Black Flag - The Last 4 Years
 

poll is coming.. :rolleyes:

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What's the vote for? Best cover? Worst production? Shiniest vinyl?

i'll take the 82 demos, rollins very low in the mix

look at the poll,
it asks for the "best release" - as in the music. doh.
common sense...

im not going to be a smartass and say a tie between my way and the process of weeding out, both for very different reasons. the first side of my way is awesome, very heavy, sabbath influenced stuff, but still undeniably black flag. the second side, meh. i love "the process.." because it showed how skilled the musicians, particularly ginn, in black flag were. this record is influential on improvisational hardcore big time. on the mindflayer myspace, they used to list the process of weeding out as their solo influence. i also love thetriple meaning, weeding out=getting stoned, weeding out the neanderthal hardcore kids who listen to nothing but hardcore, and weeding out rollins.

my war*, i kept saying my way, sorry

side two of my war and the process of weeding out...

...wait, live '84 is there? that one!!

henry rollins can fucking eat me.

My War by far.

82 demos is pretty much the fucking best.

my war followed by the process of weeding out. if family man didn't have the spoken word i would include that too. the family man cover is by far one of the best covers ever.

slip it in without a doubt

My war is one of my favorite albums of all time

I love how the sincerity of the music comes not just from Henry's crazed screaming, but also from Greg's guitar. You have to feel those songs to play them the way he does. If I'm not pissed, there's no way I can play my war and make it sound good.
The sign of a great guitar player? I think so. (greg, not me)

My War is a complete mindfuck.

And that's what makes it so amazing.

I seem to always be the one vote for "In My Head" every Black Flag poll. To me it has the perfect amount of hardcore and dissonance. Every song on there is way different than what the other albums offered.

Out of all the BF polls there have been here, I'm surprised this is only the second "best album" poll.

Damaged of course. The rest are shit.

i'll go ahead and say my war, just cause i love that song soo much, but i prefer the first four years by far. live on, dez!

i'm surprised family man has as many votes as it does. i know side two is killer but side one is pretty lame.

I liked the comp CD and Damaged, but nothing after that.

Why isn't Damaged on the list?

released in '81, demonrail.

Fair enough. Anyway, it's the only one I like. I bought My War but absolutely hated it. I'm gonna put it on now though, just to see if I feel any different about it.

by the way, i put a pic of rob zombie in the twat thread, i'm sure you'll agree.

Good call on Rob Zombie. What a twat.

OK. I managed three songs and had to turn it off. I felt like I was back in detention.

i like the last three songs best in my war.

OK. I'll try them.

It really isn't worth bothering with anything post-Damaged.

OK. I gave them a fair go but can't say I'm into them at all really. Like Pookie says, Damaged is the one for me and that's it.

ehhh...gonna have to go with process of weeding out. it at least has a unique feel to it i can get into from time to time. But only as background music to furious painting or something.

When I was a teenager I only went as far as Slip It In and My War, now that I'm older I love My War and beyond far more than the early stuff. Giventhe poll options I'd pick My War easily as it's my favorite Flag album, but the rest are all fantastic. I think Slip It In could be a contender, matter of fact I was debating getting a SECOND Black Flag tattoo of the nun on the cover recently..... For me the early records are great but they don't hold to me the essence of what BF were all about, gritty, dirty hippies sittin in a van, blasting Skynyrd and then Rollins performing ina little pair of gym shorts and fighting people in someones garage. The Live 84 album is up there for me too.

My wife's stupid iPhone won't allow the poll to work but it's My War for me, no question......

Oddly I've been playing the I Can See You 12" lately, I know its not one of their best but those songs stick in my head, think I'd have to go with My War too just for the B side tracks, didn't Greg play the bass on this album too?.

Yes he did. Well done. Your Google finger is working just fine.

I'd only heard the Everything Went Black comp in my angry young man days, pleasantly surprised by Process of Weeding Out's jazz/improv/hardcore sylistic expansion upon hearing it last year in my exhausted and distracted days, some other late albums are cool too. Gonna watch that Dave Markey tour doc at some point...

1982 demos are the best release overall. That and "PROCESS OF WEEDING OUT" or whatever are just great. Ginn is an amazing guitarist and relentlessly creative.

GET IN THE VAN is a great book, if a bit silly at times. Rollins is a madman. I love his spoken word stuff and his books and his show but he was technically my least favorite singer of the Flag.

It took me a while to come around to this band because it sounds so different than what I was expecting. They're surprisingly fucked-up, a far cry from the typical "hardcore" and "punk" bands they were lumped in with, in most cases. I love shit like FAMILY MAN even though it seems most people hate it. I like them at their weirdest.

But yeah, Ginn's riffing is always topnotch, some of the best riffs ever written.

Also, gotta give an award for the band with the best album covers of all time. Raymond Pettibonn did most of em right?

edit: Oh, I already said "82 Demos" 3 years ago. Go get that thing! the 2 guitar attack is incredible.

Am I the only one who loves LOOSE NUT? Not a bad song on that one, I think.

Nope, fucking rules. Great post......

i like loose nut alot, and i don't even like black flag all that much