Dear Friends,
This has been the longest, shortest week that I can remember as of late. I’m tired, but I have so much to do to get ready for Saturday night. We are flying to Boston at 10PM (hopefully…the hurricane might disrupt some things, I’m guessing) that night.
As for work, I’m pretty dialed in. I just need to straighten a few things up for my sub. The kids are feeling some kind of way, and I fear their behavior might be terrible for whoever is in charge of them next week. I know I’m going to miss them.
*****
Last night was really fun. We went to see King Buzzo/Trevor Dunn/JD Pinkus at Rebel Lounge after a nice dinner at Tacos Chiwas. It was a cool show and I got to see some good friends, too. Pinkus was amazing and Dunn is one of the best bass players out there. Buzz was Buzz and that’s a good thing, too.
*****
One of my first introductions to punk rock, the Decline of Western Civilization soundtrack is one of the key documents of a time, place, and sound. West coast punk rock would not be the same without it, but that is not saying that this soundtrack created the music. The music was already there, but the soundtrack brought it together in a way that celebrated something most people were afraid of in those days.
This music is a joy to listen to even though it is raw and unflinching. It’s ugly, at times, and many of the people who made it were angry when it came out in 1980. The anger was something, at least for me in the early 1980s, that was attractive and exciting, but a little bit scary, too. Enthralling is a word that makes sense to say.
I got my hands on a copy of this record in 1984, I think. I heard it in ’83, I think, and it stuck with me. I heard the record at least 100 times before I actually saw the movie. Now I own a copy on multiple media, including the film. Admittedly, the film hasn’t aged as well as the soundtrack, but that’s okay. Every once in a while, it is good to revisit.
Listening to the music before seeing the film really enhanced the way I experienced the live footage, I think. These are powerful songs. The bands are all firing away at the world.
Hearing Black Flag roar through “White Minority,” “Depression,” and “Revenge” was exhilarating. I became a true fan of the pre-Rollins Black Flag and that has never changed. I can appreciate the Henry years a bit more now, but back in those days, I would argue with anyone that the early years were far superior to the Henry years.
Germs do “Manimal” here after Black Flag and their stuff is pretty epic. Like Black Flag, this record made me so curious about them. Darby Crash seemed otherworldly, and he truly was. I never understood all the “Darby Lives” stuff, but that band certainly had something.
I always liked the Catholic Discipline song a lot. “Underground Babylon” feels so subversive and on the verge of rude. I love it. I like the Claude Bessy comments on the soundtrack, too. You never really hear much about Catholic Discipline away from this comp, but I would be curious to hear more if it is out there.
The way X explodes onto the record has always been amazing to me. There was something about this batch of songs that always knocked my socks off. “Beyond and Back,” “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene,” and “We’re Desperate” are so strong. Their commentary is pretty choice, too. The ma and pa of LA punk, John Doe and Exene Cervenka, they made some swell music.
The last eight songs on Decline of Western Civilization soundtrack are the bee’s knees, though. The Circle Jerks are fast and pissed and powerful. “Red Tape,” “Back Against the Wall,” “I Just Want Some Skank,” and “Beverly Hills” are all songs that can get me going to this day, especially the first and last of those songs.
Decline of Western Civilization, as a soundtrack, just flows. By the time you get to the one Alice Bag Band song, “Gluttony,” you are rounding third and heading for home. Alice Bag’s performance on this track is spectacular. I had such a crush, albeit a totally intimidated one, on her. When I got to interview her later on, she was just amazing.
This reminds me that I have been fortunate enough to interact with someone from all the bands except for Catholic Discipline and most of those interactions have been either sharing a stage, having a long conversation, or both. Teenage me would have shit his pants if he knew all of this was coming.
The last three tracks are Fear and early on, they were huge to me. “I Don’t Care About You” and “I Love Livin’ in the City” are sofa king good. Those songs…I don’t even know what to say except, “Hell, yes.”
This record is a keeper.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Banjos for everyone, says AI.
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