Skate Or Die

My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a 12-song playlist around some theme. This week, Jeremy Lowe presents his mixtape accompaniment to his first published short story, “Skate Or Die”.

Music has always been a large part of my life. More specifically, punk rock and its many variations. So, when I was presented with the opportunity to write a short story for the punxploitation literary anthology KIDS FROM THE BLACK HOLE, published by St. Rooster Books, I jumped at the chance.

 As much as this was in my wheelhouse, I had never written any sort of fiction before. So, I reached back in the farthest trenches of my memory, and pulled out the carcass of an idea I had when I was in 6th grade. For Halloween, Mrs. Huntington had us get into groups and write scary stories. I teamed up with the metal head skate boarders. They weren’t very bright, but they could draw well. So, I came up with the story of demonic skaters, and they illustrated it.

Thirty years later, this childhood memory was updated with extra gore and violence. Also, now with a better understanding of music, I was able to make my debut short story Skate Or Die, a brutal coming of age story that has a perfect soundtrack coursing through it from beginning to end. The following is a playlist to perfectly accompany my first short story. Read, listen, and smash it up!

Please note: In the Spotify Playlist, “All Murder, All Guts, All Fun” and “Clockwork Orange Horrorshow” are covers of the original versions—both of which can be found in the YouTube playlist below.

1. “Push th’ Little Daisies” by Ween

When the reader is first introduced to Eugene Malanson, the protagonist of Skate Or Die, he is an outsider that doesn’t fit in. He isn’t quite aggressive enough to be into real heavy music. So, basically anything weird that gets played on MTV he orders from Columbia House. He’s definitely listening to a lot of Ween, and “Push th’ Little Daisies” is his favorite song by them…because it was on Beavis And Butthead.

2. “Spellbound” by Siouxsie And The Banshees

The next major character the reader meets is Eugene’s best gal pal Suzanne Geoffreys. Suzanne is a small-town goth girl and prefers to spell her name “Sioux”, just like her post-punk/goth rock hero Siouxsie Sioux. She’s dark and mysterious, but at the same time down to earth. Her musical taste is mostly influenced by her older brother who sends her mixed tapes from college. “Spellbound” is the epitome of goth girl rock.

3. “Terminal Preppie” by Dead Kennedys

After Eugene meets up with Sioux, he enquires as to where the rest of their friends are. She informs him that Brian and Anthony now hang out with the jocks. No song encapsulates my hatred for preppies like Dead Kennedys’ “Terminal Preppie”. As the author of Skate Or Die, “Terminal Preppie” represents everything I hated in all the khaki clones that tried so hard to fit in while in high school.

4. “Evil” by 45 Grave

After being disappointed upon finding out two of his friends turned preppie, Sioux points out that others went the opposite direction. Kurt and Steve had gone punk. In the story Kurt is wearing a 45 Grave t-shirt. Most people into death punk know 45 Grave’s song “Partytime” from the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) soundtrack. There’s a demonic element to Kurt becoming a punk rocker, so I would say that their song “Evil” is the best fit for this character. 

5. “I Don’t Wanna Feel The Pain Anymore” by The Undead

Steve on the other hand, is wearing a t-shirt by the band The Undead. As far as horror punk goes, The Undead is greatly underrated. I made a conscious decision not to mention horror punk icons The Misfits in the story. I went with The Undead, which was founded by the original guitarist for The Misfits, Bobby Steele. The Undead’s “Don’t Wanna Feel the Pain Anymore” perfectly exemplifies teen angst.

6. “You May Be Right” by Billy Joel

In a quick blurb, I mention how that prior to Steve and Kurt’s transformation into punk rockers they were sci-fi/comic book nerds who listened to whatever their moms bought for them. Billy Joel would be a perfect example of the type of thing these kids’ parents would pick up. As true as this is, I will always think that “You May Be Right” is a badass tune. It still has that punk rock energy of amped up rock ‘n’ roll.

7. “Clockwork Orange Horror Show” by The Templars

Before the first day of high school starts, Kurt and Steve skip out. Eugene notices the words “Clockwork City Death Punx” painted on the back of their leather jackets as they ride off on their skateboards into the mist.

I moved to Chicago in the summer of ’99 and discovered punk rock street gangs. I wanted to start one of my own called “Windy City Clockwork Punx”. It never came to fruition but here is my little nod to that. I love punk rock songs influenced by A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971), and The Templars’ raw oi anthem is one of the best.

8. “All Murder All Guts All Fun” by Samhain

Once again, trying to tiptoe around mentioning The Misfits, I have the character of Zero Boy—leader of the story’s punk rock gang of demonic skateboarders—wearing a Samhain t-shirt. Samhain was Danzig’s horror punk band between The Misfits and going solo. The music is a little heavier and a little darker. Figured it fit the character of Zero Boy well. No song by Samhain better fits Zero Boy’s taste for violent chaos like “All Murder All Guts All Fun”.

9. “I Need Energy” by Zero Boys

The leader of the Clockwork City Death Punx is a Swedish punk rocker that goes by the name Zero Boy. This character is actually influenced by a Swedish skateboarding punk rocker that moved to the small town in which I grew up. I took the character’s name from the criminally undervalued punk band Zero Boys, and their song “I Need Energy” (a.k.a “Inergy”) is perfect. He feeds off of the hate and rage from those with whom he surrounds himself.

10. “Dance With Me” by T.S.O.L.

When Eugene joins the gang, he’s given a new identity. Part of that new identity is a new set of clothes. Part of this outfit is a T.S.O.L. shirt. Keeping with the death punk theme, I figured this would be the best match for him.

Most people may know T.S.O.L. best from their appearance in the 1983 Penelope Spheeris punxploitation classic, SUBURBIA. “Dance With Me” is spooky, aggressive, and a great theme for this moment in Eugene’s life.

11. “Lucretia My Reflection” by Sisters Of Mercy

After a crazy night, Eugene and Sioux are ready to unwind. Being a tried-and-true goth girl, Sioux suggests they listen to Sisters of Mercy. Sisters of Mercy are one of those classic goth rock bands that sort of just make everything ok. Personally, my favorite song by them is “Lucretia My Reflection”. It may come across as basic—but the fact that you can dance to this song makes it the most enjoyable for me.

12. “Bunnies” by Pansy Division

So, despite Sioux wanting to listen Sisters of Mercy, Eugene suggests they listen to Pansy Division. This is his way of coming out to her. She finds this humorous, because she already knew he was gay.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Pansy Division, I always found them too poppy for my taste. This was a less direct way for me to reveal Eugene’s sexuality, and I like that. When I would DJ a punk rock night at gay bars in Chicago, the one Pansy Division song most requested was always “Bunnies”.

I hope this playlist gives you a good idea of what my first short story “Skate or Die” is all about. If you are interested in reading it, physical copies and digital versions of Kids of the Black Hole, a punxploitation anthology from St. Rooster Books, are available through Amazon.

YouTube playlist for Jeremy Lowe’s “Skate or Die” mixtape.