You Give Love a Bad Name (album)
Encyclopedia
You Give Love a Bad Name is the third studio album by the transgressive American punk rock
musician GG Allin
, and is jointly credited to Allin and a one-time studio band named The Holy Men. Reissues credit the release to GG Allin & The Criminal Quartet.
The album was the first to fully mark a distinct change in his vocal tone, which by this time began to take on a slurred and gravelly characteristic, and increasing obsession with shock rock
lyrical content.
compilation
cassette by ROIR
, as well as a series of letters written by Allin to such magazines as Maximum RockNRoll
and Flipside,and advertising campaigns in many music magazines and fanzines like Option, Flipside, RIP, Ben is Dead and many others by Black & Blue Records, Allin's stature in the punk rock underground had grown considerably. However, Allin's uncompromising, and increasingly transgressive performances, and his tendency towards extremely lowbrow lyrics, made him an unlikely prospect not only for most major labels, but also for many of the independent labels like SST
, Touch and Go
, and Alternative Tentacles. Allin had parted with his previous label, Black and Blue Records once he signed with Homestead Records with Yarmouth's blessings.The goal was to get GG on a major label and both GG and Yarmouth felt Homestead was a good first step in getting there versus the small RI based label. Yarmouth is quoted "GG loved to trash any perceived or real authority including his record labels. I recall one show at The Populous Pudding in CT after the release of his second Homestead release where backstage GG pissed on my leg and yelled proudly that he now had pissed on both his labels. He said he pissed on Cosley's head. GG was that kind of guy. Back in the early days I spent a lot of money advertising GG in music publications. No label after Black & Blue had to sell an unknown artist." Peter Yarmouth 4-25-2007
Enter Gerard Cosloy, who had already played rhythm guitar
with Allin on the "new" recordings on Hated in the Nation. Cosloy operated Homestead Records through a deal with record distributor Dutch East India, and had released records by Big Black
, Sonic Youth
and Dinosaur Jr
before those bands left for greener pastures. With room on the roster and a desire to work with Allin again, Cosloy courted the shock-rocker. Allin agreed almost immediately. Homestead would be the biggest label Allin would deal with up until this time.
's East Village
, accompanied by a four-piece band that included Cosloy on second guitar, along with three other area musicians: lead guitarist Greg Bullock, bassist Mike Kirkland, and drummer Mike "Machine Gun" Edison. Allin dubbed the session band The Holy Men. Contracted to record ten songs for his first Homestead album, Allin actually came in with six original new songs of his own: "Swank Fuckin'", "Bloody Mary's Bloody Cunt", "Suck Dog", "Teenage Twats", "Stink Finger Clit", and "Scars on My Body - Scabs on My Dick" (this song was actually co written by Bloody F. Mess). The remaining four songs compromised of two older songs that Allin had recorded with his post-Scumfucs backing band the Cedar Street Sluts, and two cover versions.
Musically, Allin eschewed the hyper hardcore punk
tempos of his previous studio album E.M.F.
in favor of rough mid-tempo rock reminiscent of the New York Dolls and the Rolling Stones
(the latter of which Allin was a major fan of).
The two reworked originals were "Tough Fuckin' Shit" and "I'm a Rapest" (sic). The former appeared as the penultimate track on Hated in the Nation in a slower arrangement, while the latter track is actually the earlier Allin composition "Blood for You" with new lyrics (also appearing on Hated in the Nation in a new live version; the original electric version with the Cedar Street Sluts plus an acoustic demo version by Allin alone, would appear on the 1990 Black & Blue album Doctrine of Mayhem).
Of the two cover versions on the album, "Beer Picnic" is a faithful, if slower, version of a song by obscure NYC punk band Bad Tuna Experience. (G.G. asked for—but did not receive—permission to record the song; he bought a cassette tape from Bad Tuna members after reading the lyrics, written by Bad Tuna's Carolyn and No Thanks' Donna Damage, in Maximum RockNRoll
sometime in the mid-1980s.) The other cover version, "Garbage Dump", was written and originally recorded by Charles Manson
on his infamous Lie album.
While most of the song titles are self-explanatory, "Suck Dog" is reportedly about writer and performance artist Lisa Crystal Carver
.
All ten of the songs were rehearsed and recorded in one day-long session. Cosloy produced but did not take production credit, instead claiming on the liner notes that he "re-mixed, unmixed, and edited" the album as heard in its final form.
, Awareness Records
reissued You Give Love a Bad Name, adding several tracks recorded on July 7, 1991 in Lowell, MA by Allin, with himself and then-collaborator Mark Sheehan (of the MA band Out Cold) playing all of the instruments (that were later released in Japan
as the 7" EP GG Allin and the Murder Junkies) plus an interview conducted over the phone from prison on March 4, 1991 with journalist Jeff Koch.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
musician GG Allin
GG Allin
Kevin Michael "GG" Allin was an American punk rock singer-songwriter, who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. GG Allin is perhaps best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including coprophagia, self-mutilation, and...
, and is jointly credited to Allin and a one-time studio band named The Holy Men. Reissues credit the release to GG Allin & The Criminal Quartet.
The album was the first to fully mark a distinct change in his vocal tone, which by this time began to take on a slurred and gravelly characteristic, and increasing obsession with shock rock
Shock rock
Shock rock is an umbrella term for artists who combine rock music with elements of theatrical shock value in live performances.-History:Screamin' Jay Hawkins was arguably the first shock rocker...
lyrical content.
History
After the release of the Hated in the NationHated in the Nation
Hated in the Nation is a compilation album, initially released exclusively on cassette format on ROIR, by transgressive punk rock musician GG Allin. Consisting mainly of then-out-of-print recordings by Allin with his early-era backing groups The Jabbers, The Scumfucs, and the Cedar Street Sluts,...
compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
cassette by ROIR
ROIR
ROIR , or Reach Out International Records, is a New York City-based record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper.ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label exclusively distributed its releases in cassette format...
, as well as a series of letters written by Allin to such magazines as Maximum RockNRoll
Maximum RocknRoll
Maximum rocknroll is a widely distributed, monthly not-for-profit fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. It features interviews, columns, and reviews from international contributors...
and Flipside,and advertising campaigns in many music magazines and fanzines like Option, Flipside, RIP, Ben is Dead and many others by Black & Blue Records, Allin's stature in the punk rock underground had grown considerably. However, Allin's uncompromising, and increasingly transgressive performances, and his tendency towards extremely lowbrow lyrics, made him an unlikely prospect not only for most major labels, but also for many of the independent labels like SST
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...
, Touch and Go
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...
, and Alternative Tentacles. Allin had parted with his previous label, Black and Blue Records once he signed with Homestead Records with Yarmouth's blessings.The goal was to get GG on a major label and both GG and Yarmouth felt Homestead was a good first step in getting there versus the small RI based label. Yarmouth is quoted "GG loved to trash any perceived or real authority including his record labels. I recall one show at The Populous Pudding in CT after the release of his second Homestead release where backstage GG pissed on my leg and yelled proudly that he now had pissed on both his labels. He said he pissed on Cosley's head. GG was that kind of guy. Back in the early days I spent a lot of money advertising GG in music publications. No label after Black & Blue had to sell an unknown artist." Peter Yarmouth 4-25-2007
Enter Gerard Cosloy, who had already played rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
with Allin on the "new" recordings on Hated in the Nation. Cosloy operated Homestead Records through a deal with record distributor Dutch East India, and had released records by Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
and Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, prior to legal issues that forced the group to change their name, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005...
before those bands left for greener pastures. With room on the roster and a desire to work with Allin again, Cosloy courted the shock-rocker. Allin agreed almost immediately. Homestead would be the biggest label Allin would deal with up until this time.
Music
On May 18, 1987, Allin entered a low-budget studio called The Music Box, located on Avenue B in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
, accompanied by a four-piece band that included Cosloy on second guitar, along with three other area musicians: lead guitarist Greg Bullock, bassist Mike Kirkland, and drummer Mike "Machine Gun" Edison. Allin dubbed the session band The Holy Men. Contracted to record ten songs for his first Homestead album, Allin actually came in with six original new songs of his own: "Swank Fuckin'", "Bloody Mary's Bloody Cunt", "Suck Dog", "Teenage Twats", "Stink Finger Clit", and "Scars on My Body - Scabs on My Dick" (this song was actually co written by Bloody F. Mess). The remaining four songs compromised of two older songs that Allin had recorded with his post-Scumfucs backing band the Cedar Street Sluts, and two cover versions.
Musically, Allin eschewed the hyper hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
tempos of his previous studio album E.M.F.
E.M.F. (album)
Eat My Fuc is the second full-length studio album by controversial American punk rock musician GG Allin, released in 1986 on Black & Blue Records...
in favor of rough mid-tempo rock reminiscent of the New York Dolls and the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
(the latter of which Allin was a major fan of).
The two reworked originals were "Tough Fuckin' Shit" and "I'm a Rapest" (sic). The former appeared as the penultimate track on Hated in the Nation in a slower arrangement, while the latter track is actually the earlier Allin composition "Blood for You" with new lyrics (also appearing on Hated in the Nation in a new live version; the original electric version with the Cedar Street Sluts plus an acoustic demo version by Allin alone, would appear on the 1990 Black & Blue album Doctrine of Mayhem).
Of the two cover versions on the album, "Beer Picnic" is a faithful, if slower, version of a song by obscure NYC punk band Bad Tuna Experience. (G.G. asked for—but did not receive—permission to record the song; he bought a cassette tape from Bad Tuna members after reading the lyrics, written by Bad Tuna's Carolyn and No Thanks' Donna Damage, in Maximum RockNRoll
Maximum RocknRoll
Maximum rocknroll is a widely distributed, monthly not-for-profit fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. It features interviews, columns, and reviews from international contributors...
sometime in the mid-1980s.) The other cover version, "Garbage Dump", was written and originally recorded by Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
on his infamous Lie album.
While most of the song titles are self-explanatory, "Suck Dog" is reportedly about writer and performance artist Lisa Crystal Carver
Lisa Crystal Carver
Lisa Crystal Carver , also known as Lisa Suckdog, is an American writer known for her writing in Rollerderby. Through her interviews, she introduced the work of Vaginal Davis, Dame Darcy, Cindy Dall, Boyd Rice, Costes , Nick Zedd, GG Allin, Kate Landau, Queen Itchie & Liz Armstrong to many...
.
Recording tales
During the sessions, recording engineer Jaques Kralian reportedly asked Allin (who co-engineered the recording) and Cosloy if they really were serious about releasing the sessions. His question was answered a few months later when Allin and Cosloy immortalized his inquiry - "You guys aren't planning on pressing this into a record, are you?" - on the back cover of the album.All ten of the songs were rehearsed and recorded in one day-long session. Cosloy produced but did not take production credit, instead claiming on the liner notes that he "re-mixed, unmixed, and edited" the album as heard in its final form.
Bonus tracks
In 1992, while Allin was serving a prison sentence for parole violation in Jackson, MichiganJackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
, Awareness Records
Awareness Records
Awareness Records was a record label founded in the mid 1980s by its owner, Andy Ware. The label was based in England and had Roy Harper and Michael Nesmith among its artists. It has now gone out of business.-Artists:* Michael Nesmith* Roy Harper...
reissued You Give Love a Bad Name, adding several tracks recorded on July 7, 1991 in Lowell, MA by Allin, with himself and then-collaborator Mark Sheehan (of the MA band Out Cold) playing all of the instruments (that were later released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as the 7" EP GG Allin and the Murder Junkies) plus an interview conducted over the phone from prison on March 4, 1991 with journalist Jeff Koch.
Side one
- "Swank Fuckin'"
- "Bloody Mary's Bloody Cunt"
- "Tough Fuckin' Shit"
- "I'm a Rapest"
- "Suck Dog"
Side two
- "Teenage Twats"
- "Beer Picnic"
- "Stink Finger Clit"
- "Scars on My Body - Scabs on My Dick"
- "Garbage Dump"
CD reissue
- "Swank Fuckin'"
- "Bloody Mary's Bloody Cunt"
- "Tough Fuckin' Shit"
- "I'm a Rapest"
- "Suck Dog"
- "Teenage Twats"
- "Beer Picnic"
- "Stink Finger Clit"
- "Scars on My Body - Scabs on My Dick"
- "Garbage Dump" (written by Charles Manson)
- "Watch Me Kill the Boston Girl"
- "Castration Crucifixion"
- "Snakeman's Dance"
- "Slaughterhouse Deathcamp"
- "Feces and Blood"
- "Master Daddy"
- "Interview from Prison"
Personnel
- G.G. Allin - vocals, engineer, voices, producer
- Gerard Cosloy - guitar, editing, backing vocals, remixing, sequencing, mixing
- Mike Kirkland - bass
- Greg Bullock - guitar, backing vocals
- Mike "Machine Gun" EdisonMike EdisonMike Edison is a New York-based writer, editor, musician, and spoken word artist. He was the publisher of marijuana counterculture magazine High Times, and was later named editor-in-chief of Screw, the self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Newspaper." In his memoir I Have Fun Everywhere I Go, Edison...
- drums, backing vocals - Jaques Kralian - engineer
- Wharton TiersWharton TiersWharton Tiers is an American audio engineer, record producer, drummer and percussionist.- Biography :Diplomed from Villanova University , he moved to New York City in 1976 and was part of the No Wave scene.As an audio engineer and record producer, he has worked on projects such as Sonic Youth,...
- sequencing - Bloody F. Mess - liner notes
- Georgia HubleyGeorgia HubleyGeorgia Hubley is an American percussionist and is one of the founding members of the alternative-rock band Yo La Tengo.She is married to the group's other founding member, Ira Kaplan. They would often see each other in record shops and at the same shows...
- cover layout