Customer Reviews

Blow' N Chunks

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

you wouldn't understand anyway.

a definate must have for anyone new to flipper...this was the first flipper album i ever heard and it got me hooked! this album captures the raw power of flipper live and will leave you screaming for more.(...)

"Blow'n Chunks"(the original, nine-song cassette on ROIR) was my introduction to the disturbing, amusical rumble of Flipper. I wore that tape out and then came across a copy of their debut, "Generic"...only to be sorely disappointed. In the studio, Flipper were a little too manicured, a little too controlled. Live, they were downright murderous!
The sound quality here is poor, yes, but that's irrelevant. If anything, the bad sound ENHANCES the vibe of Flipper's songs, giving them an extra-thick patina of rage, anxiety, and despair. The band sound as if they're performing from deep, deep underground, ranting furiously at the world above--a world in which they cannot take part. The versions of 'Way of the World', 'Shed No Tears', and 'Ha Ha Ha' contained herein are all vastly superior to the studio recordings, in my opinion; they grab you by the throat and refuse to let go.
Single most memorable moment: the introduction to 'In Life My Friend'. I defy you to listen to that bass line, that single, damaged chord being struck over and over, and not feel like the world is coming to an end. Flipper were brilliant.

Great sh#t. A good introduction to a great influential heavy punk band. I first heard of Flipper because Kurt Cobain wore their t-shirt when Nirvana played on a 1992 SNL episode. They really are a seminal grunge band, and more than that. Since 1982, Flipper was celebrated by rock critics for their classic, but tragically out-of-print Generic album. Blow 'N Chunks, a 1983 recording at CBGBs, is one of the few Flipper recordings that isn't out-of-print. Beggars can't be choosers, so all fans of heavy punk/post-punk(Jesus Lizard, Black Flag, Melvins, etc.) should check this out.

Outside of that, the others have pretty much nailed it about the quality of this release. So why give it 4 stars? It's Flipper. What's Flipper? Well, when I was much, much younger, I won tickets to go see Flipper off KSJS (San Jose State's radio station) for knowing that FESTUS is the deputy to Marshall Dillon on Gunsmoke. The fact that *THAT* kind of trivia question served as my ticket to go see Flipper live should tell you what you need to know. If it doesn't, you'll never get it and you should just stick to buying Olivia Newton John records.

FLIPPER Rules, OK? But this CD SUCKS. "Generic" Their masterpiece is out of print. Roir markets this album as an assortment of their greatest hits...it is not. This CD has been hands down my biggest disappointment in music EVER. These live versions completely ruin the songs. I've been a Flipper fan since I heard "Ha Ha Ha" on AT's "Let them eat Jelly Beans". This album is the worst. Tell you what...for your money you would be better off buying the Melvin's Singles...they do an awesome cover of Flippers "Way of the World"...They also do "Sacrifice" on the Melvin's record. Will someone please reissue "Generic" and PLEASE do not re-mix it. It was fine the way it was.

I should point out that I love Flipper. I love that a punk band can create something so heavy and visceral without playing at the standard breakneck pace. I love the sarcastic poetry of the lyrics and the simple-but-clever rhythms. I love how they violated every rule of punk rock dogma and were still ten times as original as the other crap being made at the time. But this is just awful.

I've bought enough live punk records to know what to expect: terrible sound quality, songs that are indecipherable from each other, amplifiers hissing feedback into the microphones, musicians that are too high to perform...Maybe that would be the point with a live Flipper record, because they took pride in driving away fans at their shows. But I buy records to listen to them, not to have as conceptual art conversation pieces. This is so painful that it's like the musical equivalent of a Warhol movie (and the joke's on you).