THE LAST - She Don't Know Why I'm Here 7'' 1978

The Last is a Los Angeles based power pop band formed in the 1970s around three brothers: Joe (guitar + vocals), Mike (vocals), and David Nolte (bass guitar). They released several albums on SST Records and Bomp! Records. The Nolte brothers formed the band in 1976, and the band's sound was influenced by garage rock, surf rock, folk rock and psychedelic rock. After three self-financed singles, the band was signed by Bomp! Records, who issued the debut album L.A. Explosion! in 1979 (described by Trouser Press as "a near-perfect debut"). They reverted to their own Backlash label for second album Look Again (1980), and split up in the mid-1980s. The band were considered a major influence on the psychedelia-influenced LA bands of the mid eighties. The band was reformed in 1988 and signed to SST Records, releasing two albums in 1988 and 1989. The band went on hiatus in 1990, with Joe Nolte feeling "sort of disheartened" after the band's first national US tour (they had previously only played in California). So this is The Last's debut single with two melodic power pop tracks and they could really nail some harmonies that were pretty atypical in early punk. A true classic!!!

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BLACK FLAG - TV Party EP 1982

Before I dedicate myself to the Euro-League game of the SGE, a quick trip to California where we meet a well-known band that surely everyone should know and we come to the fourth EP by Black Flag which was self-produced and originally released by SST Records. There have been several variations on the release of the record. They include one released by SST Records, one as a split between SST and Unicorn Records, and another simply by Unicorn. All three versions have the same track listing. The title track is a satire of boredom, drinking and America's obsession with television; the original version was also released on the band's 1981 debut album Damaged. "TV Party" is considered an important contribution to the development of HardcorePunk and influenced many later bands. Black Flag themselves were one of the central figures of the Punk movement of the early Eighties and are one of the most important bands from the USA and the slab is a must listen. Enjoy the three songs and maybe the game afterwards! 

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V/A - SST Acoustic 1991

First post for today and I have a big hangover of too much drinkin' yesterday, puhhhhhh - so here we go: SST Records is a record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by Greg Ginn. It was originally an electronics company called SST (Solid State Transformers). The label was a prominent figure in the L.A. punk scene around 1980 and 1981, releasing more albums by Black Flag as well as Minutemen, Descendents, and Stains and has since remained a major symbol of the city's underground culture. SST quickly branched out in its early years to release albums by bands outside of the southern California area. All these songs on this album are released but came here together in a different version and every song is cool and shows that PUNK is no being brainwashed by fuckin' MTV or other sources and this LP shines through without all the studio tricks. I know ya’ll are excited so I won’t make you wait any longer to get this solid album with massive hits!!!!!

1.The Sicilian Train Blues - ROGER MANNING

2.No Resistin' A Christian - BRIAN RITCHIE

3.Awakening - THE LAST

4.Stories - MINUTEMEN

5.The Main - GRANT HART

6.Orcanese Farethewell - TOM TROCCOLI'S DOG

7.Yard Trip #7 - SCREAMING TREES

8.In Memory Of Elizabeth Cotton - fIREHOSE

9.Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song - NEGATIVLAND

10.Belonging To October - SACCHARINE TRUST

11.Go Man Go - KIRK KELLY

12.Colors - ANGST

13.Never Talking To You Again - HÜSKER DÜ

14.Poledo - DINOSAUR JR.

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THE DICKS - Kill From The Heart 1983

First full length by the Dicks and original released via SST Records, my copy is the Alternative Tentacles version and there are lots of Infos in the Blog and I like to quote here the one from AT, especially for you: "The Dicks, a Commie Faggot Band, emerged during the halcyon days of Austin, Texas Punk. The scene centered around the local dive bar Raul’s frequented by local freaks, artists, and soon-to-be Punkrockers. The band was the creation of Gary Floyd, a 26 year old from Palestine, Texas who had been a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and was openly, flamboyantly gay. Although he was advertising the Dicks before they were even an actual band, Floyd soon joined forces with three “terrorist thugs” to complete the group: Glen Taylor (guitars), Buxf Parrot (bass) and Pat Deason (drums). They started writing burly, blues-drenched punk anthems and began playing raucous, shows with local heroes the Big Boys. Unlike that band’s funk-infused, high-production value drag show, the Dicks opted for a cruder but still spectacular approach. Gary Floyd would assault the audience with chocolate frosting pulled from his panties, inviting any rowdy audience members to suck his dick.

The band’s first single, the masterful Dicks Hate The Police was dropped onto the world in 1980 on MDC’s R Radical label. The title track to this EP is unlike anything else before or after a total powerhouse of a song. The B-side found the band playing faster and harder than most other US Punk bands at the time. Like most of their Texas peers, the Dicks had a sound that didn’t fit any one mold or genre. Sometimes Punk, Hardcore, Blues, or free-form ranting, they were always playing music on the edge of insanity. Their next record is one of the ultimate documents of Texas Punk, a split live record with the Big Boys recorded at Raul’s. While the Big Boys don’t sound as great as their studio material, the Dicks really explode off the vinyl with a ripping live set that captures both the great songwriting and amazing energy they brought to the table. Having caught the attention of Punk producer Spot, the Dicks recorded their first full length for SST. Kill From The Heart finds the Dicks’ blues Punk attacking conservatism and especially racism with unbridled fury. In 1982, before the album came out, Gary and the Dicks moved to San Francisco, followed by MDC and DRI who took up with them at a squatted beer plant known as the Vats. Along with their new neighbors Crucifix and Michigan’s the Crucifucks, they embarked on the 1983 Rock Against Reagan tour: an exhausting three month extravaganza organized by the Yippies. The tour took a lot out of the band, and after its completion only Gary returned to the city by the bay. There he reformed the band with three new musicians: Tim Caroll (guitars), Sebastian Fuchs (bass), Lynn Perko (drums).

This line-up recorded the Peace? 7Inch, a concept single attacking the injustices of war. While the record is powerful, especially the scorching “I Hope You Get Drafted,” it also demonstrated the cleaner, more rocking direction that the new band was taking. 1985’s These People album, released on Alternative Tentacles, showcased a Dicks who were severing ties with “Punk” sounds to play more straightforward, longer bluesy rock songs. Nonplused by the reaction from punk audiences (“play faster!”), Gary decided to end the Dicks in 1986. He and Lynn Perko started Sister Double Happiness, who recorded for SST. Gary later went solo and has a new project called Black Kali Ma on A.T. Glen Taylor, unfortunately, passed away. Alternative Tentacles has reissued a collection CD of Dicks material that is a good starting point, and bootlegs of the LP (good quality) and first 7″ (bad quality) aren’t too hard to come by. Go get them now!"

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HÜSKER DÜ - Land Speed Record 1981

Now a classic record by a classic combo, Hüsker Dü were Bob Mould (vocals/guitar), Greg Norton (bass/vocals) and Grant Hart (drums/vocals) and formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota 1979. Info from wiki: Land Speed Record is the debut full-length and was released in January 1982. It was recorded live on August 15, 1981, @ the 7th Street Entry, a venue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The album is a fast and furious hardcore workout that bears almost no resemblance to the melodic post-punk that the band became known for in the mid '80s. The title has a double meaning, referring to both the band's ability to play as fast as they could (there are seventeen songs crammed into 26½ minutes) and their penchant for amphetamine pills. Hüsker Dü's August 1981 concert was recorded straight to 4-track soundboard tape on a three hundred dollar budget. Once the band had taped it they realized they lacked the financial means to release the album. Friend of the band and member of Minutemen, Mike Watt, offered to put out the album on his label, New Alliance. The original LP release on New Alliance contained an insert with lyrics and upcoming tour dates. The album was reissued in 1987 on SST Records on compact disc and LP. Like Hüsker Dü's other releases, Land Speed Record has not been remastered to alter the LP's sound for the compact disc release. The band's ongoing royalty disputes with SST have been given as the cause for not having a unique CD edition issued. Ken Shipley of The Numero Group has noted that the original tape was stolen from the band's van. The SST CD contains only two tracks, one for each side of the original album.

The album sounds like straightforward hardcore at first glance; with volume and power being emphasized over melody, it's the Hüsker Dü record that least sounds like Hüsker Dü. Bob Mould once referred to it as "the bad part of the acid...It sounds like when you go to a gig and get your ears blown off". The album was recorded just as they went on a tour of various places in the country, those close to the band say upon their return the band was louder, faster and noisier than before. The magazine Discords said about it: "It's hard to believe but the only Minneapolis hardcore band have gotten even faster during their stay away." Yet there are some elements emerging under the wash of noise that foreshadow the band's future direction. "Don't Try To Call" is one of their most melodic early songs, while Hart's "Data Control" slows the tempo to conjure a creepy musical mood to match the paranoia of the lyrics.

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BLACK FLAG - Everything Went Black 1982

Beware!!!! Now a damn classic... masterpiece... eleventh bid... multiple orgasms... passionate vibrations!!! Black Flag was one of America's first hardcore punk bands. They emerged from Southern California to gain international prominence, touring enough to become a major attraction in virtually every city where a scene existed and undoubtedly inspiring others to get in the game. Via the band's SST label, Black Flag played an essential role in the development and popularization of American punk. Through countless revolving door personnel changes — which spawned numerous spin-off bands along the way — Black Flag persevered until 1986, finally dissolving after locating and exploring the zone where punk and heavy metal intersect and overlap. Everything Went Black is an awesome compilation and was released 1982 through SST Records and comprises early unreleased recordings 1978-1981 before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981, and was initially released without the group's name on its cover, due to their lawsuit with MCA/Unicorn. Instead, the names of the group members were listed on the first release. Three singer can we enjoy; Keith Morris/Ron Reyes/Dez Cadena and I would say; by far the best time for the Californians & I would like to add a small extract from a brilliant review: "As if these recordings needed any more mythos associated with them! Although Nervous Breakdown would set the underground punk scene on fire, and wile Keith Morris’ sardonic, cagey delivery would go on to impress and inform thousands of future punk rockers, there was a scant four Black Flag tracks to his name prioer to Black. As Black Flag seemed to operate in cycles, the same could be said of Ron Reyes as well as Dez Cadena. Little did fans know that for each vocalist, there was nearly a full album’s worth of material- the same material mind you, but unreleased material none the less. Except it wasn’t quite the same material for each singer. Granted, almost all these songs had been released previously and many of the songs crop up two or three times on this release. But, Black was a boon in that it showed how each singer brought his own unique perspective to this material. This showed both the strength of the individual vocalists as well as the core material." Nothing to add I think. I personally prefer the Johnny "Bob" Goldstein era and you guess why, I have the Aggressive Rockproduktionen release and this vinyl-rip comes in refreshing 320k/Bit. Let's Pogo!

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THE SUBHUMANS - Incorrect Thoughts 1980

This classic album is not new in Blogland but I listen now to it and it's so damn great. The Subhumans from Vancouver were formed in 1978 by Brian "Wimpy" Goble (vocals), Mike Graham (guitar), Gerry Hannah (bass) and Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery (drums). Shortly after their first single, Dimwit departed and was replaced by Koichi "Jim" Imagawa. This album was released via Friends Records and is decorated with fourteen flowers that smell very intensive and move through your nose up to the brain to trigger pleasant vibrations, a superb perfume! Afterwards, Hannah & Imagawa departed and were replaced by Ron Allan (bass) and Randy Bowman (drums). The new line-up signed with SST Records and recorded the "No Wishes, No Prayers" record in 1982. However, at the end of 1982, just prior to the record's release, the group split when Brian Goble left the band to join D.O.A. - On December 7, 2014, Brian Goble suffered a fatal heart attack, R.I.P. - You find lots of more excellent info about the band in the web, I must get back to Bundesliga to Hanover.

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THE SUBHUMANS - No Wishes, No Prayers 1983

Second and final album by the Subhumans, a Vancouver band, on SST Records, a bit info about this record: In 1981, just back from a gruelling tour across the continent which included a full-scale police riot in LA and other harrowing events, Gerry and Jim left the band. They were replaced by bassist Ron Allan and drummer Randy Bowman for more gigs and touring, working up for this album with twelve catchy punkies and like their debut Incorrect Thoughts highly recommended. A good review for you: "An aggressive ’77-punk style melds with strong lyrics to create brilliant cuts like “America Commits Suicide” and a very catchy version of “Googolplex”; there’s even a killer cover of MENACE’s “Screwed Up” to satisfy Britpunk enthusiasts. All we can do now is hope that they get back together and tour." (Steve Spinali, MRR) - There's nothing to add and all those who asked for re-upps, will come tomorrow.

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OVERKILL - Hell's Getting Hotter EP 1982

Overkill was formed in late 1980 by drummer Kurt Markham and bassist Ron Cordy. Kurt, the group's main songwriter, was originally the guitarist but moved to drums in an attempt to lure friend Felice LoCoco, a guitarist, to join the group. Overkill recorded for SST Records and Carducci, himself, mixed their album - they were one of the first bands to mix punk and metal, resulting in one excellent EP and a decent LP before they fell apart. "Any band whose singer lights his balls on fire in performance is perhaps not destined to survive long, but Overkill did leave behind one heavy headstone of an album and they kicked any and all ass privileged to witness their spontaneous combustion - an early organic convergence of punk edge and heavy metal ambition." Great Combo.

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BAD BRAINS - I Against I 1986

Weekend, Yeah and let's fetz with classic Washington Punkrock by the Bad Brains and I Against I is their third album through SST Records and the best-selling record in the band's catalog. After the first of their countless breakups, the Bad Brains reconvened in 1986 to record this, their undeniable masterwork. Fusing dub reggae and funk rhythms into the mix, and slowing the tempo down enough to appeal to hardcore's emergent metal crossover audience, the Bad Brains created one of the most powerful collections the '80s produced in any genre. On "I Against I" and "House Of Suffering," the quartet suffuses traditional Jamaican spiritualism with modern urban concerns, while the soaring "Sacred Love" is guaranteed to send shivers down the spine of anyone with any soul whatsoever. An essential release.

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