I've got the world up my ass And I'm gonna move fast
14 songs in 15:25. The Circle Jerks certainly deliver on their corporate mission statement on their 1980 debut Group Sex. What makes this over-excited, snot-nosed, jokey, teenage riot worthwhile 43 years later, rather than just an amusing footnote, is just what a wonderfully complete over-excited, snot-nosed, jokey, teenage riot it is. Allow me to explain in the time it would take you to listen to the LP three times over, minimum.
Having bombed out of Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris took a few of his songs with him into his next group*, originally called the Bedwetters; sadly for us all, with the help of a slang dictionary they became Circle Jerks instead.
Morris found Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson, bassist Roger Rogerson and drummer Lucky Lehrer to join him in circular jerkdom. They didn’t fit into the punk scene, didn’t have the contacts or look the part but, oh boy, they could play.
By the time they cut Group Sex Circle jerks were something to behold, fast and tight – Keith Morris’ mantra when recording has always been ‘trim the fat, trim the fat!’ and they had it boiled down to essentials. But could they cut it as a studio band without the riotous unpredictability and fervour of their live shows?
To my tired old ears Group Sex doesn’t sound so incredibly fast, yes they hit the accelerator on ‘Operation’ and ‘Deny Everything’ but we’re not at warp speed here. The songs are short but there isn’t anything missing, we have feeling, melody, compelling rhythms, good lyrics and choruses, interesting segues between songs and some interesting musical flourishes. The reason the LP clocks in at 15:25 is exactly that all the fat has been trimmed.
Drummer Lucky Lehrer deserves huge credit here. A jazz head who idolized Buddy Rich and Max Roach, he is incredible – listen to the precision on ‘World Up My Ass’, the real swing he is able to bring to cuts like ‘Beverley Hills’ and the Tommy Ramone-ing on ‘Live Fast Die Young’. It’s right that he is lauded as the first and very best hardcore punk drummer.
Ally Lehrer’s drumming to Roger Rogerson’s classical training and Greg Hetson’s surf-tinged guitaring and you can really see that this was no knuckle-dragging teen novelty act. I would gently point you towards the epic ‘Back Against The Wall, weighing in at 1:35 it is a full song, with different sections, a great skanking rhythm and a surf guitar solo, before it all goes apeshit bananas at the end.
Then again I truly get off on the negative blast of ‘Deny Everything’ and ‘Live Fast Die Young’; obviously with increasing amounts of irony as I creep through my fifth decade on this benighted planet.
My very favourite moment of Group Sex is the segue between ‘I Want Some Skank’ and ‘Beverley Hills’ it is absolutely masterful, the latter tune being effectively lit from the dying embers of the former. Bands labour for decades without ever creating anything quite so perfectly realised.
Circle Jerks sang about everything around them, as all their contemporaries did too, so we get gauche songs about being hassled by grown-ups, hypocrisy, getting royally fucked up, getting right royally fucked up, superficiality, joining the army, the dark parts, parks and arts of California, skateboarding and skanks. It is at once irredeemably teenage and universal, because we’ve been there and can relate to how blindingly obvious everything is at that age, vowing to never be a part of that world ourselves**.
In case you were wondering the title track was suggested by Keith Morris’ friend Gun Club founder Jeffery Lee Pierce^. It consists of a shouted chorus of ‘Group sex! Group sex!’ as Morris reads a series of personal ads from a LA sex paper^^. Far from being licentious I think it makes a sarcastic youngster’s point about the anodyne blandness of the middle aged and middle class-ed.
Group Sex really does stand the test of time, not just in terms of So-Cal punk or hardcore, but I think in terms of punk full-stop. Like the Adolescents and Dead Kennedys debuts Group Sex was a game-changing LP that still sounds vital and full of juice today for even the most jaded old rocker.
My copy of Group Sex is 40th anniversary pink and black mixed vinyl version (which I find difficult to see), it comes with an excellent booklet full of reminiscences from those that were there or were influenced by them. The sound of the pressing is great and all is groovy, save for a minor quibble.
Circle Jerks give us a 5 song rehearsal blast recorded in Keith’s mom’s garage, which is great and shows just how tight a band they were. My minor nerdy gripe though is that I prefer my classic LP’s left just as they were, the extra tracks would have been great on a separate 7″ or flexi disc but they do distort the original Group Sex experience.
But I will leave you with some hard-won wisdom, Circle Jerks style:
I got a date
I can't be late
If she don't show up
I'll masturbate ('What's Your Problem')
1187 Down.
PS: Circle Jerks + audience, from Penelope Spheeris: The Decline of Civilization:
*’Wasted’ cropped up on Nervous Breakdown and I love the story that as Morris had not acknowledged Greg Ginn’s co-authorship of ‘I Don’t Care’, Ginn rewrote the lyrics and it became ‘You Bet We’ve Got Something Personal Against You’ on Jealous Again. Why couldn’t they all just play nicely together?
**as I was saying only yesterday to Charles and Norris at the executive board meeting at the landmine manufacturing company I work for.
^Morris suggested the Gun Club as a name for Pierce’s band.
^^we didn’t have one of those in rural West Wales.
I had very little experience of the Circle Jerks back then but did a lot of moshing and some stage diving.
Me too and I was always surprised by how gentle and considerate it usually was.
Good way to burn off energy, both as performers and audience. Seems like a healthy way to vent rage.
Absolutely and usually it was oddly gentle and considerate when you were in the eye of that particular storm too.