Music from New York City very frequently presages genre movements in the rest of the country and even throughout the world. Wherever hardcore actually came from, one could make an argument for New York being its birthplace. While we all think about that, what follows is a quote that Harley Flanagan, drummer of the Stimulators and lead singer of the Cro Mags, left in the comments section on Killed By Death Records:

YOUR ALL A BUNCH OF IDIOTS HAHAHAH

YO
WHEN UR A KID U SIT AND MAKE MUSIC FOR FUN NOT FOR CRITICS OR TO MAKE MONEY JUST CAUSE YOUR INSPIRED TO DO SO, FOR FUN…
IF UR LUCKY MAYBE IT COMES OUT..
YEARS LATER IDIOTS WITH NO LIVES STILL SIT AND CRITISIZE IT HAHAHAHAA U PEOLE GOT NO FUCKIN LIVES HAHAHA AY YOUR STILL TALKIN ABOUT US AND OR ME ALL THESE YEARS LATER SO I AND OR WE MUSTA DONE SOMETHING RIGHT??! OR YOU PEOPLE REALLY HAVE NOTHING AT ALL BETTER TO DO HAHAHA AND ARE USELESS FUCKS WITH NO LIVES SITTING ROUND CHIRPIN ABOUT SOME OLD ASS SHIT FROM YEARS AGO HAHAHAH
PITYFULL
PEACEOUT
HF

All caps notwithstanding, Flanagan’s right. What makes us look back at music that, at its best, is a sloppy mess? Well, it’s probably just because it’s a signifier. Within the brief history of Flanagan’s pre-Cro Mags career, there’s a litany of stylistic variation that serves to exemplify the come blossoming of independent music in the States, but also the disparate cultures that went into the mix.

Even during this early point in punk and hardcore’s development, Flanagan and his crew were able to cobble together musical ideas from places outside of their own immediate sphere of knowledge. Heading to England on tour, Flanagan met with a skinhead culture that he embraced not just outwardly, but in his music as well. The reggae of “Blind Ambition,” which might also be contributed to the Bad Brains kicking around at the time, illustrates the coming wave of tough guy attitude. Some might be surprised by that take on Jamaican music’s influence on American punk, but skinheads don’t tolerate any sort of mess. And this particular song should be considered as Stimulators’ embracing that stance.

Spliced together on Loud Fast Rules!, the band includes ‘70s styled punk, the aforementioned reggae stuff and some tracks that look towards the coming mid ‘80s hardcore thing. “M.A.C.H.I.N.E.” comes off like a Bad Brains’ track, but with the tempo being ratcheted up to such a degree, it sounds as if Flanagan is already figuring out what to do with Cro Mags.

This all might just be a bunch of overblown nonsense, but the fact that Flanagan, from his pre-teen years until now, has maintained a constant presence in underground music, points to the odd cognition he must carry around with him everyday. He probably won’t grace this particular post with any snide comments – we can hope, though. Dismissing the dissection of his music might be modesty as much as anything. But most likely it’s just harkening back to his attitude during the heady days of hardcore’s birth.