The Strange History of BLACK FLAG (they hated their fans)

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

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[@shanem1771]

SELLOUT

[@kkjoe1911]

You had two whole weeks to update the read with the right fighters fam 😅🤦🏽‍♂️

[@ianbarrett4166]

@@shanem1771why?

[@alkatraz706]

it's going to be Volk vs. Islam...charlie olives got injured smh

[@mattmatthews5414]

Bareaux. 8:44 95% of us know you meant to say “Sabbath”, but…

[@sxncDMF]

can’t believe they made the tattoo into a real band!!

[@chernobylcoleslaw6698]

😂😂

[@churroinyomouf]

😂😂😂

[@gooseabuse]

its true, the logo is far better than the actual band

[@brandonrichard3634]

🤣🤣

[@kipschumm1849]

@@gooseabuseThat pretty much sums up 70-80s punk

[@lurchilurch5507]

Wow, Black Flag were so influential they actually influenced themselves!! Amazing (see 8:44)

[@perehn8910]

He probably meant Black Sabbath 😅

[@Plunkcown]

Thank god i'm not the only who heard that, i thought i was just drunk

[@roncriswell2685]

@@perehn8910 I'm thinking suicidal tendencies because it has that sound about it.

[@beefrainbow]

Beat me to it.

[@joshhershberger6966]

Came here for this comment! 😂

[@julenperea4954]

You know the video is gonna be great when is starts with the legendary clip of Henry Rollins bullying a kid.

[@SoftDrinksOfChoice]

That kid was super corny and then accused BF for selling out. He got what was coming

[@treesaremadeofwood2145]

That kid was being a $hit starter and just didn't like it when Henry Rollins dished it back at him, the visible discomfort and "oh this didn't go the way I was taking it to" gave him a reality check he clearly needed, trying to call them sellouts with all the $hit they had to put up with and having Henry's aggressive attitude towards a$$holes was just a "careful boy not all dogs bark, some will give a back off bark and then just bite or maul them after" hopefully the kid learnt to be more respectful after.

[@shaftlamer]

Rollins was happy he found someone smaller than him.

[@User-54631]

No honor in fighting below your weight class.

[@Croissantrophy.meme.channel]

​@@User-54631☝🏻🤓

[@Complication84]

I was born in 84 so I didn't get to experience Black Flag, but I was introduced to Rollins Band when they were on a late night show my dad let me watch. My dad was like "what the hell is this crap?", and I was immediately a fan.

[@jlotus100]

BECAUSE I'M A LIAR!

[@FlipExSkeletor]

The gateway phase of all parents who don’t understand good shit

[@robwalsh9843]

I loved End of Silence and Weight. Yeah, it's "spoken word metal", but it sounds cool. Henry actually recruited great musicians.

[@johneeeemarry34]

Your Dad was correct…Rollins band was shit…

[@jamesgruesome9780]

My dad used to let me rock Metallica and ST albums back in the day. He was kinda cool

[@strongbad666]

Also, I think it is impressive that with Kira Roessler, who besides being a fantastic bassist, was also an engineering student at UCLA while playing/touring with Black Flag when she wasn't in school.

[@paumcd]

She was their best vocalist

[@martinwakefield8138]

She is an absolute goddess and will never ever get enough credit

[@andrewstableford9781]

She has Emmys and an Oscar for her work in the film industry.

[@strongbad666]

@@andrewstableford9781 Really? Damn, talented renaissance person!

[@eldiablo3794]

Besides Henry, Kira Roessler has been the most successful ex Black Flag member. I saw a video recently that was profiling her work in the movie industry. I think she is a movie and tv film editor and won an Oscar for her work in the movie industry. She played awesome Alembic basses and Rickenbacker basses when she was with Black Flag too. Same bass company that Jason Newsted of Metallica and the guys from the Grateful Dead played.

[@archiemisc]

Nervous Breakdown is basically the musical equivalent of a hand grenade

[@1pcfred]

I find it is a great EP to liven a party up with. Once we drank 3 cases of beer playing it. So about 4 beers a minute per person. They were Mickey's big mouth barrel bottles. Designed with chugging in mind!

[@punkpunkpunk5742]

I think the first time I heard Nervous Breakdown, I started crying. It was like the Ramones but... fucked up

[@jasmine8926]

@@punkpunkpunk5742Thank you for putting that into words that’s so accurate

[@TySenior]

@@jasmine8926 I love that song so much!!!

[@hakenkreuz7076]

Kieth Morris 's "Nervous Breakdown"...hell yea 🎸😤😠☠️

[@scottpoyer5678]

One of the other things that was so influential about Black Flag was their adherence to a DIY philosophy. Between them and Dischord in DC they showed generations of bands that you didn't need a big label or huge promoters to get out there and play and put out records.

[@johnmchugh8049]

The chuck dukowski booking method and a uhaul truck😂

[@asdf9890]

As a kid in the 80s, A lot of times bands were discovered just from school/local graffiti (no phones or internet). I remember tons of “black flag” symbols and DK every where (Misfits and others but those 2 stood out most to me in graffiti). It left an impression even though I went the metal route (DRI was a favorite before I realized the roots were punk basically….along with any Thrash band). I always respected punk for what it is, and as I get older, it becomes more broad a term 😂. Going off course but yeah, many of us knew these bands way before we even heard a note from them. Sometimes for years, we just didn’t have it all in our face…all the time.

[@johnmchugh8049]

I discovered punk in 4th grade in the 80s because I lived across the street from a continuation highschool - bunch of tweeked punks loaning me dubbed tapes

[@vaughn686]

No better sponsor for a punk rock documentary than Draft Kings.

[@ronarnold1507]

Ol' Finny doesn't have much integrity, anyway. I'm not surprised by this.

[@zorroya4856]

@@ronarnold1507 "code punkrock" 🤭

[@MrKGHunter]

@@ronarnold1507 sounds like he’s too busy talking about culture and genres....instead of listening to the fucking music. “Jazz kinda stuff”. He’s probably not hip to Albert Ayler.

[@fmlAllthetime]

Imagine being bothered by what other people do even though you can't control what they do.

[@raingirlcat2245]

@@fmlAllthetimeCry about it.

[@anthonygillette]

As someone who loved the later WEIRD Black Flag albums, glad to see them get some more love. Because they deserve it

[@jamalgorbachev138]

My War!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Trainy2]

In My Head might be my favorite of theirs

[@lobotomyscam1051]

@@jamalgorbachev138 The band Rorschach covered "My War," and it's better than Black Flag's version.

[@Godloveszaza]

Supporting and watching what black flag went through is realizing how fatuous and contradicting punk was

[@Artefracture]

'The Bars' is tops song for me...

[@amocmofficial]

"Slip It In" is personally my favorite album by them. The line up alone was iconic.

[@jeffbob4212]

Agreed

[@sampleoffers1978]

@@jeffbob4212 That was the only album I could find in 90's and just pretended to like you think youre evil. It was okay.

[@paulmcnally8401]

My first album of theirs also my favorite in 1984 And I started buying SST Record albums as well.

[@Dr.Dark78]

Same

[@mantislake4141]

The song Slip It In, whose lyrical content I could do without, is, nonetheless, my favorite BF song because Ginn's guitar is unbelievably KILLER

[@ralphramos3004]

You are a fine and very observant jurnalist, my friend. As a 54 year-old guy who grew up with this music and influnce, I think you certainly understand what the feeling and perception of the music was and was not.

[@capnjames]

You said the album My War pulls from black flag…I feel like you meant to say it pulls from Black Sabbath? Right?

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Yes

[@shunsuikyoraku5428]

​@@ThePunkRockMBAI noticed it too lol

[@mattjohn4731]

And Saint Vitus 🔥 one of my fav metal bands thanks to SST. I ordered a wide array from the label. DinoJr, Sonic Youth, Zoogz Rift, H.R., Husker Du, Sister Double Happiness, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Angst, Descendents...

[@scottadams7219]

I got see Henry doing his spoken word recently. $55 to be in the third row in the pit. Best spent $55 in my life. He talked for two hours & barely took a breath as he sweated profusely. It was running down his arm and dripping off his elbow as he held the mic. He couldn’t have sweated anymore if he was singing for Black Flag that night. Such a unique and original soul. I highly recommend it. It’s one of those things you don’t know you need to see, until you actually see it. If you try to explain to somebody that it was entertaining to watch somebody rant for two hours. They probably look at you like you were crazy, but it was fucking amazing.

[@PinataOblongata]

I've been watching his spoken word since the 90s. It's kind of sad to see him talking about buying a big house in LA and being scared of a mentally disturbed kid who just wanted to meet him, calling the cops on him, etc. I used to idolise him, but I grew out of that when I realised not all my opinion align with his and he's a hypocrite and a sad, flawed person in many way. That is not to put down anything he's accomplished or not to understand the horrendous upbringing he had that would have had a hand in shaping who he is, but I just can't worship the guy like I used to. There are smarter people, there are more inspiring people and there are people who rock out even more with a more positive attitude and who do more for other people. Ian Mackaye, for example - Rollins always ends up talking about him and jokes about how they're like brothers and Rollins is the evil one where Ian is the good one - I wish he'd followed Ian's lead a bit more, to be honest. My respect for Ian has only grown, rather than diminished, with time.

[@SDREHXC]

@@PinataOblongataeveryone is a flawed person I don’t why people act like the people they look up to need to be literally better people than Jesus himself was proclaimed to be. You can look up to people for the good they do and still disagree with or even condemn the bad they do. The world needs unique people and unique voices, even if those people aren’t perfect, because nobody is. The world would be a worse place without most of them. It’s really sad to me that a few weird interactions in someone’s later years can somehow diminish everything else they’ve done in their lives to you. I guess this is why people love religion. Maybe it’s too difficult for some people to appreciate the fallible.

[@meanmrbean8641]

I remember going to see him, not really knowing much about him, and expecting him to speak for about an hour. He spoke for 2 hours and 47 minutes at breakneck speed, and had me hanging on every word.

[@fumanpoo4725]

$55...really?

[@XGRIMYONEX]

I’ll pass on that. I like his most of his music but I will not go to see any spoken word show. Not my thing. Sound like he’s turning into what he used to hate. I actually like their instrumental stuff.

[@christopherconard2831]

The "experimental phase" stuff is how I got a friend into punk and metal. He, like me, was a generic dork in highschool and really into Frank Zappa. The disjointed sounds and lyrics that you can't tell if they are deeply philosophical or random word salad appealed to something in him. From there he started listening to all sorts of other bands without the bias of hating the genre automatically.

[@xWESTICLESx]

Show him the Melvins next

[@ganiniii]

​@@xWESTICLESxmost overrated band ever and managed to make a career because Kurt praised them once.

[@strongbad666]

I love both the early and later Black Flag records but love them for different reasons. The later records I love listening to because it was no longer just straight-ahead hardcore punk, it was something else. When I listen to 'Loose Nut', I hear GBH meets Black Sabbath meets Yes meets Rush.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Exactly

[@maxmeggeneder8935]

Sounds like a great mix. I´m gonna have to check that out. Thanks

[@dr.juerdotitsgo5119]

@@maxmeggeneder8935 Don't get your hopes up. Later-period Black Flag is just random "avant garde" bullshit. If you want a punk band with challenging music that KNOWS what they're doing, check out Minutemen.

[@mjwbulich]

You forgot to add a very important influence on the band. Greg Ginn was a huge Grateful Dead fan. I'm not saying they sounded like them but if you listen to late live Black Flag or Ginns projects afterwards. It's obvious the dude wants to be in a jam band.

[@brassteeth3355]

Greg Ginn is massive

[@eldiablo3794]

On the subject of poverty, Henry has told a story about his time in Black Flag where they were so poor that they would go into a diner and wait for people to get done eating and if they left any food on the plates they would rush the tables and eat the left overs before the waitress would remove the plates. Black Flag has always had the coolest album covers and band art. Every incarnation of Black Flag has is iconic hits. I'm actually a fan of all eras of the band, but the lineup I got turned onto and favored the most was with Henry, Kira Roessler on bass, Robo Julio Valencia of the Misfits/Bill Stevenson of the Descendents on drums, and Greg Ginn. From that lineup I backtracked and discovered all their previous lineups.

[@danielbrown3461]

They were better than NWA because they played their own instruments. They were about tied with the Dead Kennedys as far as influence goes. But a step behind in talent.

[@eldiablo3794]

@@danielbrown3461 what does NWA have to do with anything? Are you referring to the rap group NWA? Because I don't understand how that applies to what I said, lol.

[@danielbrown3461]

Black Flag were better musicians than NWA and they had to overcome more money problems than NWA. They had it rough traveling in a van to gigs.@@eldiablo3794

[@gregdahlen4375]

did they have two drummers?

[@dillrobert]

Loose Nut is IMO the most cohesive Black Flag record. Every song hits you in a different way but flows. Also, She's Black is the best song they ever did (and was written by Bill Stevenson).

[@Artefracture]

Love that record, favourite song is The Bars though. But I thought that might have been my top record just because I heard it way early on.

[@amorpaz1]

8:42 pretty wild how Black Flag began drawing from bands like Black Flag

[@thrownblown]

I'm pretty sure he means Black Sabbath, but I often inspire myself cause I'm that cool so maybe not

[@jakubberan2720]

@@thrownblown i think so :)..he meant black sabbath

[@georgieramone]

Glad someone else caught that. Lol

[@brandonobrien7239]

I figured he meant Black Sabbath, but what he said also kind of works in a funny way.

[@robmitchell13]

Black Flag's later music used strange tones which opened a portal in time, allowing them to travel into the past and influence themselves.

[@ChrisPervelis]

Not only were they are musical influence for me, but their nose to the grindstone, dogged determination attitude has had such a positive influence on my life I cannot even begin to describe it. It's the reason I pushed my band so hard and it's also the reason I ate tons of crap, started my own business and achieved many of the goals I set for myself. It doesn't hurt that Slip it In and Loose Nut are awesome albums. Also I always thought Greg Ginn was underrated as a guitar player.

[@ryuundo4536]

Wow, I was not expecting to see MY picture of the Black Flag Damaged album (7:28) from a Reddit or Instagram post I made. That's pretty funny!

[@mattduffyw99]

I never knew that Black Flag considered The Grateful Dead a big influence. I wonder if that had any bearing on The Ataris' cover of Boys Of Summer where they replaced the "Dead Head sticker" with a "I saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac." Cool coincidence if not.

[@aerosmith8602]

I saw Black Flag back in August and the show was so killer. No Henry, but I thought the current singer covered the My War album well. Also got to meet Greg Ginn after the show and he was the most humble guy that appreciated his fans and made it a point to talk to every single fan that was there for him.

[@n8germ]

Can confirm. I saw them in San Diego last year and as the floor cleared there he was, willing to talk to anyone that walked up to him.

[@eyencyst]

got to be friends with Greg since he moved to Texas,super humble ,cool guy.

[@Marsfrommarsbar]

Can you do a video on Dead Kennedys next?

[@rsmag4691]

I was lucky enough to be Henry's "guard" when he did a USO tour in UAE. Super nice dude. Generally cared about the troops.

[@danbauer3669]

You know who doesn't care about the troops? America. Why would they send you into war zones to steal resources so that rich men can get richer if they cared about you?

[@gummybeartakeover3916]

Thats awesome

[@stuartingram96]

Black Flag was a major part of my elementary school years along with The Misfits Minor Threat and Suicidal Tendencies

[@Gerd0]

Never actually got around to listening to Black Flag, but it sounds like I should. Their weirder stuff sounds right up my alley.

[@richardrobbins387]

Bought "The First 4 Years" in 1988. Was a complete metal-head up until then. It really changed my perspective on heavy music. But then again "My War" is also great. It's almost like a different band.

[@FlipExSkeletor]

Just watched them play with Mike Valley last night and he did a killer job. Great to see the first punk band I ever loved still going.

[@HotStrange]

I think we all had a Henry Rollins phase at some point. Still love Black Flag as a whole.

[@MSHNKTRL]

I had a quick HR phase too, up until his trauma-dumping got to be a bit much.

[@loganferti278]

Henry Rollins is still going through a Henry Rollins phase

[@Alaskan-Armadillo]

@@MSHNKTRL Yeah honestly he should just keep it to himself and take it out on women like a real man /s

[@drdelewded]

I've been in the hate him phase for 30+ years now

[@HotStrange]

@@loganferti278 lol true af

[@bryanhernandez476]

I had the chance to see them live last Sunday here in Costa Rica and oh man, they still rock. I wish more people would have been there because honestly, the show sold poorly but every single one of the members of the band gave everything on the show like they were playing in Maddison Square Garden packed full of people. After they finished they all came down to greet the fans and Greg almost shook hands and took a picture with everyone there. It was surreal to see such a huge and influential band being so humble and down-earth.

[@wwiiinplastic4712]

I think most people are familiar with the Rollins-fronted version and want to see that, just as some people miss Jello Biafra fronting the Dead Kennedys. Not gonna happen, though, so don't miss out for the sake of one member necessarily. I mean, I would not see Big Black without Steve Albini because he IS Big Black imo.

[@ianwerden5601]

Nice!

[@robbiematthews168]

True story..my dad played a gig at a place where black flag played the night before..and he was looking around and was like..why is there blood on the walls..he asked the owner and he said black flag played the night before and it got ugly..that was enough said for him since he saw them once before and didn’t ask any further questions..lol

[@Jbzero999]

I can't believe Henrietta Collins & The Wife-Beating Child-Haters didn't get a mention. Lol. Those later Flag albums were pretty tough to like at the time, but I don't think most of us were ready for them.

[@jmjones7897]

Goddamn right. ...How Many Words Do You Need?...

[@tunguskalumberjack9987]

@@jmjones7897”Here. Can you speak this?”

[@apod_det]

Great video. As a kid, I found Black Flag. I collected as much as I could. They changed my outlook on so many things. It's crazy how influential they have been for me. One of my favorites was the everything went black record set.

[@starwinksbackfromtheskypit6790]

I met Henry Rollins at warped tour and he was working out. Dude was a beast. Fast forward to today, he’s living in my town and has been seen at multiple local shows. So I’ve got mad respect for him still supporting the under dogs.

[@nomiddlenamenmn427]

Just curious. Has Henry moved to Nashville?

[@PinkyJujubean]

I can understand their attitude when it comes to fans. Black Flag tended to attract psychopaths and other crazy people. Unintentionally of course. 80s hardcore was marred by people who were into it because they wanted to be violent and hurt people. That's why the first wave of hardcore imploded in the first place. Too many crazy people infested it and it became this monster. So many people walked away from the scene just because of the violence

[@robertparkersworld8838]

"Black Flag tended to attract psychopaths and other crazy people." Especially their vocalists.

[@PinkyJujubean]

@@robertparkersworld8838 that's for damn sure

[@NeepNeepPohn]

Ron Reyes said that was the original reason he quit the band too

[@PinkyJujubean]

@@NeepNeepPohn as I recall someone hit him with a beer bottle during a performance and he threw the mic down in disgust. I don't blame him honestly. The fact that the rest of the band weren't sympathetic to this really sucks.

[@craven1927]

Interesting that you mentioned that. As I was watching the video at the 5:50 mark I spotted a guy in the crowd wearing a swastika shirt

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

SST Records was freaking awesome. So many great albums and artists. Even a Negativland album.

[@badlarry2469]

You should do a video on Corrosion of Conformity. That's a band that has changed their sound quite a bit over the course of time

[@wwiiinplastic4712]

They lost me after Technocracy as I wasn't into the 'Southern Sludge Rock' thing. Reminded me of Molly Hatchet. Animosity I will listen to all day long.

[@KowalskiVanishing_Point]

Met Black Flag back in 84 in Bochum Germany backstage after a concert. I was just some guy hitchiking around Europe and saw them in Duesseldorf and Bochum. They were pretty relaxed people and nice to me.

[@roncriswell2685]

They've been back together and touring for a while now with pro skateboarder Mike Vallely on vocals which seems to be doing pretty good \m/

[@mikehunt5926]

vallely sold out in the skating world and then joined a punk band, very weird

[@tunguskalumberjack9987]

Henry Rollins also had a side project around the Rollins Band “The End Of Silence” era called Wartime, which was more of that hardcore/ jazzy funk fusion style. I think it was him and Chris Haskett, and the Rollins Band bassist, but I can’t remember his name off hand (hey, I haven’t heard it since around 1993 or so 😆) One of my favorite albums of his used to be sold with the “Hot Animal Machine” album, and was called “Henrietta Collins And The Wife-beating Child Haters”. I’m not positive but I think that’s the album with “Drive-by Shooting” on it. Brings back lots of memories!

[@crocholiday]

Love your channel. Would love to hear your take on Minor Threat and Fugazi. There's so many great bands from back then. And Family Man rolls through my head every year when I put my Christmas lights up... First on the block lol

[@over-educated-sp]

My uncle gave me “My war,” as some of my first few records when I was 12. I had no Idea that album had just came out. Today I’m 52. The irony is that I started skateboarding that same year, there in good ol Southern California. A year later, I was a full blown organic lil “skate punk!”

[@poemarnan5498]

1984 and seeing Black Flag play in a roller rink. Those were the days.

[@__Bird__-dc7jn]

In Germany in the 80 punk from the US had this bizarre aggressive, dark flavoured sound. The first time I saw Bad Brains in Germany it was like taking drugs. As a kid I grew up with SST Bands and DC Hardcore, they drew inspiration from all kind of genres - from there I started to listen to Jazz.

[@stevenr5149]

I saw them in 85 at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago. Great Iconic punk/hardcore memory-both inside and on the street. The band was relatively well behaved. There were a few in the Pit really trying to harm others. A lot of people watching out for each other as well, and those psychos were taken out 1 by 1. I loved that solidarity. Crazy energy. Still have the concert shirt. :) You nailed it. Well done and thanks. :) Subbed.

[@jmjones7897]

St. Louis, Turner's Hall. Same. Same Same Same Edit: No shirt though. Street kids There was Blood. Cheers, Family

[@Bartholomule01]

Speaking of Hüsker Dü, I would love an episode on them. I feel like they similarly to Black Flag may be way more influential than they were popular specifically with late 80's and early 90's alt-rock

[@KevinForst-n2t]

OK I went to every Black Flag show from 1982 on up. Black Flag did not hate their fans. They often slept in their fans houses when on tour. Or in the fans mother's house. They hated jerk fans and trust me there were many...........saw Henery do spoken word at Trenton city gardens in 1986. Henery did a tour a few years ago about the cool places he traveled to. Dude went to North Korea.......his pictures were amazing.

[@jackrobertson1941]

8:45 it’s amazing how a band can reinvent their sound while using themselves as their primary influence p.s I feel like everybody knew you meant sabbath

[@emptysetowl9715]

I've seen Mike V with Black Flag a few times. Mike does a great job and Gregg's sound makes the band. I would check them out when out on tour.

[@shamupeterson2874]

All of their best songs were written before Henry joined the band.

[@zplapplap]

“In My Head” is my favorite Black Flag album. Looking back, it has always been my favorite Black Flag album. First bought it on cassette in 1988 when I was 13 years old. Having previously only heard six pack, Wasted, TV Party Black Flag, my instant reaction after playing both side of “In my Head”, in one sitting, was “What the hell was that? 😧” . . . and played it again. It’s such a great feeling when connecting to new music. I had that same feeling later in that same year when I bought “Surfer Rosa”. Unlike Black Flag, I had never heard the Pixies. I had only heard of them. I listened to that album, both sides in one sitting. My visceral reaction was “What the hell is this? 🤯” . . . and flipped it back to side 1 to listen again. 😆 Unlike “Surfer Rosa”, the mixing on “In My Head” is bad. Listening to it, on what would eventually become a worn out cassette, is damn near a hardship. But, Greg Ginn’s guitar playing was utterly distinctive and all contributions, including Pettibon’s artwork contributed to a artistic statement that spoke to me and creeped out or offended damn near everyone else that came across it.

[@541967]

I LOVE that album, too!

[@darrellmarcks6304]

"In my head" was my first Black Flag album. In my early punk experience when I didn't know anything, I bought this album, the Dead Milkmens' "Soul Rotation" album and Circle Jerks "Wild in the streets". Those albums did not click for me at first. I'd put them back on the shelf and time would go by. Then I'd play them again. Eventually they clicked and really to this day are some of my favorites still

[@Dr.Meth666]

Fuck wild in the streets is a banger .that's one of my go -to's.

[@darrellmarcks6304]

@@Dr.Meth666 right but after only hearing "Group Sex" for some reason it sounded so different to my ear and didn't click. After it did click, yeah, definitely Circle Jerks, big bangers.

[@wwiiinplastic4712]

@@darrellmarcks6304 Saw the Jerks for about the 5th time in 37 years with Negative Approach and 7 Seconds. Took my wife and daughter. Kevin Seconds has gotten chunky, and Keith Morris is still the same old loveable asshole. I still have my 1986 tour shirt; people working the merch table offered to trade me any five new shirts for it. Nope I said.

[@judastheman]

3:16 start the video

[@chriskiefer7493]

Draftkings ads aren't punk

[@1053J4]

ikr where tf did all those purdue global university ads go. i miss skipping them

[@GrievousAngelo]

Neither is wearing a Nike hat but oh well.

[@R1SKYB1Z]

Comments like this are the bane of Finns existence when too many people like it before he notices the comment to take it down lololol

[@christianbruner779]

And you are

[@R1SKYB1Z]

@@christianbruner779 and _u_ r?

[@mr_peach7704]

At the tender age of 15, their Mi Casita gig was my first show of any kind, musically. Black Flag, Redd Kross, Descendents, Husker Du, St. Vitus - it was epic. First and last punk rock show at this little family Mexican restaurant, I'm pretty sure. It was my dad who came and picked up me and my friends after the show and drove us home. There were cops everywhere but thankfully nobody started a riot. And dad didn't even make a big deal about it. I think about that sometimes to this day; RIP pops, you were one mellow dude. (Also, LA Times music critic Robert Hilburn was at the show and spoke with us.)

[@TYoung90125]

Get in the Van is a rite of passage for a certain kind of person. For me, it's impossible to dislike Black Flag (or any band) after having read that book. Changed my life

[@jasonkeely7269]

Saw them a few months ago in San Diego, Greg is definitely getting up there in age but still kicking ass on stage

[@bmorestance]

when I was like 8 (39 now), my step father gave me Slip It In. I thought it was weird chords/notes that didnt sound right!! But I grew to like it! Love Drinkin Black Coffee!! hell yeah!

[@gregdahlen4375]

henry has a book with a funny title: "Do I Come Here Often?"

[@guybatchelor4646]

I love how one of black flag's biggest influences on my war was black flag 8:45 lol, good vid tho regardless

[@subparnaturedocumentary]

its nice to hear someone actually talking about the late black flag albums and not just dumping on them and saying just listen to their original shit or whatever.

[@AprehamLincoln]

These guys had some absolutely killer tracks, but Rollins was such a dingus back then. I like the guy he became as he aged, and I can understand his hostility to a degree, but I can also understand why so many fans wanted to fight him. That said, it really did set the tone for the scene.

[@understanding77]

Yeah he is among my favorite artists in the punk and metal scene

[@dustyelliott95]

I love that you covered their work beyond Damaged. Slip it In and My War are two f my favorites all time. I’d love for you to cover some Rollins early post-Flag stuff like Hot Animal Machine and Life Time.

[@youtoobe169]

I remember back in high school, I was a metalhead but I discovered punk and found it to be cool. I found the punk people in my school and hung out with them a bit, until I mentioned that one of the punk bands sounded like metal. I was permanently banned from their group because I dared say such blasphemy. I never understood the logic. Music is music.

[@dce9018]

I was into metal too way back had long hair and would go to City Gardens in Trenton NJ the punkers weren't very welcoming I'd say sort of like they thought they were above it all. I could understand it if I was at a guido bar in Seaside Heights.

[@martyblack13]

My brother drove a cab and had Henry in his car...he said Henry was such a cool guy. Henry treated him so well and was very kind to him!

[@Caveira138]

I think the 1982 demos is not only their best album but best lineup. The 2 guitars, Dukowski, and Biscuits on drums is just the best they ever sounded. Ginn got way too into himself in later albums

[@mike902]

Agreed. CB is easily the best early hc drummer.

[@iprey4surf]

TRUTH

[@ginnrollins211]

I hope it gets a Record Store Day release in the future. The 82 Demos was definitely the best "release" of the five-man lineup.

[@megmcguigan3857]

Loose Nut is one of my all time favourite albums. If I am really frustrated about something I put on Loose Nut and I start to feel better. Still know the entire album by heart.

[@philoking]

So tired of gambling shilling.

[@_Pauper_]

Yes

[@rorz999]

We all are

[@DarthWombat]

I like the gambling ads in Aussie. They hype the fuck out of the bet for 2 minutes, then right at the end they quickly tell you that gambling is bad 😂

[@dogface-hd8px]

Cool send him the 10k they give him or shut up. Bitching about how he gets paid for his free content. This guy is awesome

[@LukeAndreLopez]

@@dogface-hd8pxso punk rock.

[@5600block]

Greg Ginn is a marketing genius that simply never stopped. Incredibly humble, sweet and driven person.

[@JaymeSplendid]

Keith and Ron are the bands best era. Their first two releases, the Nervous Breakdown 7" and the Jealous Again EP and their later compilations the First Four Years and Everything Went Black are my two all time favorite Black Flag releases, ever.

[@volodymyrbilyk555]

Keith Morris needs more. This is one hell of a bad motherfucker. Henry was all over the place during his Black Flag years but man did he figured it out by the time he hooked up with Chris Haskett. First five Rollins Band album go hard

[@tunelowplayslow5623]

Personally I think it was more about Ginns playing that changed Black Flag's sound than Henry joining the band. Some of that shit down right hard to listen to.

[@Artefracture]

The '82 Demos with Chuck Biscuits on drums, Dukowski still on bass and Cadena still on second guitar is tops for me. My War and Slip it In sound way more fierce and Modern Man is huge. I honestly feel if this line up stuck around they would have been the best band and made the best records, easy. It wouldn't have been a discussion.

[@agrowax]

I agree 100 percent. I actually tried to strip the separate tracks from that 82 demo to remix it but it was a futile endeavor. Would love to hear that stuff cleaned up a bit

[@amc1140]

Hermosa Beach my hometown🙌 legendary small town

[@marktan3368]

I still miss the Scorpio Shop and Either/Or Books.

[@ghost_to_a_ghost]

Police Story and TV Party go on pretty much every hardcore/metal/punk playlist that I make. I like mixing old and new bands up. 😎

[@ghost_to_a_ghost]

also, the Unabomber was punk as fuck tbh 😂

[@MrHypnotykspyrolls]

It's videos like this that make me wanna dive into music more. I've listened to black flag since I was a kid and didn't know half of the stuff you just spoke about.

[@jeffbridges6110]

They influenced so many bands or at least some people in a band everywhere. You either liked them , or you didn't. I found myself liking their music as much as I hated their music. I was amazed that they kept on for as long as they did. I'm 45 now , and I still see some teens wearing their T-shirts.

[@MikeGeeezyy]

Henry Rollins’ physique is pretty impressive for only eating daily sandwiches

[@dragonlotion1789]

I remember playing Family Man to my hippie father and him laughing hysterically to “I want to crucify you from nails from your well stocked garage” I was in 6th or 7th grade when that came out so I didn’t really get it, but the second side I played the shit out of.

[@QueLoKevin]

Hell yeah brother

[@slayabouts]

Nice, I've been waiting for a Black Flag video

[@Noone-jn3jp]

8:39 Is there a mistake here? Can Black Flag draw inspiration from Black Flag?

[@volodymyrbilyk555]

Black Sabbath

[@EclecticoIconoclasta]

Amazing how they went through 2 revolutions and almost created entire new genres. They more or less pioneered sludge metal and influenced the tendency towards crossover thrash later in the decade by incorporating metal influences. But if that was not enough on itself the later even more experimental stuff gets called by some people as early post-hardcore and I think some of that could even be counted as early post-rock since it was jazz influenced, long songs, spoken word instead of regular vocals and no regular song structures. Slint didn´t even exist yet and Talk Talk was still a post punk band in the vein of Public Image Ltd. in the mid 80s yet Black Flag was already more or less post rock way before there was even a label for that. They were true modernist vanguardists

[@kierstyngodenzi-stanard4813]

Loooove your videos, dude. I still cannot believe that Henry was found at an ice cream shop and became the lead overnight... still blows my mind.

[@systemrevolt7309]

This is such an important video. The thread is so important in the history of music most importantly for me the music birthed into the early 90’s. Without this era of music getting some serious conversation, we lose the weight why and how so much of what we loves cultural importance.

[@nastycanasta3398]

8:43 Think you might have meant Black Sabbath

[@kbop]

Great video, couple of facts I didn't know even being a massive fan of the band. Would love a video of their influence around the scene like you alluded to!

[@HashiTomi]

Got my black flag tattoo when I was 18. A lot of people thought it was some kinda shitty tribal tat.

[@Matt_Huffman]

It kind of is though lol

[@1pcfred]

@@Matt_Huffman yes they were not wrong

[@brassteeth3355]

I liked the Hank Rollins era and his first couple of Rollins Band albums were big for me. Life Time was his best work.

[@TingTingalingy]

To this day I feel punk is still one of if not the most dogmatic & rigid music scenes. I quit going to shows when I saw a bunch of skinhead chicks attack a girl from their high school because she was preppy in high school, 15 years earlier.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Yep. Its suffocatingly conformist.

[@alexmonro1711]

I still remember when some guy yelled at me for being "fake punk" because I had a Rancid t shirt on lol

[@bignoize23]

Same experience here, it was fun for a while, but looking back I think it skewed my view of the world. The rigid castes(crust, crustjocks, skinheads, oogles, etc), no tolerance for anything not "authentic" or the self made/found, etc The local scene here turned away so many new faces eventually there was no one under 20. And its the same scene Antischism came from. A puritanical death spiral isn't what you'd expect from freedom loving anarchists.

[@johndorsey7514]

Okay, bub. I’m subscribing. I was a diehard fan of punk. I was very selective about. Ands claiming to be punk. Got in trouble in school for my haircuts and clothes. Slept on the streets trying to be an artist. I’ve released a few albums and haven’t made any money off of them. You are a great punk rock historian. Thank you for being in the gutter for the cause! -Gnarlie Pound

[@tobiasblackmoar]

slip it in!

[@GemBMs]

In your video you did on Henry Rollins 3 years ago you said their later stuff was bad but I’m glad you’ve come around.

[@philippagrimoire5968]

Henry Rollins once shouldered me to the ground at a concert in Canberra A.C.T in 1992! It was a concert where they backed up Public Enemy and I got there early with friends. I had never even heard of black flag tbh but went along because friends invited me and I heard they were “cool”! I was outside smoking a cigarette on my own prior to the gig starting and friends went back inside and I saw a man walking towards me looking really angry. He was muscular and had no shirt on and was covered in tattoos. I recognised him as Henry Rollins even though I technically was not a fan but he deliberately went out of his way to make sure he walked so close to me that he shouldered me so I went swinging around and fell to the ground. I was a 16 yr old girl and slim and he was a huge muscular man! He hated me and I had no idea why? I heard later that he hated women and was gay but now that I hear this it makes sense. I had friends tell me I should feel honoured that he shouldered me but I never liked him after that! Until much much later when he was an older man and was doing his spoken words thing. I forgave him and enjoyed his spoken words performance and appreciated his bravery for going to Afghanistan during that period of conflict.

[@georgefrank5711]

You didn't bring up Everything Went Black- previously unreleased 76-81. Has the commercials, the 3 singers before Henry, a cool story on the back. That is my favorite, also Keith and Ron had energy that makes me wanna move. Thanks for this video.

[@coreymanske]

One thing that nobody is talking about is the fact that Black Flag is STILL GOING. Everybody knows punk rock is all about attitude, speaking out, and playing live. If you missed Black Flag on their most recent tour, be sure to NOT miss out on their next. It's crystal clear they work their asses off, and they're playing better than ever before.

[@bigbillywillysgrandadventu7737]

Wow, never heard a bunch of crap in my life. Have you actually listened to What The...?

[@ultimadum7785]

Hardly a compliment considering the mediocre albums they've put out after My War, as well as the fact that the touring band isn't even the original line up asside from Greg ginn, because the asshole fired every other member. Also when they came to my town this year, they had some clown up there impersonating Henry Rollins, and to make it even worse the tickets sold out immediately and were 35 dollars which compared to Agent Orange was ridiculous because their door price at the same venue was 20 dollars and they didn't ever sell out the place.

[@jimdunn5984]

Love your use of the clips from the May 1982 show at the Lit club in Hartford, CT. Brings back many memories.

[@trevorsmith5189]

I saw Black Flag a few weeks ago at a small crusty club in Greenville,SC. They played a My War full set and a greatest hits set. It was fucking epic. I got to talk to Greg for a little bit before and after the show and he was a rad a fuck dude! My 6 year old daughter got pissed off at me for going to the show because she loves Black Flag when I told her I met the guitar player she lost her mind!

[@dannorris642]

Great mention of Loose Nut! That's a very underrated one, especially among their older fans, strangely enough. It's like a satirical party rock record for dysfunctional suburbanites. For some reason, I didn't think you liked the later stuff, so I'm glad to hear you recommend it so highly, here.

[@mh13382]

I'm always ready to skip your add 1:45

[@thewizard2567]

In high school I was driving around one summer night and someone had thrown a bunch of CDs to the curb, CDs that they ripped off the internet. I listened to a lot, and it got me into Wu Tang clan and other bands I never would've checked out, and there was a Black Flag CD, but it didn't play. I randomly picked up Damaged at HMV when I was just leaving high school, remembering the name as being a CD I could never play and feeling like buying a CD. I played it on the ride home and my partner HATED it. I left it on and she fell asleep. I listened a few more times and was hooked.

[@radtothebone23]

Bro I found a cd case with Slipknot, Kittie, Cypress Hill, Coal Chamber, ICP, SOAD. I was about 9. Shaped my whole personality. I never would have found those bands that young.

[@viralmedianetwork415]

The Draft Kings sponsorship is killing me on this. It's such a douchey thing for such a good channel