Song: "Hail To The King"
Artist: No Use For A Name
Album: "Live In A Dive"
Year: 2001
Place Of Origin: San Jose, California
Years Active: 1986 - 2012
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
"Hail To The King" appears to be a song about two different views of a sexual relationship. The girl doesn't really love the man, but loves what he can do for her. He has power and pull. She sees sex as a tool to get what she wants from him or out of him. The man sees her as just another number or notch in his belt. He has no feelings whatsover for her, but he knows he can have her so he does. It's just pure lust to him. The girl may regret her actions in the future, but in the present, she will do whatever she has to do to get where she wants. For my song of the week, I chose a live version of "Hail To The King" which appeared on No Use For A Name's live album, "Live In A Dive". The song has roots back to the band's 1988 self-titled EP, which featured Chris Dodge on vocals. The song was re-recorded for the band's debut full length album, "Incognito", as well with Tony Sly on vocals.
NO USE FOR A NAME DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1990 - Incognito (New Red Archives)
1992 - Don't Miss The Train (New Red Archives)
1993 - The Daily Grind (Fat Wreck Chords)
1995 - Leche Con Carne (Fat Wreck Chords)
1997 - Making Friends (Fat Wreck Chords)
1999 - More Betterness (Fat Wreck Chords)
2001 - Live In A Dive (Fat Wreck Chords)
2002 - Hard Rock Bottom (Fat Wreck Chords)
2005 - Keep Them Confused (Fat Wreck Chords)
2008 - The Feel Good Record Of The Year (Fat Wreck Chords)
2017 - Rarities Vol. 1: The Covers (Fat Wreck Chords)
CURRENT STATUS OF NO USE FOR A NAME:
No Use For A Name formed as a band in 1986 and right from the jump, their was lots of inner turmoil with band members seemingly coming in and going out. But, in 1987, Tony Sly would join the band, originally as a guitarist. The band dropped a couple of EP's and by '89, songwriting and vocal duties would be turned over to Tony Sly. This is when things got serious for No Use, but not quite right off the bat. The band's first two albums, 1990's "Incognito" and 1992's "Don't Miss The Train" were clearly a band trying to find themselves and especially Tony Sly trying to find his voice. These albums were essentially hardcore punk albums. That's not quite what the band was however. In 1993, No Use hooked up with Fat Wreck Chords and released "The Daily Grind". You can start to hear a band coming together with this album. Soon after this album, punk rock began having a bit of a revival with bands like Green Day, Rancid, Bad Religion and The Offspring putting out massive hit albums. Fat Wreck would soon catch the wave, with bands like NOFX, Lagwagon, Swingin' Utters and No Use For A Name ready to corner the skate punk market. In 1995, No Use dropped "Leche Con Carne" and they had officially found their sound. The video for their song "Soulmate" started getting in rotation on MTV's alternative video show "120 Minutes". In fact, "Soulmate" was the very first video of any Fat Wreck Chord band to air on MTV. The band was at it's height during these next few years. The line-up of Tony Sly on guitar/vocals, Chris Shiflett on lead guitar, Matt Riddle on bass and Rory Koff on drums is really the definitive No Use line-up. I'll slide Dave Nassie in their as well as he took over lead guitar when Chris Shiflett joined the Foo Fighters. 1997's "Making Friends", 1999's "More Betterness" and 2001's "Hard Rock Bottom" are essential punk rock albums, period. To this point, Tony Sly's songwriting had been mostly personal as well as socially aware, but he hadn't been overly political. This changed with 2005's "Keep Them Confused". The band's last studio effort together would be 2008's "The Feel Good Record Of The Year". At this point, Sly was beginning to focus more on his solo career and doing acoustic shows. No Use would still play some shows and festivals, but you could tell Tony's heart was in his acoustic material. On July 31, 2012, tragedy befell the band when Tony Sly passed away in his sleep. Just a total black day in the world of punk rock music. The band obviously could no longer go on without Tony. They did perform four tribute concerts as No Use and Friends, most notably celebrating Tony's life at the 25th anniversary show for Fat Wreck Chords. Matt Riddle, Rory Koff, Chris Rest and Dave Nassie were joined by punk frontmen like Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Jason Cruz (Strung Out) and Fat Mike (NOFX) to perform No Use classics. In 2017, Fat Wreck released "Rarities Vol. 1: The Covers" which features the many songs that No Use covered over their career. The "Vol. 1" suggests that maybe there is more No Use material that will surface one day. No Use For A Name. Let me just say it. This is one of my favorite bands of all time. They are top 5 for me. In any genre. When I was younger, No Use was just the soundtrack. What set them apart for me was the songs. Tony Sly, in my mind, is the best songwriter in punk music. His lyrics were so strong and personal. His sense of melody was incredible. "Leche Con Carne", "Making Friends", "More Betterness" and "Hard Rock Bottom" are four of my favorite albums and to this day get heavy rotation in my car and on my itunes when i'm at home. These four albums are just greatness to me. If you don't think so, hey, that's your problem and your loss because those are classic albums. When Tony Sly passed away it left a hole in the music world. Definitely in my world. Selfishly, I want one more album. One more show. One more song. Still sad over his death but grateful he left us with a whole bunch of great songs.
TEN NO USE FOR A NAME SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. A Postcard Would Be Nice
2. Let Me Down
3. Chasing Rainbows
4. Friends Of The Enemy
5. Justified Black Eye
6. On The Outside
7. Soulmate
8. Invincible
9. Room 19
10. Biggest Lie
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