Die Kreuzen-S/T

This band was formed in 1981 by residents of such bucolic locales as Rockford, Il and Brookfield Wi and stand as one of the most breathtaking expressions of the underbelly of hatred, frustration, alienation, and boredom these dystopian realizations of Middle America's twisted fantasies of happiness and security these places produce. If San Francisco had the Dead Kennedy's, the Midwest had Milwaukee's Die Kreuzen to provide a sound that was as much set against "punk-by-numbers" as the tepid cultural backwater that surrounded and, in some perverse way, nourished the band. Started in 1981, these dudes stayed together for a whopping 11 years releasing (I believe) 3 full-lengths on venerable Michigan-born imprint Touch and Go Records (whose grandaddy, one Corey Rusk, was one of a handful of people without whom Midwest hardcore would probably never exist, running one of the most important punk labels in the region for some time and playing bass in Necros, arguably the first hardcore band in Michigan). I haven't really listened to their later stuff, mostly because this record is so amazing that I feel a real lack of motivation to move beyond it. Small-minded perhaps, but this is a truly amazing example of what hardcore punk can be: uncompromising in a fuck-you independence that combines an all-out aggressive attitude with a musical creativity that is capable of challenging what it means to play punk rock in and through the act of playing and reinventing it. Soundscapes of cornfields and feelings of utter rejection by society. Life-changing.

s/t