Bad Albums I Have Loved

I came of age before the Internet, and I grew up in a small town that was gorgeous, charming, and not exactly tapped into what was cool and new. I didn't know very many people who were into punk or "college" music, and I got into a lot of punk bands because they were on the leather jackets of the punks who would hang out in downtown Santa Cruz. Every other week I'd go to the record store and buy a cassette with my allowance. Sometimes I struck paydirt, like with the Sex Pistols or Black Flag or the Subhumans, but as often as not I'd end up with something kind of mediocre that I had to put up with anyways, both because I didn't know better and because I was stuck with it. One thing about physical media: it induces more loyalty and dedication than a bunch of mp3s. I'd stick with my tapes even if I suspected they weren't so hot. Here are four albums I loved despite the fact that they totally suck.

1. The Clash, "Cut the Crap."
Sadly, this was the first Clash album I bought. This album taught me that with punk bands, you wanted their early stuff, not their later material. The title sounded punk, but really the Clash were a shell of their former selves, with most of the band booted out, and the remainder doing a weird mix of punk music with electronic flourishes. I actually still like some of these songs, including "This Is England," but not anywhere near as much as I like "Sandanista!" or "The Clash."

This Is England - The Clash

Adolescents, "Balboa Fun Zone."
Adolescents were a SoCal punk band whose eponymous debut is considered a classic. Instead, I bought this record, which came out in the late 80s. Punk bands tend to become bad rock in their old age, and Adolescents were no exception. I listened to this a lot, even though I knew it was terrible.

GBH "From Here To Reality."
GBH were always a sort of terrible band, even if they made some brilliant songs. By 1990 they were about seven years past their prime, and "From Here to Reality" is pretty dreadful. Even the album artwork is horrendous. It's amazing to me to think that I owned four GBH albums when I was 15, but nothing by Crass, the Germs, or any of the East Bay punk bands that were exploding around 1990. Instead, I was investing time and money in crap. Like this:

Moonshine Song - G.B.H.

P.M. Dawn. By 1991, I was getting into hip hop. Being the hippie bleeding heart that I am, I was trying to find rap music that wasn't sexist or violence. As Ice Cube and NWA were topping the charts. So I settled on P.M. Dawn, who were total hippies, and are totally embarrassing. I still like this song, even if it is cheesy. KRS-One totally punched out Prince Be.