Pink Moan

October 31st, 2008 by Gnat

So last week I decided it would be a good idea to write about some of my favorite punk rock LPs and singles on this here blog.  While many would argue punk music is better suited for the 7″ format, I’m going to start off this series of posts with a handful of punk rock albums I think are damn near, if not, perfect in all their 12″, 33 1/3 rpm, long-playing glory. I’m posting these albums in no particular order, no top 5 or 10, etc. Suffice it to say these titles are all the cream of the punky crop to my ears. I’ve decided to forego listing some of the classics like Never Mind the Bullocks… and the eponymous Clash debut in favor of including punk albums that are either: 1) specific to the time period in which I grew up, 2) personally important to me, or 3) simply kickass in my book. Here we go…

Operation Ivy - Energy
(1989)

The original vinyl release of this now-classic ska punk LP was 19 songs of tight and tinny pure punk joy. Later reissues of Energy tacked on some earlier Operation Ivy EPs and singles, but I still prefer the 19-song original. Berkeley’s OPIV (do people still call ‘em that?) couldn’t have come up with a more apt name for their debut LP. Ska-soaked rhythms are combined seamlessly with hardcore freneticness throughout the entirety of the album. Blissful musical bursts are seasoned with lyrics about punky themes like disaffection, isolation and calls for unity among the scene. Guitarist and bassist Tim Armstrong and Matt “McCall” Freeman, respectively, went on to form Rancid, but I think Energy is their shining contribution to the punk rock canon.

Energy was a very important record for me and my friends when it was released. I remember my friend Steve telling me to buy it ASAP when I bumped into him at the local record shop, Music Town, in 1990 (as far as I know Steve still sports a large tattoo of the OPIV shadow man on his bicep). This album could be heard blasting at many a party and from many a car window during my high school years. Ah, sweet youth: skater boys and ska punk. Here are a couple of standout tracks for your downloading pleasure:

Sound System
Bombshell