The Faction Collection 1982-1985.

THE FACTION COLLECTION 1982-1985 is back, this time on Beer City Records.

Encompassing their short life span, it's got all their Skate Rock hits: "Skate and Destroy," "Skate, Harassment," you know the drill... Still more old stuff comin' around again, try The Nips' Only the End of the Beginning on Hoho. Yep, it was Shane MacGowan's first band (yep, that Shane MacGowan, from the Pogues). It's pretty basic, but catchy early punk; in the same vein as the Undertones maybe, not too dangerous but kinda poppy... What about The Electric Eels' recently reissued The Eyeball of Hell you ask? Well, I was getting to that. Try adding a dose of Darby Crash's spazziness (oh, wait, these guys predate the Germs by a few years) to the usual Cleveland influences (Pere Ubu, etc. And remember this was before the Dead Boys too, we are talking '75 here) and sure, they were listening to jazz and The Velvet Underground, I'm sure. What does it mean? It is seriously some spontaneous weirdness, the kind of shit that'll make your neighbors pound on your apartment walls, and will set the drunk guests at your pa rty to puking--perfect... And one more oldie, in The form of The Last Poets' first LP, commonly referred to as the Douglas 3 LP. Again, a reissue of a reissue, the original came out in the early 1970s, the reissue about 10 years ago, and here it is again. Angry, pro- black radical beat/soul poetry to bongos and drums, self-examining and critical of those unwilling to . foment the supposed coming revolution. Well, the revolution never really came, at least not in the form these cats imagined, but man this is a good way to freak out your uptight parents who aren't quite sure what they think of affirmative action. A lot of this stuff is and has been fodder for sampling... Awright, on to old bands who are back at it. Nothing says New York like The Dictators. Manly purveyors of the bossiest of boss (punk) rock in the late '70s, these guys are back at it again. Led by, c'mon who else? Handsome Dick Manitoba himself, this shit lives up to their legendary old stuff ("Two Tub Man," "Faster and Louder etc.). Look for t heir "Avenue A" b/w New York New York" 7" on Norton... Also on Dionysus is more DOGS stuff, Check out the "Class of 1970" 7", from the recently reformed band. Very punk and heavy, and the single is backed with "Rebel Rock," recorded in 1971, very la-fi and shitty sounding... And another reformed bunch of geezers is The Angelic Upstarts. Their new live CD on TKO called Live From the Justice League is a step 20-odd years back in time, and the kind of stuff you would find on an old Punk and Disorderly comp (well, "Woman in Disguise" was on P&D 3) If you want to try something funny with your CD, listen to the first three seconds of each track and all you 11 hear--over and over--is "This one's called..." Every fucking song...