In their original lineup, The Germs was a tragically short-lived punk band from L.A., forming in 1976 and disbanding in 1980. They released only one full-length album, GI, in 1979, but that album is still highly regarded and praised within the punk scene. The Germs burned out bright and fast, leaving an undeniable mark on hardcore punk. But did GI herald the beginning of hardcore, or the end of first wave punk?
The jury is occasionally still out on that one. Some critics consider GI to be one of the very first full-length hardcore punk albums. Another marked it as the death of punk’s first wave, the end of the Ramones-style ethos. A retrospective review from NC State’s college radio station posited that The Germs signaled the end of first wave punk with an uncontrolled crescendo of debauchery and excess that defied purposeful intent. Basically, “whatever catharsis is found within the Germs is chaotic, almost accidental.”
Possibly this came about in the contradictory nature between The Germs’ early stage presence and the, by comparison, more controlled recordings on GI. Around 1977, The Germs performed live among L.A.’s growing punk scene. But their shows were messy, chaotic, and often confrontational. Frontman Darby Crash often performed drunk and loaded, staggering around the stage and slurring lyrics left and right. Musically, guitarist Pat Smear was really the only one who had any experience at the time.
The Germs Had a Chaotic Reputation That Got Them Banned From Most L.A. Clubs
The Germs earned a reputation for chaos, nearly inciting riots, and generally unsafe antics at their live shows. Still, this became part of the act, a sort of performance art; drunken vomiting and rolling in broken glass to a backdrop of intermittent punk noise was all part of The Germs experience.
However, the more they performed, the better they got. Pat Smear was actually a genuinely talented guitarist, while Darby Crash’s vocals evolved through several influences like The Screamers and Zolar X. Eventually, Crash earned recognition for his poetic and clever lyrics. Unfortunately, that recognition didn’t come until after his death.
Still, by the time they recorded GI (which stood for Germs Incognito, the name they had to book under after being banned from nearly every L.A. club), The Germs had a more of a solid, curated sound. They were still powerful, loud, and chaotic; but there seemed to be more polish, more ambition beyond antagonizing friends in a closely packed crowd.
By the time of GI, The Germs had developed a tightly explosive new style. As an L.A. Weekly review put it at the time, “This album leaves exit wounds.” There’s no denying GI as a cultural touchstone in the hardcore punk scene. Spurred on by production from Joan Jett, already a punk icon in her own right with The Runaways, The Germs eventually came to represent the untamable potential of the scene. The power of punk to revel in debauchery while giving the middle finger to anything else.
“This Album Leaves Exit Wounds”
The Germs served a short tenure as L.A.’s most notorious punk band before breaking up in 1980. Crash became distanced and fed up, seeming to sense the band was unsustainable. However, in early December, Crash and Smear orchestrated a reunion show at the Starwood in L.A. for one night only. According to Crash, it was to “put punk into perspective.” But, as Smear remembered, Crash also explicitly told him he wanted the money for heroin in order to kill himself. Allegedly, this is something he’d told Smear more than once before, so Smear initially didn’t take it seriously.
On December 7, 1980, Darby Crash committed suicide with a fatal dose of heroin. Unfortunately, outside of the punk scene, the news was overshadowed by John Lennon’s murder the very next day. The Germs, as they had been, were officially over. Even if they wanted another reunion, without Crash, their jagged, dangerous brilliance had burned out.
On GI, the track “We Must Bleed” is telling of the band’s penchant for destruction. Their own, Darby Crash’s, the punk scene as it was in the late 70s. Beginning with verses describing “the sounds, the metals” and “the pain, the colors,” the song eventually devolves into an unchained, destructive force thrashing wildly out of control. As also noted in the NC State retrospective, Crash begins repeating “I want out now!” at the end, as the band falls further away from him. Spiraling, spinning, death rattling, Crash has nothing left to destroy. And so he turns on himself instead.
Photo by Ruby Ray/Getty Images
The post Was This Joan Jett-Produced 1979 Album by The Germs the Very First Hardcore Punk LP? appeared first on VICE.
