This Is Boston, Not L.A.

Last updated
This Is Boston, Not L.A.
ThisIsBostonNotLA.jpg
Compilation album by
various artists
ReleasedMay 1982
Studio
  • Radiobeat
  • Oak Grove
  • Newbury Sound
Genre Hardcore punk
Length36:46
LanguageEnglish
Label Modern Method
Producer
  • Michel Bastarache
  • Jimmy Dufour
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

This Is Boston, Not L.A. is a hardcore punk compilation released in 1982. It is considered the definitive album from the Boston hardcore scene, as several of its most prominent bands appear on the record, namely, Jerry's Kids, the Proletariat, the Groinoids, the F.U.'s, Gang Green, Decadence, and the Freeze. [1] For them, with the exception of the latter, This Is Boston, Not L.A. was also their debut release. Al Barile's band, SSD, were asked to contribute, but they refused to participate. [2]

Contents

The album was named after its closing track, the eponymous song by the Freeze:

If you dance the same and dress the same
It won't be long 'til you are the same
You look the same and act the same
There's nothing new and you're to blame
This is Boston, not L.A.
This is Boston, fuck L.A.

      —The Freeze, "This Is Boston, Not L.A." lyrics [3]

According to Clif Hanger, vocalist for the Freeze, the title song was written not to insult Los Angeles scene, but to encourage other Boston acts to find their own unique, local sound rather than emulate other bands from other areas. [4] [5] However, Boston audiences often took away a different meaning. They assumed the song asserted Boston's superiority to Los Angeles. [4]

The album's front cover features a black-and-white image of a mosh pit, taken by Bostonian punk photographer Phil In Phlash.

This Is Boston, Not L.A. would be followed up a few months later by a six-song complementary record, the Unsafe at Any Speed EP. [nb 1]


Release

Consisting of only previously unreleased material, This Is Boston, Not L.A. was originally released in May 1982, as LP [nb 2] [6] and Compact Cassette, [nb 2] [7] on Modern Method Records. [8] [9] A second vinyl pressing of the album would be released later that same year. [10]

Critical reception

In his review for AllMusic, Alex Henderson said:

"... in the late '70s and early '80s. While Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco were famous for their punk scenes, Boston's punk scene didn't enjoy nearly as much publicity. But make no mistake: Boston was a punk hotbed back then, and Modern Method Records tried to spread the word with this obscure but excellent compilation ... This Is Boston, Not L.A. ... paints an impressive picture of the Beantown punks who were active during that era." [1]

Unsafe at Any Speed EP

Unsafe at Any Speed
VA UnsafeAtAnySpeedEP cover.jpeg
EP by
various artists
ReleasedLate summer 1982
Genre Hardcore punk
Length11:48
LanguageEnglish
Label Modern Method

A few months after releasing This Is Boston, Not L.A., [nb 2] Modern Method issued a follow-up companion record, the 7-inch EP titled Unsafe at Any Speed, [nb 1] [9] [11] featuring one unreleased song apiece from six of the bands which had appeared on the original compilation.

Also featuring a Phil In Phlash's photograph of a mosh pit, and bold typography, the record's front cover is of a similar design to that on the original album.

The tracks that make up the EP resurfaced in 1995 as the last six songs on the CD re-release of This Is Boston, Not L.A. [nb 3] [12] [13] [14]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Selfish"Gang Green1:44
2."Empty Skull"Groinoids1:18
3."Voodoo Economics"The Proletariat2:51
Side B
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Machine Gun"Jerry's Kids1:17
2."CETA Suckers"The F.U.'s0:57
3."Refrigerator Heaven"The Freeze3:41
Total length:11:48

Influence

After the record's release, Boston natives took to mocking the title with T-shirts that proclaimed in large type: "This is L.A. (Lower Allston), not Boston" in reference to Allston, Massachusetts. In the early to mid-1980s, the T-shirt appropriately mimicked the NBA rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Boston-based ska-punk band Big D and the Kids Table printed T-shirts referencing the song and compilation. They featured "L.A" with a strike through it on the front and "This is Boston Not L.A." on the back. South shore pop-punk band A Loss for Words also made shirts that featured a modified version of the Celtics logo and the same saying on the reverse side. This alludes to both the compilation and the Celtics' victory in the 1984 NBA Finals.

In 1994 Zafio Records released the This is Berkeley Not West Bay 4-way split EP with Black Fork, Dead and Gone, Screw 32 and AFI on it. As a response, in 2000 the Amsterdam-based Kangaroo Records label released the compilation EP This is Kangaroo Not Berkely, with 12 bands from different countries playing 'straight forward hardcore. Like the way it SHOULD be.' [15]

The compilation was mentioned by the punk rock band NOFX on their song "We Got Two Jealous Agains", featured on their album The War on Errorism , released in 2003. A verse of the lyrics reads: "But when I saw Christ on Parade, and This is Boston, Not LA, I knew you were the one".

In 2012, appeared an unlabeled self-released EP titled This Is Boston and S.J., displaying on its cover art the same photograph and graphic style of the 1982 LP, but instead of it saying "Not L.A.", it's crossed off and says "and S.J.". Hostage and Swamps from Massachusetts share the record with Bad Times Crew, and True Hearted from San Jose, California. [16]

Reissues

In October 1995, This Is Boston, Not L.A. was re-released as a remastered CD [nb 3] [13] [14] [17] on Newbury Comics' in-house record label Wicked Disc, [14] [17] a short-lived follow-up to the demised Modern Method Records. [18] This edition included, as bonus tracks, the entire Unsafe at Any Speed EP. [nb 1] [14] [17]

On July 29, 2016, Newbury Comics re-released the album as a limited repressing of 1,500 copies on colored vinyl, [nb 2] [19] in four different design variations. [20]

Track listings

In the original LP from 1982, "Straight Jacket" is spelled "Strait Jacket" on the side A disc label [6] and on the inner sleeve, while "I Don't Know" appears as "I Don't Care" on the back cover and on the side B disc label, and "This Is Boston, Not L.A." is shortened to "Boston not L.A." on the back cover and on the side B disc label. In the Compact Cassette version, also from 1982, "I Don't Know" appears as "I Don't Care", and "This Is Boston, Not L.A." is shortened to "Boston not L.A." [7]

1982 LP and MC release

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Straight Jacket"Rick Jones Jerry's Kids 0:27
2."Uncontrollable"R. JonesJerry's Kids0:50
3."Wired"R. JonesJerry's Kids1:22
4."Desperate"Bob CenciJerry's Kids1:15
5."Pressure"Dave AronsonJerry's Kids1:25
6."I Don't Wanna"CenciJerry's Kids1:25
7."Options"Richard Brown, The Proletariat The Proletariat 2:00
8."Religion Is the Opium of the Masses"Brown, The ProletariatThe Proletariat2:14
9."Allegiance"Frank Michaels, The ProletariatThe Proletariat1:39
10."Angel"Mongoloid, GroinoidsGroinoids1:06
11."Preskool Dropouts"John Sox, Peter Cristofono The F.U.'s 1:32
12."Radio UNIX USA"Steve GrimesThe F.U.'s1:01
13."Green Beret" (version) Robin Moore, Barry Sadler The F.U.'s1:39
14."Time Is Money"Bob Furapples, GrimesThe F.U.'s0:20
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Snob" Chris Doherty Gang Green 0:26
2."Lie Lie"Doherty, Mike DeanGang Green0:33
3."I Don't Know"DohertyGang Green1:01
4."Rabies"Doherty, DeanGang Green1:26
5."Narrow Mind"DohertyGang Green0:41
6."Kill a Commie"Doherty, DeanGang Green1:07
7."Have Fun"DohertyGang Green0:54
8."Slam"Jonathan AnastasDecadence1:31
9."Broken Bones"C. Croce The Freeze 1:31
10."Idiots at Happy Hour"CroceThe Freeze0:58
11."Now or Never"Rob DeCradle, CroceThe Freeze0:39
12."Sacrifice Not Suicide"CroceThe Freeze1:08
13."It's Only Alcohol"DeCradle, CroceThe Freeze1:24
14."Trouble If You Hide"DeCradle, CroceThe Freeze2:49
15."Time Bomb"CroceThe Freeze1:58
16."This Is Boston, Not L.A."CroceThe Freeze0:25
Total length:36:46

1995 remastered CD edition

Track 36 hides an untitled looped version of the final line of the title song: "This is Boston" is heard once, "fuck L.A." is the loop.

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Straight Jacket"Jerry's Kids0:28
2."Uncontrollable"Jerry's Kids0:51
3."Wired"Jerry's Kids1:22
4."Desperate"Jerry's Kids1:17
5."Pressure"Jerry's Kids1:26
6."I Don't Wanna"Jerry's Kids1:25
7."Options"The Proletariat2:01
8."Religion Is the Opium of the Masses"The Proletariat2:14
9."Allegiance"The Proletariat1:38
10."Angel"Groinoids1:07
11."Preskool Dropouts"The F.U.'s1:32
12."Radio UNIX USA"The F.U.'s1:01
13."Green Beret"The F.U.'s1:38
14."Time Is Money"The F.U.'s0:21
15."Snob"Gang Green0:27
16."Lie Lie"Gang Green0:36
17."I Don't Know"Gang Green1:03
18."Rabies"Gang Green1:27
19."Narrow Mind"Gang Green0:44
20."Kill a Commie"Gang Green1:08
21."Have Fun"Gang Green0:54
22."Slam"Decadence1:30
23."Broken Bones"The Freeze1:32
24."Idiots at Happy Hour"The Freeze0:59
25."Now or Never"The Freeze0:39
26."Sacrifice Not Suicide"The Freeze1:08
27."It's Only Alcohol"The Freeze1:23
28."Trouble If You Hide"The Freeze2:46
29."Time Bomb"The Freeze1:57
30."This Is Boston, Not L.A."The Freeze0:25
Bonus tracks: Unsafe at Any Speed EP
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
31."Selfish"Chris DohertyGang Green1:47
32."Empty Skull"Mongoloid, GroinoidsGroinoids1:20
33."Voodoo Economics"Richard Brown, The ProletariatThe Proletariat2:49
34."Machine Gun"Rick JonesJerry's Kids1:20
35."CETA Suckers"Steve GrimesThe F.U.'s0:59
36."Refrigerator Heaven"C. Croce, The FreezeThe Freeze8:27
Total length:53:41

Personnel

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Modern Method #MM 014
  2. 1 2 3 4 Modern Method #MM 012
  3. 1 2 Wicked Disc #WIC 1001-2
  4. 1 2 At Radiobeat Studios in Boston, Massachusetts.
  5. ↑ At Oak Grove Studio in Malden, Massachusetts.
  6. ↑ At Newbury Sound in Boston, Massachusetts.
  7. ↑ At 9 West Mastering in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Henderson, Alex. "This Is Boston, Not L.A.: AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson". AllMusic . Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  2. ↑ Hurchalla, George (Zuo Press, 2005). Going Underground: American Punk 1979–1989. Second ed., 2016. Oakland: PM Press. ISBN   9781629631134. pp. 197–200.
  3. ↑ Various artists (1982), This Is Boston, Not L.A.. Modern Method Records. #MM 012. Inner sleeve.
  4. 1 2 Abbene, Jillian (February 2008). "On the record with... Clif Hanger - The Freeze". SugarBuzz Magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  5. ↑ Carnes, Aaron (October 25, 2016). "The Return of Boston Hardcore Anomaly, The Proletariat" Archived 2016-10-27 at the Wayback Machine (interview). Noisey . Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  6. 1 2 This Is Boston, Not L.A., 1982 LP release cover art. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  7. 1 2 This Is Boston, Not L.A., 1982 MC release cover art. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  8. ↑ Varnum, Steve (mid-1982). Title unknown (review about the Proletariat's contribution to the This Is Boston, Not L.A. compilation). The Standard-Times .
  9. 1 2 Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History . Second ed., 2010. Port Townsend: Feral House. ISBN   9781932595895. pp. 185-187.
  10. ↑ This Is Boston, Not L.A., 1982 LP repressing cover art. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  11. ↑ Unsafe at Any Speed, 1982 7-inch EP release cover art. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  12. ↑ FuckYouOiOiOi (January 16, 2007). "Various: This Is Boston, Not L.A. (1982)". Punknews. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  13. 1 2 This Is Boston, Not L.A., 1995 CD edition cover art. Record Collectors of the World Unite. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 4 This Is Boston, Not L.A., 1995 CD edition advertisement. Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008.
  15. ↑ This is Kangaroo Not Berkeley 7″ Kangaroo Records blog. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  16. ↑ Various artists, This Is Boston and S.J., 2012 CD EP, FLAC and MP3 files release review. Idioteq. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 This Is Boston, Not L.A., 1995 CD edition. AllMusic . Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ LeBlanc, Larry. "Industry Profile: Mike Dreese". CelebrityAccess. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  19. ↑ Marotta, Michael (July 21, 2016). "Living History: Newbury Comics to re-press iconic 1982 record 'This Is Boston, Not L.A.'". Vanyaland. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  20. ↑ This Is Boston, Not L.A., 2016 LP repressing cover art. Rackspace CDN . Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.

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