100 Flowers – In Session at KPFK-FM, Los Angeles – January 22, 1983 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Continuing our informal week of looking at the L.A. Punk/post-punk/Alternative/New-Wave/Lo-Fi scene of the 1970s and 80s with 100 Flowers, in session at KPFK and broadcast live on the 12 o’Clock Rock program from Studio Z on January 22, 1983.
Here’s a blurb from Superior Viaduct, who are offering a re-issue of their 1983 album:
100 Flowers (previously known as The Urinals) were a power trio whose sole 1983 album is an enduring document of the Southern California underground. Based in crime-ridden ’80s Los Angeles against the backdrop of juvenile hardcore and vapid hard rock, they crafted a sound that rests between the inspired bursts of The Minutemen and the pastoral jangle of The Dream Syndicate with similarities to the equally oblique Monitor and The Gun Club (who even included a Urinals cover in their set).
The trio wielded a gripping visual aesthetic and hyper-literate lyrical content that reflected their art-school backgrounds, while a ferocity and frustration borne out of their bleak urban environment permeates their songs. Strains of UK post-punk can be heard on “All Sexed Up” and skittish tension on “Presence of Mind.” A far cry from the beach punk and surf rock of their contemporaries, album closer “California’s Falling into the Ocean” contains all of their signature qualities: off-kilter delivery, subversive sentiments, and an irrefutable pop sensibility that reflects their immersion in LA’s burgeoning Paisley Underground scene. The band splintered shortly after the release of this album, but time has only intensified the urgency of 100 Flowers’ music.
Needless to say, it’s further proof L.A. had a healthy Music scene going during the heyday of Punk and the dawn of Paisley Underground during the late 1970s and early 1980s. There was also a lot going on and a lot of bands who came, went and left impressions – 100 Flowers were one of them.
Crank this one up.
