sst records Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Bad Brains “Spirit Electricity”

sfilzen — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:10:21 +0000

Bad Brains “Spirit Electricity” 1991. SST Records. Six (or seven) song 10″ EP of live tracks recorded in 1987 at shows in Providence, Rhode Island and in L.A. while the DC punks toured for I Against I (an all-time favorite album of mine). Like most Bad Brains releases (and shows for the matter), the tracks vacillate between lightning speed and shredding hardcore punk and, in a whiplash move, mellow grooving roots reggae. The EP leads off with the apparently rare live recording of “Return to Heaven” which has H.R. at his vocal peak; Wiki states that this version of the song on Spirit Electricity is the only official live version. “Let Me Help” is just as raucous and then without a pause it segues into a mashup of the Beatles’ “Day Tripper” and The Rolling Stones “She’s a Rainbow” with a vibe so chill my eyes are red just listening to it. Side B has the Bad Brains classic “Banned in DC” and “Attitude,” two of the fastest, most insane punk songs ever both from their 1983 LP Rock for Light, followed by another chillllll reggae groover, “Youth Are Getting Restless” which H.R. introduces with a shoutout to the South Africans who were in ’87 actively fighting apartheid. It’s a great EP: the sound quality is fantastic and Bad Brains are at the top of their performance game.

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Black Flag “Who’s Got the 10-1/2?”

sfilzen — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:52:11 +0000

Black Flag “Who’s Got the 10-1/2?” 1986. SST Records. Last night we saw “Black Flag” perform at X-Ray Arcade. The quotes are because it’s just Greg Ginn (on guitar) from the OG lineup(s) and three other young musicians who look about the same age as my kid. It was good…it was weird. The kids did a good job and absolutely put their heart and snarl into the show but it was grandpa with the grandkids. Again, weird. The Queers opened and they’re also down to just original member, Joseph P. King aka Joe Queer. At least the rest of his band felt a bit more age appropriate. (The Queers were fun, though their sound got pretty repetitive quickly, but it’s short, sharp, dumb and silly punk so I didn’t mind.) We only stayed for the first half of Black Flag (OMG there was an intermission! Like we were at the fucking opera or something) so I’m not sure what they played during the second set but we got “Nervous Breakdown,” “Damaged,” “Six Pack” and “Wasted” during the first half.

Who’s Got the 10-1/2? is a live LP recorded in August 1985 at Starry Night in Portland, Oregon. This is Rollins-era Flag (the back cover of the LP has him in those tiny, sweaty 80’s athletic shorts) so deep screamy yet guttural vocals over Ginn’s shred and the hardcore rhythms of bassist Kira Roessler (the only other woman in Black Flag until the current singer, Max Zanelly) and drummer Anthony Martinez. For an 80’s live punk album, the quality is surprisingly good, especially Side B’s “My War” and the long mashup of “Slip It In” with “Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie.”

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Hüsker Dü “New Day Rising”

sfilzen — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 18:07:21 +0000

Hüsker Dü “New Day Rising” 1985. SST Records. Midwestern 80’s punk, the third LP from Minnesota’s Hüsker Dü. A mix of chaotic, rough n’ ready punk, power pop and melodic punk. It made the UK Indie chart at #10 in ’85 and while it had no chart presence to speak of in the US, it was well-received critically and was included on some best-of lists (Spin, NME, Rolling Stone), both at the year of its release as well as retrospectively. The title and lead track, “New Day Rising” is a cacophony of scratchy sound (Bob Mould apparently hated the record’s production and I have to say I agree with him on that), but a really great punk track that is more in line with the Dü’s early hardcore material, as is “I Don’t Know What You’re Talking About.” (The album closer “Plans I Make” is just pure punk chaos, not even a lick of pop). I also like “I Apologize” and “If I Told You” which start to lean more power pop/melodic punk. The track “Celebrated Summer” mixes it all together – that track was sort of released as a single, sent as a promotional 45 to radio stations only – with bursts of speed and moments of delicate acoustic guitar. “Perfect Example” is a jangly alt-rock track, recalling R.E.M. more than anything else (it’s fine though a bit boring). “Terms of Psychic Warfare” is a beaty ass-shaker: power pop with punk edges and an anthemic feel – it’s great! “Books About UFO’s” is a bluesy rocker with piano which does not at all wedge into the punk genre (but it is a fun song, it’s too bad the production is so sucky as it could have sounded much better). I’m not sure I agree that this is one of the best punk releases of the era, but it is a great LP and demonstrates the evolution, in real time, from hard punk to punk pop that was trending in the mid-to-late 80’s.

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Bad Brains “I Against I”

sfilzen — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 22:51:00 +0000

Bad Brains “I Against I” 1986. SST Records. Released just about 36 years ago (Nov. 21st, ’86), the third record from the pioneering hardcore 80’s punks is one of my favorite punk records of all-time and definitely one of my most listened to of 1987. This past week we caught Bad Brains’ singer H.R. perform at Shank Hall in Milwaukee and while he didn’t play any Bad Brains songs – it was all super-chill reggae – it was amazing to finally see the legend in-person. He looks great and sounded even better.

H.R. at Shank Hall

I Against I was Bad Brains most successful LP and is included in many underground/alternative “best-of” lists, including Alternative Press and Blender. I know this record backwards and forwards and back again so picking out top tracks is next to impossible. From the shredding, thunderous “Intro” to the funky “Secret 77” to the closer “Return to Heaven” that has H.R. growling, rapping and yelping, it’s just incredible. I guess if I have to choose, tops would include the burning title track “I Against I” (its video directed by American Hardcore‘s Paul Rachman), the slinky-punked and funked “Re-Ignition” and “She’s Calling You,” the hardcore-meets-metal-guitar “Let Me Help,” and “Sacred Love” which H.R. recorded over the phone from prison where he was serving time for selling pot. I’ve just listed pretty close to every track. It’s that good.

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Dinosaur Jr. “Just Like Heaven”

sfilzen — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 20:23:52 +0000

Dinosaur Jr. “Just Like Heaven” 1989. SST Records, clear green vinyl 7″ single. An…interesting take on The Cure’s hit “Just Like Heaven” from their 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Dinosaur Jr.’s version is an alternative to alternative, some jangle, some distortion, a tiny bit of thrash and a truly weird-ass video with B-level muppets dancing and head-banging along to J Mascis’ distinctive whiny and slightly off-key vocals. I actually really love it and the video is hilarious – the guys in Dinosaur Jr. looked stoned off their asses when they briefly appear on screen. Side B has “Throw Down,” a DJ original, and another cover, “Chunks” originally by Last Rights (’84), a hardcore band from Massachusetts. Dinosaur Jr.’s version is pretty faithful to the original (even the vocals), making it as about as polar opposite as possible to their Cure cover while still staying under the “alternative” umbrella.

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Hüsker Dü “Flip Your Wig”

sfilzen — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 20:52:07 +0000

Hüsker Dü “Flip Your Wig” 1985. SST Records. Today, October 16th, is Hüsker Dü’s guitarist/vocalist/co-songwriter Bob Mould’s 60th birthday (b. 1960). Flip Your Wig was the band’s fourth LP and their last for SST Records before hopping to a major label (Candy Apple Grey, 1986 on Warner Bros.). It’s definitely one of my more-liked Hüsker Dü albums (I’m a bigger fan of Sugar and Mould’s solo work, but a lot of Flip Your Wig sounds a lot like his post-Hüsker Dü work) and it’s Bob Mould’s favorite, too; it went to #1 on the UK Indie chart. Melodic Midwest punky power-pop, Hüsker Dü in general had a huge influence on the 80′s/90′s alternative sound and you can hear this a ton in my top tracks like “Makes No Sense At All” (the album’s sole single, #2 UK Indie chart), the title track “Flip Your Wig,” “Hate Paper Doll,” the more roughly punk (though still melodic) and “Divide and Conquer,” (all written by Mould, about half of the other songs on Flip Your Wig were written by Grant Hart).

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Soundgarden “Ultramega OK”

sfilzen — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 18:12:28 +0000

Soundgarden “Ultramega OK” 1988. SST Records. Today, September 4th, is Soundgarden lead guitarist Kim Thayil’s 60th birthday (b. 1960) so I’m spinning their first full-length LP (they released 2 EP’s on Sub Pop in ‘87 and ‘88). Grungy/alt-metal, it secured a Grammy nomination in ‘90 for best metal performance. Thayil is considered one of the greatest guitarists (both Spin and Rolling Stone include him in the top 100) and many credit his style of playing – hard and heavy riffing – as basically setting the tone for the grungy Seattle sound of the late 80′s and early 90′s. I’ve only seen Thayil play once and not for Soundgarden but instead as part of the MC50 tour with Wayne Kramer in 2018. That was amazing.

Thayil wrote/co-wrote several of the tracks on Ultramega OK (I guess the title was a Thayil joke: the band wasn’t happy with the album’s mix but liked the songs so they considered the record “absolutely, unbelievably not bad” – it was remixed from the original tapes in 2017 and released on Sub Pop) including the lead track and only single “Flower,” “All Your Lies” (co-written with bassist Hiro Yamamoto), “Circle of Power” (one of my faves on the record and the most punk leaning) and “Incessant Mace.” Chris Cornell and/or Yamamoto wrote the remainder of the record besides the two cover tracks: Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” that also includes bits of the most excellent Sonic Youth song “Death Valley ‘69″ as well as “One Minute of Silence” which is not really a cover but another joke, this time on John Lennon’s song “Two Minutes of Silence” – Soundgarden’s version is a minute of not really silence because apparently Thayil couldn’t be quiet for a full minute so there’s some muffled noise in the background.

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Sonic Youth “Evol”

sfilzen — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 18:02:10 +0000

Sonic Youth “Evol” 1986. SST Records. Noisy no-wave, Evol is Sonic Youth’s third LP, their first with drummer Steve Shelley (replacing Bob Bert); it’s also notable for including bassist Mike Watt on the track “In the Kingdom #19,” his first recording after fellow Minutemen D. Boon’s death. (Watt also played on the Kim Fowley cover “Bubblegum” which is not on the vinyl version of Evol but is included on the CD). Sonic Youth also continued their collaboration with Lydia Lunch (who sang on their 1984/85 single “Death Valley ‘69″) – she co-wrote “Marilyn Moore.” (The cover of Evol is a still of actress Lung Leg from Submit to Me, Lung Leg also was in the video for “Death Valley ‘69″ – great song, great video). My favorite tracks on Evol are two tracks sung by Kim Gordon: “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Starpower,” which was the only single from Evol. I also appreciate the arty chaos sensibilities that carry over from the music to creating confusion for the listener: the tracks aren’t listed in order on either the back cover nor the lyric sheet, plus the last track “Expressway to Yr. Skull” is listed as “Madonna, Sean and Me” on the cover and as “The Crucifixion of Sean Penn” on the lyric sheet (and regardless of the title, has an infinity loop of chords in the runout groove). I’m not entirely sure what the obsession with Madonna and Penn was all about – the two married in ‘85 and divorced in ‘89 (with a lot of acrimony in between), but clearly there was some fascination. Around the same time as the recording of Evol, Sonic Youth and Mike Watt formed the side project Ciccone Youth, releasing the single “Into the Groove(y)” in ’86 and issuing the album The Whitey Album (1988, J. Mascis also contributed to that record).

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Descendents “Milo Goes To College”

sfilzen — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 17:21:39 +0000

Descendents “Milo Goes To College” 1982. New Alliance Records/SST. Their first full-length LP, famously titled for singer’s Milo Aukerman’s leaving the group to go to college for biochemistry and decorated with his nerdy iconic cartoon likeness. Milo Goes to College is cited as an inspiration for the development of the melodic hardcore sound of 80′s California punk with its “super clean, super tight, super poppy hardcore about hating your parents, riding bikes” and girls. (It was also perfect for Midwestern punks in the 80′s: The Descendents, and then All, played A LOT in the mid-to-late 80′s in Appleton/Green Bay area of Wisconsin; it seemed there was a show every other month or so, and several of my friends got to know the band members and/or helped organize shows at various VFW clubs, bars and bowling alleys, the typical venues for all-ages punk shows.)

Though Milo Goes to College is youthful and snotty, my favorite aspect of the album is Tony Lombardo’s bass playing, which provides both rhythm and melody; Lombardo was already in his 30′s when the Descendents formed in ‘79 and the rest of the band were in their teens. Lombardo wrote a significant number of tracks for the album and they tend to be my favorites (though I particularly love the killer bass line Bill Stevenson’s “Myage”): “I’m Not a Punk” about his impatience with the punk scene (damn kids!), “I Wanna Be a Bear” (co-written with Frank Navetta) and the classic “Suburban Home.”

I want to be stereotyped
I want to be classified

I want to be a clone
I want a suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home

I want to be masochistic
I want to be a statistic

I want to be a clone
I want a suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home

I don’t want no hippie pad
I want a house just like mom and dad

I want to be stereotyped
I want to be classified
I want to be masochistic
I want to be a statistic

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Black Flag “My War”

sfilzen — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:39:11 +0000

Black Flag “My War” 1983. SST Records. Today, February 13th, is Henry Rollins’ birthday (b. Henry Garfield, 1961). Rollins joined Black Flag in 1981, taking over vocalist responsibilities from Dez Cadena (who had taken over after Keith Morris left in 1979) A Black Flag fan, Rollins had joined the band onstage briefly in 1980 while the band toured the east coast and then famously quit his job at Haagen-Dazs in DC (where he worked with Ian MacKaye) and moved to L.A. to join the group. Internal band tensions and Rollins’ hyper-macho antagonistic stage personality changed the band from a straight-up west coast punk band to a sludgy heavy-metal infused hardcore group, resulting in My War. (Dez Cadena had left Black Flag by this point and Greg Ginn fired bassist Chuck Dukowski and took over the bass parts on My War). According to a wiki article, the change in musical style, members and hair (now long), Black Flag fans were pissed and “focused their displeasure on Rollins by punching him in the mouth, stabbing him with pens, or scratching him with their nails, among other methods. He often fought back, dragging audience members on stage and assaulting them. During a Black Flag concert, Rollins repeatedly punched in the face a fan who had continuously reached for his microphone.” The change in musical style did, however, have a profound influence on later 80′s/early 90′s grunge, inspiring the punk-metal fusion sound of bands like Mudhoney and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain’s first punk show was Black Flag during the My War tour and he cited the album among his favorites).

Side A of My War is filled with screaming guitar solos, screaming Rollins, and a few relatively upbeat, albeit dark and menacing, punk songs, especially the title track “My War” (which, incidentally, was written by the now-fired Dukowski). Allmusic calls the B-side “a totally worthless second side. Featuring three tracks [“Nothing Left Inside,” “Three Nights,” and “Scream”] of slower-than-Black Sabbath muck with Henry Rollins howling like a caged animal, it was self-indulgence masquerading as inspiration and about as much fun as wading through a tar pit.” That said, it is easy to hear the direct link to the more ponderous grunge recordings that came later that decade.

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