorded thirteen studio albums since their inception in 1976 -- nine of these have gone platinum and the rest gold. They've sold over a million albums in Finland, which is a significant amount for a country of five million, and are the rare Finnish act able to sell out 30,000 tickets in a stadium concert. They began as an irreverent punk band that turned toward guitar-oriented rock. Finns have called them "the poor man's Dire Straits," although their output is far more varied than that of Mark Knopfler. Their debut was among the earliest & most popular records on the early young Finnish punk scene. Their sarcastic and hilarious songs, such as "Poliisi Pamputtaa Taas" ("The Police Pounces Again") were beloved by both the music press and the kids, while the mainstream and adult contemporary crowds were either unimpressed or hostile. (JT Lindroos) - Sexy Stuff!

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