Baby Shakes, “Shake Shake” (Douchemaster 2005)Second excellent single I’ve heard from these garage-punk gals ‘n’ guy. They’ve got a knack for finding a good groove and riding it around and around for rockin’, poppin’ fun.Try A/11/23/14
Bad Brains, “Bad Brains” (ROIR, 1982)The band that can be credited with inventing both NY and DC hardcore, in their first, most wall-blasting incarnation. You almost can’t believe that this stuff could be so melodic, so fast, so structurally twisted, and so technically spectacular at the same time, but it is.Try A/1, A/3, B/3, B/44/11/11
Bad Brains, “I Against I” (SST, 1986)Following a hiatus in the wake of their trailblazing proto-HC early work, Bad Brains returned in ’86 with a record that has been described as “a cross between Van Halen, Black Flag and the Police,” which only begins to hint at how original and cool this is. Dub and […]
The Bags, “All Bagged Up: The Collected Works, 1977-1980” (Artifix, 2007)One of the earliest L. A. punk bands, the Bags also pointed the way toward hardcore (see A/1). As much as anyone, they created L.A. punk/HC’s signature aerodynamic, jet-propelled rush of antisocial blare, but here the joy is as palpable as the rage, is in […]
100 Flowers, “100 Flowers” (Superior Viaduct; original release 1983)Minimalist/absurdist first-wave LA punks learn to play, and the result is the truest American counterpart to Wire’s 154 – tensely machine-tooled guitar-bass-drums interplay that still has pop bounce and brilliance and punk abandon. Each tune is its own distinct, perfect little contraption, but sixteen of ‘em sure […]
1910 Fruitgum Co., “1-2-3 Red Light” (Buddah, 1969 [?])The late-‘60s bubblegum was a hardier breed, with loud guitars and pounding beats to suit an audience used to hearing Hendrix blaring from their older siblings’ bedroom. This ultra-catchy confection drew from garage-rock, in-turn influencing stuff like the Ramones and Talking Heads (and bearing a striking resemblance […]
Action Swingers, “Quit While You’re Ahead” (In The Red, 2015; original recordings 1988-1990)Earliest (hence best, because their goal was zero, only adding-on was a surrender; cf. the title) stuff by New York noise-rock’s answer to Drunk With Guns. “Punk” reduced methodically to something so staggeringly rudimentary, so grainy and casually relentless that it almost re-creates […]
Adolescents, “Adolescents” (Frontier, 1982)These guys rank with T-SOL at the ape of first-wave Orange County hardcore, and only the Germs, X and Black Flag surpass them in L.A. punk as a whole. Taut, pummeling beats that roll as much as they rock fuel interlocking guitar harmonics that sparkle like SoCal suburban sprawl at night, an […]
The Adult Net, “Incense And Peppermints” (Beggars Banquet, 1985)Fall guitarist covers the Strawberry Alarm Clock’s title classic. Not much like the Fall, but a fun piece of cool Kitsch, artifice layered on artifice as if history was a baloney sandwich of pop-culture archaeological strata.Try 1/1, 2/110/2/18
The Adult Net, “Incense and Peppermints” (Beggars Banquet, 1985)Fall guitarist covers the Strawberry Alarm Clock’s title classic. Not much like the Fall, but a fun piece of cool kitsch, artifice layered on artifice as if history was a baloney sandwich of pop-culture archaeological strata.Try 1/1, 2/110/2/18