Flipper “Album-Generic Flipper” 1982. Subterranean Records. Noise punk, Flipper’s debut LP and considered one of the best punk releases from the 80’s. Very influential to the punk/grunge rockers of the late 80’s/90’s: Buzz from the Melvins counts it in his top 5, Kurt Cobain ranked it in his top 50; Krist Novoselic even joined the band in 2006. I can also personally attest that Judah Bauer (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) and his brother Donavon (20 Miles, w/Judah) listened to Flipper at their parents’ house in the mid-80’s and it may have had an impact on the Bauer bros sound.

Generic is mostly sludgy and sloooowww for punk, especially considering the early 80’s California punk sound which was, decidedly, not. Compared to their contemporaries, Flipper’s tracks are epic in length. The dirgey, head-banging (slowly) “(I Saw You) Shine” clocks in at well over 8 minutes. Usually I’d get bored but the bass line is kinda great and there’s some pretty good guitar licks. Also epic is “Sex Bomb” (just under 8 minutes), one of Flipper’s most well-known tracks. Flipper released that song as a single in ’81 and recorded a new version for Generic. One reviewer says about “Sex Bomb” – “[it’s] the closest thing ’80s punk ever created to the beer-fueled genius of the Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie,” and a song with a great beat that you just can’t dance to.” It even has saxophone! Also great is “Way of the World,” which actually is a bit danceable, if totally nihilistic (lyrics include “There are hearts no longer beating, And there’s entrails still on the floor. That’s the way of the world.”), “Life” which has a Gen-X shrug about…life, and punk blues-riff laden “Nothing” which is actually an ass-shaker, though sloppily so. “Living for the Depression” is really the only high-speed punk song on the LP and it’s a real ripper for Flipper.

The Donnas “The Donnas” 1997/2023. Reissue, “natural w/black swirl” vinyl, Real Gone Music. The Donnas is the all-girl punk band’s debut LP, very much in the spirit of the Ramones: 60’s pop inspired, short and snappy with occasional overt references to juvenile drug use (“Huff All Night” and “Everybody’s Smoking Cheeba“) and simple counting (on “We Don’t Go” they count to two vs the Ramones more complex counting to four). Add in a hearty dose of The Runaways and you get an album that is fun, a bit silly but super-hard rocking. I believe The Donnas were all still in or just finishing high school when they recorded the album; according to Wiki they took off a week their senior year to tour in Japan. My top tracks off The Donnas are the opener “Hey, I’m Gonna Be Your Girl, the aforementioned “Huff All Night,” “Teenage Runaway,” “Friday Fun” and the sole cover on the record, “Drive In,” written by Beach Boys’ Ben Wilson. While it’s a must-have in the evolution of punk, especially for all-women bands, the LP does get repetitive, with a lot of the songs sounding almost identical.

Flat Duo Jets “White Trees” 1993/2024. Limited edition “white tree” colored vinyl, Propeller Sound Recordings, first ever vinyl pressing of the duo’s fourth album, originally released only on CD. White Trees is also their first of all original material, written by the late Dex Romweber (plus one track – one of my favorites, “Where Are You Now,” written by drummer Crow; it’s very drum-forward and hard-rocking psychobilly). Sparse, garagey neo-rockabilly meets punk blues, the Flat Duo Jets quietly (though very very loudly if you ever saw them play live, which we were lucky enough to have on a couple of occasions in the 90’s) set the stage for the garage rock duo of guitars/vocals + drums explosion of the mid-to-late 90’s/early 2000’s (White Stripes, Black Keys, etc.) and White Trees is considered one of their best releases. Romweber’s scratchy vocals pair perfectly with Crow’s brushy stomps: both  “Michelle” and “How Long” are great neo-rockabilly example from White Tree, with “How Long” also channeling Depression-era deep southern blues. Also great are the opener “Daughter of the Jungle,” (Dexter’s sister, the late Sara Romweber plays drums on this track), the haunting “You Don’t Love Me Anymore” and the bonkers “Radioactive Man.”