not-nosed eighties’ punk never found better spokesmen than the four Californian brats in the Circle Jerks. Their first two albums barely amount to half a CD together, but they managed to squeeze in 28 succinct bursts of inarticulate rage in that time. Never opting for subtlety or complexity when two chords and a rhyming slogan would do, the Circle Jerks just had an uncanny sense of energy and poise to distinguish them from their numerous peers. And, in the typical fashion of So-Cal in the eighties, their lyrics are absolutely brilliant on so many levels: attempts at political commentary (as filtered through eyes that couldn’t have seen much more than 20 years) mixed uncomfortably with blatantly un-PC digs and a sprinkling of insightful (if simplistically phrased) observations. They’re just the best bad lyrics ever written, on two albums whose sheer power makes them absolute classics.


10 “Paid Vacation”

“Better rub on that suntan oil, ‘cos you’re fighting in the desert sun”


09 “World Up My Ass”


08 “Letter Bomb”

“Give me the worst jobs/ I’m getting mad/ when you’re dead/ I’ll be glad”


07 “Stars and Stripes”

“Ha ha ha/ You’re all gonna die/ and you voted for that guy”


06 “What’s Your Problem?”

“I got a date, I can’t be late/ If she don’t show up I’ll masturbate”


05 “I Just Want Some Skank”


04 “Group Sex”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a party with couples that are friendly and mellow?/ A low-key atmosphere where you can explore your most sensual fantasies with other aware, sensitive couples?/ GROUP SEX! GROUP SEX!”


03 “Operation”

“They tied my balls together/ what’s inside’s not alive”


02 “Defamation Innuendo”

“You’re an educated jerk/ write about us/ I could squeeze you like a pimple/ but I don’t need the pus”


01 “Murder the Disturbed”

“Mom says grace, she’s learned her place/ the cruelest years are on her face/ two-car garage, a mastercharge/ her tits aren’t firm but at least they’re large”