I’ve Got To Run…

When it comes to Black Flag, you’ve got some strong opinions.

Some people ONLY like the Keith era. Some people think Damaged is the end-all be-all of hardcore/punk records. Some people think the later era smokes (dope?) the other material. And I know at least a few people who will say Jealous Again is the best record. 

It’s hard to argue any of these perspectives. In my opinion Black Flag released no less than 3 perfect records (Nervous Breakdown, Jealous Again, My War) and sometimes I don’t even know if those are my favorites. Sometimes I listen to  Slip It In and think it’s a more well rounded version of My War with a less accesible anthem. If the album recording of Loose Nut was better it would by my favorite. Who’s Got The 10 1/2? is one a small handful of live records that I believe to be cannonical.  

And then there’s Damaged. It’s cool. I mean – it’s great. I don’t deny it. But much like that episode of The Simpsons that always seems to be on in syndication, I just don’t want to hear it again right now. Mainly, I don’t want to hear the song TV Party. If it came on the radio, I wouldn’t shut it off, but it just doesn’t get me excited. It’s a classic, but I’m at saturation. 

That said… this is a MUST own single.

TV Party is cool, don’t let my bellyaching throw you off. That cover image is awesome. But the b-side of this is everything that is cool about punk. Maybe one of the best Flag songs period, but definitely one of my favorites of this era. It’s everything that TV Party isn’t – angry, visceral, urgent. Shocked that it never made it to a studio album. And because this single is one of the many and weird pressings (and an SST color vinyl pressing so throw another mysterious wrench in this one) it could go pretty cheap.