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

My War: Side B

My War is probably one of the most simultaneously underrated and appreciated punk records of all time. The reason is mainly Side B: three sludgy tracks all over six minutes long. I feel like the people who are aware of it, are in awe of it. I've heard the Melvins cite those three songs as key inspiration for their sound, which in turn owes a lot to Side B because the Melvins inspired countless awesome bands.

When I was in high school I definately didn't appreciate those songs; I was a purist and those songs are not fast by any measure. I always loved Side A, with "My War" and "Can't Decide," and it wasn't until I moved to Philly that it all clicked and I really got the whole thing.

"Nothing Left Inside," "Three Nights" and "Scream" are how I feel inside on a regular basis, and listening to them is unbelievably fulfilling.

"I might be a big baby
But I'll scream in your ear
Until I find out just what it is
I am doing here.
Until then,
AHHHHHH!"

Live '84

The first two Black Flag records I ever owned were Damaged and The First Four Years, which both seem to be the starting points for most Flag fans in general. They are after all, the most "accessible" of Ginn's creations, in that they basically follow the punk formula of short, angry and loud.
When I was in the 9th grade an older friend gave me a cassette tape of their Live '84 record, which, since that day has held a spot on the short list of recordings that changed my life. I had never heard anything so angry and tight before; I didn't realize that sound was even possible! The transitions between songs were brilliant. I clicked with Black Flag like I clicked with the Clash; I could have been in that band; I was meant to be into them. They were for ME.
I became obsessed with that tape and soon wore it down. The drum beat never relented and it powered an hour and 15 minutes of aggression and release. I related to Rollins' lyrics on a level I had never experienced. Paranoia, fury and impatience. It was like when I discovered Holden Caulfield, only MUCH better. After all, my entire class read The Catcher In The Rye, but Flag was mine.
Songs like "Can't Decide," "My War," "Slip It In," "Black Coffee" and "Wound Up" became my "Here Comes The Sun," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Strawberry Fields Forever." I had found my Beatles.

Black Flag was a whole different beast live than on studio albums, and their bootlegs are the reason I'll always defend Rollins as Flag's best frontman. Live '84, Who's Got the 10 1/2? and the Annihilate This Week EP are some of the greatest live punk recordings ever. So heavy. So original. So influential. And somehow, so underrated.