So, as some of you may know, a few days ago guitarist (and basically heart and soul of the band) Greg Ginn announced that he would be performing as Black Flag with drummer Gregory Moore (who played with them a decade ago), singer Ron Reyes (you may know him as vocalist Chavo Pederast on the Jealous Again EP), and bassist Dale Nixon (aka Ginn; Dale Nixon is also credited as the bassist on My War). However, in context, it just seemed like Black Flag would be playing a one-off festival show in the UK, but apparently earlier today (January 28th) it was announced that they had just finished recording a new album, and are now preparing to tour it.
Meanwhile, there’s another band called FLAG, which is going to tour playing old-school Black Flag tunes instead of new ones. The lineup on this one seems much more promising: Keith Morris (second best vocalist after Rollins), bassist Chuck Dukowski (responsible for the weird basslines in songs like “What I See”), guitarist Stephen Egerton (hey, the Descendents and All!), and rounding it out drummer Bill Stevenson (also from the Descendents and All, but he played in Black Flag from My War through In My Head, when he got kicked off right before the next tour and got back with a reunited Descendents).
So, basically, there’s two reunited Black Flags who are touring the world right now. Personally, I think FLAG sounds much more promising; who wants to hear a bunch of the boring new jazzy garbage that Ginn’s sure to toss onto the new record? I just want to mosh to the old stuff until the enamel in my teeth has turned to gelatin. Besides, Reyes was easily their worst vocalist– he sounded like he was trying to do a Darby Crash thing but it wasn’t quite working out for him. Still, you have to give him credit for the angriest versions of “White Minority” and “Depression” that Black Flag ever performed:
Either way, old-school Black Flag is still going to get crazy daps. They were excellent, they endured some of the most brutal low-budget tours of all time, and without SST Records other awesome 80s bands like (oldfag jizz alert) Sonic Youth, the Meat Puppets, Husker Du, the Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr, and the Descendents probably wouldn’t have found a home. So they deserve cred for that at least.
Wat u bros think? Should Black Flag stay dead and buried? Was Reyes their worst vocalist? Why aren’t Dez Cadena or Kira Roessler getting in on the money action? Should Keith Morris stop joining so many bands? Are you going to see the the two new Black Flags live? Was Black Flag the greatest band of all time, or just the greatest hardcore band of all time? Are oldfags going to get butthurt or jizz over this??
Black flag is kool but I’m tired of old dudes.
/thread
Am oldFag….and agree 100%.
Not gonna jizz or get butthurt over dis…but will probably have to take shameful
oldFag rape shower when/if listen to the new material :(
ding ding ding…we have winnar!
Never really got why people called black flag hardcore in its purest form. While they most certainly are hardcore punk which influenced many tr00 hardcore bands but much like bands the stooges or MC5 who influenced many of the tr00 punk bands I wouldn’t classify them as pure or tr00 punk. To me tr00 hardcore is a mix of hardcore punk and metal like terror, Hatebreed, earth crisis, madball etc. granted I’m just a youngfag who’s confused by oldfags. Am I right or am I all wrong and don’t know REAL hardcore? Plz respond
protip: “real” hardcore is illusory
I agree with you on the definition of tr00 hardcore, but am too old to care to argue it. Honestly, I think most people saying Black Flag or (insert oldfag band here) is hardcore in its purest essence are hipsters, ikeacores or other people who have never really been seriously involved in hardcore but somehow feel entitled to credibility and superiority within the scene anyways.
Black Flag is hardcore punk. There is a difference between hardcore and hardcore punk.
Yeah is see these guys a actually apart of a genre than a scene. Like contesting whether the Clash or Green Day are tr00 punk, when they are scene politics free bands who just come under punk rock. To me atleast.
What the fuck did you just say.
Of course the term REAL hardcore is bullshit, but I’ve always classified 80s bands and others who play in their style as hardcore, while the bands like Hatebreed, Terror, Madball, etc. I’ve always filed under metalcore. Of course, the “scene” wasn’t codified in the 80s like it was with 90s hardcore, so I’m probs spewing bullshit, but that’s just my 2c
I am more excited for the FOB reuion
dude are the fall out boys really reuniting? internet is telling me different things
http://www.inquisitr.com/495953/fall-out-boy-reunion-rumors-allegedly-confirmed/
> allegedly
i don’t understand why everyone is so excited about some 80′s rock band getting back together. didn’t they break up 10 years before everyone who reads this site was born?
I am a relative old and I agree w/ this comment.
brb forever calling Black Flag an “80′s rock band” around music snob friends from now on.
brb drunk as hell and listening to state champs on spotify instead of 80′s music on vinyl
I think of Black Flag as the “poor Van Halen” (srs)
lol’d hard irl. lockin that one away
this is hilarious. i’m going to use this in conjunction with referring to them as 80′s rock.
PERFECT
ARG U PPL R STUPID BLACK FLAG WAS REAL UNDRGRND ROCK!!! AND THEY WERE A REACTION AGAINST MNSTRM GARBAGE LIKE VAN HALEN
I’m 31, and definitely couldn’t care less about a band that broke up when I was 5.
This is stupid. You don’t see anyone acting stupid about a Miami Sound Machine reunion, and they were arguably much more popular and successful. Black Flag never toured with Gloria Estefan.
I am a general black fag fan but cmon… who da fuck cares when this oldfag grandpa-core band is reuniting.. of course there gonna be massive amount of anal leakage whenever people want to classify this band but imo only oldfags and dumbass kids that want to wear their tr0o0o punk badge care about this band… wood see keith morris version only to scream “play group sex!!” and wood also see ron reyes version only to scream “ALRIGHT THE GERMS RULE.. CAN’T WAIT FOR HENRY ROLLINS TO CMON OUT N PLAY DAMAGED!!” YEA tv fuckin’ party fuckers wooh!!!”
I am a general black fag fan
I dont even need to write a punchline
^^heyo.
I can honestly say that I don’t know the difference between the Keith Morris or Ron Reyes version of this band because THEY BROKE UP WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD… This happened almost 27 years ago!!!
I only know who Henry Rollins is because of The Rollins Band, the song “Liar,” the Dennis Miller show theme, and his comedy hours on TV. I guess he also had that talk show for 15 minutes too.
Maybe some other, relevant, newer band should make a cover album of black flag songs to show people what this band was “really about.” Slayer translated all of that really bad punk rock into good music on one of their records in the 90′s. Maybe someone else could make Black Flag sound like it didn’t come from a 7th grade talent show? Maybe that’s too much to ask.
soft rock
Get in my van
huehuehue
Well I am glad all those who attend will all be fans of the band who really care about the music and not fashion. Certainly nobody will use it to “prove they really like hardcore”.
I’d go to see both Flags. Guess that makes me a flggt.
defend pop puns
is this a band i thought it was a clothing line for wannabe oldfags ?
boom.
srsly my exact thoughts on the Misfits
i was just wondering, could someone let me know, does this band have any breakdowns ?
shit, beat me to the obligatory no breakdowns = not music comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKJZWdrr63M
ur moshin’.
i’ll be going to see FLAG because i’m sure that keith morris could shed some intelligent, well thought-out light on the state of the scene today that in no way shape or form reflects any bias.
looking forward to his insightful, highly rational commentary that reflects his nuanced understanding of contemporary youth culture.
It’s a shame that his voice is so cool.
“between grief and nothing, i’ll take grief.” – fairest bueler
Black Flag was already gone by the time I started going to shows around 1992, but I missed the fake reunion shows (feat. Dez and Marky Ramone for some reason) with the fake reunited Misfits around 2001, so I’m very lightly considering going to see one of the bands if they come through my town on a Saturday and I can get a babysitter and don’t have too much going on at work and if – fuck it I’m not going.
I saw that misfits tour, still have the shirt from it. Was p fun actually. I was like 15, it was my first show at the pound in SF, we were driving through the neighborhood all “I think we’re in the ghetto” and then we heard gunshots in the distance while waiting in line outside the venue.
#tr00story
I hate Keith Morris but I also hate Greg Ginn. Would like to have seen Dez do something.
Chavo was their best vocalist by far imo– “Jealous Again” is their best work and anyone who doesn’t think that’s hardcore should have their head examined.
i endorse this message
co-sign
I was wondering where all the Chavo hate was coming from. I think he did great work in Black Flag.
+1, I go out of my way to only listen to his version of Depression.
He’s not my favorite vocalist, but that his version of “Depression” is by far the best is backtard. That’s definitely his absolute best, most angry work, and I love the way he emphasizes “DEPRESSION’s got a hold of me, DEPRESSION, it’s gonna kill me–” Henry’s version doesn’t sound nearly as into it.
yeah I agree w this, although I think rollins/ginn/roessler/stevenson is my favourite era, would’ve liked to have seen them reunited rather than these scattered lineups but I guess people (fairly understandably) only seem to care about punk black flag and not weird, jazz black flag.
Definitely agree – “Jealous Again” is easily my favorite Black Flag recording. I like all of BF’s vocalists (well, Dez is whatevez), but he sounded legit unhinged, whereas Keith sounds like the annoying snotty punk guy that he is, and henri sounds like he’s trying really hard to be menacing. Which is kind of ironic, because he became a Christian minister later on and probably lived the most pedestrian life of any of their singers.
not sheriff “henri” is typo or brilliant satire
Henri Rolange’ famous ardcourre chanteuse cum poetific.
No hate for Reyes– I probably should have specified that I think all of Black Flag is A++ (including Family Man, sans Rollins’ poetry) but I think he’s the weakest because 1. To me he was the least pissed-off sounding, although this is subjective, and it’s certainly not by much, and 2. when he was doing obviously satirical songs like “Jealous Again” and “White Minority” he seemed too “obvious” (I know this makes no sense, especially considering his name is Ron REYES and he’s singing “White Minority”) whereas Keith and Dez sounded more sarcastic and hateful towards the objects of satire. This is almost def something I imagined entirely
LET YER FINGERS DO THE WALKING
LET YER FINGERS DO THE WALKING
I like Ron Reyes better than Darby Crash, tbh. I barely even listen to The Germs since they annoy the shit out of me and it’s all thx to Darby (how many punx points do I lose???)
I am not aware of anybody with functioning eardums who listens to the germs.
+1
Seeing the Greg Ginn version at the uk festival date, could care less now that I know they’re gonna be playing new songs, I just wanted to hear tv party while drunk as fuck :(
Well, just hope and pray that new Black Flag isn’t nearly as horrible as Greg Ginn’s solo stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOlUcRQmhoY
This just makes me rly sad. :(
i feel like i should go see this, i figure its better to tell my future kids ‘this tattoo? oh its a band i saw once’ as opposed to ‘they were relevant 10 years before i was even born’.
Not featuring Henry Rollins because even he doesn’t care about this band anymore.
You mean “Not featuring Henry Rollins because he actually parlayed his time spent touring into a real career.”
Chavo Pederast was the best vocalist.
i hope the new album has lots of synth, dubstep, and breakdowns.
cosigned
I’m all for both Black Flag and FLAG playing shows to cash on on their former greatness. Let’s look at the facts here …
Lots of them are old dudes in their mid-50′s and are still living on the glory that they were in a band that aged (very) well since the 80′s. The truth is, everyone in Black Flag was barely able to feed themselves while they were a band. Then after the band broke up, unless they had some other career to fall back on, they’re still living that punk rock lifestyle while they’re older than the President of the US (I’m sure most of the people involved are still working minimum wage jobs). They’re not supporting themselves on record royalties or t-shirt sales (who pays for music anymore).
If these tours mean a bunch of old dudes are going to have enough money to feed themselves or prevent homelessness, financial ruin, etc. I’m all for it. Srsly.
+1
being in a band is a job just like any other, you gotta look after your money situation
i personally don’t get the disdain for these reunions… i mean, if they end up sucking then it’s called for, but if black flag isn’t entitled to reunite then who is? greg, bill and stephen seem like really solid dudes from everything i’ve seen. best of luck to them.
I will not rest until BLACK FAG has been resurrected.
BLACKFACE IMO
(Actually a thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thQbmcxMVrI)
Black Fag was a typically worthless homocore band from Berkeley. Not as good as the morbidly obese MisfAts tho.
Black Swag is all yours though, Vyce.
i remember black fag #oldz
Re: Blackface
I think it’s time for a post that does an in depth analysis of Eugene Robinson – the music, the steroids, the swastika tattoos, the MMA, the guy is wickedly educated, etc.
I’m not volunteering because the man genuinely frightens me.
I can only pray I become as dangerous, intelligent, talented and insane as him when I become a crazy old black man. He is my writing inspiration. I may take you up on that, though I’ll need to do a bit of research.
the man genuinely frightens me
speaking as someone who is friends with him on facebook, back tard
I’m 24 and this is pretty much totally irrelevant to me in every way.
Waiting for some 19 year old to tell me about how stoked he his for this though.
i’m 24 and what is this?
Newer thought I’d see the day that Sonic Youth was mentioned on SYWH; and in a positive way. Makes me feel a bit less of a fag for liking them…
lol ur still gay
will end up like the misfits post danzig/100 … cheap band with the cheapest merch ever!
MAY THE LORD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL!
Too bad Rollins isn’t in on this, they could get away with charging $60-100 per ticket if he was.
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