"Someone's gonna die tonight" - or - R.I.P. Nidge Blitz

I was gonna post today about Catch 22, but this news item changed my mind: http://www.punknews.org/article/22195

While details are scant, the overwhelming rumor is that Nidge was completely trashed when he tried to cross I-35, so I feel slightly better that he probably didn't feel much before he went to that great mosh pit in the sky.

I loved Blitz, especially in high school. They always seemed so genuine and thuggish, compared to their disaffected art-school peers in the first-wave UK punk scene. I always felt like the Sex Pistols were theatrical, but Blitz and Sham 69 would kick your ass in an alley behind a pub if you mouthed off.

When Skinhead John and I used to hang out, we would listen to Blitz a lot. Even though it was like 30 years old, I was still impressed by its buzzsaw guitar attack and drunken sing-a-long lyrics. Street punk bands STILL sound like Blitz, and you just know the dudes in Discharge heard them and thought "...killer!"

One of my happiest moments as a record collector was when I found a copy of their debut release, a four-song 7" called All Out Attack, which had untold influence on the soon-to-explode DIY punk scene. From the Xerox graphics to the "we folded this ourselves" bent crease to the lack of pricey stickers indicating which side was which, I've seen a jillion punk 7" releases that took their aesthetic and musical clues from this small piece of vinyl.

In honor of Nidge, I'm posting the entirety of All Out Attack, plus the a-side of their follow-up single, "Never Surrender." If you get it, you're that much closer to understanding my primal urges.

Someone's Gonna Die - http://www.mediafire.com/?3mj2ymqcmmn

Attack - http://www.mediafire.com/?1ywtwjzoo3z

Fight to Live - http://www.mediafire.com/?2i1qjwuzzog

45 Revolutions Per Minute - http://www.mediafire.com/?ejdmdekcjue

Never Surrender - http://www.mediafire.com/?dzvoz4izjzm