Chronic Sick — Cutest Band In Hardcore E.P.

Chronic Sick might well have been the first American punk band to go the direction of full-on irony. I think they were really trying to out-punk the punks. See, they caught a lot of flak in their day for dressing like fuckups (punk), flirting with with swastikas and other ignant symbology (really punk), and writing lyrics that pissed of the burgeoning hardcore scene across the land (PUNX). Mostly it was the first tune off this LP that caused the real controversy, "There Goes the Neighborhood," about some new folks moving to town — "oh my god they're black!" But here's the thing, rather than being an actual racist anthem, these dudes were pointing out the ignorance embodied by bigotry. And in that light — impersonating people you disagree with to point out their flaws (think Colbert) — they're actually a brilliant band (The Landlords had a similar song about rape — in the liner notes they annotated it with "some people actually think like this!"). The rest of the tunes follow similar lines; rather than saying precisely what they mean (a la early Minor Threat, say) you might have to flex your head a bit to get what's going on.

Not only that, but they play some mean riffs. Today, this might be considered pop-punk, or at least going that direction. At the time they were probably just more influenced by 70's punk more than Black Flag, so it comes out really melodic and approachable — ironic, considering the title this EP claims for them. Anyway, sound quality's pretty good considering its age, and the content is just as applicable today. This is a real gem of a record.

Chronic Sick — Cutest Band in Hardcore E.P. (1982)

Track Listing:

1. There Goes The Neighborhood
2. Dress Code
3. Public Suicide
4. Man-Rape Blues
5. Mucho Macho
6. Pain For Profit

From Last.fm: "Chronic Sick were Bobby The “K” (music, lyrics, lead guitar, backing vocals), Greg Gory (Vocals), Arnie Barrs (bass, backing vocals) and Joe Albano (drums). Formed in 1981 in New Jersey, this hardcore punk band had two releases on Mutha Records : “Cutest Band In Hardcore” 12” (Mutha 002), and a self-titled 7” EP (Mutha 008) between 1982 - 83’."