Gluebaggin'

Though I'm far from the first to lament the fact, the majority of long-time punkeroos show their true colors when they dismiss UK-82 punk. "Fuck that poser hair punk shit". So rather than piss on those who listen only to the tunes of clean-shaven Yankee teens, and obscure-o Japcore from years ago, I'm deviating from my set course and offering some prime cuts that will separate the try-hards from the die-hards. I dream of shows full of dumb kids with dumb hair and Abrasive Wheels shirts, drunk as shit running into each other and bloodying noses, instead of shows where people can sit on the ground directly in front of the band to shot pictures. Whatever. None of these are obscure, but these days the kids can sing along to "Lou's Anxiety Song" and not "Warhead", so who fucking cares? None of these records are hard to get either, but download em if ye must. I don't mean this as a best of, but if it'll make you angry take it as one. Stop trying so hard, it feels great. 5 good places to start:

Partisans-The Power and the Greed(from 17 Years of Hell 7")
Anything off the self-titled LP fucking rips too, but this is pretty much the pinnacle of teenage leather zit punk. Aside from Discharge, this the most aesthetically pleasing punk of the era. None of the silly pretense or expanded horizons that ruined(and ruins) those who think to much of their bands, just perfectly angst driven teenage stupid punk. 17 Years of Hell would probably be tattoo'd on my arm if that wasn't ten years ago. Get it while you can.

Disorder-Daily Life(from Distortion til Deafness 7")
Why are the kids listening to Kuro, Confuse and Gai, but not Disorder? That's like listening to Bl'ast! without listening to Black Flag, and I hope that's not happening yet.


Conflict-As Others See Us(from Increase the Pressure LP)
While I'm often quick to dismiss(and mock) attempts by punk bands to be overtly "POLITICAL" , Conflict(as well as a few others) will always hold a very special place for me. First, and most importantly, most bands who feel the need to market themselves as "POLITICAL"(not that Conflict necessarily did) do so due to the fact that they are bad. Conflict is not bad. What's more, instead of engaging in silliness like"Wall of Death-ing the System", Conflict truly believed in what they were doing and that it can, it will and it is happening. If you are going to be addressing serious issues, you should be doing so with the utmost seriousness, which is where Conflict succeeds and the hordes of clueless Pizza Thrashers fail. "As Others See Us" is not one of their most iconic cuts, but I think it's their best.


Cockney Rejects-We Can Do Anythings(from Greatest Hits Vol 2) and
4Skins-Chaos(from the Good, the Bad and the 4Skins LP)
While all the coolies think they are such cuz they listen to Skrewdriver("but it's like the pre-racist stuff, so it's cool"), these 2 blow them away. Hard Skin is all fine and good, but Cockney Rejects sound exactly the same and aren't kidding. And "Chaos" is easily the top song about the imminent skinhead take over. So what if the stinky kids with brown pants think you're "sketchy"?, that's a good thing.


GBH-Generals(from Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne 12")
I had always sort of dismissed GBH with the same sanctimony that most of my peers did(do?), although I would often play the live version of "Give Me Fire" from Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Vol 1 for people to get them to admit they liked it before revealing who it was. Of course, once I got to the age where I can finally get over myself, I picked this up for 5 bucks and here I am singing it's praise. Pretty much everything you could possibly want from a punk record. No excuses.
Oh yeah, for fucks sake get Neu Smell already. Trust me, you'll be able to get most of the new records you buy for half the price in three years anyway.