We Are The One

SF's Crime.

It has taken me a long time to get into the San Francisco punk scene, which in some ways is surprising given that I’m from California (Southern California however, and as anyone knows, NoCal and SoCal are basically like different countries, let alone states) and given that I’ve read about it for so long.  But recently I’ve rectified a giant hole in my music collection by obtaining some classic SF punk songs by some of the legendary early groups.

One of the very first punk bands (although they never described themselves as such) were Crime.  Originally formed in 1975 intending to become a glam rock group, they eventually settled on becoming a heavy, intense garage rock band.  Sadly, none of their work appears to be available on iTunes but there are many of their out-of-print singles on YouTube.  I particularly like “Hot Wire My Heart”, which is slow and sludgy and sloppy but very catchy, and “San Francisco’s Doomed”, which is faster but still very sloppy and intense—on these tunes they sound like a Frisco version of the Germs, very shambolic and glitter-influenced.  “Crime Wave” is loud and brash and punchy, sounding kind of like a less polished Dictators or Weirdos.  “Dillinger’s Brain” is more garage-y sounding, with lots of reverb on the vocals and heavy bass. 

The Nuns are another early SF punk band, fronted by the legendarily beautiful Jennifer Miro.  Again, their work is not available on iTunes but several of their early singles are on YouTube, including “Decadent Jew”, with its tinkling piano and repetitive, catchy riff and vocal structure.  This sounds a lot like the stuff the Stooges were doing post-Raw Power.  “Suicide Child” begins with an eerie keyboard and spoken word intro but then erupts into a strutting, sleazy riff and almost sounds like something off 45 Grave’s Sleep in Safety.  “Do You Want Me On My Knees” starts with a heavy, almost heavy metal, hardcore riff and emphasizes Jennifer Miro’s oozing sexuality for the refrain. 

Another female-fronted SF punk band were the Avengers, who many consider to be one of the best, if not THE best, punk band on the West Coast in the 70’s.  Their best known song, the anthemic “We Are the One”, starts with a speedy riff and heavy high hat while singer Penelope Houston belts out the optimistic lyrics.  “The American In Me” is another great song, that edges toward X Ray Spex and Penetration territory.  But my favorite song by them is “Thin White Line”, which is similarly anthemic but even catchier; this song more than any other really reinforces the incredible strength and power of this band, who must have been incredible live.  iTunes has a couple of compilation albums with singles and live cuts that gives some indication of how terrific this band was, and several other singles are available on YouTube. 

Negative Trend explored a heavier, Stooges-influenced sound.  I recently downloaded “Meat House” from an EP available on iTunes, which is heavy and intense, with a descending riff that reminds me of something I’ve heard, I just can’t remember what, but this is big, bludgeoning guitar rock.  “Mercenaries” is another great Negative Trend song, although I actually prefer former frontman Rik L. Rik’s solo version better.  I also like “I Can Laugh About It Now” and “Dead Wrong”.

Two bands I know little about are U.X.A. and the Lewd.  Again nothing on iTunes but a few songs are on YouTube, including “Social Circle” by U.X.A., which is fast, almost proto-hardcore, with excellent female vocals.  The Lewd alternate male and female lead vocals; on “Suburban Prodigy” and “I’m Not Pretty” (the guitar of which is reminiscent of “Lexicon Devil” and “Circle One” by the Germs) the male vocals are interspersed with female backing and the song is fast and fun.  “Magnetic Heart” features Olga deVolga on lead vocals and an ominous bass line. 

The Sleepers features Ricky Williams on vocals; Ricky played in several SF bands, including Crime and Flipper (legend has it he was kicked out for being “too weird”, which is saying something).  “Seventh World” starts slowly and ominously but picks up midway through, though this is still less hard punk and leans more toward post-punk.    This is even more true on “Los Gatos”, which sounds like some of the eerie, off-kilter music Bauhaus was making at about the same time; Williams sounds a lot like Peter Murphy here too, which makes this resemblance even more obvious.

One of the strangest and most abrasive bands of all time was Flipper.  Formed by vocalist Will Shatter and guitarist Ted Falconi, Flipper made music that was intended to annoy.  At a time when most bands played songs that were short and fast, Flipper played songs that were long and/or slow.  Their three classic songs, “Sex Bomb”, “Love Canal”, and “Ha Ha Ha” are abrasive, sludgy, bordering on unlistenable.    These are all included on the Sex Bomb Baby compilation available on iTunes, as are several other releases from this notable band.  Shatter died of an overdose in 1987 but Flipper reformed in 1991 to make a Rick Rubin-produced album that showed that they still had the ability to make harrowing, intense songs (like “Flipper Twist”).  Their music would end up being immensely influential on both the avante-noise scene exemplified by bands like Sonic Youth and Pussy Galore as well as on the entire Seattle grunge scene.

On the less strident end of the SF scene were Tuxedomoon, who created atmospheric but poppy synth-driven songs.  “No Tears” reminds me of a cross between the Screamers and the Normal, at times almost abrasive but with a cheesy sounding synth line running through it as well.  Its B-side, “New Machines”, sounds like a cross between the Screamers and Gary Numan.  Both are excellent documents of the emerging post-punk synth sound in SF.

Factrix was a pioneer in the emerging industrial sound.  Heavily reminiscent of European industrial bands like Einstuzende Neubauten, early Cabaret Voltaire, and most of all Throbbing Gristle, their music contained throbbing, machine-like rhythms, feedback drones, samples, and other bizarre effects.  Their music is ominous and strange, reminding me of the movie Eraserhead.  “Theme From Now” has a thrumming, chunky bass line and screaming feedback; “Splice of Life” has a strange, throbbing, buzzing beginning and a rhythm backing that sounds like an industrial piledriver or other factory machine.  “Center of the Doll” starts with a more traditional drum line and slowly builds in intensity and sound, again sounding like something from the soundtrack of a very scary and awful movie like The Ring or Saw.  This is music for people who like their industrial music to sound truly industrial and not just bludgeoning.  None of their stuff is in iTunes as of yet but some brilliant and deranged person has put these and several other songs on YouTube accompanying snippets from old pre-talkie movies.  The overall effect is truly bizarre and disorienting.  Love it.