Thursday 22 January 2015

Jerry's Kids

Recently I've been thinking about the serious lack of 80's hardcore on here. Not only is it foundational to everything else on here, but also arguably the best of anything on here (protest away). Early 80's hardcore (especially the DC/Dischord stuff) was basically my gateway into punk/hardcore, and even underground music as a whole. So I think I'll try to post some of the best bands from that era, because that is a legacy that needs to be shared and kept intact, or at least I think so.


To start off, we have Boston's Jerry's Kids, formed in 1981. Right from the get go, they were loud, fast, and dirty. Young and pissed off, with no holds barred once they got going. They first appeared on the now legendary compilation This Is Boston Not LA (which is similar to Dischord's Flex Your Head from earlier that year), along with other noteworthy bands such as Gang Green and The F.U.'s. This made west coast hardcore bands sound almost refined in comparison (maybe with the exception of The Germs, who they probably took influence from). The playing is spastic, the vocals throat-shredding, and they played with an angry desperation that always took the forefront to perfection and cleanliness. After their original singer had to leave the band, bassist Rick Jones took over on vocals, and would continue in that role for the remainder of the band's existence. The band dropped Is This My World? in 1983, which is easily one of the most classic hardcore records from this era (in my opinion second tier only to the obvious ones such as Damaged or Bad Brains' self-titled).  Is This My World? is the sound of a young band finally coming into their own. Every instrument seems to still be rolling over each other in a spastic frenzy, but this chaos is at an intensive peak that is undeniable. They had the songs, some musical talent, and enough passion and energy to demolish a stage (literally).

In 1984, they broke up, but reformed two years later in 1986. They released another album in 1989, entitled Kill Kill Kill, which sounded more like the speed metal sound that was popular at the time rather than their early material. Though they still are distinctly Jerry's Kids, the production is much cleaner, the songs actually manage to hold themselves together, and they feature guitar solos with some real technical capability. Though this is still a solid album, it never got the attention or praise their debut did. A year after the release, they broke up again. They did a reunion show in 1994, and nothing else until 2004, when they reunited (again). They played a few shows between 2004 and 2007, but have been inactive since and released no statement on further activity. This is a classic hardcore band, that I would recommend to anyone already into early 80's punk, or even someone just starting to gain interest in it. If anyone wants more bands from this era, let me know, because I have a ton of stuff from here that I would love to share with anyone interested. Enjoy.

1. Jerry's Kids - Straight Jacket
2. Jerry's Kids - Uncontrollable
3. Jerry's Kids - Wired
4. Jerry's Kids - Desperate
5. Jerry's Kids - Pressure
6. Jerry's Kids - I Don't Wanna
7. The Proletariat - Options
8. The Proletariat - Religion Is The Opium Of The Masses
9. The Proletariat - Allegiance
10. The Groinoids - Angel
11. The F.U.'s - Preskool Dropout
12. The F.U.'s - Radio UNIX U.S.A.
13. The F.U.'s - Green Beret
14. The F.U.'s - Time Is Money
15. Gang Green - Snob
16. Gang Green - Lie Lie
17. Gang Green - I Don't Know
18. Gang Green - Rabies
19. Gang Green - Narrow Mind
20. Gang Green - Kill A Commie
21. Gang Green - Have Fun
22. Decadence - Slam
23. The Freeze - Broken Bones
24. The Freeze - Idiots At Happy Hour
25. The Freeze - Now Or Never
26. The Freeze - Sacrifice Not Suicide
27. The Freeze - It's Only Alcohol
28. The Freeze - Trouble If You Hide 
29. The Freeze - Time Bomb
30. The Freeze - This Is Boston Not L.A.

1. Straight Jacket
2. Uncontrollable
3. Why Me
4. I'm Pissed
5. Wired
6. Desperate
7. Pressure
8. I Don't Wanna
9. I Hate You
10. Lysol
11. Machine Gun
12. It's Ok
13. Circus (cut off)

Note: Thanks to Blogged And Quartered for this

1. I Don't Belong
2. Cracks In The Wall
3. Tear It Up
4. Crucify Me
5. Break The Mold
6. Raise The Curtain
7. Vietnam Syndrome
8. Build Me A Bomb
9. New World
10. Lost
11. No Time
12. Is This My World?

1. Need Some
2. Torn Apart
3. Breathe & Fuck
4. Fire
5. Bad Trip
6. Back Off
7. Rippin' Out Your Tired Eyes
8. Spymaster
9. Right Now
10. Satan's Toy
11. Twisted Brain
12. Machine Gun
13. Reprise

8 comments:

  1. Thanks, as usual very nice post.

    Is this my world is a killer record. Like usual, the kkk album is really lower. But I am the kind of guys who generally likes bands first records anyway :)

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    Replies
    1. And yes I would be very interested to know your favorites bands of this era :)

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  2. More 80s stuff would be cool!
    Have you got the follow up comp to This Is Boston, Unsafe At Any Speed?

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  3. The Early November please!!!

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  4. This is sweet! Man, I'd love to see Black Flag, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Fear, Gorilla Biscuits, The Dead Milkmen... That's a lot of bands.

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  5. post some deadline! they were on dischord !!!

    ReplyDelete