along with THE GERMS and THE ADOLESCENTS, one of the more long-term CONSEQUENTIAL BANDS i learned about when visiting a CHILDHOOD FRIEND in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in 2001 was FEAR.  at that point in my life i had STINTS living in NIGERIA and KUWAIT as well as BOARDING SCHOOL in MASSACHUSETTS since leaving ORANGE COUNTY at the beginning of sixth grade.  the summer before my senior year of HIGH SCHOOL i went back and visited my FRIEND who by this point was a HARDCORE PUNK ROCK OBSESSIVE who schooled me on all things CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK, from FIRST WAVE GROUPS like THE BAGS, X, THE WEIRDOS, AGENT ORANGE and THE GUN CLUB to RICH KIDS ON LSD, TRUE SOUNDS OF LIBERTY, BATTALION OF SAINTS, WASTED YOUTH and DR. KNOW.  

but LEE VING and his band FEAR was another matter entirely. 

the FRONTMAN and MAIN SONGWRITER had this CONFRONTATIONAL PERSONA whereby he went FULL-BORE ARCH CONSERVATIVE with seemingly pro-REAGAN PRONOUNCEMENTS regarding everything from MILITARY ADVENTURISM, ECONOMIC and CLASS WARFARE to FEMINISM, IMMIGRATION and the NUCLEAR FAMILY.  VING's shtick was so purposefully VULGAR and OVER-THE-TOP that he was given the title of the "DON RICKLES of PUNK ROCK."  it was bordering on PARODY in the same way that COMEDIAN STEPHEN COLBERT's FORMER CHARACTER of the same NAME likewise lambasted that a PARTICULAR MINDSET by embodying such to the point of HYPERBOLE.  or at least i believe that is the CASE because with VING i never really know what is REAL or PERFORMANCE ART.

what's COOL is that on that 2001 visit to ORANGE COUNTY i was able to see both FEAR and THE ADOLESCENTS play (at SEPARATE shows), literally days after becoming FAMILIAR with their respective LANDMARK DEBUT ALBUMS, FEAR's THE RECORD (SLASH, 1982) and THE ADOLESCENTS' ADOLESCENTS (FRONTIER, 1981).  and VING, whom i saw in VENTURA at a WARPED TOUR stop, lived up to his billing with aggressively MISOGYNISTIC and BELLIGERENT  BETWEEN-SONG BANTER before ripping into CLASSIC TRACKS like "I LOVE LIVING IN THE CITY," "LET'S START A WAR," "I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU," and "NEW YORK'S ALL RIGHT IF YOU LIKE SAXOPHONES."  its a FULL-FRONTAL SONIC EXPERIENCE that is a bit OVERWHELMING and the SONGS's LYRICS are so RIDICULOUS that they becoming indelibly registered in your MEMORY, almost as JOKES.  i know FEAR is a MUCH-BELOVED PUNK ROCK INSTITUTION, but to me THE RECORD is almost like a WEEN or THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS release in terms of its COMEDIC LYRICAL PREMISE.  it feels like SOMEONE attempting to write the most CATCHY and OFFENSIVE ALBUM from the PERSPECTIVE of the most extremely RECALCITRANT and REVANCHIST REPUBLICAN ever conceived. 

at least pre-TRUMP.  like all things the TRUMPOCALYPSE rendered even 40+ year-old ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS like this to not hit as HARD as the current DIRE POLITICAL SITUATION is beyond SATIRE or CARICATURE, just unimaginably TRAGIC. 

sigh...

but yeah, THE RECORD is a CLASSIC PUNK ROCK ALBUM worthy of checking out for the UNINITIATED.  definitely worth a listen along with RELEASES by their CONTEMPORARIES in X, THE GERMS, AGENT ORANGE, SOCIAL DISTORTION and THE GUN CLUB.  in totality you get a sense of what a DIVERSE ARRAY of ARTISTS that FIRST WAVE out of LOS ANGELES actually was.

PUNK ROCK came in WAVES and when THE DAMNED played THE STARWOOD in LOS ANGELES back in 1977, becoming the first BRITISH PUNK BAND to do so, it was the catalyst that set off an IMMEDIATE CHAIN REACTION that in essence galvanized a DORMANT MUSICAL COMMUNITY in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  seemingly overnight LOCAL GROUPS based around HOLLYWOOD were formed such as THE GERMS, THE WEIRDOS, THE BAGS, THE SCREAMERS and so on, but the more INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT was the CONVERSION of previously existing BANDS like X. 

the all-so-brief FIRST WAVE of this PUNK ROCK SCENE was an INTIMATE and musically EXPERIMENTAL and DIVERSE AFFAIR, with BANDS MUTUALLY-SUPPORTIVE of one another.  this all would change irrevocably in the 1978 when outside SUBURBAN ACTS from NEARBY ORANGE COUNTY (ADOLESCENTS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, D.I., THE VANDALS, THE MIDDLE CLASS), the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (BAD RELIGION, THE DICKIES) and the outer limits of GREATER LOS ANGELES COUNTY (BLACK FLAG, DESCENDENTS, TRUE SOUNDS OF LIBERTY, CIRCLE JERKS) would infiltrate the SCENE and bring with them a more ABRASIVE and (for the most part) SONICALLY CONSERVATIVE VERSION of PUNK ROCK known thereafter as HARDCORE.

i make this DISTINCTION because that SECOND WAVE was so PERVASIVE and INFLUENTIAL thereafter, that PEOPLE mostly forget about or disregard that COMMUNITY of EXPERIMENTAL ARTISTS that made up that INITIAL SCENE.  and its not like MUSICAL CONVERSION is an ANOMALY.  look no further than THE CLASH who in a PREVIOUS ITERATION were THE 101ERS, a NOMINAL PUB ROCK OUTFIT with ROCKABILLY ROOTS fronted by the FORMER FOLKIE JOHN "WOODY" MELLOR, a fairly DERIVATIVE SONGWRITER who would go on to devise the more APPROPRIATE JOE STRUMMER PERSONA when PUNK ROCK (i.e. THE RAMONES) first ascended on LONDON in 1976.  i believe with X, their CONVERSION was not so CAVALIER and clearly OPPORTUNISTIC as that of STRUMMER's, but was actually the result of witnessing firsthand a NEW MUSICAL FORM that was more IMMEDIATE, EXPRESSIVE and AUTHENTIC than what came before.  PUNK was not a RECITAL or a SHOWCASE for TECHNICAL MUSICIANSHIP per se, but a VEHICLE for spurring CREATIVITY and instigating a LIKE-MINDED COMMUNITY to go out and celebrate being artistically GENUINE and IN-THE-MOMENT.

X in undeniably a LOS ANGELES band in the PROUD TRADITION of THE DOORS and LOVE that came before and later ICONIC, ART-DAMAGED BANDS like JANE'S ADDICTION, THELONIOUS MONSTER, FISHBONE and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS that came about a GENERATION later.  the DEEP CONFLICT, MEDIA CULTURE, VIOLENCE and DISILLUSIONMENT that make up the lived experience of being an ANGELENO is their wellspring of MATERIAL for MAIN SONGWRITERS EXENE CERVENKA and JOHN DOE, much like that AFOREMENTIONED LINEAGE of BANDS.  it makes perfect sense and is fitting that not only is their debut LOS ANGELES (SLASH, 1980) release named after the city, but likewise that none other than RAY MANZAREK (KEYBOARDIST in THE DOORS) produced such.  thing is, so much regarding PUNK ROCK in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in the COMMON RECOLLECTION is colored by the AFOREMENTIONED HARDCORE MOVEMENT.  so you cant come into LOS ANGELES expecting something as SONICALLY ABRASIVE.  with songs like "NAUSEA," "YOUR PHONE'S OFF THE HOOK, BUT YOU'RE NOT," "JOHNNY HIT AND RUN PAULENE," and the STANDOUT TRACK "LOS ANGELES," their sound is decidedly more MID-TEMPO with BLUES and ROCKABILLY-inspired GUITAR RIFFS and CHORD PROGRESSIONS that make their SONGWRITING AESTHETIC less AGGRESSIVE and much more PALATABLE and STRAIGHTFORWARD.  to my ears LOS ANGELES sounds more like what came before than what was to come in short order.  it is what they are, a MULTI-FACETED GROUP of ARTISTS who discovered PUNK ROCK, a la STRUMMER, rather than the FOLLOWING WAVE that was INDOCTRINATED from the jump and took it to a NEW EXTREME.  case in point is the AWKWARD COVER of THE DOOR's "SOUL KITCHEN" and the various INEXPLICABLE KEYBOARD PARTS littered throughout LOS ANGELES  undoubtedly a la MANZAREK.  to my ears its an ODD FEATURE but such is what distinguishes this RECORDING and showcases their WILLINGNESS to EXPERIMENT.

LOS ANGELES is an INTRIGUING DOCUMENT of the BEGINNINGS of a PUNK ROCK SCENE that would soon be IN FLUX and transforming to SOMETHING decidedly more SONICALLY AGGRESSIVE and CONSERVATIVE.  along with THE BAGS, THE GERMS, THE SCREAMERS, THE WEIRDOS, THE DICKIES, THE GO-GO's and so on, you get a sense of what a DIVERSE and VIBRANT SCENE this TRANSITIONAL and incredibly BRIEF PERIOD produced.  personally not my cup of tea, but it is well worth checking out for the UNINITIATED as an APT COUNTER-EXAMPLE to what would shortly come.

THELONIOUS MONSTER was one of those BANDS ive been reading about for years when parsing through books about the INTIMATE LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK and proto-ALTERNATIVE ROCK UNDERGROUND scene in the 1980s that featured LIKE-MINDED and more commercially SUCCESSFUL GROUPS in FISHBONE, JANE'S ADDICTION and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.  with their CONSTANT LINEUP SHIFTS and UNEVEN RECORDED CATALOGUE that never truly distilled their POWERFUL yet ECLECTIC LIVE SOUND, due in part to the DESTRUCTIVE CHEMICAL and PERSONALITY ISSUES surrounding their POETIC yet ENIGMATIC and highly VOLATILE FRONTMAN and SONGWRITER BOB FORREST, THELONIOUS MONSTER is a bit of an ALSO-RAN that many from that period saw as the CREATIVE UNIT with the most ARTISTIC POTENTIAL, compared in the press to the likes of THE BEATLES and THE NEW YORK DOLLS.

BOB AND THE MONSTER (PASSION PICTURES, 2011) is a CAPTIVATING DOCUMENTARY that follows FORREST through his PERSONAL NARRATIVE surrounding ART, FAME, ADDICTION and RECOVERY, and how he came out the other side as as SERVANT to others caught in the FRAUGHT CYCLE of DRUG DEPENDENCY.  especially FELLOW MUSICIANS.  FORREST for his part is CANDID and OPEN about his PERSONAL WEAKNESSES regarding SUCCESS, were he essentially sold out his BANDMATES when his BIG MOMENT came (along with the SIZABLE FINANCIAL ADVANCE) of securing a major record deal he so deeply desired as an IMPRIMATUR of his STATUS as a MAJOR WRITING TALENT in the vein of his HEROES.  FORREST for his part got caught up in the MYTH of COPIOUS ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION and HEROIN USAGE as a vehicle for CREATIVE INSPIRATION that so many others of his generation tragically fell into as well (EVERYONE from KURT COBAIN, JOHN FRUSCIANTE and RIVER PHEONIX to CHRIS FARLEY and PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN).  this FILM does a good job of not GLAMORIZING such USAGE, but employs SUBSTANTIAL TIME and ENERGY to describing the depths of his ADDICTION (as well as the TRAUMA of learning as a TEENAGER that his PARENTS were his GRANDPARENTS and his OLDER SISTER his MOTHER) as a means of establishing the SECOND PHASE of his LIFE as a NONTRADITIONAL RECOVERY COUNSELOR for ARTISTS and MUSICIANS.

and this is where the FILM gets a little FUZZY for me.  i understand that given his BACKGROUND and REPUTATION as a FORMIDABLE SONGWRITER and MUSICIAN, he is able to COMMUNICATE effectively in a DIRECT, NO-BULLSHIT MANNER with CREATIVE TYPES with COMPASSION that dismantles a wall of MISTRUST, TRAUMA and INSECURITY regarding navigating a REALISTIC PATH to RECOVERY.  that is his GIFT.  that same PRETERNATURAL ABILITY to emotionally CONNECT with STRANGERS on a DEEP LEVEL that made his MUSIC so CAPTIVATING is the same CAPACITY that makes him a RELIABLE, HELPFUL PRESENCE in someone's HARROWING MOMENTS of unfathomably BLEAK DESPAIR and loss of AGENCY surrounding DRUG ADDICTION.

but he is not a LICENSED PROFESSIONAL.  he is an ADVOCATE.

the MOMENT the FILM introduces DREW "DR. DREW" PINSKY into the mix is where it all loses me.  that CHARLATAN a decade later was a STRONG PROPONENT and ENERGETIC PARTICIPANT in a RIGHT-WING MISINFORMATION regarding COVID and the CUTTING-EDGE mRNA TECHNOLOGY that led to its RAPID DEVELOPMENT and widespread DEPLOYMENT.  the GLOBAL PANDEMIC was the HEALTH-RELATED EVENT of a LIFETIME and PINSKY FAILED big time.  so yeah, by being associated with that QUACK made me reevaluate FORREST and the UNDERLYING MESSAGE this DOCUMENTARY was selling.  that is not to say that i dont i appreciate his SKEPTICISM of the PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX and the ADDICTION RECOVERY INDUSTRY as a whole, but in the end he is just a FORMER ADDICT with GOOD INTENTIONS, and again not a TRAINED PROFESSIONAL.  you really wonder how those under his ASSISTANCE may have been better served seeking out more EDUCATED CARE.

regardless, i found BOB AND THE MONSTER to be an INTRIGUING FILM about a COMPELLING PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION and EVOLUTION from EXCESSIVE NARCISSISM to HUMBLE ALTRUISM.  the PROMINENT MUSICIANS that participated in INTERVIEWS is likewise IMPRESSIVE, including COURTNEY LOVE (HOLE), STEVEN ADLER (GUNS N' ROSES), GIBBY HAYNES (BUTTHOLE SURFERS), KEITH MORRIS (BLACK FLAG / CIRCLE JERKS / OFF!), SCOTT WEILAND (STONE TEMPLE PILOTS) and FISHBONE MEMBERS ANGELO MOORE and NORWOOD FISHER, JANE'S ADDICTION MEMBERS ERIC AVERY and STEPHEN PERKINS and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS MEMBERS ANTHONY KIEDIS, JOHN FRUSCIANTE and FLEA.  not to mention other EPITAPH RECORDS FOUNDER BRETT GUREWITZ (of BAD RELIGION fame) and the LATE THE MASQUE venue OWNER and WRITER BRENDAN MULLEN.  i have no doubt that such see his TRANSFORMATION as nothing short of MIRACULOUS and EVIDENCE of anyone's CAPACITY to RECOVER and EVOLVE to a HIGHER STATE of HUMANITY.

and for me that is the MESSAGE of BOB AND THE MONSTER.  its just UNFORTUNATE such got MUDDLED with the INVOLVEMENT of PINSKY.  he's a DOCTOR, should know better.

photo & text by nacrowe

i was always a sucker for a GREAT MELODY.

maybe that comes from being a SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA kid of the 1990s raised being inundated and effectively indoctrinated on 1960s NOSTALGIA and REVERENCE for past LOCAL ACTS like the BEACH BOYS, THE BYRDS, THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS and THE DOORS.  i think it was just part of the chemical makeup of that region, that affinity for MELODIC (mostly) GUITAR-BASED HOOKS and WELL-CONSTRUCTED and executed VOCAL HARMONIES.

when i was introduced to PUNK ROCK via THE SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES, THE STRANGLERS, THE DAMNED and THE CLASH, it never really occurred to me the REAL SONIC DIVERSITY that was apparent straight from the jump.  namely im talking about PUNK BANDS like BUZZCOCKS, STIFF LITTLE FINGERS or THE SAINTS that had a definite TRADITIONAL POP SENSIBILITY with RECOGNIZABLE MELODIC HOOKS.  i have to say i didnt know much about that LINEAGE when BLINK-182 released ENEMA OF THE STATE (MCA, 1999) during my freshman year of high school.  i thought they were just a GOOD ALTERNATIVE ROCK band in an ADJACENT, albeit LYRICALLY JUVENILE and STUNTED, VEIN of THE OFFSPRING, MXPX, PENNYWISE, BAD RELIGION or especially GREEN DAY, who truth be told had been trending downwards as of late at the time pre-AMERICAN IDIOT ().  i honestly viewed BLINK-182 in the VEIN of those aforementioned MELODICALLY RICH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BANDS of yore and less so with MODERN PUNK ROCK.

i didnt know any better.

through BLINK-182 i was introduced to DESCENDENTS, NOFX, THE VANDALS, LAGWAGON, GOLDFINGER and a whole slew of MELODIC PUNK BANDS that brought their stream-lined COMMERCIAL SOUND into CONTEXT.   GREEN DAY, BLINK-182 and the POP PUNK branch of the PUNK ROCK FAMILY TREE that they popularized (BANDS like NEW FOUND GLORY, FALL OUT BOY, SUM 41, YELLOWCARD, GOOD CHARLOTTE and PARAMORE) often get tagged as ABOMINATIONS by CONCEITED PURISTS and SELF-APPOINTED PUNK ROCK ZEALOTS, but really the LINEAGE is there.  goes all the way back to OG bands like RAMONES and BUZZCOCKS in the late 70s.  the whole CONVERSATION regarding TAGS and CATEGORIES is pretty TIRED and ANTIQUATED anyway.  the benefit of BLINK-182 on POPULAR CULTURE in my opinion is that they paved the way and created the space for BANDS i adore like THE GET UP KIDS, JIMMY EAT WORLD, A DAY TO REMEMBER and SOMETHING CORPORATE to get their INITIAL foot in the door and gain VITAL TRACTION and EXPOSURE.  like everything, CONSEQUENTIAL BANDS have UNINTENDED RIPPLE EFFECTS and for BLINK-182 one such MANIFESTATION of their IMPACT was the RENEWED VALUE of great MEMORABLE melodies to slip there way back into AGGRESSIVE ROCK N ROLL once again.

and for that i am eternally GRATEFUL.

embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the iconic SAN DIEGO POP PUNK BAND BLINK-182 and all their iterations (BOX CAR RACER, +44, ANGELS AND AIRWAVES).  enjoy!

the SEATTLE-based ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion of early 1990s was a COMPELLING CULTURAL PHENOMENON for so many reasons, none the least of which was how it rendered what was once considered UNDERGROUND, PROVINCIAL and OPAQUE to the frontlines of MAINSTREAM CONSCIOUSNESS.  it must have been an UNPRECEDENTED and UNNERVING situation for the OLD GUARD, LEGACY PUNK bands like THE RAMONES, BAD RELIGION and CIRCLE JERKS  to watch these UPSTART bands storm the gates, many of whom were inspired by and were VOCAL ACOLYTES of theirs.  

the CULTURAL CONTEXT of SOCIAL DISTORTION's fifth release WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT, WHITE TRASH (EPIC, 1996) is one of a CONSCIOUS effort to reset the table with regards to what PUNK ROCK actually entails.  in the mind of FRONTMAN and main SINGER-SONGWRITER MIKE NESS, much of the MOVEMENT had been WATERED-DOWN, COMMERCIALIZED and REPACKAGED with no PALPABLE sense of PASSION or PERSONAL ANGST in the mix.  from his PERSPECTIVE, much of what he saw was AFFECT, POSTURING and PERFORMATIVE PANTOMIME cloaking itself in a CULTURAL MOVEMENT he literally bled and fought for with the establishment of HARDCORE throughout the 1980s.  that being said, i feel like the SHORTCOMING of WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT, WHITE TRASH is ironically its EARNESTNESS.  on tracks like "DOWN ON THE WORLD AGAIN" "I WAS WRONG," "DON'T DRAG ME DOWN," "DEAR LOVER" and "WHEN THE ANGELS SING," NESS absolutely comes across as IMPASSIONED, HONEST and COMMITTED but at the expense of being a bit OVERBEARING and HEAVY-HANDED in the process.  SOCIAL DISTORTION has long maintained a WELL-CRAFTED and seemingly CONSCIOUS balance between the EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY of its LYRICAL CONTENT and its somewhat DOMINEERING MACHISMO PRESENTATION of such.  when i listen back to this record it just comes off a bit too much in the latter parading as the former (if that makes any sense).  this would change with what i firmly contend is the STRONGEST SOCIAL DISTORTION album to date SEX, LOVE AND ROCK 'N' ROLL (TIME BOMB, 2004), which was recorded years after in the wake of the untimely passing of CO-FOUNDING GUITARIST DENNIS DANNELL from an UNEXPECTED CEREBRAL ANEURYSM.  THEMES surrounding the FRAILTY OF LIFE and LOVE OF FAMILY and celebrating one's COMMUNITY.  with that record the INTERNAL POLITICS of ROCK N ROLL and the MUSIC INDUSTRY seem as INCONSEQUENTIAL as they in fact are.  on that record NESS got back to WRITING about he is best at, REAL LIFE LIVED HARD.

for me WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT, WHITE TRASH is evident of its period in ROCK N ROLL HISTORY when things were shaken up a bit and PUNK VETERANS were a little GUN SHY on what their next best move should be.  my opinion is that this record suffered a bit from trying too hard to be a massively SUCCESSFUL ROCK N ROLL record (i.e. BIG THEMES, BIG CHORUSES, BIG GUTAR LEADS).  NESS is undoubtedly at his best when he is in a corner and fighting his way out of a situation with music.  whether the enemy is ADDICTION, SOCIETY or HIMSELF, the VULNERABILITY his SONGS display as he is in the midst of surviving is his calling card as an ICONIC MUSICIAN. 

i grew up in ORANGE COUNTY in a town neighboring FULLERTON (where SOCIAL DISTORTION originated) called BREA, and i take pride that is NESS is from my area.  i dont want to come off HARSH with this piece as i love the band and especially the HONEST SONGWRITING of NESS, i just dont feel this particular album was his CREATIVE ZENITH (and personally i dont think theyd argue to the contrary).  but man did he rebound with a VENGEANCE on his next effort with SOCIAL DISTORTION and hasnt looked back since.

i mean this is it. 

when you consider 1980s HARDCORE PUNK ROCK there are arguably a few immediate bands that come to mind: BAD BRAINS, DEAD KENNEDYS, CIRCLE JERKS, MINOR THREAT, D.O.A., THE MISFITS and BLACK FLAG.  and THE FIRST FOUR YEARS (SST, 1983) compilation is in essence a re-release of all the ICONIC pre-HENRY ROLLINS INDEPENDENT EPS such as NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (SST, 1979), JEALOUS AGAIN (SST, 1980) and SIX PACK (SST, 1981) when the band was fronted by a succession of VOCALISTS from KEITH MORRIS to RON REYES to DEZ CADENA.  it doesnt get more ground zero than these AGGRESSIVE and extremely RAW PERFORMANCES of "NERVOUS BREAKDOWN", "NO VALUES," "WASTED," "CLOCKED IN," "WHITE MINORITY" and "FIX ME" in the history of HARDCORE or INDEPENDENT music writ large in the UNITED STATES.

by the time ROLLINS joined in 1981 BLACK FLAG was well on their way to carving out an INDEPENDENT circuit of small veteran affair halls, elks lodges, backyards, bowling alleys and NONTRADITIONAL concert venues that would later be utilized and exploited in the 1990s by ALTERNATIVE ROCK and INDIE ROCK bands alike.  these SONGS were the core of the gospel they spread and BLACK FLAG were nothing if not CULTURAL PIONEERS in that sense, along with fellow travelers in THE CRAMPS, VANCOUVER HARDCORE act D.O.A. and COLLEGE ROCK acts like R.E.M. and THE REPLACEMENTS it should be noted during the same period.

i was aware of the band going back to elementary school years through reading KURT COBAIN interviews where he mentioned them along with the likes of FLIPPER and THE RAINCOATS, but it wasnt until high school that i was clued into them via a childhood friend i was visiting at the turn of the millennium in SOUTHER CALIFORNIA.  through this friend i gained an APPRECIATION and context for what previously i experienced as DISCORDANT NOISE and SLOPPY MUSICIANSHIP.  after that education getting to sear FEAR on that trip it dawned on me the UNRELENTING ENERGY and UNBRIDLED FURY that the MUSIC unleashed in a crowd.  something clicked.  it was as if BLACK FLAG was a soundtrack to that VIOLENT release of pent-up AGGRESSION and FRUSTRATION that comes with living in this country.  that feel of SUBLIMATION rooted in being poked at by superiors at work, in the media, at the bank and at school to conform and acquiesce to the man.  it was TRANSFORMATIVE and the music to me seemed more aligned with another COUNTERCULTURE HERO whose MUSIC i had come to know intimately when my family lived in NIGERIA a few years earlier: FELA KUTI.  GREG GINN's furiously PRIMITIVE GUITAR WORK and these various VOCALISTS screeching their EXPLOSIVE DISSATISFACTION with society all came to be the same COHESIVE EXPRESSION in my understanding and i thank my friend for opening that door for me.  also, the RAYMOND PETTIBON ARTWORK on those early EPs are SINGULAR in their absolute DEVASTATING DEPICTIONS of SOCIETAL COERCION and the physical BRUTALITY of VOILENCE.  as someone that was repeatedly hazed in high school, discovering PETTIBON took me unflinchingly right back to the moment of ABUSE.  the PERFECT primer for the proper MINDSET for listening to BLACK FLAG no doubt.

THE FIRST FOUR YEARS is an ESSENTIAL release by an absolutely ICONIC band.  it is a release well worth checking out and returning to again and again.

sometimes its just fun to watch PEOPLE discuss shop, whether they be PAINTERS, CARPENTERS, RECORD PRODUCERS, FILMMAKERS or MUSICIANS as the case may be. the PREMIERE GUITAR-produced SHRED WITH SHIFTY VIDEO SERIES finds LEAD GUITARIST CHRIS SHIFLETT, primarily known for his two-plus decades of service with the DAVE GROHL-led MODERN ALTERNATIVE ROCK CULTURAL INSTITUTION that is the FOO FIGHTERS as well as NOTABLE PUNK ROCK BANDS like NO USE FOR A NAME and ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES, interviewing VARIOUS GUITARISTS about their TECHNIQUE, COMPOSITION,  PHILOSOPHY and INSPIRATION(S) for playing.  the PREMIER GUITAR-sponsored VIDEO SERIES and PODCAST appears to be the visual cousin and CONTINUATION of his informal LONGTIME WALKING THE FLOOR audio podcast series that covered much of the same ground.  NOTABLE past SHRED WITH SHIFTY participants in these video interviews include NILE ROGERS (CHIC), RIVERS CUOMO (WEEZER), WOLFGANG VAN HALEN,  MIKE MCREADY (PEARL JAM), RICHIE SAMBORA (BON JOVI), BLAKE SCHWARZENBACH (JAWBREAKER), BRAD WHITFORD (AEROSMITH), DAVE GROHL & PAT SMEAR (FOO FIGHTERS), PHIL COLLEN (DEF LEPPARD) and ALEX LIFESON (RUSH).  its an ECLECTIC, INTER-GENERATIONAL and MULTI-GENRE blend that mirrors the INTERESTS of the HOST, himself an INDEPENDENT PUNK ROCK VETERAN that plays in arguably the most CONSEQUENTIAL ROCK N ROLL BAND on the planet, who also has a budding side career as an ALT COUNTRY TRAVELING SINGER-SONGWRITER.

personally i tend to pay more ATTENTION to the PUNK / ALTERNATIVE / CLASSIC ROCK end of his INTERVIEWS rather than those with the BRAD PAISLEYs and KEITH URBANs of the WORLD (no disrespect to their GUITAR CHOPS and COMPOSITIONAL PROWESS).  i am able to follow the CONVERSATIONS and understand the TECHNIQUES being employed and exploited in these DISCUSSIONS, but i wonder at times about the USER-FRIENDLINESS of such for BEGINNING GUITAR PLAYERS, which i assume is their TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC.  it makes me rethink who the AUDIENCE is for these EXTENDED VIDEO PODCASTS, because it would seem on the surface to be beginning or INTERMEDIATE MUSICIANS.  yet there is no GUITAR TABLATURE provided or VISUAL ASSISTANCE being provided on how what being played corresponds to a GUITAR in REAL-TIME, which would be BENEFICIAL to PLAYERS of all levels.  maybe the ENGAGEMENT of the DISCUSSION is the REAL OBJECTIVE here, but its DIFFICULT to ascertain since so much of the ACTUAL CONTENT revolves around the playing itself.

for my PURPOSES, i enjoy watching SHIFLETT and his GUESTS having FUN talking shop and exploring the DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT that goes behind CONSTRUCTING a MEMORABLE GUITAR PART in a FAN-FAVORITE SONG that has stood the test of time (i.e. GUITAR LEADS from PEARL JAM's "ALIVE," RUSH's "LIMELIGHT," WEEZER's "ONLY IN DREAMS," NILE ROGERS / DIANA ROSS' "I'M COMING OUT" and JAWBEAKER's "ACCIDENT PRONE".  there is REAL VALUE in that and i look forward to each NEW EPISODE irrespective of the GUEST  involved (with the EXCEPTION being the MODERN COUNTRY ARTISTS whose MUSIC is not my cup of tea).  all that being said, SHRED WITH SHIFTY is definitely INTERESTING and well worth checking out.

thinking about a pre-TRAVIS BARKER line-up of BLINK-182 is always INTERESTING because the chemistry that lifted them above the POP PUNK fray to become veritable icons of the genre itself was due to that very specific MUSICAL ALCHEMY that came to fruition immediately after DUDE RANCH (MCA, 1997), their second album and major label debut.  not that this recording effort is without GOOD SONGWRITING, as is the case with tracks like "DICK LIPS," "WAGGY," "PATHETIC," "APPLE SHAMPOO," and of course their breakout singles "JOSIE" and "DAMMIT."  but rhythmically and stylistically, this album is pretty REPETITIVE and MYOPIC in terms of its SONGWRITING.  in essence it is a band coming into its own both in terms of PRODUCTION and navigating the expectations that come with being on a major label.

when i first heard DUDE RANCH it was in the immediate aftermath of its more commercially and artistically SUCCESSFUL follow-up ENEMA OF THE STATE (MCA, 1999) that had both BARKER and LEGENDARY producer JERRY FINN added to the mix.  BARKER being the MULTI-TALENTED drummer that he was, could elevate and transcend basic POP PUNK CHORD PROGRESSIONS with both an eye for SONG DYNAMICS and COMPOSITION as well as sheer TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY.  listening to ENEMA OF THE STATE you can hear grooves that are based in both JAZZ and LATIN traditions that bring a sense of SWING and BOUNCE to several tracks.  its entirely unfair to compare him to original drummer SCOTT RAYNOR who on DUDE RANCH and its predecessor CHESHIRE CAT (CARGO, 1995) provides a perfectly COMPETENT, if DERIVATIVE, sense of drive to his DRUMMING in the style of MELODIC HARDCORE bands like BAD RELIGION, NOFX and PENNYWISE.

lyrically DUDE RANCH continues along the same lines of its predecessor by splitting the difference between SOPHOMORIC toilet humor and heartfelt odes to past relationships and teenage youth a la MILO AUKERMAN and the legendary 80s SOUTH BAY PUNK ROCK band DESCENDENTS.  this lyrical perspective would continue on subsequent releases but seemed strategically aimed at both presenting the band as willing to laugh at their PUBLIC IMAGE and provided a critical distraction for genuine efforts at tracks that stretched their SONGWRITING ABILITIES and made them VULNERABLE.  all the basic elements are their on DUDE RANCH, as well as CHESHIRE CAT, but the right mixture of TRADITIONAL and PROGRESSIVE MUSICAL ELEMENTS are not quite their yet.

for me DUDE RANCH is all about my high school experience and hearing it makes me strangely NOSTALGIC for a time i would not in retrospect under any circumstances ever want to revisit again.  what makes it an INTRIGUING listen years later is how foretells what was to come as well as provides a key look at an ICONIC band minus a VITAL ELEMENT in BARKER (or maybe two if you also count FINN, which you probably should).  as much as i love this record, ENEMA OF THE STATE is the OBVIOUS starting point for anyone getting into BLINK-182 or POP PUNK in general.  maybe after consuming GREEN DAY's DOOKIE (REPRISE, 1994), DESCENDENTS' MILO GOES TO COLLEGE (NEW ALLIANCE, 1982), MXPX's LIFE IN GENERAL (TOOTH & NAIL, 1996), FALL OUT BOY's TAKE THIS TO YOUR GRAVE (FUELED BY RAMEN, 2003) and NEW FOUND GLORY's STICKS AND STONES (DRIVE-THRU, 2002), you should revisit DUDE RANCH for comparison and context.  NOT ESSENTIAL but definitely worth checking out.

parody by nacrowe

PUNK bands by definition are not meant to last.  just look at that first round of late 70s originators or their HARDCORE brethren during the 1980s, most put out a record or two and then disbanded in near complete OBSCURITY.  such being the case, it is almost ABSURD that NOFX are winding down their forty year, fifteen studio album career with a final tour and probable upcoming release or two for good measure.  not only that, they objectively got better as musicians and songwriters as they went along is which is the absolute opposite ethos of the genre with the TIRED "LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG" credo.  then again, NOFX always was a band that reveled in being a PARADOX.

more than any other MODERN PUNK band that i can think of, NOFX embodied the SNARKY CONTRARIANISM that came with being FORTHRIGHT and SELF-AWARE to the point of (and sometimes beyond) being SELF-DEPRECATING.  BAD RELIGION was as politically OUTSPOKEN but more SERIOUS, AUTHORITATIVE and ACADEMIC in PRESENTATION and TONE (which makes sense since LYRICIST and contributing SONGWRITER GREG GRAFFIN is in fact a professor).  RANCID were objectively more TALENTED as MUSICIANS and SONGWRITERS, but frontman TIM ARMSTRONG had a more IMPRESSIONISTIC and CONFESSIONAL aspect to his compositions, even the numbers that addressed political issues.  as a GENIUS WORDSMITH, for him it was less about a specific point being addressed and more about exploring a DISPARATE POINT-OF-VIEW and MINDSET in his lyrics.  BLINK-182 expressly borrowed aspects of the SNARKY CONTRARIANISM of NOFX but really dialed down the INTELLIGENCE and SELF-EVIDENT ABSURDIST comedy behind such, leaving just REDUNDANT JUVENILITY in its stead.

and for me, part of the whole SCHTICK around NOFX was that this whole SELF-DIMINISHING "WE'RE JUST A PUNK BAND" routine was a smokescreen for a band that really had a STRONG PRESENCE and sense of AMBITION.  just look at THE DECLINE (FAT WRECK CHORDS, 1999) release and its lone 18+ minute track, complete with SOPHISTICATED LEIHTMOTIFS and thematic callbacks a la opera.  before GREEN DAY and talk of ROCK OPERAS, NOFX had already been there, done that on one masterfully EPIC track.  another case in point was vocalist and main songwriter FAT MIKE's PUNKVOTER.COM campaign to support JOHN KERRY in his 2004 campaign to defeat then-incumbent president GEORGE W. BUSH.  lots of HARDCORE bands going back to the 70 and 80s complained about MARGARET THATCHER and RONALD REAGAN, but how many actively built up a coalition to effect change a la FAT MIKE.  i'll answer that: no one.  the most ADMIRABLE thing about the members of NOFX is that in spite of their DEPRECATING PRESENTATION, these guys are actual doers who take actual real-life risks.  FAT MIKE stuck his neck out and ultimately was not successful in ousting BUSH, but so what.  he acted where his peer group historically only impotently reacts.

my hope is that this is not the end of the road for the band as a CREATIVE ENERY and that if FAT MIKE continues on a solo journey that his former bandmates are common characters along the way, because the band is UNIQUE and has effected change arguably more than any other MODERN PUNK band.  this in spite of their TIRED on-stage dad jokes.

embedded below is a very recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the career of the iconic SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK band NOFX.  enjoy!

sonically and aesthetically, the initial long-form OFF! release that is the FIRST FOUR EPs (VICE, 2010) compilation is in essence a spiritual continuation of 1980s HARDCORE as if the ensuing decades never happened.  just these brief PRIMAL minute-long spasms of UNRELENTING aural INTENSITY.  from the moment the BLISTERING opening track "BLACK THOUGHTS" rages out the gate, it is beyond self-evident how EXCITING and REFRESHING it is to hear a ROCK AND ROLL band recorded this RAW, consciously OUT-OF-STEP with modern industry standards for sonic fidelity.  yet even with the AUSTERE RAYMOND PETTIBON artwork and STRIPPED-BACK SONIC PRESENTATION reminiscent of early BLACK FLAG, there is nothing nostalgic about this record or this band, which is made up of vocalist KEITH MORRIS (CIRCLE JERKS, BLACK FLAG), guitarist DIMITRI COATS (BURNING BRIDES), bassist/PRODUCER STEVEN SHANE MCDONALD (REDD KROSS) and drummer MARIO RUBALCABA (ROCK FROM THE CRYPT, HOT SNAKES).  if anything, it feels and sounds like the way forward and an IDEAL response to what ROCK AND ROLL uniquely provides (PASSION, INTENSITY, UNBRIDLED EMOTION) in the age of UNTETHERED sonic adventurism that is MODERN HIP HOP and EDM.

FIRST FOUR EPs just feels like HARDCORE at its most FUNDAMENTAL and AMOEBIC level, constructed for maximum impact.  no bullshit or decorative window-dressing, just a DIRECT shot to the head.  i can point out STANDOUT tracks like "I DON'T BELONG," "DARKNESS," the aforementioned "BLACK THOUGHTS" and "UPSIDE DOWN," but the truth is that this record is meant to be experienced in its totality, as if it is one extended 20-minute rant with 18 varieties of WHITE-KNUCKLE VERBAL CONFRONTATION and UNYIELDING SONIC AGGRESSION.  for one, MORRIS has never sounded more FOCUSED or VITAL and arguably COATS' decidedly UNDERCOOKED PRODUCTION CHOICES served this end spectacularly.  there is an INTENT and IN-THE MOMENT ENERGY that you can only get from a demo, when songs are still in the process of congealing and emerging into shape, of becoming.  this record has that feel of a PROMISING demo, which in itself is REVOLUTIONARY.  no need to recreate or manufacture it again for real. 

it is done, on tape, ship it out.  if only all ROCK AND ROLL could be that PURE. 

at the time of its 2010 release, the debut FIRST FOUR EPs compilation by OFF! is probably one of the most CONSEQUENTIAL records in at least a decade.  forget HARDCORE or PUNK ROCK, it is a reminder of how ROCK AND ROLL at its core essence should be created and presented.  i view it as absolutely ESSENTIAL and most definitely worth checking out.

in the summer of 2001 i went back to my hometown in ORANGE COUNTY for the first time in years to stay with a childhood friend and it was during that stay that i was enlightened (or more like indoctrinated) into the world of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK.  of course i was familiar enough with BLACK FLAG, DESCENDENTS, BAD RELIGION, X, CIRCLE JERKS, THE VANDALS and SOCIAL DISTORTION and the 90s bands from the area but was unfamiliar with IMPACTFUL but lesser high-profile groups like WASTED YOUTH, D.I., FEAR, ADOLESCENTS, DR. KNOW, MINUTEMEN, RICH KIDS ON LSD, THE GERMS, CHANNEL 3, T.S.O.L., BATTALION OF SAINTS, THE MIDDLE CLASS and AGENT ORANGE.  in fact it was during that trip that i got to see a reunion ADOLESCENTS show with CHANNEL 3 opening in SANTA ANA as well as FEAR at WARPED TOUR in VENTURA. and T.S.OL. at a gig in POMONA.  it was an INFORMATIVE and thoroughly EDUCATIONAL summer to say the least.

amidst the pack of HARDCORE acts coming out of the region in the 1980s, AGENT ORANGE stood out primarily because of their highly IDIOSYNCRATIC hybridization of PUNK ROCK with SURF MUSIC.  such an INTRIGUING mix with those long MELODIC, DICK DALE-inspired barrel-roll guitar runs at HARD-CHARGING tempos is heard all over their debut LIVING IN DARKNESS (POSH BOY, 1981) on IMPRESSIVE tracks such as "EVERYTHING TURNS GREY," "LAST GOODBYE," "BLOODSTAINS," "A CRY FOR HELP IN A WORLD GONE MAD," and of course, a cover of "MISERLOU."  there is a PROFESSIONALISM and TECHNICAL PRECISION and ELEVATED level of MUSICIANSHIP at play throughout LIVING IN DARKNESS that is UNMATCHED from bands of the period, who tend to sound MUDDLED if not AGNOSTIC to basic recording aspects like PRODUCTION VALUE or playing in time or in key.  founding bassist STEVE SOTO left AGENT ORANGE to cofound arguably the other main group of the period with a similar penchant for MUSICIANSHIP and CRAFTSMANSHIP, ADOLESCENTS.

this propulsive, kinetic sound naturally found a kinship in the nascent SKATE scene of the period and provided both a soundtrack to the pastime and a sonic template, along with MELODIC HARDCORE bands like BAD RELIGION, to the UPTEMPO SKATE PUNK bands that rose to prominence over the next decade.  most notably PENNYWISE, NOFX, FACE TO FACE, NO USE FOR A NAME, MXPX and so on.  i just find it INTRIGUING that a sound that is a variation on SURF MUSIC served as the sonic backdrop to an activity and lifestyle that itself was a variation and innovation on SURFING itself.  it is an ODD and FRUITFUL synergy of sorts that seemingly could only take place in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  because of this, for me AGENT ORANGE is the very embodiment of an ORGANIC and wholly AUTHENTIC version of PUNK ROCK from the area.  the other vein is the more NIHILISTIC, DRUG-ADDLED and VIOLENT variant exemplified by THE GERMS and FEAR that was more-or-less continued (sans drugs) by AGGRESSIVE bands like BLACK FLAG, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and the BELLIGERENT and CONFRONTATIONAL COASTAL cohort.  both breaks in the family tree are VALID and have their proponents.  for me, the example of AGENT ORANGE is one that offered a polished version of PUNK ROCK that was IMPACTFUL due to its reigning in of excess and creating a record with a POWERFUL, DELIBERATE sonic impact.

LIVING IN DARKNESS continues to be required listening in my opinion for anyone interested in HARDCORE or PUNK ROCK in general.  definitely worth checking out.

in recent years there has been a deluge of memoirs and published histories of the PUNK ROCK movement and all of its sub-genres and related SCENES.  what makes SMASH!: GREEN DAY, THE OFFSPRING, NOFX AND THE '90s PUNK EXPLOSION (DA CAPO, 2018) by VETERAN BRITISH music journalist IAN WINWOOD (NME, ROLLING STONE, REVOLVER, Q, THE GUARDIAN, MOJO) so FASCINATING is that fact that it effectively elaborates on the expanded trajectory of the WEST COAST expansion of PUNK ROCK and HARDCORE into the 1990s.  from THE DAMNED and THE SEX PISTOLS LEGENDARY late 1970s performances to the advent of the early LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK SCENE in the late 70s/early 80s with THE GERMS, X, THE SCREAMERS, FEAR, THE WEIRDOS and THE BAGS to the HARDCORE BANDS from nearby counties infiltrating the SCENE throughout the 80s like BLACK FLAG, WASTED YOUTH, CIRCLE JERKS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, THE ADOLESCENTS, T.S.O.L. and DESCENDENTS to the 90s BANDS at focus throughout SMASH! and beyond.  it is that very tension within that lineage of generations of PUNK BANDS that makes this book such a UNIQUE and COMPELLING read.

when AMERICAN HARDCORE was initiated in the 1980s, various BANDS started their own RECORD LABELS (DISCHORD, SST, ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES) out of necessity and begot a COTTAGE INDUSTRY of viable ALTERNATIVE options for artists.  they also provided a lean BUSINESS MODEL and strong DIY ethic for the next generation of INDEPENDENT artists.  such is the case with the BAY AREA's LOOKOUT! RECORDS which famously released early GREEN DAY offerings and the catalogue of OPERATION IVY.  within the PUNK ROCK COMMUNITY, this effective FETISHIZING of what it means to be truly AUTHENTIC and INDEPENDENT had a huge effect on PUNK and PUNK-influenced BANDS of the 1990s. 

case in point, arguably at the center of SMASH!'s narrative is the melodic SAN FERNANDO MELODIC PUNK ROCK BAND BAD RELIGION and the INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL its guitarist BRETT GUREWITZ founded, EPITAPH RECORDS.  unlike LOOKOUT!, EPITAPH found itself in 1994 with an UNEXPECTED diamond album [i.e. 10 million copies sold] in THE OFFSPRING's SMASH (EPITAPH, 1994) that effectively forced the LABEL to expand rapidly while defying continued efforts from most of the MAJORS to buyout their operation and/or poach their artists.  in essence, the commercial success of this INDEPENDENT PRIVATE LABEL put them in the same stratosphere as publicly traded MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATE ENTITIES with larger checkbooks and a deeper well of resources.  all PUNK and HARDCORE LABELS were never at that level and it was a situation GUREWITZ never anticipated.  in the wake of such there was a new equilibrium and expectations game internally amongst the BANDS, their MANAGERS and the LABEL that took years to level off and resolve itself.  in essence, the BANDS that stayed INDEPENDENT (NOFX, RANCID, PENNYWISE) by and large were critically rewarded long-term and with the exception of GREEN DAY (who didnt come off unscathed in terms of their reputation).  even GUREWITZ own BAND BAD RELIGION signed during this period with ATLANTIC RECORDS for several releases and eventually successfully came back to EPITAPH at the beginning of the new millennium with new ENERGY and a return-to-form recorded offering.

whereas EPITAPH RECORDS exemplified this dynamic from the BUSINESS and LABEL perspective, undoubtedly GREEN DAY are the poster boys for the pitfalls of working with the MAJORS during this pre-digital era (because currently nobody cares about this puritanical litmus test since no one is selling records at this scale anymore).  they famously were effectively abandoned and ex-communicated by their SCENE and the ARTISTIC COMMUNITY from which they developed, the 924 GILMAN STREET venue in BERKELEY.  all for signing to WARNER BROS.  they were in a bind.  touring nonstop throughout the states and EUROPE, LOOKOUT! couldnt keep up with demand.  their fans couldnt locate product.  GREEN DAY didnt believe that PUNK ROCK was about being ELITIST with hard-to-locate OBSCURE records in limited supply.  the widespread DISTRIBUTION of a MAJOR would change all that.  and it did.  but it came at a high cost to their personal sense of IDENTITY, especially in the wake of DOOKIE (REPRISE, 1994) and its MASSIVE diamond-level commercial success.  success only counterintuitively exacerbated that sense of ALIENATION and DISLOCATION from their small BAY AREA SCENE and even their FANBASE.  eventually newcomers would replace that shedding of ORIGINAL SUPPORTS tenfold but that was the bargain back during this heady period.

SMASH! really elucidates on an that INTERESTING convergence of PUNK ROCK ethics and all the GUILT, CONTRADICTION and seemingly socially enforced LACK OF AMBITION at the heart of it.  when NIRVANA exploded, close behind it was the dismantling and/or renewed RECALCITRANCE of all that undercurrent of TRADITIONAL mores at the heart of the genre that separated it from other music sub-genres.  it is still in retrospect a topic that is absolutely FASCINATING to consider almost three decades hence.  i dont know if it has an analogue to today, which is more ECLECTIC, GENRE-LESS and far less TRIBAL musically than it was back then.  politically today is a whole 'nother story entirely.

definitely a INTRIGUING book well worth checking out.  even if its BRITISH perspective on the CULTURAL PHENOMENA that was 90s PUNK ROCK does get a little weird at times.

i learned about the MANHATTAN BEACH PUNK ROCK band DESCENDENTS my freshman year of high school in 1999 when arguably their most famous acolytes in SAN DIEGO POP PUNK idols BLINK-182 were at their cultural zenith.  i make that connection because there is an absolute direct connection between this band and the 80s HARDCORE scene that catapulted them and what later came to fruition in the late 80s and 90s as POP PUNK, SKATE PUNK, MELODIC HARDCORE and even POST HARDCORE a la bands like BAD RELIGION, NOFX, PENNYWISE, LAGWAGON, AT THE DRIVE-IN, RANCID, ALKALINE TRIO, GLASSJAW and, again, BLINk-182.  in essence any 90s PUNK band that incorporated themes related to INTERNAL INSECURITY, PUBLIC HUMILIATION, JUVENILE HUMOR and UNREQUITED ROMANTIC AFFECTIONS as well as POP hooks basically is indebted to DESCENDENTS one way or another. 

its intriguing because so many of the 80s HARDCORE bands (BLACK FLAG, DEAD KENNEDYS, MINOR THREAT, etc) positioned themselves thematically and sonically against some vision of AUTHORITY, whereas with DESCENDENTS all that FRUSTRATION and pent-up AGGRESSION was pointed INWARD out their own SHORTCOMINGS and IMPERFECTIONS.  for me at least that lyrical conceit is much more PIERCING, AUTHENTIC and ultimately RELATABLE.  it also showcases a level of HONEST SELF-REFLECTION and SELF-ASSESSMENT that denotes a SHARP INTELLECT and PRETERNATURAL sense of EMOTIONAL INTELLIFENCE.  you get the feeling on I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP (NEW ALLIANCE, 1985) tracks like "MY WORLD," "GOOD GOOD THINGS," and "SILLY GIRL" that singer MILO AUKERMAN is arguing that he is the problem and not necessarily someone else or society at large.

i feel like that SELF-AWARE impulse is the through-line between DESCENDENTS and all that followed them.  that redirection of ANGER and SEXUAL FRUSTRATION at oneself and the implied IMPOTENCE at being unable to manifest meaningful change in one's life and situation is a POWERFUL and even COURAGEOUS lyrical position.  for me, PUNK ROCK before DESCENDENTS was thematically all about outside CONFLICT and initiating change in one's community from an INFLEXIBLE core position of STRENGTH and STEADFAST CONVICTION.  the imposing figure of HENRY ROLLINS comes to mind and his signature power stance he maintains while singing which projects not just sounds from his diaphragm but also insinuates a RESOLUTE MIND-STATE with similarly firm convictions as well.  that is something to aspire to, but AUKERMAN's SELF-DOUBT is way more my speed in general.  at least it feels closer to my actual lived experience.

I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP is most definitely worth checking out, regardless of your personal affinity for PUNK ROCK in all its variations and later evolutions.  its just an HONEST ROCK N ROLL record that is ever RELEVANT in my experience and remains something i continually revisit.  enjoy.

what makes PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR (HACHETTE, 2022) such a COMPELLING is how it voices the INHERENT CONTRADICTIONS, OPPORTUNITIES, LIMITATIONS, FREEDOMS, IN-GROUP/OUT-GROUP DYNAMICS and SOCIETAL EVOLUTIONS presented by the surprisingly ENDURING and AGILE CULTURAL INSTITUTION known as PUNK ROCK.  as both a key member of 1980s HARDCORE icons BAD RELIGION as well as a TRAINED evolutionary biologist (with a CORNELL PHD to boot), GREG GRAFFIN is uniquely positioned to elucidate on such matters from a seemingly ELEVATED, macro-level perspective.  i see this memoir as less focused on his personal narrative, albeit such details are included, and more as an EXTENDED meditation on the RISKS and BENEFITS of pursuing an INTELLECTUAL LIFE in a career [entertainment] whose format, supporting industry and audience expectations find such SUPERFLUOUS.

when i got into HARDCORE from LOS ANGELES through a childhood friend in ORANGE COUNTY, i was made privy to a whole host of bands from the neighboring area.  places like the SOUTH BAY (BLACK FLAG, DESCENDENTS), VENTURA COUNTY (DR. KNOW, RICH KIDS ON LSD, ILL REPUTE), SAN DIEGO COUNTY (BATTALION OF SAINTS), LOS ANGELES COUNTY (THE BAGS, THE GERMS, X, THE WEIRDOS, WASTED YOUTH, FEAR) and even the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (THE DICKIES, BAD RELIGION).  all of this in addition to several bands from nearby ORANGE COUNTY cities (AGENT ORANGE, THE VANDALS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, ADOLESCENTS, D.I., THE MIDDLE CLASS) near where i spent my first twelve years before moving to NIGERIA with my family. 

BAD RELIGION stuck out from their cohorts immediately due to the LYRICAL BENT and INTELLECTUAL ACUITY of GRAFFIN whose hyper-focus was on utilizing music as a vehicle for elevating the level of DISCOURSE with his audience.  it felt like a contradiction in terms, as PUNK ROCK during this period generally was POLEMIC in nature, espousing CAUSTIC, ACCUSATORY VERBAL BOMBS at targets with machine-gun flurries of REPETITIOUS barbed statements that relayed a sense of urgency as well as a PSYCHIC LOSS of personal self-control and greater DISILLUSIONMENT with one's place in the world.  HARDCORE in this sense was a FEELING, an ATTITUDE, an IDENTITY.  GRAFFIN was the RARE wordsmith and intellectually ADEPT and CURIOUS songwriter that was able to take on heady CULTURAL and SOCIETAL ISSUES related to runaway MATERIALISM, ATHEISM, TRIBALISM, MISINFORMATION / DISINFORMATION, INSTITUTIONAL RACISM , JUDICIAL MALFEASANCE and POLITICAL CORRUPTION and construct COGENT points in SHORT, TIGHT, MELODICALLY SATISFYING outbursts.  listening to BAD RELIGION felt like experiencing an oxymoron, a complete contradiction in terms, like the what-if test case of what THE RAMONES sounded like if they had genuinely INTELLIGENT lyrics.

my big take from PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR is that all INSTITUTIONS are useful in and of how they interact with the population and if needs change over time, they likewise change course and evolve.  PUNK ROCK as a PUBLIC INSTITUTION shares this dynamic and is not what it was back in the early 80s when BAD RELIGION started out in a SAN FERNANDO garage, much less than what it started out as back in the mid 80s on NEW YORK CITY's lower east side.  it is a form that will continue evolve and maintain relevance.  or it wont and die like RAGTIME or NU METAL before it. 

i wish this book would have been around when i was in high school and felt obligated to the tired arguments with SELF-APPOINTED "punk rock police" advocates who shunned some bands and lionized others for seemingly juvenile reasons.  GRAFFIN does a great job of eviscerating the whole UNREALISTIC NOTION of the DIY ETHIC, as nothing related to being in a band is done on your own.  in fact, it is the opposite as a band is the central organism that relies on a wider COOPERATIVE and INTERDEPENDENT NETWORK of ROADIES, MANAGERS, PROMOTERS and other INDUSTRY SPECIALISTS that make the whole mutually beneficial ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABLE.  if anything i found this book to be one of the most HONEST, NO BULLSHIT reflections on what it actually means to be in a band since HENRY ROLLINS' CELEBRATED tour diary GET IN THE VAN: ON THE ROAD WITH BLACK FLAG (review linked HERE).

does PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR become a little LOQUACIOUS at times, a bit overly SESQUIPEDALION? sure.  but it never comes off is PEDANTIC in the least, more so that you are dealing with someone that put the time and thought into their memoir and likewise expect the same of the reader.  much like what BAD RELIGION regularly expect from their audience.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in THOUGHTFUL deliberations about the meaning of art and the artist's responsibility to him/herself and their audience.  it also touchingly showcases the GENERATIONAL DAMAGE caused by DIVORCE even under the best of circumstances and intensions on both sides.  if you are looking for a more CONVENTIONAL history of BAD RELIGION, then definitely check out author JIM RULAND's recent book DO WHAT YOU WANT: THE STORY OF BAD RELIGION (review linked HERE) or maybe even history professor DEWAR MACLEOD's KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE: PUNK ROCK IN POSTSUBURBAN CALIFORNIA (review linked HERE), MY DAMAGE: THE STORY OF A PUNK ROCK SURVIVOR (review linked HERE) by KEITH MORRIS of BLACK FLAG ,CIRCLE JERKS and OFF!, VIOLENCE GIRL: A CHICANA PUNK STORY (review linked HERE) by ALICE BAG of THE BAGS or UNDER THE BLACK SUN: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF L.A. PUNK (review linked HERE) by JOHN DOE of X.

whats always struck me about BAD RELIGION's debut album HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? (EPITAPH, 1982) is how MATURE it sounds for a band so YOUNG.  during the recording of such in 1980 the band was still in their teens, some still in high school.  yet even at that age, all the hallmarks of their storied career are on full display on tracks like "WE'RE ONLY GOING TO DIE," "VOICE OF GOD IS GOVERMENT," "AMERICAN DREAM," "OLIGARCHY," "LATCHKEY KIDS" and "FUCK ARMAGGEDON... THIS IS HELL".

take a song like the opening track "WE'RE ONLY GOING TO DIE" which neatly sums up mankind's FOLLY throughout history in conquering the world through VIOLENCE and SUBMISSION, only to redirect such VICIOUS intent on themselves.  as the ending ANTHEMIC refrain repeats as a SOLEMN mantra, "we're only going to die from our own arrogance."  it is pretty INCREDIBLE that a teenage GREG GRAFFIN had the PERSPECTIVE and CLARITY to construct such a POIGNANT statement that takes into account one's own COMPLICITY in the matter.

its my belief that this ability to maintain a LYRICAL POSTURE that included THOUGHTFUL SELF-REFLECTION and SELF-ANALYSIS is what made their brand of MELODIC HARDCORE so different from what was being by their cohort of LOS ANGELES second-wave PUNK ROCK bands in the 1980s.  likewise the track "FUCK ARMAGGEDON... THIS IS HELL" embeds this notion of one's own unknowing COLLUSION in supporting political and capitalist systems that lead to our collective DEBASEMENT and DESTRUCTION.  makes perfect sense that a young ZACK DE LA ROCHA clamored onto and was influenced by the PRO-INDIVIDUAL and PRO-INDEPENDENT THOUGHT agenda of HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? in particular.

though the follow-up record took a detour into PROG ROCK of all things, this debut served as a template of sort for subsequent releases up until the WATERSHED cultural moment that was SUFFER (EPITAPH, 1988) a few years later.  is HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? the best BAD RELIGION album?  no.  but it is a PROMISING debut well-worth checking out and thinking about as the band evolved to further develop their identity around these STRIDENT POLITICAL THEMES amidst tightly constructed HARDCORE songs of the first order.

SMASH (review linked HERE), as i wrote about before, was a CONSEQUENTIAL record during the elementary school years my FAMILY spent in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  when in sixth grade my family moved to NIGERIA, that record was something i held onto as a cultural artifact of what i viewed as my home in essence.  that EMOTIONAL sense of IDENTITY would later shift over time as i lived and worked in different hemispheres and never returned to SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

what is interesting for me about IGNITION (EPITAPH, 1992), which was the preceding album to SMASH, is its INTENSITY and palpable sense of AGGRESSION.  SMASH had some straight-up PUNK songs, but they also had some lighter more pop-friendly fare that was recorded with tongue firmly in cheek.  unfortunately with subsequent releases they went down that road too far and in essence became a BONEHEADED, THIRD-RATE WEIRD AL YANKOVIC band.  which was a pity.  but on IGNITION,  especially tracks like "NO HERO," "SESSION," "TAKE IT LIKE A MAN," "WE ARE ONE," "KICK HIM WHEN HE'S DOWN" and "L.A.P.D." there is sense of PSYCHIC and PHYSICAL VIOLENCE that DEHUMANIZES and DIMINISHES one's sense of IDENTITY and their relationship to SOCIETY.  its a BRUTAL record and for my brother and i this is the DEFINITIVE OFFSPRING record.

in retrospect i find it funny that i discovered this record through a LEBANESE classmate in NIGERIA. even the intro passage to "DIRTY MAGIC" was the first thing most of my classmates learned on guitar at the time.  it just goes to show how big THE OFFSPRING were as an international force back in the mid-1990s, even in NIGERIA, and long before the internet.  that still blows my mind.  learning about this PUNK ROCK record by a local ORANGE COUNTY band from a few cities away (specifically GARDEN GROVE) halfway around the world was an experience that totally re-contextualized how i viewed my own relationship to AMERICAN CULTURE and that game of telephone would continue for years down the line.  even this act of writing a blog is my way of exploring such a phenomena to a certain extent.  

if you are unfamiliar with IGNITION, definitely check it out.  it has more to do with the HARDCORE PUNK of DEAD KENNEDYS and BLACK FLAG then the POP POP PUNK of GREEN DAY, NOFX or PENNYWISE.  its pretty UNRELENTING affair with no comic relief whatsoever like much of their staggeringly disappointing later output.

photo & text by nacrowe

check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK icons NOFX!
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the summer before my senior year of high school in 2001 i visited a childhood friend in ORANGE COUNTY who i learned upon arrival had very much taken the deep dive down into 1980s HARDCORE PUNK ROCK and never came out.  specifically he turned me onto SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA bands from the surrounding area like THE ADOLESCENTS, TRUE SOUNDS OF LIBERTY, THE BAGS, YOUTH BRIGADE, CIRCLE JERKS, BLACK FLAG, CHANNEL 3, DESCENDENTS, BAD RELIGION, FEAR, THE VANDALS, RICH KIDS ON LSD, X, AGENT ORANGE, D.I., WASTED YOUTH and so on.  it was during this period that i was introduced to SOCIAL DISTORTION who were literally from the next town over in FULLERTON.  that whole summer was very much an education in HARDCORE and the recent musical and cultural history of the area i grew up in, which was beyond compelling for me at the time.  nearly twenty years later, i did a radio show specifically on this PUNK ROCK scene on the LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK episode of DEER GOD RADIO.

i mention all this because SOCIAL DISTORTION has a unique trajectory relative to their cohort of bands and the scene they came from.  as time moved forward some local bands, most famously SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, adopted aspects of the concurrent THRASH METAL movement and effectively creating a crossover hybrid.  most others in true steadfast RAMONES style never evolved and stuck to their sound.  as main songwriter MIKE NESS grew older and got clean from a devastating heroin addiction, his music showcased a wider palette of influences that included ROCKABILLY, FOLK and COUNTRY elements that came from his newfound appreciation for art and enjoying life.

SOCIAL DISTORTION's debut MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER (13TH FLOOR, 1983) is quite the opposite of that later MULTI-FACETED creative output.  these FASCINATING songs find a GIFTED songwriter early in the process of finding his initial bearings and seeking out his voice.  on PROPULSIVE, now ICONIC tracks like "TELLING THEM," "ANTI-FASHION," "THE CREEPS," "ANOTHER STATE OF MIND" and "MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER" there is a palpable sense of INTENSE passion and FURIOUS intention with little in the way of FINESSE.  that would come much later as NESS would mature and develop his voice as a songwriter along with his FEROCIOUS stage persona.  the career trajectory and evolution of SOCIAL DISTORTION is what i find most INTERESTING.  MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER doesnt sound dissimilar or any less accomplished from other recorded efforts of the period like THE ADOLESCENTS' ADOLESCENTS (FRONTIER, 1981), BAD RELIGION's HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE? (EPITAPH, 1982) or THE VANDALS' PEACE THRU VANDALISM (EPITAPH, 1982).  an INTRIGUING cultural artifact from this period is the ANOTHER STATE OF MIND (TIME BOMB, 1984) documentary that finds SOCIAL DISTORTION on an early tour with YOUTH BRIGADE as they make their way through house parties and VFW halls along the west coast.  its a document that finds NESS establishing himself as an artist and taking chances both on and off stage during a time when HARDCORE and PUNK ROCK was DANGEROUS and could get you in a bruising scuffle with dumbshit local rednecks on sight.  it would be years before NESS took to his guitar and develop his songwriting chops in earnest but the PASSION and INTENT is most obviously there from the start.  its pretty cool to witness that spark. 

and for me MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER is a documentation of that initial creative spark that would later blossom into one of the most ACCOMPLISHED and SOULFUL ROCK N ROLL songwriters of his era, PUNK or otherwise.

in the summer of 2001 i visited a childhood friend in ORANGE COUNTY in what turned out to be an education in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK.  it was the summer before my senior year of high school and in retrospect it was the calm before the storm that was 9/11 a few short months later. it was also my first trip back to my childhood home as i had permanently left CALIFORNIA when my family moved to NIGERIA in the fall of 1996.  i went into the experience expecting things to have shifted only to be completely gobsmacked to the extent to which life had inevitably moved on without me.  new buildings, new facilities and new communities had sprung up during that half decade apart.  like i said, it was an education of sorts.

my childhood friend was deep into PUNK ROCK and specifically 80s HARDCORE from the area.  im talking about local ORANGE / LOS ANGELES / VENTURA / SAN DIEGO COUNTY bands like D.I., FEAR, CHANNEL 3, THE GERMS, AGENT ORANGE, RICH KIDS ON LSD, DR. KNOW, CIRCLE JERKS, T.S.O.L., BLACK FLAG, BATTALION OF SAINTS, THE VANDALS, MINUTEMEN, BAD RELIGION, DESCENDENTS, THE MIDDLE CLASS, WASTED YOUTH and especially THE ADOLESCENTS.  now some of these bands i was familiar with but most i was not.  at this point in time i had been abroad in AFRICA and then more recently sequestered in a NEW ENGLAND boarding school.  i was a fast learner though.  whats crazy is that my childhood friend and i went to two consequential shows that summer, WARPED TOUR in VENTURA and THE ADOLESCENTS in SANTA ANA.  at WARPED i was introduced to the standup comedy that was the anti-everything LEE VING fronting FEAR.  i mean even FLEA showed up for that gig. 

but the more CONSEQUENTIAL event was the reunion of THE ADOLESCENTS for a show celebrating their self-titled ADOLESCENTS (FRONTIER, 1981) album.  what struck me about that album was how WELL-CONSTRUCTED the songs were and how MELODIC and EXPANSIVE the musicianship was.  tracks like "KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE" and "AMOEBA" were arguably ANTHEMIC pop songs in the best SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA tradition of non-PUNK bands.  likewise "L.A. GIRL," "I HATE CHILDREN," "RIP IT UP" and "WHO IS WHO" were as spit-in-your-eye VENOMOUS and SNARLING as anything dreamed up by THE GERMS or their numerous later-day acolytes.  hearing the album and then seeing it live was a unique experience, especially given how RAUCOUS and VIOLENT the crowd was at that reunion show.  i had never seen concert-goes outright attacking security before.  sure there were mosh pits id seen at OZZFEST back in NEW JERSEY, but this was another level of proximity and intent.  i pretty much immediately got the sense of why people get caught up in this flavor of PUNK ROCK as it was almost freeing to see society's unspoken mandate of civility and mutual respect lifted for a few hours.

ADOLESCENTS is a record that more than lives up to its reputation as a seminal HARDCORE album that inspired countless skate-punk and MELODIC HARDCORE bands that followed.  learning about them made me rethink my association with ORANGE COUNTY, as previously i thought of that region as nothing more than a cultural abyss of which nothing seemed to emanate out of except for NO DOUBT and RICHARD NIXON.  now there was a whole slew of local HARDCORE bands to enjoy like THE ADOLESCENTS (FULLERTON), THE VANDALS (HUNTINGTON BEACH), THE MIDDLE CLASS (SANTA ANA), AGENT ORANGE (PLACENTIA), CHANNEL 3 (CERRITOS), D.I. (FULLERTON), THE CROWD (HUNTINGTON BEACH), and SOCIAL DISTORTION (FULLERTON) to investigate.

like i said, that summer was an education.