california punk Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Social Distortion “Poshboy’s Little Monsters”

sfilzen — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:09:14 +0000

Social Distortion “Poshboy’s Little Monsters” 1981/2019. Poshboy Records/Radiation Records. Limited edition (200) red and white splatter vinyl (Italian pressing). There is quite a bit of backstory to this 6-song EP by California first wave punks Social Distortion, who were teenagers (drummer John Stevenson was only 16!!) when they recorded this session with Poshboy Records’ Robbie Fields. SD’s first single “Mainliner” was originally intended to be a 4-song EP. According to Robbie Fields’ liner notes on Poshboy’s Little Monsters, “…I had promised [Mike] Ness that we would not fight so once there was a minor disagreement over the artwork for the proposed 12” (EP), I dropped the project in favor of the “Playpen“/”Mainliner” 7″ which sported iconic artwork from the band.” So four songs – I believe the other two intended were “Moral Threat” and “All the Answers” which they re-recorded for their first LP Mommy’s Little Monsters – became two in ’81. The other two songs SD recorded with Fields were “1945” and “Moral Threat.” This version of “1945″ appeared on the 1981 comp Rodney on the ROQ and Posh Boy included both “Playpen” and “Justice for All” on its 1981 The Future Looks Bright comp. All six songs would eventually be compiled on Mainliner (Wreckage From the Past) in 1995, Time Bomb Recordings. And that is not an exhaustive list of alternate recordings, record labels and compilations that these songs would take between 1981 and 1995 – it gets complicated and very confusing!

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“Punk 45: Chaos in the City of Angels and Devils”

sfilzen — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 18:32:17 +0000

“Punk 45: Chaos in the City of Angels and Devils” 2016. Soul Jazz Records. Two-LP comp of L.A. area punk bands from ‘77-’81. It’s a fairly comprehensive overview of the scene with some classic tracks and bands I’m quite familiar with and have in the collection like The Germs “Forming,” X “We’re Desperate,” Circle Jerks “What’s Your Problem” and Adolescents “Amoeba.” I am particularly excited about having The Bags’ “Survive” on vinyl now – that single was the only thing they released and finding any Bags is kinda next to impossible and it absolutely rips. There’s also a few less well-known but still familiar (at least to me/stuff I didn’t really listen to back in the day) songs like The Flesh Eaters “Disintegration Nation,” The Weirdos “A Life of Crime,” The Dils “Class War” and T.S.O.L. “World War III.” One curious inclusion is very familiar but a head-scratcher: Iggy and the Stooges “I Got a Right.” While Iggy and the band did spend time in L.A., they are most associated with Detroit and wrote this track back in ‘72 (though it wasn’t widely available until much later). Then there’s stuff that I’ve never heard of before, or have only read about like The Urinals (“Ack Ack Ack Ack” and “I’m White and Middle Class”), Simpletones’ “I Like Drugs,” Eyes’ “TAQN” and The Hollywood Squares’ “Hollywood Square.”

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X “Adult Books”

sfilzen — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 12:18:31 +0000

X “Adult Books” b/w “We’re Desperate” 1978 Billy Zoom Music/Dangerhouse, unofficial reissue on red vinyl. The album Los Angeles, on which both “Adult Books” and “We’re Desperate” appeared, was released on this date, April 26th, 1980; the single released just about 40 years ago (June ‘78). “We’re Desperate” is one of my favorite tracks from the groundbreaking punk album, along with “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene” and the Doors cover “Soul Kitchen.” Allmusic says about Los Angeles “ X’s debut, Los Angeles, is considered by many to be one of punk’s all-time finest recordings, and with good reason. Most punk bands used their musical inability to create their own style, but X actually consisted of some truly gifted musicians, including rockabilly guitarist Billy Zoom, bassist John Doe, and frontwoman Exene Cervenka, who, with Doe, penned poetic lyrics and perfected sweet yet biting vocal harmonies. Los Angeles is prime X, offering such all-time classics as the venomous “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not”…and two of their best anthems (and enduring concert favorites), ”Nausea“ and the title track [“Los Angeles”]. While they were tagged as a punk rock act from the get-go (many felt that this eventually proved a hindrance), X are not easily categorized. Although they utilize elements of punk’s frenzy and electricity, they also add country, ballads, and rockabilly to the mix.”

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MDC “Millions of Dead Cops”

sfilzen — Wed, 31 May 2017 16:22:55 +0000

MDC “Millions of Dead Cops” 1982. R Radical Records. The flyer is from a show I may or may not have seen in ‘87 in Green Bay (lots of shows in the 80′s + 30 years past = fuzzy memory). “Millions of Dead Cops” – an album title fraught with controversy at the time and would only be worse now – was MDC’s debut album and it is now considered a hardcore punk classic release (Kurt Cobain listed it in his top 50 albums). Milwaukee’s own Beer City Records re-released the original recording for Record Store Day in 2014 (a remixed and expanded version came out in ‘88 on the Twisted Chords label).

MDC, originally from Texas, relocated to San Francisco in the early 80′s and helped define the California hardcore punk sound and San Fran punk political messages of equal rights, equality and anti-corruption (along with Dead Kennedys of course – Jello Biafra’s label Alternative Tentacles would collaborate with MDC on subsequent releases). Millions of Dead Cops is crammed with manic energy and classic lightning-speed punk tracks including their first single from ‘81 “John Wayne Was a Nazi,” as well as “Corporate Deathburger,” “Dick for Brains,” “Greedy & Pathetic,” “Business on Parade” and “Church & State,” the titles of which give a good idea of the lyrical content.

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Redd Kross “Born Innocent”

sfilzen — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 16:43:26 +0000

Redd Kross “Born Innocent” 1982/1986. This copy is the ‘86 reissue on Frontier Records (originally released on Smoke 7 Records). California punk (original members of the band included Greg Hetson of Circle Jerks and Bad Religion and Ron Reyes of Black Flag) at its grittiest, chaotic and dark Hollywood/pop culture obsessed – including a cover of the fictional band Carrie Nations from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls “Look On Up At The Bottom” and odes to Linda Blair (“Linda Blair”) and Charles Manson (“Charlie”). Though not listed on the either the back cover or the vinyl label, this LP also includes the bonus track and Charles Manson cover “Cease To Exist.”

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Social Distortion “Mommy’s Little Monster”

sfilzen — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 17:09:09 +0000

Social Distortion “Mommy’s Little Monster” 1983. 13th Floor Records, gatefold original debut release (and I believe now out of print). We are going to see Social Distortion on Saturday in Milwaukee at the Rave (the last time I saw them was in 1991 on The Neil Young and Crazy Horse Ragged Glory/Weld Tour along with Sonic Youth) so I’m gearing up for the show by listening to old SD for the rest of the week.

Social Distortion helped set the tone for California punk in the early 80′s and their sound has remained constant for over 30 years: Michael Ness’ distinctive vocals over hard-hitting beats, power-chords and melodic hooks. The title track “Mommy’s Little Monster” has always been one of my favorite 80′s punk tracks, describing many of my friends at the time:

Mommy’s little monster dropped out of school
Mommy’s little monster broke all the rules
He loves to go out drinking with the boys
He loves to go out and make some noise

He doesn’t wanna be a doctor
Or a lawyer, get fat and rich
He’s twenty years old, he quit his job
Unemployment pays his rent

His brothers and sisters
Have tasted sweet success
His parents condemn him
Say “His life’s a mess”

He’s mommy’s little monster
He’s not afraid to admit
He’s mommy’s little monster
Don’t wake him in a fit

Mommy’s little monster shoots Methedrine
Mommy’s little monster had sex at fifteen
She left home for the streets
She couldn’t deal with all that heat

She had fun with the boys in the band
In her eyes it will never end
Her dad asked what happened to her face
It could have happened in any place

Her eyes are a deeper blue
She likes to have that color too
She cant even wear a dress
But that doesn’t mean she’ll ever confess

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