GI

Already trending towards a 2 based on the first few songs. Not my favorite type of punk especially at 9 am. I need to mainline coffee for this. Not my jam.

American Sex Pistols. While the production of Joan Jett makes it feel like a live album, it doesn't hold up to todays standard. And that voice is atrocious. 2 stars

Really, really don’t get what people see in this… willing to chalk some of it up to Spotify audio quality reproducing a poor mix, but this is just muddy as hell. Feels like one of those cases of self-martyrdom and influence giving something a much higher stature than its quality demands. The basslines are sick as hell I will say, and it’s good they all sobered up just long enough to put out an album length statement but I just can’t stand this much of Darby Crash’s constipated wailings. There’s nothing here that wasn’t done better by either the bands whose sound they were deconstructing or the bands they inspired who went on to refine this sound and make it palatable. I’ll keep trying, I just don’t believe this still carries the weight this website gives it.

What some may call the unstoppable momentum of the band, I see as sloppiness—it reminds me of the way my middle school band performed. Constantly moving at a faster pace, failing to rhythmically lock in as a unit. It’s too bad—there are things that I like here: there are some fun, melodic basslines, underlined by the bassist’s inconsistency; the guitarist has some memorable riffs, but their guitar tone grows uninteresting with each subsequent song; there are a few great vocal moments, but they are fleeting. The last track is torturously long. Interesting tidbit from Darby Crash’s Wikipedia page: “When the Germs initially formed, the only member who was proficient with an instrument was . . . Pat Smear.” That is what it sounded like. Also, didn’t realize the guitarist was Pat Smear from Nirvana/Foo Fighters! Cool that the drummer and bassist were women. Does it deserve to be on the list? Probably, if it is considered the first “hardcore punk” album. But I think its quality might have been overrated by the people who had seen their chaotic, cacophonous performances.

Beetje schreeuwerig, maar als je dat leuk vind dan is dit volgens mij wel een aardig album. Ik heb echter betere punkrock albums gehoord. Voor mij zou dat iets meer melodie zijn. Dit is net iets duisterder.

The birth of Punk rock! Woo punk rock. This album was poor though

Dirty, loud and uncouth. If it were a tinder bio rob would use a super like

Turboguff

It was very hard to get past the vocals on this album. After I turned the mid-range down all the way it was more bearable. The music could have been fun to listen to with a better lead. If you know me, you know I have a germ phobia.

So much rage. The production is brilliant and the band is surprisingly tight. I hated every second though.

just don’t like this kind of music

I can see how this was groundbreaking at the time, but I don't feel like I gained much from this. Found myself checking how much was left multiple times. Even as a fan of punk music this just didn't vibe.

It sorta grew on me but not enough. Gives that skater punk kinda style. Might've been the first to do it, but not necessarily the best

Has I’ve said before, a key element of music is having some semblance of melody. GI doesn’t have that for 97% of it. 5.0/10

Het begin denk je "leuk, lekker punk luisteren". Aan het einde echter zit je te wachten tot dit album voorbij is... pfff..

Punk rock from a time when Punk albums came a dime a dozen. It sound like it, too. 1.5/5

Nope

Toi harsh for me

Very disapointing. I'd only ever heard 'If I can't change your mind' before and it's been in my top 10 favourites for decades - but this album never got anywhere near that standard again.

Best Song: Strange Notes. I liked the bassline. Worst Song: We Must Bleed. Just nasal whining. I prefer my punk more political and less despondent than this. Overall: Nobody expects good vocals out of a punk band, but I at least want something that's excitedly or passionately bad. This is mostly just mediocre, which brings down the whole production. And that bloated mess of a last track shows that very little editing went into this whole album.

Trying hard but cliched

You don't judge a goldfish by it's ability to climb a tree. That said, while I understand the significance of this band and album I don't think they swim around the fishbowl or climb a tree as effectively as a few of the other groups and albums on this list. I don't think it's a 1 star but not certain it's a full 2 either.

Punk. Fun, but nothing special.

It's punk, but it isn't good punk.

If you asked a punk enthusiast which albums are essential listens to understand the evolution of the punk scene, I guess this is what they come up with? It's another case of those who do it first not doing it the best. I don't actually care about punk and I don't care about this album. This is an album and review that I will not remember in a week's time.

Wow! Songs are all so... non-different! American Sex Pistols? I doubt it

1.5 - I don't like punk, so I knew I wasn't gonna like this. His voice is really not the type that I prefer and I don't find it very pleasurable to listen to. It's not even short, like most punk albums. I'll definitely forget about this album.

Bad

A whole album listening to a man shout MWAOOWW LISSSSMAAA NOWWWDOH WAAAAA. Not so good, Al.

Well - very loud and angry. But just not very good.

This album may have turned me into a hypochondriac, because now I'm a germaphobe. For fans of this album, it might be one of those cases that you get your enjoyment not so much from the musicality, but rather you enjoy that the album makes you feel something. I say that because I felt angry that I was listening to the album, and I didn't enjoy it. Punk music? Yeah, I certainly do feel punked. It was cool hearing the first studio album with a Looney Toon as the lead vocalist. Taz really knocked it out of the park on this one. They really had something they wanted to say, but I truly have no idea what it was. All joking aside, I didn't actually hate the vocals, but my main criticism is that most of the album just felt repetitive, adynamic, and boring in an obnoxious way. That could be baked into the punk genre, or it could be more related to this band. I'll only know by listening to more punk, I guess. "Dragon Lady" and "Shutdown Man" were good and interesting to me, but the rest felt like noise when taken as a whole. A song here or there? Maybe I could rock with, but not for 38 minutes straight.

2/5 naaaaah

I said not too long ago in a previous review that talking about really bad, or really good, albums is way easier. I’m not sure what it is, maybe I’m just naturally a negative person, but I can see the things I want to talk about forming in my head while I’m listening to an album I don’t like. Such is the case with this record. My issue with “hardcore punk” as a genre is that it often feels like it prioritizes moving as fast and as hard as it can without any sensibility. I understand why people like that. And I have a feeling this would work better in a live setting, when you can feel and see that energy first hand. But I’m simply not a fan of this lo-fi, poorly mixed sound. This is basically just a collection of mostly unrelated punk songs that are so short, I don’t even have time to figure out whether I like them or not before they are over. If I had the choice between an album filled with short songs or long songs, I’m picking longs songs nine times out of ten. I want to devote an entire section to that last song. Because when I saw a length of 9+ minutes, I got slightly hopeful. It’s almost ten times as long as most of the songs on this, so maybe it will be more interesting. Funnily enough, the longest song was the one I decided I didn’t like the quickest. The instrumentals are at least slightly more engaging. But the real issue is the vocals. I just can’t get over his vocal style. Mindlessly wailing and growling on a song doesn’t sound good to me most of the time. Especially not in this case. Rating: 4/10

No doubt an inspirational sound to plenty who came after but this raw punk sound makes for quite a tough going listen. Apart from 1-2 tracks that feel a little more thought out and melodic. 2/5

A challenging 40 mins. Long live THUG 2 🤟

i thought i liked punk before this but maybe i’m just not built for it

Tried to give it a shot. Felt like a poor man's The Ramones. TBH, their song composition and musical abilities may be a little better than the Ramones, but it just isn't The Ramones. Sorry, guys.

The best praise I can give it was that occasionally it was tolerable.

i can appreciate the origins of this album especially as one of the first punk rock bands to have emerged on the west coast but it just lacked cohesion and wasn’t super engaging to listen to.

Okay I know I said I've been liking punk lately, but not this. It's a little too scream-y for me.

Always ignored this American punk album a little and today heard it for the first time - the songwriting is a bit on the weak side and I would not listen again.

Too rowdy for me

9 minutes over the allowed limit for a punk album. The singers voice overstayed its welcome.

At first judging by the cover I thought it would be some experimental electronic music album. But punk it is. Not really anything exceptional. 2.5/5.

Là je retrouve le générateur que je connais

: /

This is not my favorite.

Not a big fan of this. It’s a bit too rebellious I’m afraid. They don’t care about anyone or anything and it seems like that includes their quality of music. If they had focused their efforts a little more, they could have really done something great. 2/5

Not for me.

Not my favorite. I couldn’t understand anything that the vocalist was singing, and not in a good way. It did begin to grow on me though, the further into the album I got. 1.5 stars

Favorite Tracks: Lexicon Devil

Dne

My hardcore punk limit is about 3 tracks, then I've had enough

Groundbreaking for its time, sure, but comes off sloppy and purposeless as a full album.

Me gusta este proto-punk, aunque no es algo que pueda escuchar periódicamente. Estos discos son como testamentos: se que estan ahí, que son relativamente import, pero no de mi gusto.

I like the punkrock sort of fast active beats but honestly sounds mostly like noise to me.

I am begging this project to give me something other than 70's or 80's punk for a change of pace. 2/5

Punk that sounds like all the other punk, but not as good

Listened Before? N Sadly, this album is unavailable on both spotify and amazon. I don't have the time or inclination to look elsewhere, so I listened to "Media Blitz" which is live and only contains a few of the same songs just to get an idea of their sound. Primitive hardcore. Its fine. They're kind of a mess and far too many fa***t uses even for the 80s. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: None because the album is unavailable.

Very rough and not very interesting.

Only giving a 2 because this reminds me of playing Tony Hawk games as a kid. I can tell the influence this had, but still a little to disorientating and raw for me.

This album is absolutely terrible, the instruments sound nice but I cannot understand a word of what this guy is saying. I hope in 40 years somebody will write a similar review for Whole Lotta Red.

38 minutes of incessant screaming of the bad kind.

Really not great. Finding out Pat Smear was in this band was the most interesting bit for me.

Historically important but not fun to listen to.

Not my thing, but definitely very influential on the punk rock scene.

HL: "Land of Treason", "Richie Dagger's Crime", "The Other Newest One" book has this album listed at 24 minutes long. I wish it were 24 minutes long September 7, 2023

They were never the best of their time and its very generic now

Not on Spotify L

Hahahahaha….Yeeeahhh….but no.

A band that sounds very emblematic and admittedly high quality (relatively speaking) for a style I can't stomach. The vocals are pretty bad but somehow better than what punk rock usually has to offer. The guttural rawness definitely sounds more genuine than what most punk bands force on us. The instrumentalists (and the drummer in particular) also seem to know what they're doing - rare enough for punk.

meh album 2.0

Well, no, I didn't like it, but am I supposed to? Is music that gets folks to riot and attack the band just more of an intended irritant? That's just what hardcore punk is, right? So do I rate this on how successfully it was irritating? Then it's up there! But if I keep to my usual rubric, while I didn't hate it, this isn't something I enjoyed.

It's a shame that it was so grating and unlistenable at the start, because it became surprisingly pretty decent by the end

Punk meh

Très peu pour moi, du punk rock trop dans le bruit

Meeeh

The only track on Spotify was “Media Blitz”. One song on an album was not much of a blitz.

Raw punk, bit to raw for record but I imagine live these guys tear it up!

I can respect the historical value here, but honestly listening is not enjoyable. I'd imagine this is a band that is purely an experience best viewed live. I think.

Having snarly vocals and gutsy guitars isn't enough to make a classic album. After one listen I cannot recall a single tune. Still, good to hear where Foo Fighter and ex-Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear got his start. Glad to have heard it. Don't need to hear it again.

The first album where I was genuinely debating if I should give it a 1. I absolutely cannot stand the vocals here. I'm sure it was very influential for its time and it's amazing if you're really into the genre, but it's sadly not for me.

I've heard of the name of the band, and the music from Germs fit with what I expected from the name and had heard about. The album GI has moments where I can hear how the music could almost come from the Clash, and it all fits in well with what I know of the Punk scene. Most of the album gets held back with a limited range of dynamics. The short tracks were hard for me to distinguish. The album was fine to get through once, but I don't think I liked it.

😵‍💫

I've enjoyed a lot of the punk I've heard on here, but this felt unexceptional.

Cool for history, not cool for me

Not very good is it. Germanys answer to the Sex Pistols? It’s poor. Very, very poor.

What is there to say? Early punk, and heroin.

usually i like punk but not this punk

interesting but not for me

Had trouble finding this one. Apparently not on Spotify (which is pretty punk in and of itself). Not something I would have easily just stumbled upon. This is definitely punk as hell. Not sure I love it, but I appreciate it. Lexicon Devil is a really fun track

Serviceable Punk album.

I had to pretend this was Krautrock to get past the vocals. I didn't like this album but it's hard to deny it was big influence on tons of punk music. On some of the songs the drums sound so shitty they don't even sound like an instrument. Definitely something to put on to scare the hoes. Score: 30 Art: 80

Bij de eerste seconden van dit album zonk de moed me al in de schoenen. Maar op de een of andere manier, misschien omdat we al veel te veel morsige kelderpunk uit omstreeks 1980 gehoord hebben, kon ik het wel uitluisteren. De muziek is in ieder geval strak en er wordt weinig tijd besteed aan vruchteloze pogingen om het mooier te maken dan het is. Pas in het laatste nummer slaat het vertrouwde jengelspook weer toe. Daarom, en omdat het toch al niet mijn muzieksmaak was, toch geen hoge ogen voor deze heren.

Ouderwetse punk(rock) met lekker snelle gitaren en baslijntjes, gruizig drumstelletje erbij. Alleen die blaffende en grommende zangers zijn echt een verschrikking, alsof ze het erom doen om vals te zingen. Grunten of schreeuwen kan ik heel prima hebben, maar dit is zo a-muzikaal als de pest. Het past prima in de tijdsgeest en bij het genre misschien, maar ik vind het altijd zo kinderachtig en treurig. Het doet wat mij betreft afbreuk aan de muziek.

Nothing spectacular. In general I find formative Hardcore vastly inferior to the modern analogue. 2/5

Some of these albums must be on here for their influence and not their musical merit. This is one of those

Straightforward late-70’s punk. Sounds pretty much exactly like you expect it to sound.

I kinda hate it right off the bat. I literally cannot understand this dude. For the 70s, this was very much a proper predecessor to 80s and 90s punk, and its very evident in the style. The influence is clear as day. However, the singer sounds drunk as a skunk, theres not a single coherent phrase ive heard only a few songs in. Now, much like Black Flag, i cannot ignore the importance of this record for the influence it has had on punk and hardcore music. While we have come a long way, this record contributed to the development of the foundation of punk music. But it falls into the same situation as Black Flags early work, that i really cannot enjoy this music for what it is, if i were to separate it from its time and impact. This record only saves itself from a failing grade because of this vitality of its impact on punk music. I would not buy this record for my collection.

Jevilongos. Rollo. Todo igual.

Boring and unexciting punk music with a unintelligible singer mumbling over uninspired riffs, but sure I guess this book needed another early punk release. Just listen to Dead Kennedys or Black Flag for exactly this but instead good. 4,5/10

So I know of the band Germs from the documentary "The decline of western civilization". It's a great documentary that I recommend everyone to watch. Germs is probably one of the rowdiest bands in the documentary and they're not that talented. It's more that they're playing with feeling than instrumental skills. Pat Smear however went on to have great success with Nirvana and Foo Fighters. With that being said this album is definitely better than their performance in the decline of western civilization. It's not great but better. Darby Crash is actually understandable this time and they're not just thrashing around the stage incomprehensibly. The album is still too basic, raw and the songs are too similar.

I'm happy for you if you enjoy it, but not my thing. Dope album art, though. 4/10

Well produced but raw noise

not on spotify

Seemingly not available on my streaming service of choice, so YouTube it is! How is this hardcore punk album, something that is supposed to be pretty "out there", one of the most nothing albums I've gotten? It didn't even give me the honor of being short like some punk albums, just kind of being normal album length. I mean, this wasn't awful, but it sure was what it was trying to be and nothing more. I understand why it's on the list, but... yeah.

A short album that seemed to go on forever. The nihilism in the music is palpable. ITs always a fine line between raw and unlistenable. Germs is leaning towards the latter.

Good things to do while listening to this album: go for a run, shout at a pigeon, kick a bin. Bad things to do while listening to this album: write an essay, commute, literally anything else. My favourite thing about these weird punk/ hardcore albums is that they're short and the songs are punchy. I didn't mind most of it but by the end I was done. Especially the last nearly 10 minute slog

Too much screaming

Didn't love. Early metal?

Just because someone did it first doesn’t mean they did it right. I like punk, but not so much the hardcore variety on this album. It’s cool they broke new ground, but I don’t think it’s aged all that well.

Not for me.

I had a friend who was pretty straight-laced growing up, but the second we got into high school, he was way too into drugs and anarchy and doing spontaneous stupid shit like setting his jacket on fire at lunch or lying down in the middle of the road (also during lunch, weirdly enough). Every story he told started with how wasted he was and he wouldn't understand if you didn't think that was the funniest thing ever. Anyway, I haven't heard from or about him in 20 years, but this sounds like an album he'd be into. Best track: Lexicon Devil

Great album art, decent punk sounds but pretty monotonous and the voice is extremely grating. I’d give this a 4/10 but 2/10 if you’re listening to it in an airport as I was.

3/10. Too punky for my taste.

Speed round. This isn't for me.

Didn’t do a lot for me

Not my thing at all but they seem pretty talented for punks.

GI is alright if a bit paint-by-numbers punk from that era. Nothing really standing out and grabbing my attention though.

Not the biggest fan.

I was pretty much expecting to dislike this - early punk is not my thing at all, although I do love a lot of later 90s punk-influenced music, especially Sleater Kinney and Sonic Youth. But those early days when you went to a punk show in order to get trashed and brawl? Yeah, not my thing. The Germs were so notorious for shows that ended in violence they were banned from clubs in LA and had to change their name to (GI) to get gigs! All that said, I was surprised by how much I liked this album. I think it's the crisp production that makes it so compelling to listen to. Apparently this is not how they sounded live and listening to some live recordings confirmed that. But here each instrument comes across clearly and there is a surprising amount of skill here ... It's still not my thing but I couldn't bring myself to hate it at all. 2.5/5

Suffered through it

Another landmark punk album that’s borderline unlistenable (surely just a coincidence). And only borderline because it’s brief (mercifully so).

I just really struggle to differentiate hardcore stuff

UPDATE 8-11-2023. Finally listened. None of the tracks were enjoyable to my ear. Not for me.

There's better punk albums IMO

Bit too punky for me

Glad to see punk rock representation but I never really liked the Germs. They didn't have an innovative sound or impact the mainstream so they don't really need to be on this list.

Felt like a Tony Hawk game

Very punk, not for me

I did this so you wouldn’t.

Interesting but not really my jam

The band are thrashing away well but Darby is just irritating.

Not my kind of punk, need more melody. Lexicon Devil slaps but wish there was more variety on the album

I think this is terrible because I don't like punk, but maybe someone who is into hardcore punk will find some redeeming quality within it. There is some rock undertone that wasn't entirely bad. At least the songs are short...

I endured this. Nothing spectacular in the lyrics but a tolerable drum and guitar. Disposable

The careers of Pat Smear, Belinda Carlisle, and Joan Jett are three fascinating threads to pull on, and their intersection in the brief but significant history of the Germs is kind of cool. As for "GI," Smear is the best thing on it. Everything else is muddy, but the guitar sometimes shines. While hardcore punk may thrive in that muddiness, eschewing the need to play proficiently or clearly with singing not intended to be good or even pleasant, the muddiness on "GI" made it so that none of the songs was able to rise out of the muck.

You know you are in for something fast and furious when you see 16 tracks in a total run time of 38 min. I guess this is on the list because its considered "the first full-length hardcore punk album" but maybe there weren't full length hardcore albums before this because people can't take that much hardcore punk....

This album is raw and unpolished, just as hardcore punk is. It cost $6,000 to record in 1979, which is equivalent to about $24,000 today. That’s not a whole lot of production and it shows. To some that rawness is appealing. Not to me. I was glad when the album was over.

Think that people needs lots of knowing about slang to understand punk rock bands like this lyrics. In my country we have had proto punk bands as "La pesada del rock and roll" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrv8rpAooQ4 Billy Bond y La Pesada del Rock and Roll (also known as La Pesada del Rock and Roll or La Pesada) was an Argentine supergroup that pioneered hard rock, psychedelic rock and heavy metal in Latin America. It was formed in 1970 by producer Jorge Álvarez (co-founder of the Mandioca record label) and singer and producer Billy Bond, who would become the band's leader. La Pesada included renowned Argentine musicians who took their first steps in rock, such as Pappo, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Javier Martínez, Claudio Gabis, Alejandro Medina and David Lebón, among others. La Pesada also collaborated in the recording of several albums by different artists, among them Vida, the first album by Sui Generis. A concert of theirs at the Luna Park Stadium in 1972 ended with incidents and fights against the police, and that affected the band's future possibilities of diffusion. They continued releasing albums, both their own and those of other artists, and split up in 1974, with Billy Bond moving permanently to Brazil. However, the main legacy of the band, to have served as a seedbed for numerous musicians who would make emblematic stories in Argentine rock, had already been fulfilled. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) About proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is the rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement.[4][5] The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variety of backgrounds and styles; together, they anticipated many of punk's musical and thematic attributes. Anyway Ive was interested in investigate something about GI (found in Wikipedia) GI, stylized as (GI), is the only studio album by American punk rock band the Germs. Often considered the first full-length hardcore punk album,[2] it was released in the United States in October 1979[8] on Slash Records with catalog number SR 103. The album was later released in Italy in 1982 by Expanded Music with the catalog EX 11. The album's title is an acronym for "Germs Incognito", an alternate name the band used to obtain bookings when their early reputation kept them out of Los Angeles-area clubs. After (GI)'s release, the band would only undertake one more recording session, for the soundtrack album to Al Pacino's 1980 film Cruising. On December 7, 1980, a year after the release of (GI), vocalist Darby Crash killed himself. and about punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often shouted political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent record labels.

I feel like I usually like punk. But didn't like this at all, and found it all rather forgettable.

i can't say nothing about this.i liked only one song,but it's not so bad

I tend to innately enjoy raw music but this didn't do much for me. The lead singer's voice sounded kind of boy-ish, like a neighborhood bully trying to act tough. He was 21 when this was released though so maybe that's why. This is Pat Smear's first band which I didn't know! He was the second guitarist for Nirvana's amazing unplugged performance and also is a member of the Foo Fighters. Reading about this band and the singer Darby Crash (great stage names in this band- the bassist was "Lorna Doom") has been enjoyable. Maybe more enjoyable than listening to the album. Darby naturally had a fucked up youth and went to a very weird school that blended elements of scientology and allowed students to make their own classes; so Darby and Pat made a Fruit Eating class where they would go to a market and eat fruit and then return to school. Like most albums, I ended up enjoying this more after reading some background about the band and also hearing it more. Sometimes I write these in a more formulaic way but I find this stream of consciousness way to be fun at the moment so I'm not going to remove my initial thoughts which were more negative than my final thoughts on the album. Overall I think while maybe it was influential at the time, this one didn't do too much for me.

I'm just not into punk.

Pretty good early punk, but the sneering voice grates after a few tracks.

"GI" is a spurt of adrenaline that feels like being kicked repeatedly in the head by a group of spotty, sweaty boys. Germs' only album, it seems to capture a band in a frenzied state of adolescence before Darby Crash's tragic and untimely end. I can't fault the energy, or the passion: "Lexicon Devil" and "Richie Dagger's Crime" are two of the catchiest songs here, both coming relatively early in the proceedings. Unfortunately, after this point, things derail somewhat into noise. Everything is very one-note, with thrashy guitars and drums, simple basslines and (the biggest flaw) totally indecipherable vocals. It's a shame because Darby Crash was clearly a talented lyricist- the words here are at least eloquent and interesting, employing a number of different perspectives, images and ideas. At least, they're worth more than being spat out and thrown away. The pacing is also all off: 15 songs of 1-3 minutes followed by a ten minute jam centred around the same riff. It's a lot to stomach, but really each minute of the whole album ends up feeling indistinguishable from the last. A couple of interesting connections I learned are that Joan Jett produced this album (either she didn't try very hard or she captured the band's blinkered, nihilistic vision perfectly- most likely the latter). And Belinda Carlisle was briefly a member of the band before they recorded this, but never played a show with them due to illness. It's crazy to consider the trajectory she ended up going on in comparison with Darby Crash.

They know artist who understand build-up. They just think they're all cowards. The visual that accompanied my listening to the album is that of imaginary band members, with dishelved hair, screaming their hearts out, spitting words, spittle flying, staining the crowd that just nods silently. There's undoubtadley passion in this music, but it's a little too covered in spit and incomprehensible words to fully get it. That being fair, the latter half of the album was much calmer and pleasant to listen to, with 'Media Blitz' being a suprisingly pleasant song. All that was not enough to recover from the pit the early songs put us in.

No to najniżej oceniany album na razie mamy, heheh. Dając 2 zawyżam średnią na razie. Nie zgodzę się z opiniami poprzedników, że to nie ma miejsca na liście 1001 albumów. Doskonale ma tam miejsce, mało tego - niewyobrażalnie bardziej na to zasługuje niż enty album Neila Younga czy Cohena. Dlaczego? Bo album ten przyczynił się do pchnięcia do przodu gatunku. Niezależnie od tego, jak się tego słucha, chłopaki przenieśli punk w rejony bardziej hardkorowe, więcej BPM, więcej agresywności, więcej punku w punku. Polecam w ogóle poczytać historię zespołu, naprawdę śmieszne momentami. Czy umieją grać? Nie, absolutnie. Masakra. Czy wokal jest przyjemny? Dupy nie urywa. Czy wystawiłbym temu 1? Absolutnie nie mogę - jest to album nie tylko istotny dla gatunku, ale też wcale nie tak nieprzyjemny do słuchania. Kilka kawałków ma naprawdę ciekawą lirykę i całkiem cytowalne cytaty można z tego albumu wycisnąć, choć faktycznie zrozumieć ze słuchu ciężko. Nie będę pewnie wracał do jakichś pojedynczych kawałków z niego już pewnie, ale nie żałuję odsłuchania tego nihilistycznego clusterfucku. Ogólnie słuchanie całości przypomina mi akcję, gdy spotkaliśmy w zoo małpę, która się zesrała na rękę i to zżarła. Ta płyta wywołuje podobne emocje - zdziwienie, lekkie przerażenie, ale też lekką fascynację tak jawnym nasraniem na normy społeczne (czy w tym przypadku muzyczne). I czuję pewien podziw w stosunku do muzyków, którzy tak jawnie i świadomie łamią zasady.

Du hard rock

Typical punk, nothing special, nothing must hear.

Average sounding punk. 2/5

First time Iv heard of Germs, loud and in your face, can see the influence this album had on music I listened to as a teenager. Can’t say it’s an album I enjoy listening to now, but probably deserves its place on the list.

Pretty awful and lacking melody. First time I stopped two thirds through. Not the worst so I’ll give them 2 stars because they don’t sound dissimilar to an old noisy band I used to mess around in, but I knew our limitations!!

Sorry, too abrasive for my ears.

When I saw the clean Simple album cover I thought this was a modern EDM or electronic band. Wrong! Frenetic and very very samey. The pace didn’t let up and sound different until around the 10th song but by then I had tuned out. I think the Ramones did it much better

Well I found this hard to listen to, this has never been my thing at all. It really stresses my brain and makes me feel bad. Positives: I could hear the lyrics clearly, every instrument sounds distinct not all melted into one sound like some hardcore punk. The songs all sound very similar though to me.

C'est bon les Minutemerdes vous pouvez sortir de votre cachette.

Punk rock Shame can't listen much of it

I was hoping this was going to be brilliant but actually found it a bit boring.

This is a first. I had to listen on YouTube since Spotify doesn't have the full album. That's who I am. I'm also a tender lover, but that's not really important right now. Here are my 5 favorite comments from various YouTube members for this album: 1. I used to hide my weed in this cassette. Good memories. 2. I'm 48 years old and I still play this really loud when I get pissed at my neighbors. 3. Drink vodka. Turn this shit up on max. Light the furniture on fire. Have a party! 4. Wtf even is this? I feel bad that someone even had to produce this. That's not music. 5. The album cover is the first known photo of Amazon's Alexa.

Genrelle tyypillinen levy, suoraa menoa ilman mutkia. Ei se oma juttu kuitenkaan...

Vaikkakin alkuaikojen settiä, niin peruspunkkiahan tää oli. Ei mitään mistä pitäis liiemmin innostua.

The only studio album by the band Germs is arguably one of the first hardcore punk albums released. The music definitely fits the hardcore punk sound, but it's not the type of music I'm into. It was weird to me how many songs on the album were under 2 minutes long; and then the final song is a whopping 10 minutes long because of the improvisation by the band towards the end of the song. Forgettable album by a forgotten band, but at least it was the first hardcore punk one!

Couldn’t really get into this album. Mostly all sounded the same.

Sounds like a punk album.

Was led to this album originally due to Pat Smear being involved but it’s a world away from Nirvana let alone Foo Fighters. It’s not bad but not brilliant, and it is appropriately chaotic. Only learned it was produced by Joan Jett who obviously liked to end songs really abruptly. Energetic hardcore punk, Lexicon Devil being the pick of the bunch.

Mm, beetje te rommelig

Jevilongos. Rollo. Todo igual.

Punk är ju punk. Mäktigt i kontexten av industrin när den kom, hur stor kontrasten var gentemot radiomusiken osv. Kommer jag lyssna på denna igen? Förmodligen inte.

får en tvåa för det instrumentala.

Hardcore just isnt my cup of tea, but I appreciate the historical importance of the album

Hardcore :(

Horrific. I hated it within seconds.

No.

I knew I was in for a real treat with this one. Complete garbage from the first note. Man can't sing, music is high school quality, songs are a minute long, all signs of a weak band. This has no place on the Top 1001 albums you must hear before you die. This could be anyone. Maybe minor influence, but other than that this is crap and has no hits, no longevity and every song sounds just like the one before it.

The voice is very annoying, stopped listening at song 3.

Yeah no.

Good album cover, lousy album

Not for me. Just not a gente I particularly enjoy.

Not sure about this album. I thought I'd be open minded and give a good listen but just don't like punk.

Everyone knows not to give children with ADHD Red Bull. Don't worry, they'll be alright when they've run it off. Shite.

Couldn't finish, sounded like if Raving Rabbids made an album but worse

This is absolute horseshit

Appalling, ghastly, insipid ramblings devoid of artistry and lacking wit. I don't have anything to say about the album or the other guys' ratings though, I didn't listen to it. I'll give 1.5 stars based on group feedback and consider myself lucky for having skipped it.

I know there’s redeeming stuff about this one, but I can’t say I’d ever be excited to listen to again. Lexicon Devil is maybe my favorite of the bunch.

This was really just noise. Not enjoyable

No thank you

shit punk rock

Wyld Stalyns from Bill and Ted were better than this.

A good example why American punk sucks compared to British.

I saw the band name and immediately clocked it as punk and was not looking forward to it. I was not wrong; did not enjoy, the growly "singing" was so trash.

A truly irritating album. Chaotic, which to me means produced and played by chaotic people. I'd never even heard of the band "The Germs" before; how influential could this garbage have been? For me, it's a caustic American product, which isn't to say Iggy Pop isn't a great artist. The album "GI" is definitely going in the trash heap of music history for me.

Bad

Lots of yelling.

Ok

DNF - I don’t require a US version of Sex Pistols I just don’t im sorry I would rather an AU version (The Chats) which is, categorically, the best punk band ever

I really enjoyed this... Punked ya I very much did not enjoy

Teenagers in a garage.

I considered being merciful with a 2 since the tracks were going by quickly. Then, the 9:40 closing track played.

una genuina poronga.

This is actively unpleasant.

Mi primer uno

No me gustó nada este álbum. Apenas escuché la primera canción me dieron ganas de sacarlo pero dije bueno le doy una oportunidad, pero realmente no pude terminarlo creo que llegue más o menos a la mitad y lo tuve que sacar porque no me gustó para nada. Sentía que estaba escuchando ruido de fondo no música.

This is *exactly* what I feared all of the punk albums in this collection would sound like, so it's a credit to this project that this is the only truly painful and unlistenable album (for me)--at least so far, as there's still a couple hundred left to prove me wrong. It's funny that this was apparently as clear/coherent as their fans would get, as it's just a muddy album to me; according to the Wikipedia entry, "the album's clarity [thanks to recording engineer Pat Burnett and producer Joan Jett] redefined the Germs for California audiences, who had only seen the band thrash around onstage while an intoxicated [Darby] Crash avoided singing into the mic as much as possible." For me, "Land of treason" is probably the best example of how bad this album is, and Crash is still largely incoherent despite the "clarity"; on the other hand, "Lexicon devil" seems to be vaguely familiar, but they could have just been riffing off of someone else, I guess, and just downright weird to get a 9+ minute punk track at the end. Sad that leadman Darby Crash died of an apparently intentional overdose not long after the album was released, and weird that guitarist Pat Smear went on after this to join another suicide-plagued band (Nirvana). Regardless, I see no redeeming value to this album aside from perhaps its claim as the "first" full-length hardcore punk album.

Didn’t enjoy the album on the most part and couldn’t finish it. I enjoyed the instrumentals but just could not get past the dreadful vocals. 3/10

Music expresses the range of human emotions. Sometimes the emotion is screaming.

01) What We Do Is Secret - 5,0 02) Communist Eyes - 4,5 03) Land of Treason - 5,0 04) Richie Dagger's Crime - 5,0 05) Strange Notes - 5,0 06) American Leather - 4,5 07) Lexicon Devil - 5,0 08) Manimal - 5,0 09) Our Way - 5,0 10) We Must Bleed - 4,5 11) Media Blitz - 5,0 12) The Other Newest One - 5,0 13) Let's Pretend - 5,0 14) Dragon Lady - 4,5 15) The Slave - 4,5 16) Shut Down - 4,0 TOTAL: 4,78 (48/100) Current ranking: 831/873

Not for me at all. Brutal listen. 2.1/10

America's answer to the Sex Pistols? Oh yeh, also SHIT

Not for me

I really dig the cover. That’s a 5 out of 5 for me. Simple, eye catching, appealing. The music behind it is that kind of East Village dive bar bathroom, scuzzy-filthy, headache-inducing punk that just doesn’t do it for me. I can see why people would have indulged this scene back in the day, but in our time, I see absolutely no reason to subject yourself to this.

Hard Punk, 1979 -> 1

not my taste

Whatever.

Heyrðu, langt síðan að ég henti í ás. Það skásta við þetta er líklega að hávaðinn heima í stofu er væntanlega minni en að við að hafa verið á tónleikum með þeim.

Like most punk, this may have been significant for its time, but is not worth listening to now.

GI Germs was a fictional character created by Len Houmous in a Vietnam War sitcom he wrote in 1985. 1.0 7/16 Lexicon Devil

1.5

I hate giving 1's, but what's a MF supposed to do?

Nah

Nope.

No thank yew xx

👎🏻

Wow I hate this genre

Heavy metal is certainly not on my side

These guys suck donkey dick. I’m reading a punk book where one of the main LA guys says that everyone knew the Germs sucked, but their shows were the real draw. So why is this a required album? My tirade against the constant awful music coming out of LA continues. New York and UK punk are the peak, then the rest of Europe and Midwest US, and then below all of that resides the LA scene. I thought reading more about them would give me a new angle to appreciate, but honestly the opposite. All of the Dangerhouse guys sound like complete assholes. They never understood the good elements of punk and just took the shit. Rating: 1.3

Shite.

Noisy and annoying

5 seconds in. Nope

A lot of it is unintelligible noise. At least each track is short. Best song: The Other Newest One

💩💩💩

The Germs made me feel miserable but I was able to quickly recover by not listening to them any longer after the first few songs.

Why is your main goal to piss me off? What is this shit. I mean I'll listen to it but I am NOT happy. This is actual dog shit. Nothing about this is good. I am way fucking over it. They need to wrap up their career. Experimentation is not a good look on them and they can go ahead and put the mic down. Fuck this and fuck you too tbh.

What language was this in

I did not have to listen to this before I die lol

1/5

38 minutes & 15 tracks of redundant noise. Obviously I’m not a fan.

Nervig

It's just noise innit Favourite track: We All Bleed

I’m sorry I feel like I could have died without listening to this album. It honestly just sounded like a bunch of noise and the lead singer’s voice sounded truly awful. This was not an enjoyable listen to me and I will not be seeking this album out again. Usually I like punk music but this album was not my cup of tea.

DNF

Can’t say much about this one, probably the least imaginative so called proto punk band that was foisted on an unsuspecting music world

There's a place for this kind of "music". And that place is the dustbin.

Further proof that punk sucks? I'm just asking the questions here, man.

just nottttt my vibe at all. couldn’t listen. couldn’t finish

Jeez - what a lot of old crap.

No

Es como si el demonio de tasmania te estuviera gritando en el oído. No se que tan icónico son estos grupos que sigo escuchando o como revolucionaron un género. (Si es que lo lograron para empezar.) Siento que una persona que elige los álbums quiere sentirse especial al elegir la cagada mas grande que se puede encontrar. https://youtu.be/81zVbLrVSkg?si=tGj9tFgFAw9K9t6j

That was awful. It's just noise, and not even close to being listenable let alone pleasant. Even though some of the tracks barely lasted a minute, it often felt like hours when listening. I couldn't make it all the way through, so it's 1 star only.

Album felt like it went on a lot longer than it actually did. There’s like two okay punk songs amongst it, the rest is just drivel.

I wish I could give it a 0

Mostly just noise.

Ei

This album is just gross awful noise. And to make it even worse, all the songs sound the same. If you're going to sound bad, at least have some creativity. Every song on here is one of the worst songs I've ever listened to.

22nd album with group. I don’t like hardcore or post-hardcore. Anything more hardcore than Sex Pistols is probably too hardcore for me. Good Songs - Nothing. Bad Songs - What We Do Is Secret, Communist Eyes, Land of Treason, Richie Dagger’s Crime, American Leather, Lexicon Devil, Manimal, Our Way, We Must Bleed, The Other Newest One, Let’s Pretend, Dragon Lady, The Slave, and Shut Down (Annihilation Man).

Could not understand a word he said, would not have liked it even if I did. Greasy ass music made by greasy ass people

#yup

If you screamed obnoxiously over upbeat guitar riffs in the 70s and 80s then odds are that your project made this list! Vastly below pedestrian project with a sound I’ve heard done wayyy better. At least it was only 38 minutes…

Punk was dead by 1979, there is no reason this album should be held in any respect, rehashing at least 4 year old tropes.

Blah. Not for me

2/10

Not my era, not my genre, and I like audible lyrics.

Sounds like punk rock beginnings… but never made it.

I appreciate punk and its place in history, but with hardcore, unless I heard it when I was, say, 13, the genre is hard for me to get into. Can’t say I’ll be spinning this one again anytime soon but the Wikipedia page for the Germs and Darby Crash is pretty entertaining. Favorite detail: Belinda Carlisle was their drummer but never played with them because of “an extended bout of mononucleosis.”

No. Thanks, but no.

No thank you

not for me, but, you know...i didn't hate it like i hated the replacements. i know it's only 38 minutes long, 16 tracks, but by god...it felt like a long, long listen "let me touch the tips of inculcated desire" - wasn't expecting that! do appreciate lorna doom, great derby name, pretty sure i have even met a couple lorna dooms IRL

Americans trying to be british punk, it failed. The drums were absolute shit, sounded like a kid banging on a tin beyond comprehension why it was allowed on there. Vocal was just annoying. Guitar was nearly good in places

I'm not revealing any secrets: this is ABSOLUTELY not my style. Clearly, this album will have no influence on me. I readily admit that I had a VERY hard time listening to it all the way through, even once.

The best thing I can say about this album is that almost all the songs are short.

Pas mon del

This became very enjoyable once I imagined them all as cats.

Truly, these songs all sound the same: amateur punk with badly-recorded vocals. None of those things are bad in themselves, but the quadruple threat means I couldn't get a lot out of this album, and I got it out in the first three tracks. I saw I was on track 9 and I thought I must be nearly done, then I looked again to see I was just over halfway and said "Oh, fuck!" out loud. That's my review, really. The guitar and piano on the final 9-minute track seem to have no relation to anything else going on in the song, and lost the album another star.

Oof, not for me.

Screaming banshee from the first note. Pure garbage for me.

Now where's that Domestos !?

Poor effort, when compared with other bands from the era

Not my thing.

Unnecessary.

- Kein Lied hat einen Aufbau, es fängt einfach an und geht dann mit derselben Melodie einfach durch - Alle hören sich gleich kacke an - Als Topsong das erste Lied da ich kein Unterschied zwischen den Liedern höre und mir keins gefällt - Kann sein die Lyrics sind gut aber die kann man mit dieser komischen Singstimme kaum erkennen

As a big fan of early punk music, I’m not sure what this is. It seemed to have no direction or melody with a voice that sounded like some dad screaming at his kid. I’m not really sure why this is popular and I’m uninterested in finding out.

No thank you, please.

That sure is a punk album from the 70's.

As another reviewer wrote, this is definitely punk, but not good punk. I got quite far into the album, but then I couldn't take it anymore and stopped listening. Terrible. 1/5

Ugh bad

хуйня. (грубо говоря)

Teenage punk pas fou

Yet another punk album that I just found to be grating

Zero

minus 3 out of 5

Interesting that it was the first full length punk album. Like "Our Way". I doubt I'll listen to it again.

Truly something

too punk for this guy. I was watching the clock waiting for the end

Not my jam. I get it might be influential for punk but it is not good or enjoyable to listen to.

Not her for whatever this is

hated

Bad

This album is turning me into a republican. I find myself thinking these guys need to get out of their mother’s basements and get a proper job. It’s ok to give up on your dreams.

Detesto el punk mal tocado.

To call what Darby Crash did with his voice “singing” would be charitable at best.