Circle Jerks “Golden Shower of Hits” 1983. Allegiance Records. I don’t care if the news reports are true or not, but links to this record showed up in many of my feeds yesterday – I laughed – so figured I’d take it out for a spin. Golden Shower of Hits is the Circle Jerks’ third studio record and is neither a comp nor technically hit-containing, though “Coup d’Etat” and “When the Shit Hits the Fan” both showed up on the Repo Man soundtrack in ‘84, and “Golden Shower of Hits (Jerks on 45)” is a spoof on the gawd-awful “Stars on 45 Medley” #1 hit by Stars on 45, a Dutch novelty group, in ‘81. Overall the LP is exactly what was fun about 80′s west coast punk: obnoxious, loud and fast. I’m also finding that 80′s punk is increasingly relevant again today: angry, often whip-smart and culturally critical, hurled in hurried bite-size pieces to gnaw on, like “High Price on Our Heads” and “Parade of the Deplorables Horribles.”

Dark warnings fill the air
Some conform, others spell the
Parade of the horribles
Parade of the horribles
Parade of the horribles
And you’re life’s just so fucking miserable
Something’s screams’ fill the skies
Men spell…
Parade of the horribles
Parade of the horribles
Parade of the horribles
Just so fucking wonderful
The sea will overflow
The seeds you plant will grow
The livestock of the yo
The fresh water will distill
OVERTHROW!