(SST, 1982)Three tightly-wound shouters that pound on past in about two pissed-off minutes each. It’s catchy negativity with raw Cardena vox, squealing Ginn leads, and rudimentary drumming that succeeds simply by pushing it all forward. A strong record, and quite an entertaining one to boot. So why am I not a bigger Black Flag fan? The lyrics are smart and funny, the general attitude is appealing, and I like the singing and the guitar… what’s wrong? At first I lazily assumed it was a “hadta be there” deal, but that’s clearly not true because I have plenty of friends who love the band and who definitely were not “there.” Back to the drawing board went my brain, and what I figger now is that because I didn’t investigate Black Flag very deeply when I was in my mid-teens, I’m now just incapable of GETTING IT. This kind of mad-at-everything musical machine-gunning is tailor-made for youngsters, and that’s in no way intended as a slap; these guys had it DOWN and did it really, really well. But coming at the material at my advanced age (I recently turned 63), I just can’t click with it on the visceral gut-level it demands. Now, the Wipers’ Is This Real record is one of my all-time favorites, and I wonder sometimes whether I would have been repelled by its overwrought emotional juvenilia – despite its incredible pop smarts – had I first encountered it as a “grown-up” rather than as a middle-schooler… Dunno, but I suspect that that gets to the heart of my ambivalence towards BF. Am I wrong?? Am I just a Black Flag-hating asshole? A square? Do I not own the right records? Is there one that would totally convince me that these guys were the cat’s pajamas (that’s what kids say, right?)? What do you think?? TELL ME NOW!
4 comments:
Be careful, or you'll wind up sounding like that pompous Columbia prof in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall," sounding off about Marshall McLuhan, and Fellini, and Beckett: "I admire the technique, but it just doesn't hit me on a gut level." Woody's response: "I'd like to hit this guy on a gut level," which might be what BF fans are thinking too, Pops.
I can't say; I coulda been there (I coulda been a contenduh too), but I wasn't. But then the fans of this kind of music tended to be guys who sweated beer, had bad hygiene, and, at best, girlfriends you would scarcely introduce to your friends, much less your family. Boojwah, I know, I know, but I guess I've never been angry enough to subject myself to amphetamine-fueled noise on a regular basis....
jealous again - that's the EP.
how's your lightly warped final VU holding up?
Jealous Again... I'll get that one, then; thanks!
You talking about "Squeeze"? That's a funny record, but it's not as good as the Japanese post-Reed live box set.
Don't try to "get it" from this EP. Black Flag were famed from one release and one vocalist: Damaged LP featuring Henry Rollins. Nothing sounds like that album, though many many tried. Ginn's guitar is purposely sloppy jazz and "uncomfortable" (when I was young I thought he was a talented guitarist due to the originality until I saw them live and realized he's just uncontrolled) but there's a certain style and sound here that wasn't even repeatable for the band. It adds up to an historical classic from a comparatively early date. In 2nd place, Gimme Gimme Gimme the 1st EP, Nervous Breakdown with Keith Morris (later of Circle Jerks) on vox. Self-released in 1978 it started the hardcore movement and if you're not a hardcore fan then this will be all you need to own. In 3rd I'd put Jealous Again. For everything else, you had to be there. Most of the catalog was just stuff to tour behind.
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