germs

I've been catching up on listening to/learning about L.A. punk lately. I saw The Germs movie with a friend who was actually there at the time. This was a fortunate thing, because I got asides like "No one would have been singing along at their shows" and "that club had NO lights or curtains". It's frustrating that the film makes Darby out to be a triumphant rock star, at least at times, in full control of his faculties on stage, captivating the audience. Watching the actual footage of the band from The Decline Of Western Civilization shows that this was clearly not the case. Although the biopic was a polished let down in many ways, it sparked my interest in the actual group, and I am now reading the book "Lexicon Devil" about Darby Crash and The Germs, with the L.A. Punk overview "We Got The Neutron Bomb" next in the pile. Listening to the Germs (G I) LP, the thing I find most striking is that Crash is at once barely coherent/the weak link, AND the focal point/strength of the group. Without such a solid band behind him he surely would have appeared more wasteoid than visionary. Pat Smear must be one of the most underrated guitarists of the original punk era, and Don Bolles is a solid and inventive drummer. Lorna Doom certainly got by, having never picked up a bass before their first shambolic gig. Although there is so much music out there today that's exciting, it's frustrating that 1977 is something that will never happen again. Any number of bands can recreate the sound and look of times gone by, but there's something magical about the first time someone took a musical style to the next level. Sure, Crash and friends were influenced by Bowie and Iggy, but the heights they took that influence to provoked an excitement I can never truly experience. It's promising, though, to still find large areas of music history that I somehow missed.