| TV Party | ||||
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | July 1982 | |||
| Recorded | March 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 6:49 | |||
| Label | SST (012) | |||
| Producer |
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| Black Flag chronology | ||||
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TV Party is the fourth EP by American band Black Flag, released in 1982. It was self-produced with Ed Barton and originally released by SST Records on the 7" vinyl format. The title track is a satire of boredom, drinking and America's obsession with television; the original version was also released on the band's 1981 debut album, Damaged. [2]
The song "TV Party" was recorded three times. To promote the Damaged album in the United States, Unicorn Records had Black Flag enter the studio and re-record the song for the EP in March 1982, with their then-new drummer Emil Johnson. [3] [4] The EP version features a slower tempo and hand claps. The band again recorded the song at the request of Alex Cox, for his 1984 cult classic film Repo Man and the accompanying soundtrack. Each version of the song lyrically references different TV shows from the era in which each recording was made. [5] [6]
"TV Party" is driven by Chuck Dukowski's bass line and features Henry Rollins on lead vocals and bellowed backing vocals from band members. [5] The song is light in comparison to other songs from the band's Damaged era. [3] Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn has stated that after "Rollins joined the band, we couldn't do songs with a sense of humor anymore; he got into the serious way-out poet thing." [7] Rollins described the song as satire, stating "it's about people who stay inside their house and live in a TV kinda world. And this has a very direct effect on us." [4] Ginn echoed Rollins's interpretation, stating "It's basically a satire of people watching TV and partying at home, which is a sickness which is very prevalent in LA." [4] Glen E. Friedman referred to the song as "a parody of certain type of people". Comparing the song to the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)", he stated "They were both parodies that people took too seriously, and even the bands were found taking themselves too seriously after the fact." [4]
The TV Party EP was released in July 1982. [8] To promote the EP, a music video of "TV Party" was shot featuring the members of Black Flag and their friends drinking beer and calling out their favorite television shows in front of a television set. Among the members is photographer (and the video's director) Glen E. Friedman. [4] Target Video also released a home video titled TV Party, in 1983, containing live footage of the group from 1980 and 1982 as well as the video of the title track. [9] [10] There have been several variations on the release of the TV Party EP. They include one released by SST Records, one as a split between SST and Unicorn Records, and another simply by Unicorn. [11] All three versions have the same track listing. Several different slip covers were also issued. [11] A new version of the song "TV Party" later appeared on the soundtrack to the film Repo Man (1984). In the film, Emilio Estevez can be heard singing "TV Party". [12] The song also appears on other compilation albums. [5] [13]
The title song of the EP received praise from music critics. Online music database AllMusic gave a positive review of the song, describing it as "at once cutting and funny, an attack on television-inspired stasis that laughs both at and with its subjects" and "As a dumb anthem, it even beats out the band's cover of "Louie Louie". [5] Spin referred to the song as the "greatest ode to the slacker sloth". [14]
In 1982, Billboard listed the song "TV Party" as "Recommended" in their "Top Singles" review section. [15] The website AllMusic would later give the EP a retrospective rating of two and a half stars out of five, stating that "The other tracks are good, but this is a release for collectors or serious fans only." [16]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I've Got to Run" | 1:45 |
| 2. | "My Rules" | 1:11 |
| Total length: | 2:56 | |
Black Flag
Production and design
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Indie Chart [17] | 30 |
Gregory Regis Ginn is an American musician and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986, and again in 2003. The band announced another reunion in 2013. Since the breakup of Black Flag, Ginn has recorded solo albums, and performed with such bands as October Faction, Gone, Confront James, Mojack, and others. He was 99th on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Black Flag is an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Initially called Panic, the band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band. They are widely considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands, as well as one of the pioneers of post-hardcore. After breaking up in 1986, Black Flag reunited in 2003 and again in 2013. The second reunion lasted well over a year, during which they released their first studio album in nearly three decades, What The... (2013). The band announced their third reunion in January 2019.
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold electronics equipment. Ginn repurposed the company as a record label to release material by his band Black Flag.
Nervous Breakdown is the debut EP by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag, released in January 1979 through SST Records. It was the label's first release.
Keith Morris is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at the age of 21 with guitarist Greg Ginn and performed on the band's 1979 debut EP Nervous Breakdown. Shortly after leaving Black Flag in 1979, he formed the Circle Jerks with guitarist Greg Hetson; the band released seven albums between 1980 and 1995 and have broken up and reformed on numerous occasions. In 2009 Morris formed the supergroup Off! with guitarist Dimitri Coats, bassist Steven Shane McDonald, and drummer Mario Rubalcaba. Morris has also appeared as a guest vocalist on several albums by other artists.
Gary Arthur McDaniel, better known by his stage name Chuck Dukowski, is an American punk rock musician. He’s most well known for being the bass player and occasional songwriter for Black Flag.
My War is the second full-length studio album by American punk rock band Black Flag. It was the first of three full-length albums the band released in 1984. The album polarized fans due to the LP's B-side, on which the band slowed down to a heavy, Black Sabbath-esque trudge after establishing expectations as a faster hardcore punk band on their first album, Damaged (1981).
Slip It In is the fourth studio album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag, released in 1984 by SST Records.
Damaged is the debut studio album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released by SST Records in November 1981.
Everything Went Black is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released in 1982 through SST Records. The compilation comprises early songs recorded before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981, and was initially released without the group's name on its cover, due to their lawsuit with MCA/Unicorn. Instead, the names of the group members were listed on the first release.
Live '84 is an album released by Black Flag in 1984 on SST Records. It is a live recording of a show played in 1984 and features mostly tracks from My War and Slip It In. A video was shot simultaneously and was briefly available through SST; the now-out-of-print video has been widely bootlegged.
In My Head is the sixth studio album by American punk band Black Flag. It was released in 1985 on SST Records, and was their final studio album before their breakup in 1986. The CD reissue adds three of the four songs that later appeared on the I Can See You EP, replicating the original 1985 cassette release which came out concurrent to the LP.
Jealous Again is the second EP by American hardcore punk band Black Flag, and the third-ever release on SST Records.
Gone is a three-piece punk-based instrumental rock band, formed by Greg Ginn in late 1985. Originally, Gone was a side project to his main group Black Flag.
October Faction is an album by October Faction, the improvisational all-star punk rock band featuring Black Flag members Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski and Saccharine Trust guitarist Joe Baiza.
Würm was a sludge metal band started in 1973 by bass player Chuck Dukowski, who would later join Black Flag. They released one LP on Greg Ginn's SST Records and some tracks on compilations. They were active from 1973 to 1977 and from 1982 to 1983.
Painted Willie was an American punk rock band started in 1984 in Los Angeles by drummer and film-maker Dave Markey after the demise of his first band, Sin 34. They were active from 1984 to 1987 and released one 7", two 12 inch EPs and three LPs.
The Nig-Heist was a punk-comedy-shock rock band led by Steve "Mugger" Corbin, a roadie and live sound engineer for Black Flag and employee of SST Records. The Nig-Heist featured a revolving-door roster of members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag at the moment. The band used to open for Black Flag on tour and recorded a 7", an LP and had tracks on compilations. They were notorious for their risqué stage antics, including band members playing naked, Mugger wearing a long-haired wig and insulting the crowd. Their songs were overtly vulgar and explicit in a funny way. Their motto was: "The band that cums in your mouth, not in your hands".
The Complete 1982 Demos is an unreleased set of demo tracks intended for a follow-up album to Black Flag's debut album Damaged (1981). The tracks recorded show the band moving in a riff-driven, heavy metal-inflected direction, away from the pure hardcore punk of the first album. Due to legal issues, the album was never recorded, though most of the tracks were re-recorded for later albums. Though never officially released, the recordings have been widely bootlegged.
