Straight to Hell

I recently found and bought the "Straight to Hell / Should I Stay or Should I Go" 12'' single at my local record shop, in alright condition. I don't know how rare it is and I don't know how much it's worth. I don't care. Flipping through the bin and coming across it made me so excited; like first getting into punk rock and buying a Stooges record. I've been just staring at the cover, an image I've always loved and considered getting tattooed. The back cover is the blue dragon from the Combat Rock days.

It made me think about how stupid it is for people to spend hundreds of dollars on all of versions of colored vinyl and stick them in a bin in their closet. I don't think they'll ever get it. Sometimes it just takes $10 to get really excited about rock and roll vinyl.

It also made me think about the Poison Idea album, "Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes."

LIFE

I just grabbed this 1983 double LP at my local record store. Recorded during Lizzy's farewell tour. "The All-Star Jam." God damn it's good.

Golden Shower of Hits

"Golden Shower of Hits" was the first record I ever bought by the Circle Jerks. It was actually one of the first punk records I ever bought. At that point I don't think I realized that "Group Sex" and "Wild on the Streets" were such classics and that I should dive into those first. I had seen Circle Jerks T-shirts on the bands that I worshiped at the time and I knew that somewhere, somehow they had a connection with Black Flag. I didn't know or care what that connection was, and I was so in love with "Damaged" that it didn't matter; any band who had anything to do with the Flag was rad in my book.

As their third album, 1983's "Golden Shower of Hits" never gets the recognition it deserves. It's not as amazing as their first two records, but punk doesn't get much better than those records. I see a lot of copies of this in used bins all around and I have to say, it's worth much more than it's it's sold for. Classic hardcore punk.

Sidenote: I never realized until recently that the cover was actually a Glen Friedman photograph. It's included at the top. Now that dude was a hero.


"10 kids in a Cadillac
stand in lines for welfare checks
let's all leach off the state
Gee! The money's really great!

We just get by
however we can
we all gotta duck
when the shit hits the fan!"
-When the Shit Hits the Fan

Hard Skin

Hard Skin just came through the USA and reminded me why I fucking love Oi! music. One of their terrific singles can be found at the following link.

Make My Tea: http://www.punkvinyl.net/blog/Hard_Skin-Make_My_Tea-ep/01-make_my_tea.mp3

November-Coming-Fire

Originally planned to be a Misfits side project, Samhain became Danzig's full time band when the Misfits broke up in 1983. In three years they released two full-lengths and an EP, and my favorite remains 1986's "November-Coming-Fire." It's out of print now but you can definately download it somewhere, or find the songs in the Samhain boxset.

The record has a lot of reverb, which really adds to the mysterious and creepy feel of the songs. To say Samhain was merely Misfits part II doesn't do them justice. These songs are definately good enough to stand on their own and any Misfits fans who don't have any Samhain need to change that. The lyrics are just as dark, and the music is slower and even creepier. Also, there's a rad version of the Misfits' "Halloween II". Outstanding record.

RIP Bo

Rest in peace, Bo Diddley. True originator. Opened for the Clash on their 1979 tour. I can see Bo and Strummer talking at a bar in heaven right now.