Great Shots of DC's Punk Underground

Lucian Perkins is a world renowned photographer these days, having documented some of the most important events of the last few decades, but he got his start taking photographs of the up-and-coming punk scene in Washington DC in the 1980s. Mother Jones has a selection of those photographs that will be published in a book.

The Yah Mos - Off Your Parents!

When I was in high school, I picked up the first Nation of Ulysses record (13 Point Program to Destroy America) on a whim based on the title. It did not immediately grab my attention; it was more disjointed than the music I was accustomed to at the time. I picked it up again when I was 18, and with my slightly more mature ears, it quickly turned into a favorite of mine. A few years back, I reflected on the politics of Ian Svenonius and found little in the way of real political substance, but as far as a bit goes, he has one of the best.

The Yah Mos clearly owe a great deal to the NoU, and while they didn’t recreate the wheel, they did make some incredibly catchy songs in their day. Better yet, they were from Sacramento, and thus much closer to me than the NoU. I’m not entirely sure when I picked this 7-inch up or where I bought it, but it feels like it has been in my collection for ages, so I’m inclined to say I bought it around 2000. Ive been told that members of this band went on to form !!!.

 The Static Fanatic had this to say about the release:

“All these tracks are bashing away with brainy, wreckless abandon, yet they are held together by a sinewy rhythm section that never allows the songs to fall apart into jerkoff/spazz/mess/hardcore. Channeling and controlling this seething energy (in other words, making it accessible) without sounding tight-assed or self-conscious or devolving into a prog-punk-core band (with its nice, safe, mathematically derived lego-piece song construction aesthetic) is very tuff I says.”

Since putting it on the turntable an hour ago, I’ve played it 5 times. It still sounds great after all these years, and is worth a listen for anyone interested in angsty, tight hardcore.  

Fair Inspector Pig - 1994

 

The Last Years rock out in San Diego

The Last Years is a punk act made by a friend of ours. I remember going to a show with their frontman, but never making it inside the actual venue. Rather, we got wasted in the alley outside the joint, watching people fight and argue. Twas good times.

Playing fast and furious punk rock, the Last Years are one of those acts that make San Diego a place worth being.