I don’t know why I love SoCal punk from the early eighties so much considering I grew up in Northern England? Maybe it’s the whole suburban, middle-class vibe that runs through the music that I connect with.
Most artists, musicians and otherwise, seem to be urban in their outlook. They live in cities, with all the culture and variety that offers, and that is where their ’scene’ tends to exist and they look down on suburbia.
Here’s a quote about the great writer J.G. Ballard, who died last week:
“J.G. Ballard’s become the great sort of sage of the suburbs, living for years and years in Shepperton. And Ballard, sitting there and thinking about what the suburbs are, says that they are very interesting because whatever it is you do to kind of create some sort of shock to your imagination, get you out of boredom and inertia, will happen in the suburbs rather than in the centre. That’s his pitch. And to react against this inertia and boredom that is endemic to that place, you have to come up with solutions like acts of subversion.”
I think you know what I’m saying.
So, back to the music. Lost Cause aren’t one of the greats of the SoCal punk scene, but they are a fairly typical example of the bands that came from there, having that sound and attitude. Which makes them pretty good in my book. Here are their Born Dead 7″ and Forgotten Corners LP.
01. Born Dead
02. No Justice
03. American Hero
04. Senior Citizen
05. No Intro
06. Can’t Find Myself
07. Misfit
08. Living In Hell
09. Don’t Take A Chance
10. Airport Religion
11. Firing Line
12. Constipated Rage
