Germs “MIA: The Complete Anthology” 2020/1993. Limited, first edition on black vinyl and opaque blue vinyl. Today, January 4th, would have been Germs bassist Lorna Doom’s 65th birthday (b. Teresa Marie Ryan, b. 1958, d. 2019). I’ve had MIA since it came out on CD in ’93. I have about a zillion, give or take, Germs comps, bootlegs, originals but there’s always room for more in the Vault. Part of why I appreciate this release so much is specifically for the slow (best) version of “Lexicon Devil” (on Side C) which is not on their sole studio LP G.I. – one of my favorite records of all-time – but is on the EP What We Do Is Secret (my original “holy grail” release that I also first found on vinyl in ’93).

From Discogs: this release “Includes entire Germs recorded catalog except for the recordings for the tracks recorded for Tooth And Nail [a 1979 comp that includes Germs, Flesh Eaters, Negative Trend and others] and the remixed version of “No God” on Yes L.A. [another ’79 comp with Germs, X, Bags, others]. The first LP [on black vinyl] covers the full (GI) LP, while the second LP features the What We Do Is Secret EP in original sequence (side C, on blue vinyl).” Side D has the Germs first 7″ single from 1977 “Forming” and its B-side, a live version of “Sex Boy” which is a beautiful punk mess. They recorded “Sex Boy” for the Cheech and Chong movie, Up in Smoke. The song was not used in the movie, nor was the band. They were the only band not to receive a call-back to perform live for the film’s “Battle of the Bands” sequence, perhaps due to the fact that the Germs’ chaotic Roxy performance had featured an unscripted, full-on food fight.” (Wiki) Also on Side D are two of the Germs’ tracks from the 1980 Cruising (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) starring Al Pachino; the track “Lion’s Share” is the only one of the six they recorded that made it onto the soundtrack release.  Finishing the anthology is “Forming 2” from the compilation What Is It, the 1982 comp that also includes The Dils, The Controllers, and others. I have all of the tracks on MIA on a bunch of other formats and releases, but having the best of the bunch on one good-quality release (i.e. not shitty bootlegs), re-mastered from the original tapes, is totally worth it.