Bearded Menace Is Killing Music: 1981 (#004)

[ZS]
(RE-UPPED 11/6/13)

This week marks our first themed collection. Why 1981, you ask? When I first conceived of the idea, it sprang from my marveling at how big of a year it was for Dischord Records. The year, seemingly, belonged to them. Now legendary releases from Teen Idles, S.O.A., Youth Brigade, Government Issue, and of course Minor Threat...not to mention demos for Void, Faith, and Artificial Peace. That said, once I began to do some research, I found that 1981 was a big year for music all around (well, the kind of music I cover here at Bearded Menace, anyway).

In the end, the only Dischord track I went with is Government Issue's "Sheer Terror" from the Legless Bull EP. As great as the previously mentioned releases are, trying to pick out individual tracks seemed wrong. Those short blasts of classic hardcore really deserve to be heard in context, and loading up this week's post with them would have made for a rather one dimensional collection.

Anyway, the tracks that did find their way onto this compilation all debuted in 1981. That being the case, I'm going to forgo the song by song breakdown this time around and just give you the title, artist, and release. Enjoy!

1. "Vengeance" by The Fix
from the Vengeance/In This Town single

2. "White Law" by Red Rockers
from the Condition Red LP

3. "Tube Disasters" by Flux Of Pink Indians
from the Neu Smell EP

4. "Moral Majority" by Dead Kennedys
from the In God We Trust, Inc. EP

5. "Outlaw" by Mission Of Burma
from the Signals, Calls, And Marches EP

6. "Elizabeth Montgomery's Face" by The Embarrassment
from the self-titled EP

7. "See You In The Boneyard" by Flesh Eaters
from the A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die LP

8. "Brenda's Iron Sledge" by Robyn Hitchcock
from the Black Snake Diamond Role LP

9. "I Am Right" by Saccharine Trust
from the Paganicons EP

10. "Release The Bats" by The Birthday Party
from Release The Bats/Blast Off single

11. "Spy Vs. Spy" by Pell Mell
from the Rhyming Guitars EP

12. "Turn In Round" by Empire
from the Expensive Sound LP

13. "Out For Blood" by Stepmothers
from the You Were Never My Age LP

14. "More Cigarettes" by The Replacements
from the Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash LP

15. "What Do You Want" by Generation X
from the Kiss Me Deadly LP

16. "Run 'Em Out" by Really Red
from the Teaching You The Fear LP

17. "Sabotage" by Sardine V
from the Sabotage/Sudan single

18. "I'm Gonna Punch You In The Face" by The Child Molesters
from the Wir Lieben Die Jugendlich Madchen EP

19. "Sheer Terror" by Government Issue
from the Legless Bull EP

20. "Abolish Government/Silent Majority" by T.S.O.L.
from the self-titled EP

21. "Monster Madness" by Mourning Noise
from the 1981 demo

22. "Iskender Time" by Radio Birdman
from the Living Eyes LP

23. "Demystification" by Zounds
from the Demystification/Great White Hunter single

24. "Mindless Violence" by Newtown Neurotics
from the Kick Out The Tories/Mindless Violence single

25. "Can't Talk Anymore" by The Vapors
from the Magnets LP

26. "Green Door" by The Cramps
from the Psychedelic Jungle LP