Friday 5 August 2022

Reagan Youth – "Youth Anthems For The New Order" (R Radical Records – RYR 831) 1984





Yeah, it's guess what I did today part 2.....answers on a postcard to Reagan Youth Superfan, Vladimir Putin,The Kremlin, Moscow via China via Taiwan.The one delivered by hand to that Chinese Dictator bloke by Nancy Pelosi is the winner, who will gets free lessons in roofing techniques by yours truly.
Shoot!...i gave it away slightly,because i spent the afternoon,gluing down tiles on my roof ready for the ruthless winter wind swooping down from the Pyrenees.It was cooler today,only a refreshing 31 degrees. 
Yesterday my travails were accompanied by Adrenalin O.D.,so today's US Hardcore classic has to be Reagan Youth ;who contrary to popular opinion were absolutely NOT the official KKK hardcore band.......although there were plenty more that were......not that I've really got anything against that on a musical level,in fact its adds a bit of spice to the proceedings,shakes things up a tad.There ain't much music these days that is strictly Taboo,and i guess racist redneck punk is certainly taboo...so if i'm attracted to the wrongness of it, then so will more sinister folk.
This copy of "Youth Anthems For The New Order"is one of those expanded complete deluxe edition that are so popular among the sideways-ly mobile middle Classes over 60 these days.Although Hardcore was made for eleven minute long 13 track 7" ep's, now we have two hour long versions including every piece of shite that a band ever recorded.
The original E.P is represented here on tracks 53-59, beefed up with endless alternative versions, live tracks,and alternate mixes.....rather silly.
As for the music, I'll substitute my personal feelings with an hilariously pretentious critique of a Don Van Vliet painting from 1989.....i feel the words used are perfect for analyzing Reagan Youth in 1984?

 'Beefheart's remarkable art - a raw vibrant collision of colours, muscular brushstrokes and vivid physical tableaux - has a strong element of mischief about it. He challenges your sense of dimension and natural order while reaffirming, with a kind of aggro-primitivist delight, his love of nature itself, a trademark theme of his music and poetry as well. One 1985 painting, 'Pig Erases Statue In Passing', has a dark maroon, rather elongated hog striding purposefully past an interlocking array of distorted hybrid figures, some humanesque, one the head of a steely grey horse. The pig stands out from the chaos as a beast of pride and purpose.' 

I also think that, like The Pig, Reagan Youth stood out from the chaos as a beast of pride and purpose...at least until the second Ep,anyway.
Personally,always courting the unpopular opinion,Don Van Vliet's paintings are largely pretentious shite,but fun to look at,decorative at best.
I'm pushing my luck expressing an interest in Red Neck Punk and dissing Captain Beefheart's frankly rubbish painting.....but admittedly not as bad as Ronnie Wood's irredeemably terrible tableaux.
It's been a long time since i've been called a nazi asshole, so here's hopin'!?
At least i fixed the roof without falling off.....although i came close after listening to some of the terrible production values on this Reagan Youth box set......did someone say "Reagan Youth Box Set."???
An "aggro-primitivist delight" indeed but certainly remarkably "Jejune" in content.I may even detect a Crass influence here,with the fold out poster and monotonous politics.
But tracks 53 to 59 are nearly perfect.In a way.

Tracklist:


A Collection Of Pop Classics By
Reagan Youth Vol 1

1-1 Reagan Youth 1:16
1-2 New Aryans 1:17
1-3 (Are You Really) Happy? 1:34
1-4 No Class 1:34
1-5 I Hate Hate! 1:58
1-6 Degenerated 2:22
1-7 (You're A) Gonowhere 1:22
1-8 U.S.A 1:23
1-9 Anytown 2:00
Reagan Youth Vol 2
1-10 In Dog We Trust 2:47
1-11 It's A Beautiful Day 3:53
1-12 Jesus Was A Communist 1:44
1-13 Urban Savages 1:24
1-14 What Will The Neighbors Think? 3:50
1-15 Get The Ruler Out 2:25
1-16 Brave New World 4:30
1-17 Miss Teen America 2:46
1-18 Heavy Metal Shuffle 4:38
1-19 Queen Babylon 5:12
1-20 Acid Rain 1:55
1-21 One Holy Bible 6:12
1-22 Back To The Garden (Parts I-IV) 4:07
1-23 Heaven & Hell (CBGB's 1988) 2:59
Live & Rare
2-1 It's A Beautiful Day - CBGB's 6/25/83 3:09
2-2 Degenerated - CBGB's 5/28/83 2:27
2-3 Go Nowhere - CBGB's 3/5/83 1:22
2-4 New Aryans - CBGB's 3/5/83 1:36
2-5 No Class - CBGB's 5/3/83 1:47
2-6 Urban Savages - CBGB's 5/3/83 1:18
2-7 Brave New World - CBGB's 3/5/83 3:02
2-8 Acid Rain - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:09
2-9 Anytown - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:59
2-10 Are You Happy - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:59
2-11 U.S.A. - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:56
2-12 I Hate Hate - CBGB's 5/28/83 1:56
2-13 In Dog We Trust - CBGB's 11/20/83 3:01
2-14 Reagan Youth - Studio Spring 1982 1:21
2-15 U.S.A. - Studio 10/82 1:24
2-16 I Hate Hate - Studio 5/83 1:54
2-17 Degenerated - Studio 5/83 2:18
2-18 Brave New World - Vol 1 Out-Take 1982 4:09
2-19 New Aryans (Alternate Version) 1:23
2-20 Anytown (Alternate Version) 2:01
2-21 Go Nowhere (Alternate Version) 1:24
2-22 Reagan Youth (Alternate Version) 1:22
2-23 In Dog We Trust (Alternate Version) 2:43
2-24 U.S.A. (Alternate Version) 1:00
2-25 I Hate Hate (Instrumental) 1:53
2-26 Ace Of Spades - CBGB's 1984
2-27 Anytown - Rehersal 2:06
2-28 Reagan Youth - CBGB's Ratcage Benefit 11/20/82 1:27
2-29 Postlude - Demo 1988 1:01
Power Anthems For The New Order
A1 New Aryans (Original R-Radical Version)
A2 Reagan Youth (Original R-Radical Version)
B1 (Are You Really) Happy? (Original R-Radical Version)
B2 I Hate Hate! (Original R-Radical Version)
C Degenerated (Original R-Radical Version)
D1 U.S.A (Original R-radical Version)
D2 (You're A) Gonowhere (Original R-Radical Version)

6 comments:

Richie Muster said...

Now this is interesting. I have the original ep on vinyl, and a cdr of (some of) the CBGBs tracks taken from a tape given to me years ago, along with Detention's unreleased 2nd album, by a reader of Maximum Rock 'n' Roll. I lurrve this ep: raw, high-energy noise, music to play whilst kicking against the pricks.

Anonymous said...

Love the hardcore postings. In a better world a song like (You're A) Go Nowhere would have made the top ten.

Jonny Zchivago said...

Dear Anonymous.....according to Quantum Theory, there is a universe where this very thing has happened ....(You're A) Go Nowhere is at number one....but,sadly, that theoretical world is on the brink of destroying itself just like us earth dwellers......but also there will be one where regan youth are enormous,and U2 are the counter culture......etc etc

northfieldhat said...

I did roofing too!

Jonny Zchivago said...

Hey, Northfieldhat, everybody's doing it. The govt are controlling us. They killed Rod Hull the same way.....https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/mar/18/2

badgerstump said...

da Yoot as the Youth undoubtably still say innit are really great

i need to do some roofing

the emu episode reminder has put me off