Shit You Should Listen To! #2

Hello folks, its B here with your semi-annual 112th anniversary edition of Shit You Should Listen To! Today we have a tasty menu of treats to tingle your musical taste buds and delight your most delicate sensual receptors. For those of you who are new to this festival of music, here is how it works. I give you a list of shit you should be listening to, and you go out and buy, borrow, burn, rip, steal, or download it. This edition is dedicated to American Hardcore, and boy do we have some great acts for your listening pleasure. Here they are, in no particular order:

Black Flag – Damaged
Pissing off parents and Joe Lieberman since 1976, Black Flag did their most damage to society’s youth with their appropriately titled album Damaged. Containing what I believe to be the best of Black Flag, this record speeds thru anger and frustration like James Dean in a Porsche doin’ 120 in the Hollywood hills while high on coke. “Rise Above” and “Six Pack” are among their best tunes, but it’s the almost cute sing along of “TV Party” that adds that special sauce to the assault-and-battery flavor. Plus, Henry Rollins is the fucking man. Do not argue this, you will be wrong.

Minor Threat – Complete Discography
I suggest this over their one album release Out of Step simply because this contains not only that album in its entirety, but also for the 17 other tracks. The cover picture is famous among the hardcore scene, and any band including Ian MacKaye needs no explanation. This was a precursor to Fugazi, MacKaye’s other well known project, but where Fugazi was more laid back and controlled, Minor Threat thrashed like they just don’t give a fuck.

Fugazi – Repeater
It was hard to choose between Repeater and 13 Songs, but I think Repeater is a better album, even if 13 Songs did contain “Waiting Room”. This album is the most structured and fluent record they have made, as each song seems to carry into the next like a Pink Floyd-Pixies mash up. “Repeater” is a great song, but the two instrumental tracks serve as proof that the band actually knew how to play their instruments, as opposed to some of their peers.

Bad Brains – Bad Brains
Everyone from Billy Corgan and David Grohl to Henry Rollins has hailed this band as being the fathers of American hardcore punk, a feat not easily accomplished for an all black band hailing from D.C. Tracks like “Pay To Cum” and “Banned In D.C.” make this album required listening for any punk rock fan, but also serves as a nice musical “Fuck You!” to hipsters, parents, the law, and just about everybody else. Thank these guys for American punk, because they essentially are responsible for it.

Circle Jerks – Group Sex
Although not part of the “Big Three” (Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, respectively) the Circle Jerks have contributed a pair of great hardcore albums, Group Sex being their first (Wild in the Streets being the other). With future Bad Religion guitarist Greg Heston, and post Black Flag member Keith Morris, the Circle Jerks should have been bigger. But what they lack in mythos they more than make up for in hard hitting punk tunes. Supposedly they are working on a new album, but until that is confirmed, reach out for this one. You won’t be disappointed.

Well that does it for this session of Shit You Should Listen To! Let me know if you experience any of these records or artist and tell me what you think. And if they make you hate me, that’s ok too. As always, stay sexy America.

-B
I had a name but now I’m a number, 1…2…3…Repeater!