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.