Punk 45: Kill the Hippies! Kill Yourself! (subtitled: The American Nation Destroys Its Young - Underground Punk in the United States of America, Vol. 1.) is a 2013 compilation album released by Soul Jazz Records. It was Soul Jazz Records' first release in their Punk 45 series documenting punk music released either independently or on non-major labels. The first volume focuses on American music from regions across the United States, ranging from Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Austin, and New Orleans. The album was released to positive reviews from The Guardian, The Irish Times and The Quietus.
Music and content
Punk 45: Kill the Hippies! Kill Yourself! covers punk music released outside of major labels in the United States between 1973 and 1980 ranging from music from Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Austin, and New Orleans among others.[1][2][3]
Release
Punk 45: Kill the Hippies! Kill Yourself! was released by Soul Jazz Records on November 11, 2013.[1] It was released to coincide with a publication of a book edited by Jon Savage on punk music cover art.[2]
Reception
Jim Caroll of The Irish Times gave the album a four star out of five rating, stating that the album was"Brimming with both classics and rare cuts" and that it was "a reminder of the many hometown heroes who found a way to channel their anger, frustration and excess energy though a bunch of scratchy riffs topped by a furious opening salvo of one-two-three-four."[2]
Joe Banks of The Quietus proclaimed that the music contained music that was "very much of their time, enjoyably cartoonish or anti-authoritarian without necessarily being socially conscious." and that "for the most part, your enjoyment of this compilation will depend on your enthusiasm/tolerance for shouty blokes with scratchy guitars, knocking out a basic riff and seeing where it takes them".[3] Banks concluded that "this album is ample evidence that its spirit was alive and kicking long before then if only you knew where to look."[3]
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called the release an "excellent compilation"[4] and propsoes that what made the compilation great was that there was dozens of varieties of American punk music comparing the rangng between more traditional bands like The Heartbreakers to a more extreme side of the scale with the electric eels.[5] Petridis also noted that the bands that followed the traditional Ramones influenced sounds like The Normals were strong while the more unique bands such as Theoretical Girls that Petridis compared both The Dead Boys as well as Philip Glass or Steve Reich.[6]
