Nothing worse than sitting at a bar next to some kid explaining how punk these days is great. Yeah, right, some tattooed, dreadlock-head screaming over heavy metal that sounds like Metallica on steroids. So you try to explain how punk started in the 1970s, full of this radio-music-sucks, my-life-sucks vibe that brought about three-minute songs that kind of sucked in a good way. The kid looks at me the same way I looked at my dad when he talked about '50s-era Sinatra.

What I can't tell the kid is what it was like growing up in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1970s. Too weird. Reacting to stagnant music and rust belt depression, bands like Rocket from the Tombs, The Dead Boys, Pere Ubu, Tin Huey, and Devo created an industrial garage rock that would eventually influence bands like The Ramones and The Talking Heads. The Cleveland punk sound was "young, loud, and snotty," a peculiar mix of techno-pop, searing and fast guitar riffs, and wailing vocals.

One punk/pop band that played in Cleveland without much notoriety back then was the Backdoor Men. They were a decent bar band, but they never broke out. The Backdoor Men started in 1977, put out a few albums, and were gone by 1987.

So what do old punks do decades later, now that they're in their 40s and 50s? The Backdoor Men have decided to write 16 new songs in the "life-sucks" genre, brought up to date. Think life stunk in your 20s? Well, think again, middle-age guys. Mohawk Combover is testimony to the fact that dealing with crappy jobs, wives who can't stand you, and rotten teenage kids is worse. And all done with strong, punk music that is more inventive than the original style.

Singer/guitarists Dan Cook and Terry Hartman drive Mohawk Combover all over the place. "Pissin' blood and puking bile / Teenage kids are running wild," Cook wails in "Shit Outta Luck." A depressing ballad called "End of the Line" speaks of a bad marriage: "I'll break you down, you wait and see / And drag you down right with me." In another bad relationship song "Not Fed Up with You Yet," the solution is "just bring me a beer and a cigarette / 'Cuz I'm not fed up with you yet."

Not that all on Mohawk Combover is angry and depressing. "Fuck the French" is fast and snotty, "Oklahoma Jack" is ludicrous ("San Francisco / Cans of Crisco" is the chorus), and "Bus Station Gyration" pokes obscene fun at musicians. What the Backdoor Men have done is bring back a sound that grabs you and shakes you no matter how old you are. Some young people might think that the lyrics ain't for them. My reaction to that is from my-life-sucks past and present viewpoint. Who cares what you think, you little punk pretender? And buy me a beer and I'll tell you more bad stories.