My Top 1000 Songs #744: Wasted

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.] 

When I arrived at the college radio station in 1984, the DJs were largely divided into two camps--those who preferred the jangly indie pop of bands like the dB's and R.E.M. and the Feelies; and those who were into the hardcore punk scene. (Of course, plenty of bands blurred those lines or avoided them altogether, like the Replacements, Minutemen, Sonic Youth, etc.).

Anyone who's been following this list knows by now that I was firmly in the former camp. While I loved first wave punk, whether of the UK Sex Pistols/Buzzcocks variety or the Ramones and their acolytes, hardcore was a tougher sell for me. Stripping the remaining vestiges of pop out of the punk, making the Pistols seem downright proggy by comparison, hardcore was fast and loud and angry and entirely free of musical frills. And I still liked those musical frills.

That said, I did find occasional bursts of hardcore could spice of up a radio show or mixtape. Plus, it could be pretty funny.

Black Flag's "Wasted," from their 1979 debut EP, was one of the funny ones, and still raises a smile. Plus, clocking in at under 45 seconds, it's not like you were making a big commitment or anything. And later iterations gave it new spins. Original (pre-Henry Rollins) Black Flag singer Keith Morris, who co-wrote the song, took it with him to hardcore band the Circle Jerks, who recorded a faster, more abrasive version; while, on their 1985 debut, Camper Van Beethoven turned it into a weird and wonderful folk vamp.

Original Black Flag release:

Earlier (and IMHO better) Black Flag version:

Circle Jerks:

Camper Van Beethoven: