Record Lection #70-Flipper “Generic Flipper”

Before you even lay a needle on the black grooves of Generic Flipper you are already confronted by their nihilistic sentiment. Pull it’s sleeve out of the bin and you are met with the cynical words “Album” “Generic” and “Flipper” written in the most basic of fonts on a field of safety yellow, perhaps the most antagonistic color in our spectrum. Even the oversized barcode in the corner seems to be laughing at your misguided consumerism! However, that facetiously iconic fish logo swimming in the corner reveals that there is definitely more of a sense of humor to this band than their relentlessly agit-propist reputation would suggest. Unlike Rage Against The Machine, who claimed to be fans and torch-bearers, Flipper weren’t beneficiaries of schooled musicianship, bored jocks, or major label sound production to obscure the necessary messages they were trying to convey. RATM also didn’t live in the Reagan 80’s where disillusionment, Cold War threats, and unconscious consciousness like We Are The World were the status quo, a time where incendiary thought provoking was desperately more essential (no internet!). They also didn’t have lyricists like Bruce Loose and Will Shatter, who are perhaps the most skilled arbiters of Neitschian poetry in the 20th century and should be studied and seen as such. Try to find a more hopeless song than “That’s The Way Of The World” or a bleaker sentiment than “Life is Cheap-sold a decade at a time”… the icy delivery gives me pure chills every time. In spite of all of this rhetoric, Generic Flipper will always be best known for it’s most “danceable” track Sex Bomb, which while being an excellent song, might contain just enough fun to obscure their overall message. Tons of punks got the memo loud and clear though, and then recorded countless albums dedicated to its influence and aesthetic. I love refreshing nihilism when I hear it!

 

Record Lection #64-Descendants “I Don’t Want To Grow Up”

An old blue VW Bus can be a veritable wellspring of memories when being commandeered by carefree adolescents. You can fit a lot of people in one those, enough for carefree trips to small bodies of water, concerts, and far off corners of the state. The things practically BEG for adventure! Every one of the teenage dreams need a soundtrack to play through those paper thin speakers and in my recollection, no cassette was played more at the time than Juices Descendants mix, which collected the best parts of this record and the slightly superior and earlier LP “Milo goes to College”. While “Milo” has more of an immediate edge (1982=better year), my nostalgia for these times is almost always peppered with verses from the hyper-infectious “Good Good Things”, a song that pretty much encompasses everything that the Descendants were about-Southern California punk music with melodic sensibilities augmented with a sad and nerdy edge that seperated them from the rest of the hardcore scene that they were associated with (Offspring would later take this formula and run straight to bank) This music was practically tailor made for young and slightly melancholy males who are just starting to find out about the joys and tragedies of the opposite sex…….and also read Thrasher magazine (If you listen close enough you can literally hear the nose bones grinding on the mixing desk). We laughed at the simplicity of the cover art, played it’s contents as loud as possible, and marveled at Milo Ackerman’s ability to eloquently compress all of our pubescent feelings into short minute long bursts of gritty nasality. Quite simply, if a girl hurt our feelings, purposely or not, we were probably listening to this. That means that these songs were around a lot and even though I may never have to listen to his record again, every time I see it my collection I feel that awkwardness again and I just wanna go Ollie something.

Record Lection #63-Misfits “Legacy Of Brutality”

Even thought Glen Danzig is one of the most parodied and ridiculed rock n roll icons of all time, his first band is almost unanimously celebrated by everyone that likes hard music. The appeal is easy to see, his marriage of opera-level bravado and ultra-comic book ridiculousness is unmatched save for maybe Iron Maiden or Rammstein. But instead of D&D style megalomania, Glens world had a touch of street gang coolness and his brand of horror touched on a human evil that is more devious and terrestrial. That B Movie type of vision, blister-grind touring, a signature haircut (the devil lock), and one of the most iconic logos of all time secures The Misfits as one the most important and celebrated bands of all time. As well as one the most badass! Now, is Glen Danzig a genius or was it just perfect timing? Living in New Jersey, He most certainly would’ve witnessed and understood The Ramones and The Cramps, who formed just a couple of years earlier a little north up the interstate and shared Glen’s vehemently delirious take on 1950’s American teen culture, but perhaps decided that maybe their music had a little too much humor in it and decided to add a more serial-killer gargoyle tone to his brand of punk rock. Lucky for us, what exploded when he put the chemicals into the lab turned into some of the most important music in the 20th century! (If you ponder it’s influence on any of your favorite metal or punk bands you would have to agree with that statement) Whether this makes him a genius or not is up for considerable debate but the flawless talons that permeate through the entirety of Legacy Of Brutality are not. He may have been a dick who rerecorded all of the material on his own without asking the others (although the results prove that this may have been a good thing), but the fact is that very few debut records carry this much vitriol and and immediacy, yet are incredibly listenable ans accessible at the same time. This is certainly not an easy feat, and maybe only achieved by the most clowned upon rock star in music

Record Lection #35-Jonathan Richman “Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers”

When I think about my most favorite pieces of art, literature, or music Im usually trying to analyze or spiritually extract what I think is the purity of that expression. Does this piece feel honest? How is pretension used and how pretension is there? How respectful is this piece to the history and culture of the medium? Jonathan Richman is a true artist, a Rock N Roll apostle and almost completely devoid of any pretentiousness. Plus, he has laid the groundwork for any musician who aspires to be honest with themselves. As Bob Dylan was to Woody Guthrie, Jonathan was to The Velvet Underground. Many bands have taken to apeing the more avant garde and noisy aspects of what the Velvets were trying to accomplish but Richman took to the more literary and groovy ideas Lou Reed and Co. had to offer. He heard good simple rock n roll songs about the singers immediate environment. Jonathon’s happened to be situated in a  wholesome New England landscape. While Lou was waiting for the man on a rough avenue, Jonathan was waiting for the woman by the library and he was just fine hanging around and kicking stones in the street. To me, he didn’t really come into his own voice until he disbanded the original Lovers, the stripped down band and sound he formed later left more room for his optimism and wisdom to expand. I also don’t have to explain how beautiful he is on this record cover. One time he told me that he asked Lou Reed if he needed hard drugs to write good music and Lou said “no”. Thus, Jonathan never got into drugs. To me, this says so much about both artists. I mean, How different would history be if Lou said “yes”!!!!?

Record Lection #30 Richard Hell & The Voidoids “Blank Generation”

There is a particular group of punk friends that I have that seem to be divided into two sects of personalities,Tom Verlaine of Television and my personal favorite Richard Hell. Both of these artists were best of friends when they were younger and accompanied each other on their pilgrimage to New York City during the halcyon days of the punk rock/CBGBs/art scene of the mid 70s. While they began their magical journey as a single unit called The Neon Boys, their intrinsic polar differences led them down disparate life paths. Hell left to form his own group,The Voidoids and Verlaine continued on as the juggernaut Television. In my eyes the differences are simple, Verlaine is the cerebral, innovative artist while Richard Hells modus operandi begins and ends below the waist. Televisions grand opus “Marquee Moon” is a sparkling display of soaring guitar work and mechanical drums mixed with Verlaines attempt at paying homage to the great poets he so worshipped (his stage name is a nod to one of his favorites). “Blank Generation” however, is a slice of raw sex served on a plate of street libations. Richard isn’t trying to push your mind forward, rather he is trying to push you back against a brick wall and lift up your skirt in a dark alley. Tunes like “Love Comes In Spurts” and “New Pleasures” are obvious testaments to this. He was also a very sly bass player (Tom played Guitar) in band more adept at a ramshackle blues swagger than the robotic precision of their rivals “down at the rock n roll club”. This album is the definition of the word wild. It’s the type of record where once you lay the needle down on the groove the picture on the cover comes alive with style and attitude (Hells spiky hair/ripped jeans/bobby pin look was stolen by Malcolm Mclaren for The Sex Pistols). Not to be outdone on the literary department however, the title track is an appropriation of the beatnik anthem “Beat Generation”. This album is one of my Saturday Night LPs and has always provided me with that ultra cool feeling that helps me take on the night. I urge every rock n roll tripper to listen to “Another World” and believe me, that song will take you there. The word is YES! I love Television, I LIVE The Voidoids…

Record Lection #29 Ramones “Ramones”

When I was 12 years old I saw the movie Rock ‘N Roll High School on cable at a friends house and experienced the first crush I can really remember (“Riff Randle, Rock N Roller”). Of course at the time I don’t think I really understood what punk truly meant, the band I saw then were just like a gang of Arthur Fonzerellis and the movie is really just a cheaper, funnier version of Grease (another childhood favorite) I liked them but I didn’t take them seriously. Fast forward a few years to me coming across a vinyl copy of their first LP at one of my favorite record stores. The band on this cover wasn’t as cartoonish as the band in the movie and I remember examining it in awe. I’m kind of afraid of these guys now! Gone is the goofy smiles and quips, now we have a black and white menace sizing me up for some kind of back alley felonious behavior. This isn’t your suburban high school, this is 53rd and 3rd!! Where did they get those haircuts? Juvenile Hall? Dee Dee is definitely up to no good. Johnny obviously doesn’t give a fuck and Joey is cooler than you will ever be. Even Tommy’s little exposed belly button is daring you to laugh at him. He’s the one playing those awful, barbaric, and absolutely wonderful drums like he has turkey legs in his hands and cement blocks for shoes. The Guitars and Basses are smashing the shit out of my face and I love it. And I don’t know what the fuck Joey is singing but I don’t wanna go in that basement either……..or maybe I do! I’ve spent way too many hours listening to this album and clawing at my face. It may not be the best, but is by FAR my favorite and in my humble opinion represents what punk rock is all about or even hopes to be. End Of The Century, their beautifully assembled documentary, features live performances from this halcyon period and it is absolutely some of the most exciting music ever made. Thanks for everything, Ramones!! Literally.

Record Lection #22-Minor Threat “Out Of Step”

The wonderfully simplistic cover and song title basically said everything that I felt growing up in Lacey, Washington in the 90’s. In fact, now that I think about it that little black sheep running from the flock is me TODAY! (i still cant keep up!) I could go on and on about how this band not only opened up my little green mind to the magic of hardcore, and to this day I have yet to find a hardcore punk band I like better!! (Sorry Bad Brains!). I will also tell you that I think that they are on the short list of bands that stopped playing before they put out a bad song/record (i.e The Zombies, Hendrix, Nirvana) Before I could even process Minor Threat’s politics I can remember my friends and I being possessed by the sheer power of the sounds they were making! They were The Stooges with more empathy, The Sonics after the cops show up, The Misfits with a library card. Rage Against The Machine wished they were this relevant! I remember every time this record would end I would spend an inordinate amount of time fumbling through my collection looking for something that seemed worthy enough to follow this up. Everything I would put on just seemed a little…..weaker. A lot of concert pilgrimages, parties, and skate jams included at least a little bit of the Threat in the tape deck. I must say that We definitely got our $3.50 worth out of this one…..

Record Lection #15-The Sonics “Here Are The Sonics!”

There are many, many reasons that I love this record, but for spaces sake I will name just five. 1) They are from Tacoma, Washington and, growing up just 20 minutes south of their stomping grounds I am able to draw a constant streak of NW pride whenever I listen to these songs. 2) Gerry Roslies incredible vocal pyrotechnics. How did he summon such a demonic howl? The song “Strychnine” always makes my throat hurt a little bit. 3)This is absolutely the best snare sound ever captured to tape. 4) To this day, It’s still more punk than any punk band that has ever punked, and this shit was recorded in the 60’s!! And last and possibly the most important 5)It’s cheap and relatively easy to find these days. Anyone who claims to love a loud guitar and healthy scream should and probably does have this album in their collection in some format. How many times have I listened to “Have Love Will Travel?”. Well, the answer is probably embarrassing but I have no regrets and life has been all the better because of that songs incalculable influence. They still play shows, and these songs still have the old Evergreen grime to them!! These original recordings though….I mutter “wow” under my breath every time…

Record Lection #3-ESG “Come Away”

ESG “Come Away”-I received this record as a gift from a friend of mine who knew I would love it. I had already heard the self titled record EP and was already transformed by its optimistic minimalism. This however hit me hard as a fully realized album with a (slightly) matured sound. These songs were a little more refined, possibly a little sassier. Olivia and I would obsess over every nuance from the nasty bass, to the popcornish bongos, and the dont-fxxking-touch-me vocal delivery. In fact we absorbed the vibe do much that we formed the band C.O.C.O. in an attempt to emulate their grooves. I think what drew us in was the stark honesty and playfulness, much like The Shaggs with a healthy dose of James Brown. As a searcher for the perfect beat, I constantly look for what I would call sheer honesty in music. While quality music production is not necessarily reliant on the truth, you can sense that this talented family is performing what truly lies inside of them, they BELIEVE that they are funky and they don’t really fucking care what anyone thinks about that. The ham fisted cut and pasted and gaudy orange sleeve belies their punk rock influence and intention while the carefully placed boom box taking center stage of the composition tell you that these are strong black women from the streets of NYC. Their blackness ever present in the countless samples their simple songs have spawned.  Since Olivia and I’s fateful little discovery and subsequent appropriation, ESG has enjoyed a much deserved renaissance and started playing shows again to much admiration and acclaim and you can hear their pilfered styles in any band wanting to bridge the gap between slam and gogo dancing. I even heard they are playing their last show this summer. Unfortunately I won’t ever get a chance to see them but their effect on my philosophy of music and the world are incalculable. I will always be in debt to the Scroggins sisters and their brother Tito.

Record Lection #1-V/A “Wanna Buy A Bridge?”

I used to have this thing where I wouldn’t pay more than 10 dollars for a record. It seemed to be pretty logical “keep it cheap” you know? The great Madlib once said that he never paid more than 10 dollars (That ethos seems to be harder and harder as these days. One day I was in a record store in Columbus and this record was on the wall for 25 dollars. My friend said “That’s pretty good”.. I could tell by his reaction that this was going to be my favorite record. It was the best 25 dollars I have EVER spent, and the ripple effects of that purchase have a priceless effect on my life and my loves. When I finally got back home from that tour I spent many an hour trying to properly absorb every incendiary sound on this collection. Inspiration seemed to be attacking my brain from every angle. Essential Rough Trade classics like “Aerosol Burns” by Kleenex are paired with indispensable classics like “Part Time Punks” by Television Personalities. I listened to it over and over, feeling ever hard beat, every sarcastic vibration. This was the album that not only showed me how to be a punk, but also showed me that punk rock is a lifestyle and a general ethos rather than a fad or distinguishable style invented by society. No, punk is so many things, an attitude that cannot be tamed by gender. Yes, I DID wanna buy a bridge! But instead I got a fucking Interstate freeway straight into an identity I have and will keep until I have decided to hate art. I think that everything I have done musically since I’ve heard this comp can be traced back to one of these incredible songs. Today it is still one of my most favorite records in my collection and probably always will. It was fate that led my friend to push towards going over my used album budget and to this day I am still in debt to him even if he does not know it. I’m convinced he knew it would change my life.