Flipper - Gone Fishin' CD Review (Water Records)

Flipper's second studio album, Gone Fishin' (originally released in 1984), takes the original band in a more 'commercially accessible' direction. There is a lot more structure to these songs as compared to Generic Flipper, and the (somewhat surprisingly) clean and clear production and unified flow of this disc highlight Will and Bruce's lyrical and musical abilities. Mny of the songs are still anchored by a throbbing bass line, but the bass is no longer the focal point of the songs. Complementing the expected bass, guitar, drums, Flipper uses a xylaphone, synare, clavinet, congas, piano and alto sax on different tracks on the disc.

The disc starts off with the punkish, "The Light, The Sound" (and there is a live version of this song on Flipper's Myspace Profile - link below). Moving further into the disc, on songs like "First The Heart" and the headphone-trippy "Talk's Cheap", Will has a tendancy to sound somewhat like mid-80's Richard Hell. There is still the sludge/dirge sound of the previous release on tracks like "Survivors of the Plague" and the still topically relevant "Sacrifice". "You Nought Me" is a chaotic wreck (which never completely breaks down) and the last song on the disc, "One By One", starts with a long buzzing guitar riff that sounds like something lifted from Rocket From the Tombs/early Pere Ubu.

The overall production adds an intriguing dimension to the songs - "Sacrifice" starts with the marching sounds of soldiers before Steve kicks in with a military beat, Will has a 'conversation' with himself that bounces between speakers on 'Talk's Cheap' and the chaotic 'You Nought Me' has a tinkling piano in the background.

King Buzzo from The Melvins wrote the liner notes for this disc and and he sums Flipper's accomplishments as "...the most important thing is the music. If you get Flipper, no explanation is necessary".

This record has been out of print for too long...

Water Records has faithfully reproduced the original LP art so you can cut out and assemble Flipper's tour van and stand-ups of all of the band members.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile
Water Records

Flipper - Generic Flipper CD Review (Water Records)

Generic Flipper has been cited as inspiriation by numerous bands across genres ranging from dirge, grunge, drone and hardcore. In 2007, Blender magazine ranked Generic Flipper as #86 on their list of the 100 greatest "indie rock" albums of all time.

Flipper's nihilistic vision and sarcastic wit comes together on Generic Flipper to form a realistic, yet hopeful, portrayal of the human condition. Alan Vega (from Suicide) once said "Suicide was always about life. But we couldn' t call it Life. So we called it Suicide because we wanted to recognize life." and this quote is very applicable to Flipper's first full length as well.

The disc starts with a studio version of "Ever" that is significantly different from the shambling live version that was previously released on an early 7" (which is found on Sex Bomb Baby). The studio version is a pretty upbeat take, complete with hand claps, on a pretty dark song. Bleak lyrics like "Ever think you are smart. And then find out you aren't? Ever play the fool. And find out that you're worse?" set the mood for the majority of songs on this disc.

In the same groove as "Ever" are songs like "Life Is Cheap", "Shed No Tears" (for the fall of the authority figure) and "Nothing" (which is the closest Flipper comes to sounding like their West Coast hardcore contemporaries). Even with all of these dark images, there are still a few moments of light with songs like "Life" (which is the only thing worth living for) and the disc ends with an eight minute version of "Sex Bomb Baby".

Here is a live version of "Sex Bomb" from NorthSix in Brooklyn which captures the song as it was usually played live - just shy of a complete mess, but never completely breaking down. As you will see, Bruce handed off the mic (and isn't to be seen in the video) and the audience sings along.



All four of Flipper's original releases are now out on Water Records. Generic Flipper should hold a prime place in any aging or aspiring punk's music collection.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile

Flipper - Sex Bomb Baby CD Review (Water Records)

After being out of print for years, Water Records recently reissued Flipper's first four CDs. Taking a look at these discs in chronological order, Sex Bomb Baby contains the band's earliest recorded material.

Sex Bomb Baby documents the band's singles and contributions to compilations over the period 1979-82. There are a handful of song that were rerecorded for Generic Flipper but the songs are in radically different versions between the two discs. With so many bands using Flipper's sound and style as a jumping off point, Sex Bomb Baby is just as essential as Generic Flipper.

Tracks are:
1) Sex Bomb: From the "Sex Bomb" 7" (10/81)
2) Love Canal: From the "Love Canal" 7" (2/81)
3) Ha Ha Ha: From the "Love Canal" 7" (2/81)
4) Sacrifice: From the "Maximum Rocknroll Presents: Not So Quiet on the Western Front" complilation LP (8/82)
5) Falling: From the "Live at Target" compilation LP (2/24/80)
6) Ever: From the Eastern Front compilation LP (1982)
7) Get Away: From the "Get Away" 7" (12/82)
8) Earthworm: From the "SF Underground" compilation EP (11/79)
9) The Game's Got a Price: From a flexidisc in "Take It" magazine (1982)
10) The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly: From the "Get Away" 7" (12/82)
11) Brainwash: From the "Sex Bomb" 7" (10/81)
12) Lowrider: From the "Live at Target" compilation LP (2/24/80)
13) End of the Game: From the "Live at Target" compilation LP (2/24/80)

Even though members of Flipper came out of the punk scene, it is fascinating to hear the band start off with the droning dirge of "Earthworm" on their earliest recording. In an interview with Steve DePace last year, he said "[Flipper] went against the grain. Once everything went hardcore thrash, we were grungy and slow." While there are still some punkish elements in the early recordings, you can hear the band starting to slow down (like an impending train wreck).

Try to forget the numerous times "Sex Bomb" has been covered over the last 25+ years and you can imagine the impact this single made in 1981 where the only lyrics over the entire five minute song is "She's a sex bomb, my baby yeah". When you add the 6+minute dirge "Brainwash" to the flip (where Bruce Lose repeats the lyrics are "Forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway" over a punkish riff that repeats itself over and over), Flipper was standing out from the crowd.

As Sex Bomb Baby is a compilation, it doesn't come across as a coherent body of work but this disc contains all of the classic Flipper music, wit and sarcasm. There is the audience baiting and fighting, which seemed part of all the early Flipper shows that I saw, captured in the live performance of "Ever"; there is psychotic reading of "The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly" and live version of the anti-Reagan anthem "Sacrifice" smolders.

This is a great disc for fans and a guidepost for bands just starting out.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile