Germs “What We Do Is Secret” 1981/2018. Slash Records. I have the original from ‘81 but because I will literally buy anything Germs-related, I just picked up this Record Store Day Black Friday reissue on blue vinyl. As I wrote about a few years ago, What We Do Is Secret was my vinyl holy grail in the 80′s. Pre-internet ease, I would scour every record store I came across for this out-of-print EP until one day in ‘93 while visiting San Diego, there it was on the wall of Off the Record (cue the halo of light and chorus of angels).

Slash Records released What We Do Is Secret soon after Darby Crash’s suicide in 1980. All the songs were available on other releases but the EP had a couple of different versions and live tracks. The version of “Round and Round” was recorded in ‘77 for What Records. The “Lexicon Devil” version on What We Do Is Secret is the slow version and my absolute favorite. That track, along with “Circle One” and “No God” were recorded in ‘78 for Slash Records and were produced by Geza X. “Caught in My Eye” comes from the GI sessions on Slash with Joan Jett producing. “The Other Newest One” and “My Tunnel” are live, recorded in late ‘80, just days before Crash’s death, at the Starwood in Hollywood and Crash is rude, obnoxious, a complete mess and completely awesome.