idk.

Black Flag is surely the pinnacle of the first American Hardcore movement the late 70’s and early 80’s. Their first LP, Damaged [1981], is frequently looked at as their most defining work of theirs as well as the entire movement. But in a lot of ways, Damaged was a major shift in direction for a band that had already spent 4 years establishing and defining a new punk. Damaged was the introduction of the young and angry lead singer of DC Hardcore band S.O.A., Henry Rollins. Though plenty enthusiasts-myself included find Rollins work to be great (but very different), many Hardcore originals/purists think Rollins was the start of the end of Black Flag, founder Gregg Ginn included. His brutal singing quality, his super serious tone, and his interest in spoken word were all a very new direction for the Black Flag of the 78-81 years.

In reality though, I think Rollins was thrown into a terrible situation in which he couldn’t win. He came in as the new singer, at the peak Black Flag’s success. Many of the songs that were recorded for the Damaged LP had already become favorites with former singers. His new style was abrasive to the fans that were comfortable with the old Black Flag. Most importantly though, Black Flag founder and sole writer of music and lyrics (at that time), had a new direction for the band. He didn’t want to make another Damaged or Nervous Breakdown even. He was getting more and more into slow, heavy metal, citing late Sabbath as a major influence. The B side to their follow up LP, My War, was full on slow metal punk fusion(Scream Live). From then on, the band’s sound would change forever. Though he was fully in possession of the direction of the band, he left Henry out in front as the guy to take the blame for everything. Ginn was not the guy who got beat up, have shit thrown at, and spat on at every show. It was Rollins. Rollins documented many of his disenchanted tour stories (check this out) in his book “Get in the Van” (Ginn claims it’s mostly lies). Rollins seemed to get beat up at nearly every show.

After that Rollins back story, let’s step back again. The release of Damaged led Black Flag to a long legal battle that prevented them from properly releasing another album for several years. Originally it was intended to be distributed by Unicorn Records, a subset of MCA. After the first pressing of the album was pressed, MCA decided they wanted no part of the record. As a result members of Black Flag had to go to the pressing plant, and place a sticker on top of the MCA Distribution logo. First pressings can be be differentiated easily, as they are the only records to have this sticker [my record and thumb shown to the right]. Black Flag’s own label SST took up distribution immediately after. As a result of SST’s new distribution plan, Unicorn sued for breach of contract. Under a court order, Black Flag was then not able to release another album for nearly three years until the claim was settled (81-83). Unable to release anything, the band continued to practice and tour fervently. Of course though, and as you could imagine, they still released an album. They decided to release a compilation album compiling nearly all of their songs before Rollins’ introduction (78-81), in chronological order, starting with singer Keith Morris, briefly Ron Reyes, and then Dez Cadena. So as to dodge the issue, they pained white over the Black Flag logo, and only displayed their names in text on the front cover. Only the first pressing includes this format. Following pressings came after the lawsuit was settled, and had a new cover with the logo unmarked, as well as big Black Flag text. I just won this baby on an ebay auction recently in near mint condition! In another article (my first here), I talked about the importance of first pressings. But this is a particularly cool instance, where it is a real document of a very specific time in history(pretty sweet Pettibon cover too!).

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So one of my new assignment at work is to go through band pages on myspace (long story). This sounds great, but really there is more crap music in this world than you probably realize. After going through hundreds of pages though, I did come across a few winners. One of the bands I stumbled across was the Chicago Math-Rock based band Maps and Atlases. I noticed they were on the same label as Tera Melos-Sargent House, so figured to check them out. After hearing only three songs from the album Trees, Swallows, Houses that I [yes illegally] downloaded- I ordered the vinyl online. That good. In fact this youtube video sold me.<- That is insane- the acoustic harmonics, the whole tuning at the end. That just makes me wish I actually had some skillz with that six string in my room. These guys are insanely talented, and the singer has a really interesting voice. To me I hear Paul Simon with a frog in his throat. Anyhow, If you enjoy some fun math rock this is for you. If you’ve never heard it, this could be a great introduction. [Math rock is typically full of very challenging technical parts, along with frequent changing time signatures.] I’m really having trouble listening to anything else. Before you know it, you’ll be singing along and clapping your hands at crazy times.

For a good starter-check out “Every Place is a House”

Or their myspace for songs www.myspace.com/mapsandatlases

-m

At about 1:30am Tuesday morning, drenched with sweat, we all slowly started pouring out of the Smell after Dan Deacon’s performance. I looked at my friend Ian and all he could say was “Wow”. Wow indeed. We were completely exhausted but couldn’t be any more elated. It was a truly special night at the Smell.

Hosted by Sean Carnage this past Monday night was LA’s finest drumming quartet- Foot Village’s record release party. It was jam packed with 6 bands, promptly starting after the doors opened at 9. There were rumors for at least a week that Electro-God Dan Deacon would be making an appearance. By Monday afternoon, The Smell officially announced it on their site. I figured by then the cat was out of the bag, and it would be just insanity. It strangely though never got too packed, but I will say that the 100 or so people that did file in last night, left shocked& awed (!!!). (more…)

After a mentally exhausting few days, I was more than delighted to finally get back to the Smell for the first time in a month or so. The amount of press that place has gotten in the past year is beyond nutty at this point. After going there the first time about two years ago, I would never have imagined to see the Smell written up everywhere, The New Yorker, Pitchfork,Vanity Fair, and MTV.com to name a few. Even with all the new found press though, the crowd hasn’t seemed to have changed all that much, and the intimacy between bands and fans hasn’t changed a bit. This place is still just as special. How many people can say they can see some of their favorite acts in a tiny venue with less than 100 people with any regularity. One of my favorite parts of going to the Smell is getting their early for the undercard. I can’t even begin to name how many of my favorite bands/artists that I first saw opening for a band there.

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Wow. On Thursday night at the local Silverlake Lounge, I had my face melted by an awe inspiring performance from the band Tera Melos. To me, this is what life is about. After following these guys fairly regularly since discovering them on a music forum, I was delighted to finally catch a performance of them in person. This 3-piece band who seemed to not have a fraction of the fan base they deserve, have the exact energy that I seek in a band. They can shred with virtuoso skill, hit a beautiful melody, and then jump into a spastic thrash all in the same song. If I were to actually bog down and attempt at genre description(I’d rather not, but….), I would say they are progressive math rock fusioned with parts metal, punk, and post-rock. Got it? Good. Their albums don’t quite capture their live energy, but still showcases their amazing abilities. They tend to be more calculated recorded while their show seemed a bit more of a controlled chaos.

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So in the past two weeks I’ve bought three vinyls that I’ve been looking quite hard for. I haven’t given them the spins they deserve yet, but I’m getting there. While collecting records, I’ve realized I’ve become somewhat obsessed with getting the original/first pressing. That obviously makes my search a lot more expensive and tedious, but more exciting too. The feeling I get when I grab an original pressing with an 8 buck sticker at Ameoba is so rewarding (Black Flag-Damaged, Butthole Surfers-Brown Reason to Live…etc). Seeing them sold on E-bay for a lot more is also fun to see, but I have no interest in selling them. Beyond their obvious monatary value, I think there is a bit of romanticism in first pressings. It’s a piece of history. It’s what was released when the artist had no idea if more than 10 would sell. THAT, is exciting to me. Re-pressings just don’t hold that quality. I dont feel the same connection with the history in re-presses. That being said, below are my 3 recent purchases, one an original pressing, another an original German pressing, and the last a total repress.

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