We've got to disengage...

Youth Of Today at Gilman Street, Berkeley CA, Photo: Ian Harper

I haven't done much editorial style writing for DCXX, opting instead to leave it to those who were there and in the true mix of the things we cover. That said, I thought it would be cool and (maybe?) interesting to occasionally speak my piece on some favorite records of mine, and Tim would do the same. No real rhyme or reason to this little segment we decided to do, just talking about hardcore records we love and why. Most of these are probably no brainers...not trying to pick out weird obscure stuff you haven't heard of. Curious to get some feedback, and I hope people chime in with their opinions. Enjoy.

-Gordo DCXX

An easy pick for this topic is the record that started it all for me: Youth Of Today's swansong and posthumous final three song EP. I'd love to say Jordan gave me this right when it came out while I was hanging out at Revelation, because you know, I was an old roadie with the band. The reality of the situation, however, is that in 1993 at age 11 I was an annoying fat kid on a BMX bike who just started becoming aware of hardcore and straight edge and didn't know a damn thing about it aside from the fact that I loved it even before I knew what it was. For the rest of my adolscence, hardcore would quickly replace all other avenues of interest, especially sports, which had been the center of my universe since I was walking (fat but athletic...interesting combo).

Anyways, without a good record store in town or a real grasp on how all this hardcore business worked, just being able to simply obtain a physical recording of a real hardcore band as I was getting my foot in the door seemed like a daunting process on its own. Or, maybe I was just retarded. Finally I snagged a cassette version of the final YOT offering from a local HC kid turned wigger/stoner/dealer. He was my buddy Jay's older brother, and he sold drugs (mostly dimebags) out of his room. I literally walked into his room moments after he hooked up one of his boys with some fresh herb, and I gave him $5. He let me take my pick and told me to get the fuck out. While I didn't leave with any weed, that YOT tape got me high as shit. It confirmed everything that up until that point I was only vaguely aware of: straight edge hardcore was a hell of a drug.

Now the reason I pick this record to talk about is mostly because I have seen it take some heat in the past year or so from some who consider it inferior/soft/rock etc. in comparison to the band's earlier material. I'm not knocking anyone's opinion. And there is no question YOT were at their "hardest" or "roughest" in '86/'87. Shit, you put Richie Birkenhead in a band while wearing plaid pants and throw Tommy Carroll a pair of drum sticks at one point, and yeah, you are going to have a band that is a walking fist fight. And I love that era YOT. I love later YOT too. I'll even take grainy videos on YouTube of YOT in 2004 playing in Spain on some big stage with Cappo wearing weird board shorts. But I really love this last record, too.


Youth Of Today at Gilman Street, Berkeley CA, Photo: Trent Nelson

For starters, the recording, to me, is heavy, clear, and pure. Considering some of the stuff Fury kinda butchered at the time, I think this is a great sounding recording. I'm not an audio analyst, but I can tell you this sounds like a pure Les Paul through a Marshall, Sammy's drums (although I think he over does the double bass in parts) sound absolutely huge (and are what they should have sounded like on Bringin' It Down) and he's an animal on these songs, and Cappo's vocals sound raw and wild, but maybe that's just because the story is that his vocals on this were the best of three total sessions, some of which included him literally jumping off the walls of the vocal room. I don't know, to me, explaining why this recording sounds good is like explaining why ice cream tastes good...it just does, you know?

Cappo's vocals are obviously tainted, if you will, by the KC vibe at this point, but the little dude still roars and goes bezerk at times while obviously incorporating a little melody. And what is he singing over? Hardcore songs! I don't hear any rock riffs, solos, finger tapping, acoustic parts, rapping, scratching, bongos, or even a single harmonica solo. The breakdown/build-up in Disengage makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up because it's HEAVY and it is POWERFUL. Cappo's words almost make me want to quit my job, burn down my house, throw my sneakers in the trash, and possibly hit the road for Gita-Nagari with a bead bag in hand (meanwhile in reality, I'm drowning in maya and am pretty much happily stuck there). While I think it's a cheesy word, this record has "urgency," both lyrically and musically.

I won't belabor the songs...to me, they are great hardcore songs that push the YOT envelope while still seeming truly YOT. Will I pick earlier material over this? Probably. But this is no poor fall-back or cheap substitute. Maybe it is different if you were there at the time and watched the progression. To me it is all good and this is a five star record.

Oh, I also stared at the photos in this thing for months after I got it. I wondered about Sammy's sweatshirt (still a little bit of a mystery), who Embrace was and why they had cool shirts (I would soon learn), and why Ray was wearing sweatpants and dress shoes (a look nobody, nobody can pull off). The photo of the YOT summer '88 tour van, covered in grafitti, gave me hours of studying to do. At the time I was wondering "who is Chubby Fresh and why is the Posse Positive? Is that a mowhawk? Jimmy'z?" Getting answers to those questions was more important than anything I was learning in school.

I think it's cool that the photos on this were relatively candid and low key, even the thanks list is just short and sweet. Slap on the cover photo - a sick Cali shot of Porcell in a Judge Skiz shirt, Ray owning the stage, and Walter on some weird bass - with the Unit Pride boys in the front row, and you have the package for one of my favorite records of all time, and something that was mind blowing when I first heard it. Fifteen years later as I type this, it still makes me wanna go do a hand-stand dive onto my bed...regardless of the fact that my girlfriend is laying in it fast asleep.

Youth Of Today at Gilman Street, Berkeley CA, Photo: Trent Nelson