LA hardcore band Fear released their first album, The Record, in 1982. It is a culmination of their previous years' hard work in punk clubs all over the place. Their performance on Saturday Night Live on Halloween, 1981, continued to push them toward the forefront of what was left of the general population's interests in punk at that time.
The list of songs are, classically, hilarious in title alone. "I Don't Care About You" and "We Destroy The Family" are just the tip of the iceberg. It seemed, however, that the band was destined to be a one-album wonder. Members were interchanging with other bands (Flea had a cup of coffee as the bass player) and lead singer Lee Ving's acting career was taking off. Whether due to record company contracts or boredom, the band released More Beer in 1985. With Lee still fronting the band it is unmistakably Fear upon listening, but not at the heights of the previous album. I can't imagine (nor will I try) to guess what it was like for hardcore punk bands trying to not only release a record but tour in the mid-80's. Couldn't have been easy. But at the time of More Beer, Lee's acting career in full swing (he's in Clue as well as guest starring in two series in '85, a damn good showing for a punk singer a few years back). So, is this the end for Fear? Moreover, is it any kind of a telling sign that More Beer also included I Love Living in the City, a track from The Record?
The reason I bring this up is that Fear (Lee Ving and 3 other people) are the musicians in The Fear Record, Fear's "newest" album...inasmuch it's a re-recording of that famous debut. All the songs are here with Ving naturally sounding even more grizzled (which is good) and a much cleaner sound (which is not good). Another aspect: lyrics changed. Some of these things can continue to be made fun of...the Wilcox Hotel being one of them. But the filthy, raw edge of Fear slaying everything in society and confused meatheads taking them seriously is cleaned up here. Is that political correctness, or is it cherry picking to please someone?
Lee might be bored...he might need cash...or he might have simply wanted to record the same songs all over again and you can just eat shit. Maybe Lee still gets the Fear vibe in his brain but abandons the thought for a genuine comeback. It's not as though this is a unique phenomenon...look at any state fair: you find bands from the 1970's & 80's just churning out their greatest hits. The audience gets just what they're looking for, the band gets a nice check, and on it goes.
(And even if Lee didn't think they were a punk band but more what concert-goers expected a punk band to be, or whatever)...punk bands do this too, but when you know their ethics and mantra back then, it is a little off-putting years later. Your writer can quote Ms. Cervenka of X when she famously said "There's going to come a point when people say 'sure, they're desperate. I just paid $6 to see them.'" Well, even with the handy inflation calculator, $6 is $14.62 now...not $45, which was the ticket price to an X reunion show last decade.
So, is this kind of music truly of youth, or is that what we as listeners and fans remember? Just as comedians who drag their old jokes out of the mothballs are greeted with sighs, musicians re-recording their own songs is a curious plea for attention. Punk music just seems different, which it is: music created and reflected in its times. By making a "2.0" version of the original product, it continues the marginalization: a move you wouldn't expect from one of the genre's greats. Then again, if I said this to Lee, he'd just tell me to fuck off...and everything would be all right.
