There was an awesome indie/punk record store called Poptones just across the Canadian border in St. Catharines, Ontario. Back in the late '80s it was really easy to get across the border, this was a pre 9/11 world and all you needed was some kind of id and a ride. If you weren't waiving a firearm around in your vehicle the border crossing was painless. It was a rarity that we would make it up there, but the instances that we did were fun. The exchange rate used to make us feel like wealthy overlords. We'd make it to the record store and then skateboard around feeling like cultural and international attaché. I remember on one of our trips I bought a Samhain t-shirt (which I subsequently turned pink in my first attempt at laundry) and this #forgottenrebels album on cassette. The Forgotten Rebels were a great snotty Canadian punk band that would make pretty regular appearances in Buffalo. I caught them a couple time at the now defunct River Rock Cafe. Snotty tongue in cheek songs about faux - nationalism and necrophilia. Offensive and catchy so immediately endeared to us. We would gleefully sing the chorus to "fuck me dead" while carving our skateboards through crowds of people. Just to be "shocking", just to offend and annoy. It felt glorious at the time. We weren't really interested in pushing the envelope for sub-cultural acceptance, we were just peacocking for imaginary girls. And really, isn't that the most powerful force in teenage life? This record has my favorite 'Rebel's song: the title track "in love with the system".
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