Circle Jerks

Here's one that's been overdue for as long as this blog has existed. This was one of the first hardcore bands I ever heard, and my introduction to them among others quite literally changed my life. I revisited their early albums for the first time in a while and they are just as raw and unrefined as ever, and it's awesome.

As a quick summary, the Circle Jerks are from Hermosa Beach, California and formed in 1979. Its two founding members were vocalist Keith Morris and guitarist Greg Hetson, who have been the band's sole constants throughout their duration. The former had left Black Flag, though left his mark on that band forever by providing vocals on the now-legendary Nervous Breakdown EP. Hetson was briefly a member of Redd Kross, but left them upon the Circle Jerks formation. The first incarnation of this band was rounded out by bassist Roger Rogerson and drummer Lucky Lehrer. Both of them were incredible musicians for a scrappy punk rock outfit, with Lehrer in particular being a standout for bringing his background in jazz to the band.

Group Sex, the band's debut, was recorded and released in 1980. Without a doubt this is their undisputed classic. Its 14 tracks in 15 minutes of unbridled, sneering and nasty energy, with an outward anger and an inner complacency. They tackle a number of subjects across its tracklist with a balance of personal and political leanings, but all with an ooze of resounding dissatisfaction. Its lyrics are quick-witted and raunchy, the guitar riffs spark and crackle, the rhythm section is blazingly fast but never overtly sloppy. This is a record that I've listened to a 1000 times, and cuts like "Live Fast, Die Young", "Back Against The Wall", "I Just Want Some Skank", or the Black Flag carryovers "Don't Care" and "Wasted" still get my heart pounding. If you're even remotely into early hardcore or punk rock in general, this is a stone-cold classic.

The following year, this era of the band was immortalized in the documentary The Decline Of Western Civilization, which followed LA punk bands and the burgeoning hardcore scene in 1979 and 1980. Circle Jerks were one of the bands featured, alongside Black Flag, The Germs, X, and Fear, among others. Wild In The Streets came out in 1982. It's a solid follow-up, though doesn't hit the same tangible bursts of energy and brevity that made their debut so impactful. The songs here are a little more fleshed out, though not quite as memorable. Admittedly, the cover songs on here (the opening title track and the closer "Put A Little Love In Your Heart") are probably the two biggest standouts. Not to disparage the rest of it entirely, as it's a solid cut of undoubtedly influential SoCal punk, and a record I still loved listening through to while working on this on.

Lehrer unfortunately left the band around the time they were recording Golden Shower Of Hits, their 1983 release. He was replaced by John Ingram, who only played on this particular album. In some ways it is a return to form, with those raucous hardcore blasts and toilet humour coming back.  However, other songs lean even further away from this, like the melodic title track of the closing covers medley. It's a solid albeit slightly disjointed album, with a few more highs than its predecessor.

Things really changed up in 1984, following the departure of not only Lehrer but also Rogerson, who was replaced by long-time member Zander Schloss. Greg Hetson became a guitarist for Bad Religion, who he played with until 2013. The next two Circle Jerks records are fairly divisive, as they slowed down the tempos and started incorporating metal riffs. It's not something they execute particularly well, though there a handful of songs off of Wonderful that always stuck with me ("Making The Bombs", "Killing For Jesus"). They ended up breaking up in 1990, with Hetson focusing on Bad Religion full-time. They reunited in 1994, releasing a brand new album in 1995. Outside of The Soft Boys cover "I Wanna Destroy You", there's really nothing memorable on the aptly-titled Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities.

Since then, they've been active on again and off again in some capacity for the better part of the last 20 years, only touring sporadically and releasing no new material, aside from a single in 2007. They did officially split in 2011. Around the same time that Morris founded Off!, a band I honestly think is better than most of the Circle Jerks material. He also took the helm in FLAG, a band consisting of other former Black Flag members playing shows doing Black Flag songs. He came back around to his main project in 2019, along with Hetson and Schloss to do some shows for Group Sex's 40th anniversary. This resulted in some complications (1980 + 40 = 2020). But they're going strong now, and will actually be touring in 2024 with the Descendents.

That about does it, this band has a fairly interesting history and an immense amount of influence, especially that early material. I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but Group Sex is a must-listen, and admittedly a ton of this band's legacy hinges solely on that record. It's worth digging deeper if you haven't before, as there are some gems here and there. Enjoy.

Group Sex (1980)

1. Deny Everything

2. I Just Want Some Skank

3. Beverly Hills

4. Operation

5. Back Against The Wall

6. Wasted

7. Behind The Door

8. World Up My Ass

9. Paid Vacation

10. Don't Care

11. Live Fast, Die Young

12. What's Your Problem

13. Group Sex

14. Red Tape

The Decline Of Western Civilization (1980)

9. Red Tape

10. Back Against The Wall

11. I Just Want Some Skank

12. Beverly Hills

Wild In The Streets (1982)

1. Wild In The Streets

2. Leave Me Alone

3. Stars And Stripes

4. 86'd (Good As Gone)

5. Meet The Press

6. Trapped

7. Murder The Disturbed

8. Letter Bomb

9. Question Authority

10. Defamation Innuendo

11. Moral Majority

12. Forced Labor

13. Political Stu

14. Just Like Me

15. Put A Little Love In Your Heart

Golden Shower Of Hits (1983)

1. In Your Eyes

2. Parade Of The Horribles

3. Under The Gun

4. When The Shit Hits The Fan

5. Bad Words

6. Red Blanket Room

7. High Price On Our Heads

8. Coup D'Etat

9. Product of My Environment

10. Rats Of Reality

11.Junk Mail

12. Golden Showers Of Hits (Jerks On 45)

Wonderful (1985)

1. Wonderful

2. Firebaugh

3. Making The Bombs

4. Mrs. Jones

5. Dude

6. American Heavy Metal Weekend

7. I, I & I

8. The Crowd

9. Killing For Jesus

10. Karma Stew

11. 15 Minutes

12. Rock House

13. Another Broken Heart For Snake

VI (1987)

1. Beat Me Senseless

2. Patty's Killing Mel

3. Casualty Vampire

4. Tell Me Why

5. Protection

6. I'm Alive

7. Status Clinger

8. Living

9. American Way

10. Fortunate Son

11. Love Kills

12. All Wound Up

13. I Don't

Gig (1992)

1. Beat Me Senseless

2. High Price On Our Heads

3. Letter Bomb

4. In Your Eyes

5. Making The Bombs

6. All Wound Up

7. Coup D'Etat

8. Mrs. Jones

9. Back Against The Wall

10. Casualty Vampires

11. I Don't

12. Making Time

13. Junk Mail

14. I, I & I

15. World Up My Ass

16. I Just Want Some Skank

17. Beverly Hills

18. The Crowd

19. When The Shit Hits The Fan

20. Deny Everything

21. Wonderful

22. Wild In The Streets

Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities (1995)

1. Teenage Electric

2. Anxious Boy

3. 22

4. Shining Through The Door

5. I Wanna Destroy You

6. Shipping Sink

7. Brick

8. Fable

9. Dog

10. Grey Life

11. Exhaust Breath

12. Career Day

I'm Gonna Live (2007)

1. I'm Gonna Live

Live At The Fillmore 1982 (2010)

1. Moral Majority

2. Broken Glass / Letter Bomb

3. Back Against The Wall / Question Authority

4. The World Up My Ass

5. I Just Want Some Skank / Beverly Hills

6. Operation

7. Wild In The Streets

8. Red Tape / 86'd (Good As Gone)

9. Meet The Press

10. Murder The Disturbed

11. Deny Everything / What's Your Problem

12. Paid Vacation / Trapped

13. Stars & Stripes

14. Room 13 / Behind The Door

15. Defamation Innuendo

16. Don't Care / Live Fast, Die Young

17. Wasted

18. Just Like Me / Put A Little Love In Your Heart

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Facebook

Website

Black Flag

I had to share my Black Flag collection eventually, so here it is. If there's one way to describe this band, it's "iconic", at least for part of their career. Whether it be the classic Damaged, the teeth-clenched My War, songs like "Nervous Breakdown", the band's very interesting history, or the "bars" logo which is recognizable to people who don't even listen to the band (and which I admittedly have embedded in my skin), Black Flag are one of punk rock's flagships and icons.

Trying to start an introduction on the band's history in no easy task. They've got a very long and rich history that's documented in a ton of great sources (The Decline Of Western Civilization, Get In The Van, and many, many more) which do a much better job than I ever could. Basically, Black Flag began in Hermosa Beach, California under the name Panic in 1976 by the band's sole continuous member, guitarist Greg Ginn, whose label SST also released the band's material. Aside from him, the band had a revolving door of members that I could not even begin to get into details about. In the band's early days, the other most noteworthy member was bassist Chuck Dukowski, who stayed with them until '83. Black Flag also went through three singers, the first being Keith Morris. He later formed the Circle Jerks, OFF!, and stayed very active in the punk community to this day. He also currently fronts Flag, but we'll get to that. Besides a bunch of demos, he only appeared on the band's debut EP, Nervous Breakdown, which is considered to be one of the first, if not the first, hardcore punk release ever. It's been infinitely influential to this day. Their second vocalist, Ron Reyes, appeared on Jealous Again and came back to sing on 2013's What The..., which is quite aptly titled, but we'll also get to that later. Their third vocalist was Dez Cadena, whose guttural shouts brought the band into an angrier, noisier territory. The main material these three guys put out with Black Flag is all included on The First Four Years, which is a punk rock essential. The demos and outtakes from this era appear on Everything Went Black, which is a really interesting listen to hear each vocalist's take on the early songs.

Hardcore '81. Cadena's vocal chords were being shredded to hell (check out some live stuff from him, you'll see why), and the band was in need of a new vocalist, since Cadena wanted to play rhythm guitar. This guy from DC had been playing in this band called State Of Alert and managing the local Haagen Daz. After going up to see Black Flag play in New York, he hopped onstage with them to perform "Clocked In", since he had to drive back to DC to scoop ice cream the next day. A few days later, he gets a call inviting him up to audition for the band's new vocalist. And just like that, Henry Garfield becomes Henry Rollins, and the rest is history. Sort of. The band's "classic" line-up was now fully formed, featuring Rollins on vocals, Ginn on guitar, Cadena on rhythm guitar, Dukowski on bass, and Robo (also of The Misfits) on drums. They recorded their first full-length album, Damaged, which featured Rollins punching a mirror on the cover, which is a pretty accurate representation of the music on it. Some of the angriest, noisiest, and most intense hardcore of the time is found right here, from the Reagan-era anthem "Rise Above" to the distressed stream of consciousness "Damaged I". The album is highly regarded, and for good reason.

Damaged was meant to be distributed by Unicorn Records, a subsidiary of MCA at that time, who pulled back on their distribution deal after hearing the album. SST and the band said fuck it and distributed it themselves, which lead to a lawsuit that lasted for the next few years. During this time, the band recorded a handful of demos with drummer Chuck Biscuits (who was in D.O.A. and later Danzig), which are really damn good. They were finally able to release proper records again in 1984, after putting together a ton of material in the years prior. 1984 saw the release of three Black Flag full-lengths and a live album, with a new line-up featuring Rollins and Ginn, as well as bassist Kira Roessler and drummer Bill Stevenson (from the Descendents). My War came first, which featured a slowed-down, metal-inspired sound, which alienated a lot of fans waiting for another Nervous Breakdown. Especially the second side of the album, which was three long, slow songs completely consumed with anger.  As the years went on, it became an influence on grunge and sludge metal, and now held in higher regard as the phenomenal album that it is. Following that was Family Man, which was split into two parts. The first half featured Rollins' spoken word, and the second half featured the experimental jazz and punk fusion that Ginn would continue to explore on The Process Of Weeding Out and his other project Gone. One song, "Armageddon Man", is a combination of both sides, which makes for a demented yet intriguing listen. The end of 1984 resulted in a great live album, Live '84, and another full-length Slip It In, which is a slew of diverse but continuously good material.

The gravitation towards heavy metal continued into 1985 with Loose Nut, which only continued to alienate their fanbase. Black Flag have always had their share of opposition, whether it be the LAPD in their early days, or their own fans later on, they managed to continue on. By now they were more than used to being attacked at shows, particularly Rollins who became the scapegoat to blame for the band's changing sound. By 1985, he was the fully-formed muscled-out, tatted-up, short-short wearing long-haired beast that he's most iconic for in his Black Flag days. Check out their live stuff from this era, it's incredibly intense. When it came to the records though, Loose Nut isn't exactly their most critically-lauded or fan favourite from the band, though I still think it's a great album that has a ton of gems and some standout tracks which could almost be described as catchy (just listen to the chorus on "Bastard In Love"). The heavy metal inspiration peaked on the band's last album (as far as I'm concerned), which was In My Head. Again, it's not the most recognized of Black Flag's material, but it's a solid album front-to-back nonetheless.

By 1986 the band had begun to dissolve. Stevenson and Roessler had left the band, and tensions from the band's vigorous touring schedule and continued experimentation had really started to take a toll on the remaining members. The legendary Black Flag ended in a phone call from Ginn to Rollins, and that was it. All its members went their separate ways and got involved in a bunch of other projects, leaving the bars behind. A handful of members have gotten together on occasion post-2000 to perform some songs, but that's about it.

If there really is a benevolent god, he is not a fan of Black Flag. In 2013, Greg Ginn and Ron Reyes got together under the Black Flag name to play shows and record a new album. The result was What The..., which is as aptly titled as they come. Putting the name and awful cover art aside, it's an incredibly average punk album, which doesn't carry any of the raw energy that they did in their earliest days. It's basically a bastardization of the name, which resulted in even more revolt than My War did years ago. This didn't last long though, since Reyes was kicked out and replaced by skater Mike Vallely. Reyes just can't seem to catch a break with the Black Flag name. when he quit back in 1980, he was credited as "Chavo Pederast" (basically saying he's a pedophile) on Jealous Again as "revenge", and now after coming back years later he gets the boot once again. This incarnation of Black Flag (if you want to call it that) was done by the end of 2014. At the same time, another form of the band sprung up, this one going under the name Flag. It features Morris, Dukowski, Stevenson, Cadena and the Descendents' guitarist Stephen Egerton, and it is definitely the more respectable tribute to the original band, though there's no denying that Greg Ginn IS Black Flag.

Personally, they were a huge influence on me musically. They weren't really my introduction to punk, but they (along with a few others) were definitely my introduction into hardcore, and the wonderful world of the 80's American underground rock, which I still think contains some of the best music ever put out, whether it be Black Flag, Sonic Youth, Mission Of Burma, Rites Of Spring, you name it. I remember watching "Depression" from The Decline Of Western Civilization and thinking "holy fuck", because I had never "got" music like that before, and it's kind of stuck with me ever since. But enough self-indulgence, get into this band. At least The First Four Years, Damaged, and My War, because those are the absolute essentials, and I question your sanity if you don't give them a listen. Enjoy.

Panic Demos (1978)

1. No Values

2. White Minority

3. I Don't Care

4. Gimme Gimme Gimme

5. Wasted

6. I Don't Care

7. Instrumental

8. I Don't Care (2)

Nervous Breakdown (1979)

1. Nervous Breakdown

2. Fix Me

3. I've Had It

4. Wasted

Jealous Again (1980)

1. Jealous Again

2. Revenge

3. White Minority

4. No Values

5. You Bet We've Got Something Personal Against You

Six Pack (1981)

1. Six Pack

2. I've Heard It Before

3. American Waste

Louie Louie (1981)

1. Louie Louie

2. Damaged I

The Decline Of Western Civilization (1981)

1. White Minority (Live)

2. Depression (Live)

3. Revenge (Live)

Thirsty And Miserable (1981)

1. Thirsty And Miserable

2. Life Of Pain

Damaged (1981)

1. Rise Above

2. Spray Paint (The Walls)

3. Six Pack

4. What I See

5. TV Party

6. Thirsty And Miserable

7. Police Story

8. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

9. Depression

10. Room 13

11. Damaged II

12. No More

13. Padded Cell

14. Life Of Pain

15. Damaged I

Police Story Live EP (1982)

1. Police Story

2. Nervous Breakdown

3. Depression

4. I've Heard It Before

5. You Bet We've Got Something Personal Against You

Note: Live bootleg

TV Party (1982)

1. TV Party

2. I've Got To Run

3. My Rules

Everything Went Black (1982)

1. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

2. I Don't Care

3. White Minority

4. No Values

5. Revenge

6. Depression

7. Clocked In

8. Police Story

9. Wasted

10. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

11. Depression

12. Police Story

13. Clocked In

14. My Rules

15. Jealous Again

16. Police Story

17. Damaged I

18. Louie Louie

19. No More

20. Room 13

21. Depression

22. Damaged II

23. Padded Cell

24. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

25. Crass Commercialism

The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More! (1982)

1. What Can You Believe?

2. Yes I Know

3. Slip It In

4. Modern Man

5. My War

6. Black Coffee

7. Beat My Head Against The Wall

8. I Can't Decide

9. I Love You

10. Nothing Left Inside

11. I Love You

12. My War

13. Interview Session

14. Swinging Man

1983 Demos (1983)

1. What Can You Believe?

2. Modern Man

3. Slip It In

The First Four Years (1983)

1. Nervous Breakdown

2. Fix Me

3. I've Had It

4. Wasted

5. Jealous Again

6. Revenge

7. White Minority

8. No Values

9. You Bet We've Got Something Personal Against You

10. Clocked In

11. Six Pack

12. I've Heard It Before

13. American Waste

14. Machine

15. Louie Louie

16. Damaged I

Radio Tokyo Session (1984)

1. I Love You

2. My War

3. Swinging Man

4. Interview Rado Tokyo 1984

My War (1984)

1. My War

2. Can't Decide

3. Beat My Head Against The Wall

4. I Love You

5. Forever Time

6. Swinging Man

7. Nothing Left Inside

8. Three Nights

9. Scream

Family Man (1984)

1. Family Man

2. Salt On A Slug

3. Hollywood Diary

4. Let Your Fingers Do The Walking

5. Shed Reading (Rattus Norvegicus)

6. No Deposit, No Return

7. Armageddon Man

8. Long Lost Dog Of It

9. I Won't Stick Any Of You Unless And Until I Can Stick All Of You!

10. Account For What?

11. The Pups Are Doggin' It

Slip It In (1984)

1. Slip It In

2. Black Coffee

3. Wound Up

4. Rat's Eyes

5. Obliteration

6. The Bars

7. My Ghetto

8. You're Not Evil

Live '84 (1984)

1. The Process of Weeding Out

2. Nervous Breakdown

3. Can't Decide

4. Slip It In

5. My Ghetto

6. Black Coffee

7. I Won't Stick Any Of You Until and Unless I Stick All Of You!

8. Forever Time

9. Fix Me

10. Six Pack

11. My War

12. Jealous Again

13. I Love You

14. Swinging Man

15. Three Nights

16. Nothing Left Inside

17. Wound Up

18. Rat's Eyes

19. The Bars

CBC Radio Session (1985)

1. 01

Note: One file, bunch of live tracks

Loose Nut (1985)

1. Loose Nut

2. Bastard In Love

3. Annihilate This Week

4. Best One Yet

5. Modern Man

6. This Is Good

7. I'm The One

8. Sinking

9. Now She's Black

The Process Of Weeding Out (1985)

1. Your Last Affront

2. Screw The Law

3. The Process Of Weeding Out

4. Southern Rise

In My Head (1985)

1. Paralyzed

2. The Crazy Love

3. Black Love

4. White Hot

5. In My Head

6. Out Of This world

7. I Can See You

8. Drinking And Driving

9. Retired At 21

10. Society's Tease

11. It's All Up To You

12. You Let Me Down

Who's Got The 10½? (1986)

1. Loose Nut

2. I'm The One

3. Annihilate This Week

4. Wasted

5. Bastard In Love

6. Modern Man

7. This Is Good

8. In My Head

9. Sinking

10. Jam

11. Best One Yet

12. My War

13. Slip It In/Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

14. Drinking And Driving

15. Louie, Louie

Minuteflag (1986)

1. Minutemen & Black Flag - Fetch The Water

2. Minutemen & Black Flag - Power Failure

3. Minutemen & Black Flag - Friends

4. Minutemen & Black Flag - Candy Rush

Wasted...Again (1987)

1. Wasted

2. TV Party

3. Six Pack

4. I Don't Care

5. I've Had It

6. Jealous Again

7. Slip It In

8. Annihilate This Week

9. Loose Nut

10. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

11. Louie Louie

12. Drinking And Driving

Annihilate This Week (1987)

1. Annihilate This Week

2. Best One Yet

3. Sinking

I Can See You (1989)

1. I Can See You

2. Kickin' & Stickin'

3. Out Of This World

4. You Let Me Down

Live At The On Broadway 1982 (2010)

Disc 1

1. No Martyrs

2. I've Heard It Before

3. Room 13

4. Depression

5. I Can't Decide

6. Nervous Breakdown

7. Jealous Again

8. Scream

9. Six Pack

10. No Values

11. I've Had It

12. My Life

13. I've Got To Run

14. My Rules

15. Modern Man

16. Beat My Head Against The Wall

17. Fix Me

18. Rise Above

19. TV Party

20. Wasted

21. Revenge

Disc 2

1. Band Intros/Scream

2. Jazz Poetry

3. Revenge

4. I've Gotta Run

5. My Rules

6. I've Heard It Before

7. Room 13

8. Depression

9. I've Had It

10. Nervous Breakdown

11. Jealous Again

12. My Life

What The... (2013)

1. My Heart's Pumping

2. Down In The Dirt

3. Blood And Ashes

4. Now Is The Time

5. Wallow And Despair

6. Slow Your Ass Down

7. It's So Absurd

8. Shut Up

9. This Is Hell

10. Go Away

11. The Bitter End

12. The Chase

13. I'm Sick

14. It's Not My Time To Go-Go

15. Lies

16. Get Out Of My Way

17. Outside

18. No Teeth

19. To Hell And Back

20. Give Me All Your Dough

21. You Gotta Be Joking

22. Off My Shoulders