This Is Boston, Not L.A.

''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'' is a hardcore punk compilation released in 1982. It is considered the definitive album from the Boston hardcore scene, as several of its most prominent bands appear on the record, namely, Jerry's Kids, the Proletariat, the Groinoids, the F.U.'s, Gang Green, Decadence, and the Freeze. For them, with the exception of the latter, ''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'' was also their debut release. Al Barile's band, SSD, were asked to contribute, but they refused to participate.

The album was named after its closing track, the eponymous song by the Freeze:

According to Clif Hanger, vocalist for the Freeze, the title song was written not to insult Los Angeles scene, but to encourage other Boston acts to find their own unique, local sound rather than emulate other bands from other areas.Abbene, Jillian (February 2008)
"On the record with... Clif Hanger - The Freeze"
''SugarBuzz Magazine''. Retrieved May 20, 2016.Carnes, Aaron (October 25, 2016)
"The Return of Boston Hardcore Anomaly, The Proletariat"
(interview). '' Noisey''. Retrieved October 27, 2016. However, Boston audiences often took away a different meaning. They assumed the song asserted Boston's superiority to Los Angeles.

The album's front cover features a black-and-white image of a mosh pit, taken by Bostonian punk photographer Phil In Phlash.

''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'' would be followed up a few months later by a six-song complementary record, the '' Unsafe at Any Speed'' EP.Modern Method #MM 014

Release

Consisting of only previously unreleased material, ''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'' was originally released in May 1982, as LPModern Method #MM 012''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'', 1982 LP release cover art
''Record Collectors of the World Unite''. Retrieved February 15, 2016. and Compact Cassette,''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'', 1982 MC release cover art
''Record Collectors of the World Unite''. Retrieved February 15, 2016. on Modern Method Records.Varnum, Steve (mid-1982). Title unknown (review about the Proletariat's contribution to the ''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'' compilation). '' The Standard-Times''. Blush, Steven (2001). '' American Hardcore: A Tribal History''. Second ed., 2010. Port Townsend: Feral House. . pp. 185-187. A second vinyl pressing of the album would be released later that same year.

Critical reception

Writing contemporaneously in '' The Boston Phoenix'', Doug Simmons said that "crudely put, our punk scene is a pimple compared to California’s festering wounds. What's even more dehabilitating ic as Cliff Hanger points out, is that Boston hardcore lacks even the force of originality. Shaved skulls, scrawled-on T-shirts, and heavy boots have become just one more uniform. Still, I find hope in ''This is Boston, Not L.A.'' Jerry's Kids, the Groinoids (defunct), the F.U.’s, Decadence (ditto), and Gang Green may all be Circle Jerkoffs in terms of sound (raw, fast, brief, mean), but many songs strike a nerve."

In his review for AllMusic, Alex Henderson said:

''Unsafe at Any Speed'' EP

A few months after releasing ''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'', Modern Method issued a follow-up companion record, the 7-inch EP titled ''Unsafe at Any Speed'',''Unsafe at Any Speed'', 1982 7-inch EP release cover art
''Record Collectors of the World Unite''. Retrieved February 16, 2016. featuring one unreleased song apiece from six of the bands which had appeared on the original compilation.

Also featuring a Phil In Phlash's photograph of a mosh pit, and bold typography, the record's front cover is of a similar design to that on the original album.

The tracks that make up the EP resurfaced in 1995 as the last six songs on the CD re-release of ''This Is Boston, Not L.A.''Wicked Disc #WIC 1001-2FuckYouOiOiOi (January 16, 2007)
"Various: ''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'' (1982)"
''Punknews''. Retrieved February 12, 2016.''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'', 1995 CD edition cover art
''Record Collectors of the World Unite''. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
''Official Website of the Proletariat and Churn''. Archived fro

on June 20, 2008.

Track listing

Influence

After the record's release, Boston natives took to mocking the title with T-shirts that proclaimed in large type: "This is L.A. (Lower Allston), not Boston" in reference to Allston, Massachusetts. In the early to mid-1980s, the T-shirt appropriately mimicked the NBA rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Boston-based ska-punk band Big D and the Kids Table printed T-shirts referencing the song and compilation. They featured "L.A" with a strike through it on the front and "This is Boston Not L.A." on the back. South shore pop-punk band A Loss for Words also made shirts that featured a modified version of the Celtics logo and the same saying on the reverse side. This alludes to both the compilation and the Celtics' victory in the 1984 NBA Finals.

In 1994 Zafio Records released the ''This is Berkeley Not West Bay'' 4-way split EP with Black Fork, Dead and Gone, Screw 32 and AFI on it. As a response, in 2000 the Amsterdam-based Kangaroo Records label released the compilation EP ''This is Kangaroo Not Berkely'', with 12 bands from different countries playing 'straight forward hardcore. Like the way it SHOULD be.'

The compilation was mentioned by the punk rock band NOFX on their song "We Got Two Jealous Agains", featured on their album '' The War on Errorism'', released in 2003. A verse of the lyrics reads: "But when I saw Christ on Parade, and ''This is Boston, Not LA'', I knew you were the one".

In 2012, appeared an unlabeled self-released EP titled ''This Is Boston and S.J.'', displaying on its cover art the same photograph and graphic style of the 1982 LP, but instead of it saying "Not L.A.", it's crossed off and says "and S.J.". Hostage and Swamps from Massachusetts share the record with Bad Times Crew, and True Hearted from San Jose, California.

Reissues

In October 1995, ''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'' was re-released as a remastered CD''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'', 1995 CD edition
''AllMusic''. Retrieved July 29, 2016. on Newbury Comics' in-house record label Wicked Disc, a short-lived follow-up to the demised Modern Method Records. This edition included, as bonus tracks, the entire '' Unsafe at Any Speed'' EP.

On July 29, 2016, Newbury Comics re-released the album as a limited repressing of 1,500 copies on colored vinyl, in four different design variations.''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'', 2016 LP repressing cover art
'' Rackspace CDN''. Archived fro
the original
on August 18, 2016.

Track listings

In the original LP from 1982, "Straight Jacket" is spelled "Strait Jacket" on the side A disc label and on the inner sleeve, while "I Don't Know" appears as "I Don't Care" on the back cover and on the side B disc label, and "This Is Boston, Not L.A." is shortened to "Boston not L.A." on the back cover and on the side B disc label. In the Compact Cassette version, also from 1982, "I Don't Know" appears as "I Don't Care", and "This Is Boston, Not L.A." is shortened to "Boston not L.A."

1982 LP and MC release

1995 remastered CD edition

Track 36 hides an untitled looped version of the final line of the title song: "This is Boston" is heard once, "fuck L.A." is the loop.

Personnel

Jerry's Kids
*Bryan Jones – vocals
*Bob Cenci – guitar
*Dave Aronson – guitar
*Rick Jones – bass
*Brian Betzger – drums
; The Proletariat
*Richard Brown – vocals
*Frank Michaels – guitar
*Peter Bevilacqua – bass, backing vocals
*Tom McKnight – drums
Groinoids
*Mongoloid – vocals
*Rico Petroleum – guitar
*Fetuchini ( aka Cheesely) – bass
*Red-Squirts (aka Big Daddy) – drums, horn
The F.U.'s
*John Sox – vocals
*Steve Grimes – guitar, vocals
*Joe Rockhead – bass
*Bob Furapples – drums
*The John Wayne Memorial "Lick-the-Big-C" Boys' Choir – choir in "Green Beret"
Gang Green
* Chris Doherty – guitar, vocals
*Bill Manley – bass, vocals
*Mike Dean – drums
;Decadence
*Eric Wilkinson – vocals
*Glenn Norton – guitar
* Jon Anastas – bass
*Wright Manley – drums

The Freeze
*Clif "Hanger" Croce – vocals
*Rob DeCradle – guitar
*Rick Andrews – bass
*Lou Cataldo – drums

Production
*Michel Bastarache (pka Mr. B) – production ( tracks A1 to A6, B1 to B7)
*Jimmy Dufour – production (A7, A8), co-production (A9, A11 to A14), engineering (A1 to A10, B1 to B7)At Radiobeat Studios in Boston, Massachusetts.
*The Freeze – production (B9 to B16)
* Lou Giordano – co-production (A9), engineering (A1 to A6, A11 to A14, B1 to B7)
*Frank Michaels – co-production (A9)
*Jay Snow – co-production (A10)
*Groinoids – co-production (A10)
*The F.U.'s – co-production (A11 to A14)
*Nasty – co-production (B8)
*Grub the Great – co-production (B8)
*Emir Galevi – engineering (B9)
*Ken Kanavous – engineering (B10 to B16)
*Phil In Phlash – photography
Additional production (1995 remastered CD edition)
*Mark McKay – editing
*Sean Sweeney – editing
*Henk Kooistra – remastering
*Joe Cuneo – remastering (assistance)
*Michel Bastarache (pka Mr. B) – technical assistance, illustration ( flyers), liner notes
*Rachel Kieserman – illustration (assistance)
*Jack Kelly – illustration (flyers)
*Mike Gitter (from ''xXx Fanzine'') – liner notes

Notes

References

Further reading

* Blush, Steven (2001). "Boston Not L.A.: The Kids Will Have Their Say". '' American Hardcore: A Tribal History''. Second ed., 2010. Port Townsend: Feral House. . pp. 177–191.
* Hurchalla, George (Zuo Press, 2005). "Bend My Ear, Twist My Arm". ''Going Underground: American Punk 1979–1989''. Second ed., 2016. Oakland: PM Press. . pp. 197–214.
* Quint, Al (September 1982). "Various Artists: ''Unsafe at Any Speed'' (Modern Method)". '' Suburban Punk'' (1).

External links

* Henderson, Alex
"''This Is Boston, Not L.A.'': AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson"
''AllMusic''.
* Erich (July 15, 2008)
"V/A Unsafe at Any Speed- Compilation 7″EP (Modern Method Records, USA, 1982)"
''Good Bad Music for Bad, Bad Times!''

{{The Proletariat

1982 compilation albums
Songs about Boston
20th century in Boston
Hardcore punk compilation albums
Regional music compilation albums