UPDATE JULY 15, 2009:
I have turned this account over to former No Trend bassist, Jack Anderson. This has therefore become the "official" No Trend page!
I hope that information about No Trend will continue to increase in accuracy and availability. Let us also hope that some reissues may be forthcoming.
Zack Sunderman - www.bastionrecordings.com
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THIS PROFILE:
This is not an official No Trend Myspace page. This page is run by a No Trend fan from the United States. Given the lack of information (especially GOOD information) about this band available, I've taken it upon myself to make the definitive online resource for this sadly overlooked band.
I have permission from a band member to post the music I have posted. I will also provide guides to No Trend's music, should you decide to track it down another way.
I would like to profusely thank Jack Anderson, No Trend's bassist from '83-'84, for his invaluable help with this page, and his enthusiasm toward it. He's a great guy and I strongly encourage you to check out his new band HUG, ..1 on the Top 8 below!
Finally, this page is dedicated to Frank Price and Greg Miller, guitarist and drummer of the classic '83-'84 No Trend line-up, who both died tragically at the end of the 1980's. Thank you for giving us your music while you were here.
NO TREND:
No Trend surfaced in the Washington, DC area in the early 1980's. They were associated with the underground hardcore punk scene of the time, but were not accepted by the cliques that existed. They didn't care, either. No Trend viewed all cliques, even the ones that supposedly consisted of rebels, as conformist and ridiculous. The insert for their first 7", which contains numerous clippings from teen magazines about how to dress "punk," is all the clue one needs as to how they felt about the "scene." Rumor has it that they used to invite members of the DC hardcore scene to their shows, and then place airport runway lights on stage facing the audience.
Their first release was a 7". "Teen Love," which covered the entirety of side B at 33 RPM, actually became a college hit. One of the most interesting songs ever written, it pairs a pensive, slightly melancholy melody with No Trend's definitive statement of their view of society: A teen couple are reduced to robotic machines, slaves to current trends and societal expectations, their humanity gutted by the emotionless vocal. The songs on side A were uncompromising sledgehammers of noise, cynicism, and absolute brutality.
All three of these songs were later re-recorded and released on the "Teen Love" 12" along with two new songs, "Die" and "Let's Get Crazy."
The next year, they released their first full-length, "Too Many Humans." While Trouser Press denounces this LP as a lesser knock-off of Flipper and Public Image Limited, I strongly disagree. Comparisons to these bands are unavoidable, considering No Trend was also a highly experimental, noisy, and stand-offish band, but they had a sound all their own. "Too Many Humans" showcases No Trend at a new low, spitting venom all over the hollow and silly nature of American society with disjointed phrases that come one after the other, making a point without ever really saying anything directly at all. Pounding drums, raucous basslines, and completely unhinged guitar push every track over the edge. Songs like "Reality Breakdown" and "Fashion Tips for the 80's" had the speed and power of their previous tracks, but they broke some new ground with the warped funk song "Mindless Little Insects" and "Happiness Is...," which features happy-go-lucky clips from news segments in place of regular vocals.
Steven Blush, manager of No Trend and author of American Hardcore, mentions in his book that they briefly caught the attention of Jello Biafra, who never ended up releasing any of their material on Alternative Tentacles. However, they did more substantially catch the eye of no-wave goddess Lydia Lunch, former vocalist/guitarist of the seminal New York band Teenage Jesus & The Jerks. She collaborated with them as a vocalist on their next LP, "A Dozen Dead Roses," and released a compilation of rare No Trend material called "When Death Won't Solve Your Problem."
No Trend had run into a problem at this point in their existence. Their fierce rebellion turned them into a bit of a trend in their own right. Hipster aficionados of noise rock made No Trend into their cool new band to name-drop. Disgusted, No Trend responded by alienating even those people. To do so, vocalist and ringleader Jeff Mentges also (for better or worse) revamped the band's line-up.
"A Dozen Dead Roses" was the first of this new series of attacks, featuring keyboards and wailing lead guitars in an unbelievably complex parody of new wave, 80's funk, and hair metal. They continued in this vein with their 1986 LP "Tritonian Nash - Vegas Polyester Complex." If fans had been surprised (and horrified) at "Roses," and hoped it was only a one-time affair, they must have collapsed in despair upon hearing the full album's worth of lounge jazz, over-the-top funk, and English-style ska that came forth from the needle. Full horn sections dominate the album in support of No Trend's continual crusade against stupidity and norms - only now, the violence of their music was replaced with a solid groove!
No Trend wrapped up their existence finally with an LP called "More." As if they couldn't get more alienating, this time they tried their hand at a full-fledged rock opera called "No Hopus Opus." Befitting such a band, this amazingly strange album could not find a single label interested in releasing it until 2001.
No Trend, besides being brilliant musically and lyrically, and damn fun to listen to, represents to me a perfect example of individuality in music. Completely honest, fed up with the ridiculousness around them, and unflinching in their ways, No Trend reflects the most rebellious of the most rebellious personalities. Though these personalities ultimately affected and clashed with each other, what they left behind is undeniable. And inspiring.
NO TREND DISCOGRAPHY:
Self-titled 7", 1983
Teen Love EP, 1983
Too Many Humans LP, 1984
A Dozen Dead Roses LP, 1985
Heart of Darkness EP, 1985
Tritonian Nash Vegas Polyester Complex LP, 1986
More CD, 1987 (released 2001)
When Death Won't Solve Your Problem compilation LP
Teen Love - The Early Months compiliation CD
GUIDE TO NO TREND'S MUSIC:
Legend has it, correctly or not, that No Trend hurled the remaining copies of their records at the crowd at one of their last shows, and then taped over their masters. Their releases, in general, are nearly impossible to find. When you do find them, chances are they'll be in the hands of collector scum who seek to charge you anywhere from $50 to $100 for a single fucking record.
There is a serious lack of information about No Trend's releases online (or, in other cases, a serious abundance of DIS-information). This is my attempt to set things straight.
"Tritonian Nash..." is still in print on CD and easily available. "More" is hard to find, but considerably easier than their other releases. It only exists on CD. A compilation CD of early songs is in print and relatively easy to come by, called "Teen Love/Early Months." However, this is not a legitimate release. "Early Months" is the product of Teenbeat Records agreeing to put out a tape provided to them by disgruntled former drummer Michael Salkind. It does contain some unreleased tracks and 7" material, but Jack Anderson described it to me as "embarrassing."
I recommend tracking down the originals if you are at all able. The packaging of No Trend records is almost as important as the music inside. Plus, many essential No Trend songs are only available on the original vinyl releases. Some sellers on GEMM.com have copies.
However, if this is not possible for you, there's always Soulseek. Soulseek tends to attract users who have harder to find, underground releases, unlike other file sharing programs. Unfortunately, every collection of No Trend mp3's I've come across on Soulseek has been painfully incorrect. Here is a guide to help you figure it out:
The versions of "Mass Sterilization," "Cancer," and "Teen Love" from the "Teen Love/Early Months" CD are from the first 7". The first 7" does not have a song called "Let's Get Crazy."
"When Death Won't Solve Your Problem" includes the 12" versions of "Mass Sterilization" and "Teen Love" as well as "Die." It has an alternate version of "Cancer" as well (not the same as the 7" or 12" versions). Other than that, it mostly consists of tracks culled from "Too Many Humans" and "A Dozen Dead Roses," although it does open up with the essential "Two Seconds Till Non-Existence," which is not available elsewhere.
"Too Many Humans" includes way more songs than Soulseek users have. When you find that LP on Soulseek, it's usually only side A of the LP, minus the song "Blow Dry," with "Happiness Is..." from side B inexplicably tacked onto the end. It's missing the rest of side B: "Too Many Humans," "For the Fun of it All," and "Mindless Little Insects."
The "Heart of Darkness" EP is just the four songs from "A Dozen Dead Roses" that feature Lydia Lunch, on a 12". It contains no material that is not also on "A Dozen Dead Roses."
Maybe someday No Trend's material will be rescued from the danger of becoming permanently unavailable. In the meantime, good luck and happy hunting!
