Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three is exactly what it says - 24 Black Flag songs, covered by such artists as Ice T, Lemmy from Motorhead, Ryan Adams and Iggy Pop. Whether you believe in the 'cause' or not, the music is good - and the disc is quite a bit of fun. Find album release information for Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three - Various Artists on AllMusic. Black Flag Damaged, Sst Records, 1981. Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three, Sanctuary Records, 2002.
| TV Party | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP by | ||||
| Released | July 12, 1982 | |||
| Recorded | March 1982 | |||
| Genre | Hardcore punk[1] | |||
| Length | 6:49 | |||
| Label | SST (012) | |||
| Producer |
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| Black Flag chronology | ||||
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TV Party is an EP recorded by the American band Black Flag in 1982. It was produced by Black Flag and Ed Barton and originally released by SST Records on the 7' vinyl format. The EP contains three songs written by guitarist Greg Ginn: 'TV Party', 'I've Got to Run' and 'My Rules'. The title track is a satire of boredom, drinking and America's obsession with television.
The original version of the song 'TV Party' was released on the band's 1981 album Damaged.[2]
Production[edit]
The song 'TV Party' was recorded three times. To promote the Damaged album in the United States, Unicorn Records had Black Flag enter the studio and re-record the song for the EP in March 1982, with their then-new drummer Emil Johnson.[3][4] Download movies to mp3 for free. The EP version features a slower tempo and hand claps. The band again recorded the song at the request of Alex Cox, for his 1984 cult classic filmRepo Man and the accompanying soundtrack. Each version of the song lyrically references different TV shows from the era in which each recording was made.[5][6]
Style[edit]
'TV Party' is driven by Chuck Dukowski's bass line and features Henry Rollins on lead vocals and bellowed backing vocals from band members.[5] The song is light in comparison to other songs from the band's Damaged era.[3] Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn has stated that after 'Rollins joined the band, we couldn't do songs with a sense of humor anymore; he got into the serious way-out poet thing.'[7] Rollins described the song as satire, stating 'it's about people who stay inside their house and live in a TV kinda world. And this has a very direct effect on us.'[4] Ginn echoed Rollins's interpretation, stating 'It's basically a satire of people watching TV and partying at home, which is a sickness which is very prevalent in LA.'[4]Glen E. Friedman referred to the song as 'a parody of certain type of people'. Comparing the song to the Beastie Boys' '(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)', he stated 'They were both parodies that people took too seriously, and even the bands were found taking themselves too seriously after the fact.'[4]
Release[edit]
The TV Party EP was released on July 12, 1982.[8] To promote the EP, a music video of 'TV Party' was shot featuring the members of Black Flag and their friends drinking beer and calling out their favorite television shows in front of a television set. Among the members is photographer (and the video's director) Glen E. Friedman.[4]Target Video also released a home video titled TV Party, in 1983, containing live footage of the group from 1980 and 1982 as well as the video of the title track.[9][10] There have been several variations on the release of the TV Party EP. They include one released by SST Records, one as a split between SST and Unicorn Records, and another simply by Unicorn.[11] All three versions have the same track listing. Several different slip covers were also issued.[11] A new version of the song 'TV Party' later appeared on the soundtrack to the film Repo Man (1984). In the film, Emilio Estevez can be heard singing 'TV Party'.[12] The song also appears on other compilation albums.[5][13]
Reception[edit]
The title song of the EP received praise from music critics. Online music database gave a positive review of the song, describing it as 'at once cutting and funny, an attack on television-inspired stasis that laughs both at and with its subjects' and 'As a dumb anthem, it even beats out the band's cover of 'Louie Louie'.[5]Spin referred to the song as the 'greatest ode to the slacker sloth'.[14]
In 1982, Billboard listed the song 'TV Party' as 'Recommended' in their 'Top Singles' review section.[15] The website AllMusic would later give the EP a retrospective rating of two and a half stars out of five, stating that 'The other tracks are good, but this is a release for collectors or serious fans only.'[16]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Greg Ginn[11][16].
Black Flag West Memphis Three Stooges
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 'TV Party' | 3:52 |
| Total length: | 3:52 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 'I've Got to Run' | 1:45 |
| 2. | 'My Rules' | 1:11 |
| Total length: | 2:56 | |
Personnel[edit]
Black Flag Lana del rey honeymoon instrumentals download.
- Henry Rollins – vocals
- Greg Ginn – Lead guitar, composer
- Dez Cadena – Rhythm guitar, vocals
- Chuck Dukowski – bass
- Emil Johnson – drums (side 1)
- Bill Stevenson – drums (side 2)
Production and design
- Ed Barton – producer
- Black Flag – producer
- Jeff Stebbins – engineer
- Glen E. Friedman – photography
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Indie Chart[17] | 30 |
Notes[edit]
- ^DeCurtis, 1992. p.1992
- ^https://www.punknews.org/review/14957/black-flag-tv-party-ep
- ^ abChick, 2011. p.255
- ^ abcdeChick, 2011. p.256
- ^ abcdDeming, Mark. 'TV Party'. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^'TV Party: Credits'. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^Chick, 2011. p.257
- ^Chick, 2011. p.401
- ^Chick, 2011. p.403
- ^'TV Party [Video]'. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ abcPopoff, 2010. p.136
- ^'TV Party'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
- ^Deming, Mark. 'Repo Man'. Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^'Top 50 Essential Punk Records'. Spin. SPIN Media LLC. 94 (17): 109. May 2001. ISSN0886-3032. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^'Top Single Pick'. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 17 (5): 59. May 1, 1982. ISSN0886-3032. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ abTrue, Chris. 'TV Party'. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- Popoff, Martin (2010). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948–1991. Krause Publications. ISBN978-1440216213. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- Chick, Stevie (2011). Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag. PM Press. ISBN978-1604865844. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- DeCurtis, Anthony, ed. (1992). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music. Random House. ISBN0679737286. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
Black Flag Tribute West Memphis Three
Punk rock icon Henry Rollins says that he was 'in a state of shock' after he found out the about the outcome of the 'West Memphis Three' case, in which three men were released from prison after serving 18 years for murder.
The 'West Memphis Three' were freed on August 19 after 18 years behind bars when new evidence surfaced that could have led to a retrial.
The three men Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. were convicted as teenagers in 1993 of the murder of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. But the case was controversial from the start, with accusations that the three teens were railroaded because they liked to wear black and listen to METALLICA.
The men won the support of numerous musicians and celebrities, including PEARL JAM singer Eddie Vedder, NINE INCH NAILS' Trent Reznor, DISTURBED, Johnny Depp and director Peter Jackson, as well as METALLICA.
The case inspired the 1996 documentary 'Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills', and a 2000 follow-up, 'Paradise Lost 2: Revelations'. METALLICA gave the filmmakers permission to use its music in both films.
Rollins who has worked tirelessly to bring attention to the West Memphis Three's innocence and has put out a number of releases to benefit their defense fund (including the 2002 compilation 'Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three', which featured vocal contributions from Chuck D, Iggy Pop, Ice-T, Corey Taylor of SLIPKNOT, and Rollins himself) wrote in his LA Weekly column, 'I found out about the case more than a decade ago. I read about it online and it seemed to me that justice had not been served. After seeing a documentary on the case, 'Paradise Lost', with METALLICA providing the soundtrack, I decided I was angry enough to get involved.
'My bandmates and I did a small benefit show and donated all the money to the WM3 Defense Fund. Nice, but a gesture at best. I decided to do a benefit album. With the help of my bandmates, road manager Mike Curtis, Heidi May, Cherokee Studios and many others, we set to work. Soon my phone was ringing off the hook; there were even death threats.
'I thought it best to call in some of the great forces of the universe. We reached out and were amazed to find how many people in the music world were either fully up to speed on the case or, upon hearing the details, immediately ready to contribute. It was incredible. Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Kira Roessler, Chuck D, Lemmy, WEEN, Iggy, Mike Patton, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Ice-T, Hank III and Tom Araya, to name but a few, stepped up and knocked it out of the park. Soon we had an album done called 'Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three'.
Flag Store Memphis
'We put the record out. We booked a tour and went around the world with these songs. Keith Morris and I split the vocals on the American leg and then I took it from there, all the way to Tokyo. All the money went to the WM3's defense, with a lot of it going toward the DNA testing of the crime-scene evidence, which Arkansas wouldn't pay for.
'This was two summers of my life and a lot of money. But it was nothing compared to the grief of the families who had lost their children, both to murder and incarceration. And it was nothing compared to the unimaginable anguish of Damien, Jessie and Jason, who sat in cages as their lives slipped by.'
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