We recently caught up with Useless ID lead guitarist Ishay Berger to get his take on the songs that got him in to punk rock. Check his list out here.
1. Conflict – “Against All Odds”
“When I started playing with Useless ID in 95′, Guy, who had formed the band a year earlier gave me a mix tape that he made, and with this amazing track i started my life-long obsession with the English anarcho scene.”
2. Funeral Oration – “Still In A Punk Band”
“From another mix tape i was given! I always loved the Americanpunk scene, but even as a younger kid, it gave me (and i guess other Israeli punk kids, too) hope and joy to find out more about the international punk scene, this band has always been one of my favorite Dutch bands. VERY underrated!”
3. Circle Jerks – “The Crowd”
“Everyone knows that “Group Sex” is the ultimate hardcore LP, but for some reason, this song off their fourth LP was my favorite Circle Jerks song throughout my early days…maybe because it was ALSO on Guy’s mixtape!”
4. Doggy Style – “Schaeffer’s Revenge”
“When i was about 16 I was invited to check out a record collection that an older punk rocker had decided to sell. I bought a bunch of my all time favorite records on that day, including Jawbreaker’s “24 revenge therapy”, but one record that totally stood out was the second by this WAY underrated band.”
5. B.G.K – “Arms Race”
“I was very happy when my all time favorite Israeli punk band (Nekhei Naatza) lost their bass player and asked me to play some shows with them. This was a song that we covered at shows and it opened me up to this awesome and legendary band from Holland and introduced me to a KILLER compilation called “Peace-war”. This one’s a rager.”
6. Social Unrest – “I Am The Nation“
“Many people overlook this album, but for me it was the first one to get from them and also my favorite. It’s funny because so many bands like them and Toxic Reasons are loved for their early albums but I’m so much more into their later – UK influenced stuff, and not so much for their early US hardcore stuff. I’m weird.”
7. F.Y.P – “Beat You With a Plunger”
“What a great fucking band!!!! When Useless ID flew over to California for the very first time, this was the first show we went to, at the Whiskey in L.A. We were VERY excited to see Todd C. and F.Y.P. They played about 3 songs before thrashing the stage and stopping the show.”
8. I SPY – “Appliances and Cars”
“I didn’t know much about I SPY but was already a big follower of Propagandhi so when they released a split 10′ I rushed to buy it, learned all the lyrics…and guitar parts!”
9. Spitboy – their side on the Los Crudos split
“I never heard anything like Spitboy until I heard their side on the split LP with Los Crudos, and I still haven’t heard anything as pissed off, beautiful, different and cool by now. I guess things like Spitboy are like that, they come by, change your life and then disappear.”
10. Lagwagon – “Island Of Shame”
“When Yotam from my band played this song for me that was it.I was THRASHED! We were all big fans of Bad religion and NOFX by that point in 95′, but this just really hit me so hard with progressive musicianship and a killer massage, i thought that this be the best thing i heard in my life right there and then. I’m still a huge fan of everything this amazing band do and every time they play this song live it’s goose-bumps galore for me.”
11. Crazy Arm – “Southway Drive”
“I wanted to be sure to include a band that just made me fall in love with punk AGAIN, and they are our good friends and amazing bunch of punk rock musicians – Crazy Arm from the UK. This band is meant to be played in every punk house all over the planet. Great, relevant and beautiful.”