Flipper ‎– Album Generic Flipper

anybody got a spare lyric sheet or a high quality scan I could print out? thanx <3

From the mock doctor's prescription on the lyric sheet:

Listen for 45 minutes.
4 times daily or... as needed.

Caution: to be taken in conjunction
with alcoholic beverages,
at Maximum Volume!

For me, discovering Flipper was like discovering Captain Beefheart. You hear them described as influences, but it still doesn't prepare you for what you're about to embark upon; like the way a vegan dinner takes time to appreciate for those used to nothing but meat and potatoes. There are benefits to be had and one may not feel them right off the bat, but the rewards are there for those willing to train themselves, several times if necessary. And soon after beginning The Generic Album, I knew Flipper was going to be one of those bands.

Ever heard of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah, the struggling alcoholic director who constantly had his films taken away from him, mangled in the editing room and never had the final cut? He did a picture in Mexico in the early '70s where, finally, he had made the movie he wanted to make with his vision (and cut) intact, what I believe to be one of the nastiest pieces of cinematic nihilism ever filmed: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Blood, sweat, tears, guts and all. Laid bare. Revealing the human id, if you will. A repulsive spiritual autopsy of fallen man's vanity. It's the same nihilism that Flipper lived through their music, reminding me of Jeremiah Kipp's review of Bad Lieutenant where he theorized that Keitel used the role as a sort of therapist's couch to rid himself of his fears.

From the catchy mock clap-along that accompanies "Ever" to the outrageous album-closer "Sex Bomb," there's also a wry sense of humor at work, too. But elsewhere, one of self-aware despair. "Dying too young, and I'm living too fast / It's starting to feel like I'm living in the past." "I've got to strip this flesh from my bones / I've got to hammer the walls with my hands." "No tears wasted / No sorrow, no pity / No, no crying, no loss." Lyrics like these revealed the band's deep-rooted personal need to get these things out before it destroyed them for real. But unlike a lot of today's popular music that seeks to make despair sexy and desirable, the sheer weight of sincerity they give to the lyrics and the songwriting makes their music both a dire warning and an optimistic, beer-soaked, care-free enjoyment in spite of itself. (No trend-setters, they.) "I, too, have sung death's praises / But I'm not gonna sing that song anymore / Yes, I've found out what living is all about / And it's life! / LIFE! / Life is the only thing worth living for!" Then Bruce punctuates it with, "I know it has its ups and downs." No band that performs in this manner could tell you that they don't really believe what they're saying, that it's just art and doesn't actually reflect their individual lives. Not Flipper. They were as unpretentious as it got.

The "quality" of the production, if one could call it that, was as intentional as Venom's first record: deliberate off-kilter ugliness that underlined and emphasized their intent. While other hardcore punk bands in the early '80s blitzed through their sets with wild abandon, Flipper's unique wall-of-shit sound was slow-burning to the crisp. Absolutely nothing rushed, everything stated. And even though they're constantly lumped in with that genre, they were "punk" only in the sense of their creative DIY philosophy; at heart, Flipper was a rock and roll band. (Jim Fouratt nailed it when he called them "art-damaged," a most accurate descriptor, right there.) The Generic Album is a sly, hidden masterpiece that rewards patience and time, and it's one of my desert-island favorites.

The nosiest punk album besides every METZ album. Flipper is a acquired taste it takes some time to develop

Favorite Tracks: Way Of The World, Ever, Nothing, Life Is Cheap, Sex Bomb

Least Fav: Life, Living For Depression

a crucial part of Negative Trend 1978 - San Francisco

one of the best punk albums of all time. The sound of nihilism.

This pressing sounds like absolute trash. Buy a different version.

A 'horrible' album in the best sense of the word, this is an underground classic.

i have a copy of this that has black and yellow splattered vinyl, anyone know anything about it?

Not everyone "gets" this. But then again, I'd be worried if everyone did.

Slow and sloppy, monotone, anti-melodic atmosphere music for the maladjusted. The lyrics are bitter yet clever. The guitar is schizophrenic -- totally unpredictable. Drums and bass seem to be the cornerstone for the overlaying guitar and vocal histrionics.

I put this record on now and then to remind myself that I'm a square wheel and that there are other square wheels out there, too. That is part of the magic of music -- when you find a record by a bunch of freaks you've never met, never WILL meet, and they are laying down ideas and sounds that could have sprung from your own brain. When I first heard Flipper, I thought, "So, there are others like me... I must find them."

"Sex Bomb" is probably the song most people will find the most appealing -- and it is one of the band's best-known numbers. But I live for the opening notes of "Life Is Cheap." And the disturbing female backing vocals on that song cut me up every time.

Nirvana often said that Flipper was a big influence on their sound. I have never been a Nirvana fan, really. But now, listening to Flipper, I can hear it. I guess that means that Flipper were way ahead of their time.

Speaking of time, check the release date on this LP. 1981. What was going on in US punk circa 1981? Great stuff: Minor Threat, Black Flag, all the classics. BUT, while the aforementioned hardcore gods were getting faster and faster, Flipper decided to slow it down. Of course this alienated a lot of punks, which was probably the point: destroy the rule book. The irony was lost on many but not all. Punk rock gods like Biafra and Rollins loved Flipper and extolled their virtues. But like I said in Sentence One, not everybody "gets" this.

If you don't mind a little coloring outside the lines, if you think punk is more attitude than checklist, consider Flipper an ally.

And let us not forget that a couple of the Flips were in the goddamn immortal Negative Trend.