Weirdos, The
Destroy All Music
When original LA punks the Weirdos recorded Destroy All Music (their debut EP) on the day Elvis died, it must have sounded like a threat to western civilisation. Thirty years later, gathered here along with various demos and a 1979 EP, it's less revolutionary, but remains a blast. It's like a fusion of the Clash and the Ramones, fronted by a vocalist several sheets to the wind. The Weirdos failed to secure a major deal, presumably because of John Denney's berserk intensity. The rawness gives these historic recordings a punk edge. It's difficult to deny the nihilistic glory of the title track, in which Denney proclaims: "I want to kick in the radio, bomb the record store." Outrageous.