I went back to the Living in Darkness record and it was almost like a different band, because everything is played at half speed compared to the re-recorded version on the hits. The first album I got from them was the Blood Stained Hitz. Agent Orange for me is tricky because I first heard them, like everyone else, in Tony Hawk and on old punk rock comps. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Hambone: I love Agent Orange and I’m stoked that we are talking about a band that you took me to see for the first time last year. Agent Orange is known for combining punk rock and surf, but I think that’s more because they covered “Miserlou.” George: Living in Darkness came out in 1981 on Posh Boy Records, which is known for also putting out the first Social Distortion record, Mainliner. They were hardcore but they were also really catchy. “Bloodstains” was the first song I heard and I loved the whole surf/punk vibe. I knew about Green Day and Rancid from SNL, but I got into Agent Orange in 1999 after playing one of the Tony Hawk Pro-Skater games or Skate 3. Chris, why is Living in Darkness one of your favorite albums and why does it deserve to be in the Punk Rock Canon?Ĭhris Buehler: Agent Orange, outside of Rancid, was the first punk band that I liked on my own or that you didn’t force on me. Joining us today is hardcore punk aficionado Chris Buehler, who specifically chose this album for us to discuss today. To this day, I’m still not sure if I made the right decision. Mostly due to the congealed fake blood, I thought they were a death metal band and passed. I guess it was a special edition version of “Bloodstains” that came with a blood packet that burst. I’m not sure whether they were promos or stolen, but he was hellbent on selling me this Agent Orange CD that was covered in blood. A kid at school named Justin was selling CDs for $5 a pop that fell off the back of a truck. I had just received my first CD player for my sixteenth birthday and I was looking to buy some CDs on the cheap. The first time I heard about Agent Orange was in my junior year of high school. George: Let’s talk about Agent Orange’s first record, Living in Darkness, and argue over whether it deserves to be entered into the Punk Rock Canon. It typically runs for one week and is open to everyone. Everyone can vote for which album goes into the Punk Rock Canon by visiting the survey on my Facebook page. Sometimes we discuss one album and occasionally we pit two albums by one band against each other. Welcome to the Punk Rock Canon, a monthly feature on Mai Tai Happy Hour where Hambone, a guest host and I sit down and argue over whether a particular punk rock album should be inducted into the pantheon of rock and roll. By incorporating all three musical elements into one, this influential Orange County, California band showed that they were a step ahead of the rest of the punk/hardcore pack.Does Agent Orange’s “Living in Darkness” belong in the Punk Rock Canon? Were they punk, power pop, or surf rock? After listening to Rhino Records' reissue of Agent Orange's classic 1981 debut Living in Darkness, that's probably what the listener will be wondering.
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