Middle class and their first (also first Hardcore) EP Out of vogue (1978) 1. Out of vogue (1:07) 2. You belong (1:13) 3. Situations (1:49) 4. Insurgence (1:07)
I believe it. It was the last of the first wave of LA punk and the first of the second wave, wave that was washing ashore a more determined and structurally sound movement coming from the first gen x kids. I know a lot of first wave bands carried over but that’s overlap for u. Plus 70’s punk for the most part hasn’t aged well. If you hate my opinion well I don’t know what to tell you
The Germs, Black Flag, Bad Brains and the Damned were right on the heels of this record though. It's possible that more than one band devised hardcore but didn't yet have it on wax. Middle Class edged these other bands out by a matter of weeks. It's like Rappers Delight is credited as the first hip hop or rap music on wax, but there were other rap artists already active in 1979. Heck, what year did James Brown drop Mother Popcorn, 1969? It's rap before there was a word for it.
In 1978, disco was still huge. Ozzy was still in Black Sabbath. Van Halen, a brand new band, opened for Black Sabbath in '78. Led Zeppelin and the Who also had their original lineups still intact. The Sex Pistols broke up in San Francisco. Then, way the fuck out of left field comes Black Flag, Bad Brains and the Middle Class inventing hardcore punk rock. It was a cool year to be into rock music.
Ramones also opened for Sabbath that year because they wanted more appreciation at shows after touring with Van Halen. They might've gotten what they wanted but to me they picked another amazing kickass band
Living in Philly, In 1996 or 1997, my ex-gf and I walked to The Betsy Ross House to buy a flag for our apartment. We had our mohawks up, studded jackets, etc, and a couple came over to us and asked to take our picture. The husband said that they were in town for a Teamsters convention and that he was in a punk band way back. It was Mike Patton from Middle Class!
Mike is one cool cat..his older bro you see pop up on Pawn Stars..he will not give a financial valuation..but truly is the king of all knowledge - just ask Mike...cool experience Lon...what are the odds.
First met Mike in Santa Ana 1984. He worked at Omni Office products, where he hired me. Had the pleasure of knowing him. He would take his guitar and jam in his upstairs office. He told me he was a rock star, and "That chicks dig him". I never really knew, he was telling the truth. R.I.P. Mike you were a good boss and friend.
I lived near these guys when I was just a teen punk . . . a friend introduced me to them and I was in awe--they were a bit older and in a real band! Shortly after this I got to see them play and was completely blown away. Mike Patton used to work at Zed records in Long Beach where my friends and I would buy punk singles and buttons. He was the nicest man . . . and MIke Atta, RIP, was really sweet as well. Matt Simon went on to do a band called The Pontiac Brothers.
Hello out there! Yes, I used to go to Zed Records on 7th St. "back in the day." Bought many records and buttons also. from: Discharge, Controllers, the Beach Blvd. EP, the "Beat Her with a Rake" single, Germs GI, Flyboys, Circle Jerks, that Eddie and the Subtitles 7 inch, Avengers, Bad Religion's first 7 inch, Suburban Lawns, etc.... one day I asked for that "Yes L.A." clear vinyl record that I saw a few days before, and he said it was gone, no more.
Greg Pasquier you mean banned in d.c has a vague resemblance to insurgents. banned in d.c. was in 82. Besides Bad Brains had a jazz infusion sound. Middle class HC was absolutely the blue print for past and present HC sounds. listen to the two and compare, then listen to Minor Threat.
@@poseursm0shpunksslam852 actually in 1979 when bad brains released "black dots" since the production goes as faras that but still "out of vogue" goes further back by 1978 as far as "nervous breakdown" by black flag, a different form of hardcore punk.
@@Abel-Alvarez that was released in the 90s but your point still stands. Nervous Breakdown was recorded before The Middle Class even played their first show
I went to school with the Mike Atta. He was a friend RIP. They were not "understood" in HS in 1977/78 but they didn't care and went about playing The Cuckoo's Nest and Madame Wong's West in Santa Monica, writing the blueprint for punk rock. OC punk at its finest with The Crowd and TSOL.
middle class is one of the very first bands i saw in 1978. use to roadie for them cause i had a van . Rest in piece mike atta. Im so grateful i got to see you play one last time a few months ago
I Met the Middle Class in Long Beach, a few years ago - they were doing a gig at Alex's - Mike Patton introduced me to the whole band, they signed my copy of this EP. then shortly after that, Daisy, Roxy and I seen them at the Observatory. I Think the line-up was The Billy Bones, White Flag, Middle Class, Youth Brigade with the Adolescents headlining. Rodney came out and introduced the Adolescents. I met up with Bill outside and introduced my wife Roxy to him. I miss him and Mike Atta, they were unique people that have should've lived forever if possible. R.I.P.
I met Mike Patton in 1979 I think. I always loved middle class and I'm very grateful that I got to see their very last show with Mike atta before he passed. It was awesome and brought back some great old memories. They're like the first punk band I ever saw in the early years
i was born 11/20/78 this 7" is a gift to me ill always cherish it perfect definition of music, i dont know i they had any clue the impact they would make with this album
Couldn’t find your comment..... but no I’m not mad. I think you are a bit upset because I disagree with your assessment that nervous breakdown was first hardcore album. Most people after hearing out of vogue will agree that’s it more hardcore than any of the tracks on nervous breakdown. I’ve been listening to hardcore since 86’ so I should know what constitutes hardcore. I still love flag don’t get me wrong. But it wasn’t until damaged that black flag became a ‘hardcore’ band and that was in 81. Peace
@@rocknroll_jezus9233 black flag was raw hard punk but i never considered them hardcore because they didnt have any fast songs with the 1 2 1 2 beat .that beat is what hardcore is to me
@@ironclaw79 well Black Flag looked at the Ramones as pretty hardcore and in a sense they were kinda right, all the early hardcore bands, MC, Bad Brains, and the Flag started or switched to their respective styles because of the Ramones
This band and their music kept me so far from the shitty things in my life and kept me thinking about punk rock and skateboarding and getting past my stress and suicidal thoughts, punk rock saves fuck what you heard, YOU BELONG
SS formed in mid-late 1977 to play Ramones type music "3 times as fast"..the CD rerelease of their hard to find LP includes a live spring 1978 show that shows that they had well accomplished that.Later they became the continental kids.
"Out Of Vogue" In the UK it was released on an ep on the Fast Records label. John Peel also played it a lot on his radio show. My band at the time shamelessly nicked the drum intro for the "Situations" song as well. lol. Top chunes both
The Middle Class are great! I feel very lucky to own a copy of the 'Out of Vogue' EP. They truly were/are an influential band that had an incredible impact on me. I used to listen to this EP over and over again trying to work out the lyrics, just brilliant songs that echoed how I felt as a teenager in early 80s Southern California.
Why aren't these guys talked about more?! This is some SERIOUS STUFF for 1978 and shouldn't be ignored! Why hasn't Henry Rollins and the like made sure that these guys get their due when it comes to inventing hardcore?!
This EP makes me feel like no other. It takes me back to a certain place for some reason. I hadn't heard it before at the time, but it takes me right back there. Great music.
This is the earliest, most extreme and fast album I've heard from punk. I'm always on the search for old music that's blazingly fast and extreme pre 1980, but it's kinda difficult
This is super late, and I know you probably heard of them,but early Discharge is where it’s at for me. “It’s no TV Sketch” is Still the heaviest punk song I’ve ever heard. I don’t think any American bands came anywhere near early Discharge in terms of heaviness and pure aggression and anger.
No problem! Trying not to be that guy that throws out a million recommendations, but if you enjoy that song then definitely check out “a look at tomorrow” “tomorrow belongs to us” “ain’t no feeble bastard” and all of their early EPS from the 80s are pretty solid. They then went on to do their most famous album which is Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, but the vocals on that album and most of the stuff afterwards aren’t my cup of tea. Still an important album for as a lot of speed/thrash bands, who actually cite that album as being an influence for them if you also happen to be into metal/speed metal/thrash stuff.
@@jacobsanchez6924 yeah, I always listen to music while I cut grass, I'll definitely put them on next time I cut. I was listening to suicidal tendencies today, another influential punk/thrash band
It's hard to say who started a genre when all the early bands were still finding their sounds. But after hearing about Middle Class, I can say all the ingredients for hardcore were on full display here.
The beginning of thrash and hardcore punk. If you know this band, then you know Frontier Records released a compilation LP of everything they recorded. This single is included in the package.
Second of the bands in our little survey in contention to be the first to release a hardcore record is Middle Class. Like Black Flag, they also got together in 1977 in Santa Ana, California, practicing in a public storage unit turned practice room. Middle Class consisted of Jeff Atta vocals, Mike Atta guitar, Mike Patton bass and Bruce Atta drums. Their debut e.p. Out Of Vogue with it's iconic Diane Arbus (I think) photograph on the front cover was released in 1978 on Joke Records. At the outset the band ranged in age between 15 and 21. Here's what Lou Barlow of Deep Wound and Dinosaur Jr. had to say---"The Middle Class 7"---I'm convinced that is the first hardcore record. I got it before I heard Minor Threat. I got the first Meat Puppets 7" too--a whole other side. It resonates deeply to me because it's fierce yet melodic--a real sense of melody and soul. There were so many weird, cool bands for a while. It was people craving noise." But Jack Rabid, drummer in Even Worse and editor of the long running Big Takeover magazine had a different view---:"Anyone who heard Pay To Cum by the Bad Brains had to have a copy. There was nothing like it. Then I heard Out Of Vogue by Middle Class and around the same time Rhino 39's Dangerhouse single came out. But those groups weren't nearly as good. Out Of Vogue may have predated Pay To Come but it's not all that good---a historical piece, the first of its kind, but it had no impact. Without question the Germs album impacted the most. The DC scene owes its entire raison d'etre to Pay To Come." Both the above quotes are from American Hardcore book. BTW I agree there was nothing like the obliterating power of Bad Brains' Pay To Cum, but that 7" single was released on June 23, 1980. 1. Out of vogue (1:07) 2. You belong (1:13) 3. Situations (1:49) 4. Insurgence (1:07)
That's right. The issue here is the dates -- not quality, influence, or staying power. Bad Brains is outstanding, brash and experimental, but Middle Class's little EP was the first hardcore committed to vinyl, and that means a lot.
Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown would be the first recorded hardcore record in January 1978 but it was not released until February 1979.The other contender was the Germs Lexicon Devil e.p released in May 1978.
Their was an interview in flipside magazine back in..81/82 with HR and he talks about how they were inspired to play hardcore, not once does he say "btw we invented hardcore" No one started saying that till the 90s when they released that comeback album on madonnas label. As a punk back in the 80s in Miami, bad brains was never cited as starting anything, just that they were unique for mixing reggae rasta stuff with hardcore and that they were black.
Two different styles. BF was never about speed. It was about raw fucking power. I love both bands, and credit them both for helping to birth hardcore. Middle Class broke the speed barrier, and Black Flag was like getting punched in the gut by a punk rock Hulk.
when i was 9 years old, i went to a record store with my dad, and they had a blue vinyl reissue of this EP and for whatever reason, i insisted to my dad that we buy this. i didn't even know what it was at the time guess it really worked out
Friend and I had this on vinyl back in the mid-90s, and for some reason I always thought that it was Circle Jerks. Don't have the record or the friend (heroin overdose) around these days to check my memory, but can anyone corroborate? There was either a split with Middle Class/Circle Jerks, or Circle Jerks covered "Out of Vogue." Or my brain just ain't what it used to be.
Yes, Flipper were hardcore. True story: A few years ago I did a total, top-to-bottom rewrite on the Wikipedia page for Flipper. Naturally, it got blown to shit as time passed. But one of the first commenters on the article was Bruce Loose, who wrote something like, "YES!! You totally got what we were trying to do!" Whatever that proves, it's still difficult to say WHY Flipper was a hardcore band -- and why Negative Trend definitely wasn't. I'm not saying I know the answer.
My two cents on the "who invented hardcore" debate. It really comes down to this: when you think of hardcore punk what comes to mind? Likely LA, DC, and NY. And the two bands who are often cited as the biggest influences on those scenes? Black Flag and Bad Brains (BB mostly East Coast though). Ergo, they get the "first/invented" hardcore tag due to their influence and impact. Like it or not. This Middle Class EP, while undeniably predating the Bad Brains and faster than Black Flag and it was ahead of it's time, how truly influential was it? I mean, how many outside of California 1978-1980 even knew of it's existence? In fact the only old school band I've heard cite the Middle Class as an influence were the Adolescents. So basically while it came out before, the fact is few knew about it, or were influenced by it, but tons of the first "hardcore" bands always cite Black Flag and the Bad Brains as the bands that inspired them, so for all intents and purposes they were the first hardcore bands. So while Out of Vogue clearly is the first true "hardcore" slab, that doesn't diminish the fact that BF and BB are the bands that truly kickstarted it. (Yes, I'll concede the Bad Brains are a tad overrated, but the proofs in the pudding. The entire DC scene (and the early nyhc scene) was pretty much a Bad Brains soundalike competition.) For the record, the Bad Brains were inspired to play fast by The Dickies, so does that make The Dickies hardcore pioneers? And in the end, who cares? It's all punk rock. Wasn't the whole point of it to avoid this type of analytical elitism?
Well stated. And yes, who really cares about debating this? No one was debating it back in the early 80’s when hardcore was peaking, that’s for sure. We were just getting off on the raw energy and living in the moment. Everyone’s so analytical these days. For my money, the Stooges invented hardcore in 1972 when they recorded “I Got a Right”... but I refuse to waste my time debating that with people.
I don't mean to get into an argument but I am related to Brendan Mullen who owned the Masque club in Hollywood. I was fortunate enough to see the Germs, Weirdos, X, the Plugz, the Screamers, Black Flag, Eddie and Subtitles, and many other bands back in the late 70s. I clearly remember a lot of talk about some of the more "hardcore" punk bands back then and the complaints about them. This was around 78' so what thenewmusicnetwork is saying is actually quite right.
"'Out Of Vogue' In the UK it was released on an ep on the Fast Records label. John Peel also played it a lot on his radio show." Really? The Gang of 4's label? [checking] Oh, they were on Earcom 3, the double 7" comp. I didn't know that. So wait. This was 1979, right? It was on John Peel's show? How would you set the odds that a certain band in Stoke-on-Trent heard it and was incited to, you know, speed up? 'Realities of War' was released in Feb. 1980.
there was no internet..it all happend with a mouth, a radio, and a flyer. Information was scarce and valuable, now there is a disgusting excess of it. I'm glad I got to see them dudes play live up here in SF Bay Area. Word.
Sometime around 1984 I got a vinyl records for sale catalog from Bomp Records. It had this EP for sale. They were a dollar each. Seriously. A buck apiece. I called the phone number on the catalog. "I'll take 'em all." The guy on the other end asked me "Really?" We've got about 10 copies left and no one seems to want them."
Along with other tunes...19 & Nowhere, Pee, Beep Beep, and Hated...the band played perhaps the first punk show in OC; a lunchtime show at Fullerton High School in Fall '77. Amongst the student body audience, a 10th grade Mike Ness, who later confessed to stealing the band's distortion pedal.
Sorry to disappoint dissenters, but "Banned in DC" (unless I'm mistaken and there was a hardcore record by that name released before this one released in January of '78) is pretty much a compilation of Bad Brains numbers going back to 79/80. Came out sometime around 2002 or 2003. As for Black Flag's Nervous breakdown EP -- yes, it was released the same month and year as Out of Vogue, but musically, it isn't the same Black Flag that came later. Don't get me wrong -- the music they recorded was terrific, but it's not hardcore -- it sounds more like hard-edged Ramones, or even Sex Pistols, or even old Clash. Fast-paced, but not the 2/2 of hardcore. Out of Vogue by Middle Class stands alone as the first recording of the high-speed music that was later on called "hardcore". Three of the four songs in this EP have that characteristic. This type of sound was soon copied by bands all over the west coast and Canada. No other explanation. Now, if there was a recording by another band that had all the musical attributes that we can hear in Out of Vogue, and was released before January of 1978, please let me know.
This comment just about closes the book on the subject, however the single "Damned FLame" by Blast from Belgium Released in 1974 comes damn close, only falling short in terms of tempo
for me Middle Class was more than the first hardcore band, I would rather give this title to Black Flag that had a more typical hardcore punk sound in 1978. Middle Class had more of a chaotic approach with atonal screams, "wall of sound" noisy drums and cold guitar riffs, which sounds a lot like... grindcore in many ways! It's obviously not as brutal as Napalm Death or even Siege, but the roots stand clearly here!
"We dont need your magazines We dont need you fashion show We dont need your tv We dont want to know We dont need we get our fill Its esoteric overkill Its a shiny new aesthetic Get us out of vogue
The middle class formed in 77 and were the first to put out music this fast unless you want to consider twangy finger picking banjo music to be before it. lofl
the germs were part of the hollywood art punk scene (weirdos, screamers, etc), not the actual hardcore scene. but they were respected in hardcore circles. also, unlike most of the art scene in hollywood, the germs were a lot younger, which they had in common with hardcore kids
They weren't playing hardcore in 77, They started playing jazz, then segued into punk. their early punk stuff was typical punk stuff, they started playing faster towards the end of the decade, when bands in cali had already started playing fast. The. 'bad brains invented hardcore' is a myth that started in the 90's. I was a punk back in the 80s and no one ever talked about bad brains starting hardcore.
rocknroll_jezus9 No, no, he’s right. They were playing jazz from ‘76 up until ‘78. Then started doing Sex Pistols covers before moving on to the songs you heard on Black Dots in 1979.
rocknroll_jezus9 That being said, they were the probably the most “punk” jazz band. Played everything extremely fast, shouted all their lyrics, and kicked out/blacklisted everywhere they played...
Dude Mike Patton the bassist for Middle class is my boss hahaha lol.Who knew? He dosnt play that anymore now its CCR mostly (Creedance Clearwater Revival)WOW His band rocked. Most the bands I knew where: U.T.I. Violation,Hang Over, Gadnium wow that was a long time ago!!!
Regardless of what you think nobody was making music like in this 78.
These guys are truely visionaries.
Me impressionou também. Porém, o Cólera em 79 também fazia um som parecido.
I believe it. It was the last of the first wave of LA punk and the first of the second wave, wave that was washing ashore a more determined and structurally sound movement coming from the first gen x kids. I know a lot of first wave bands carried over but that’s overlap for u. Plus 70’s punk for the most part hasn’t aged well. If you hate my opinion well I don’t know what to tell you
th-cam.com/video/Yj11FVoJUh0/w-d-xo.html don't forget japanese punk band SS! super fast punk. they recorded a lot of music from 1978-1979
bro they fuck with vision SUPREME
The Germs, Black Flag, Bad Brains and the Damned were right on the heels of this record though. It's possible that more than one band devised hardcore but didn't yet have it on wax. Middle Class edged these other bands out by a matter of weeks. It's like Rappers Delight is credited as the first hip hop or rap music on wax, but there were other rap artists already active in 1979. Heck, what year did James Brown drop Mother Popcorn, 1969? It's rap before there was a word for it.
In 1978, disco was still huge. Ozzy was still in Black Sabbath. Van Halen, a brand new band, opened for Black Sabbath in '78. Led Zeppelin and the Who also had their original lineups still intact. The Sex Pistols broke up in San Francisco. Then, way the fuck out of left field comes Black Flag, Bad Brains and the Middle Class inventing hardcore punk rock. It was a cool year to be into rock music.
Ramones also opened for Sabbath that year because they wanted more appreciation at shows after touring with Van Halen. They might've gotten what they wanted but to me they picked another amazing kickass band
@@rocknroll_jezus9233 yessir
Living in Philly, In 1996 or 1997, my ex-gf and I walked to The Betsy Ross House to buy a flag for our apartment. We had our mohawks up, studded jackets, etc, and a couple came over to us and asked to take our picture. The husband said that they were in town for a Teamsters convention and that he was in a punk band way back. It was Mike Patton from Middle Class!
+Lon Levin Holler wooow awesome
Fkn awesome
how fucking cool was that!
Mike is one cool cat..his older bro you see pop up on Pawn Stars..he will not give a financial valuation..but truly is the king of all knowledge - just ask Mike...cool experience Lon...what are the odds.
Lon Levin Holler i remember talking to mike he owned out of vouge in fullerton. r.i.p fuck you cancer
First met Mike in Santa Ana 1984. He worked at Omni Office products, where he hired me. Had the pleasure of knowing him. He would take his guitar and jam in his upstairs office. He told me he was a rock star, and "That chicks dig him". I never really knew, he was telling the truth. R.I.P. Mike you were a good boss and friend.
Please please please tell me his head was shaved.
I lived near these guys when I was just a teen punk . . . a friend introduced me to them and I was in awe--they were a bit older and in a real band! Shortly after this I got to see them play and was completely blown away. Mike Patton used to work at Zed records in Long Beach where my friends and I would buy punk singles and buttons. He was the nicest man . . . and MIke Atta, RIP, was really sweet as well. Matt Simon went on to do a band called The Pontiac Brothers.
Hello out there! Yes, I used to go to Zed Records on 7th St. "back in the day."
Bought many records and buttons also. from: Discharge, Controllers,
the Beach Blvd. EP, the "Beat Her with a Rake" single, Germs GI, Flyboys,
Circle Jerks, that Eddie and the Subtitles 7 inch, Avengers, Bad Religion's
first 7 inch, Suburban Lawns, etc.... one day I asked for that "Yes L.A." clear vinyl
record that I saw a few days before, and he said it was gone, no more.
@@RadioPhreak All the good stuff!
Eat me drink me down the rabbit hole i go.
"Insurgence" is unbelievable. The raw power. It was the blueprint for the hardcore scene that followed.
Has a vague resemblence to "Banned in DC"......
Greg Pasquier
you mean banned in d.c has a vague resemblance to insurgents.
banned in d.c. was in 82. Besides Bad Brains had a jazz infusion sound. Middle class HC was absolutely the blue print for past and present HC sounds. listen to the two and compare, then listen to Minor Threat.
@@poseursm0shpunksslam852 actually in 1979 when bad brains released "black dots" since the production goes as faras that but still "out of vogue" goes further back by 1978 as far as "nervous breakdown" by black flag, a different form of hardcore punk.
@@Abel-Alvarez that was released in the 90s but your point still stands. Nervous Breakdown was recorded before The Middle Class even played their first show
@@rocknroll_jezus9233 Punk is not the synonymous with Hardcore. Nervous breakdown is great, but it's not Hardcore.
1. Out of vogue (00:00)
2. You belong (1:11)
3. Situations (2:26)
4. Insurgence (4:19)
Growing up in So Cal in the 70s and 80s was amazing. Nobody had it better!!!
john cohrone yeah!
yeah, fucking amazing that something like Punk developed in your Eagles, Fleetwood Mac , cocaine and surfing paradise.😅
1978 …and these motherfuckers were putting out this music. Ahead of their time is an understatement .
I went to school with the Mike Atta. He was a friend RIP. They were not "understood" in HS in 1977/78 but they didn't care and went about playing The Cuckoo's Nest and Madame Wong's West in Santa Monica, writing the blueprint for punk rock. OC punk at its finest with The Crowd and TSOL.
middle class is one of the very first bands i saw in 1978. use to roadie for them cause i had a van . Rest in piece mike atta. Im so grateful i got to see you play one last time a few months ago
I Met the Middle Class in Long Beach, a few years ago - they were doing a gig at Alex's - Mike Patton introduced me to the whole band, they signed my copy of this EP. then shortly after that, Daisy, Roxy and I seen them at the Observatory. I Think the line-up was The Billy Bones, White Flag, Middle Class, Youth Brigade with the Adolescents headlining. Rodney came out and introduced the Adolescents. I met up with Bill outside and introduced my wife Roxy to him. I miss him and Mike Atta, they were unique people that have should've lived forever if possible. R.I.P.
You are truly right. They should live
Forever
I met Mike Patton in 1979 I think. I always loved middle class and I'm very grateful that I got to see their very last show with Mike atta before he passed. It was awesome and brought back some great old memories. They're like the first punk band I ever saw in the early years
i was born 11/20/78 this 7" is a gift to me ill always cherish it perfect definition of music, i dont know i they had any clue the impact they would make with this album
Did you see the germs?
There were zero hardcore bands in 1978. This record is a jaw-dropper.
Panic changed their name to Black Flag in 1978
Couldn’t find your comment..... but no I’m not mad. I think you are a bit upset because I disagree with your assessment that nervous breakdown was first hardcore album. Most people after hearing out of vogue will agree that’s it more hardcore than any of the tracks on nervous breakdown. I’ve been listening to hardcore since 86’ so I should know what constitutes hardcore. I still love flag don’t get me wrong. But it wasn’t until damaged that black flag became a ‘hardcore’ band and that was in 81. Peace
@@rocknroll_jezus9233 black flag was raw hard punk but i never considered them hardcore because they didnt have any fast songs with the 1 2 1 2 beat .that beat is what hardcore is to me
@@ironclaw79 well Black Flag looked at the Ramones as pretty hardcore and in a sense they were kinda right, all the early hardcore bands, MC, Bad Brains, and the Flag started or switched to their respective styles because of the Ramones
Saying nervous breakdown isn’t hardcore is just wrong
This band and their music kept me so far from the shitty things in my life and kept me thinking about punk rock and skateboarding and getting past my stress and suicidal thoughts, punk rock saves fuck what you heard, YOU BELONG
So amazing to read it.
@@iel69burner hope you got something from that, and thank you for sharing
So long Mike Atta, you made a difference in this world.
R.I.P Mike Atta, Thanks for the music
And thus, an entirely new kind of music was born. Not a subgenre, a totally new thing.
Sorry man but Hardcore while being a thing is within punk
SS formed in mid-late 1977 to play Ramones type music "3 times as fast"..the CD rerelease of their hard to find LP includes a live spring 1978 show that shows that they had well accomplished that.Later they became the continental kids.
oh cool. This IS hardcore.
First time I hear this. Wont lie. Sounds good.
The speed and sound and how fucking tight they are.,....definitely one of the greatest albums ever.
"Out Of Vogue" In the UK it was released on an ep on the Fast Records label. John Peel also played it a lot on his radio show.
My band at the time shamelessly nicked the drum intro for the "Situations" song as well. lol. Top chunes both
Punk as fuck, and the lyrics too are so relevant.
The first time I listened to this I didn't realize he was speaking English. A truly unbelievable record.
Thanx and RIP, Mike.
The Middle Class are great! I feel very lucky to own a copy of the 'Out of Vogue' EP. They truly were/are an influential band that had an incredible impact on me. I used to listen to this EP over and over again trying to work out the lyrics, just brilliant songs that echoed how I felt as a teenager in early 80s Southern California.
Why aren't these guys talked about more?! This is some SERIOUS STUFF for 1978 and shouldn't be ignored! Why hasn't Henry Rollins and the like made sure that these guys get their due when it comes to inventing hardcore?!
Because old people who are into HC know this already for over 40 years. Old news. Read more history books!
This EP makes me feel like no other. It takes me back to a certain place for some reason. I hadn't heard it before at the time, but it takes me right back there. Great music.
RIP Mike. You WILL be missed.
Their full LP Homeland is quite awesome as well. They went post-punk on that album, but it's freakin' awesome.
Agreed. Homeland almost sounds like a sped-up version of Joy Division. That one really gets overlooked.
creekandseminole are fucking kidding homeland is a straight banger! i love that album to death
Brewzerr its like minutemen meet the indifference era of the proletariat.
“Situations” is a fantastic piece of early post-punk.
This is the earliest, most extreme and fast album I've heard from punk. I'm always on the search for old music that's blazingly fast and extreme pre 1980, but it's kinda difficult
This is super late, and I know you probably heard of them,but early Discharge is where it’s at for me. “It’s no TV Sketch” is Still the heaviest punk song I’ve ever heard. I don’t think any American bands came anywhere near early Discharge in terms of heaviness and pure aggression and anger.
@@jacobsanchez6924 thanks so much for the recommendation!
No problem! Trying not to be that guy that throws out a million recommendations, but if you enjoy that song then definitely check out “a look at tomorrow” “tomorrow belongs to us” “ain’t no feeble bastard” and all of their early EPS from the 80s are pretty solid.
They then went on to do their most famous album which is Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, but the vocals on that album and most of the stuff afterwards aren’t my cup of tea. Still an important album for as a lot of speed/thrash bands, who actually cite that album as being an influence for them if you also happen to be into metal/speed metal/thrash stuff.
@@jacobsanchez6924 yeah, I always listen to music while I cut grass, I'll definitely put them on next time I cut. I was listening to suicidal tendencies today, another influential punk/thrash band
Nice dude! I gotta give Suicidal another listen. Never really ventured into their stuff besides institutionalized.
Ludicrously ahead of its time
Fastest music played at this time. These guys beat them all, amazing HC band in 78
Beat em all except Black Flag
@@rocknroll_jezus9233 they beat BF to the punch...
@rocknroll_jezus9 this came out in 78. BF hadnt put out anything yet
First hardcore ep. RIP Mike...
Out of Vogue, fast as hell, I like it. Minor Threat probably played faster but this one is really good.
Without a doubt, the fastest, nicest good guys to ever come out of the OC.
Legendario el primer material de hard core punk de la historia
i was born in 78 so obviously i would gravitate towards this..good year bad sign
gracias wikipedia
Rest In Peace Mike Atta.
RIP Mike Atta, all my best to the remaining band members, respect from the heart
It's hard to say who started a genre when all the early bands were still finding their sounds. But after hearing about Middle Class, I can say all the ingredients for hardcore were on full display here.
So glad I got to see them before they retired for good
This album changed my life..thank you
Legendary track, a punk masterpiece. one minute well spent.
I had this when I was a young'un! 13 I think... Loved it then, and love it now!
The beginning of thrash and hardcore punk. If you know this band, then you know Frontier Records released a compilation LP of everything they recorded. This single is included in the package.
@edshipsey The fact is, this pre-dates hardcore. Hardcore didn't exist yet when this was recorded. This helped to create hardcore.
nothing was this fast in 1978 - nothing - this was the first
Lmao Nervous Breakdown was recorded before The Middle Class even played their first show sit down
@@rocknroll_jezus9233 Wire?
@@kludgybrains3459 lol no. Great band tho
The Germs?
@apostolic what source do you have on that?
Second of the bands in our little survey in contention to be the first to release a hardcore record is Middle Class. Like Black Flag, they also got together in 1977 in Santa Ana, California, practicing in a public storage unit turned practice room.
Middle Class consisted of Jeff Atta vocals, Mike Atta guitar, Mike Patton bass and Bruce Atta drums. Their debut e.p. Out Of Vogue with it's iconic Diane Arbus (I think) photograph on the front cover was released in 1978 on Joke Records. At the outset the band ranged in age between 15 and 21.
Here's what Lou Barlow of Deep Wound and Dinosaur Jr. had to say---"The Middle Class 7"---I'm convinced that is the first hardcore record. I got it before I heard Minor Threat. I got the first Meat Puppets 7" too--a whole other side. It resonates deeply to me because it's fierce yet melodic--a real sense of melody and soul. There were so many weird, cool bands for a while. It was people craving noise."
But Jack Rabid, drummer in Even Worse and editor of the long running Big Takeover magazine had a different view---:"Anyone who heard Pay To Cum by the Bad Brains had to have a copy. There was nothing like it. Then I heard Out Of Vogue by Middle Class and around the same time Rhino 39's Dangerhouse single came out. But those groups weren't nearly as good. Out Of Vogue may have predated Pay To Come but it's not all that good---a historical piece, the first of its kind, but it had no impact. Without question the Germs album impacted the most. The DC scene owes its entire raison d'etre to Pay To Come."
Both the above quotes are from American Hardcore book. BTW I agree there was nothing like the obliterating power of Bad Brains' Pay To Cum, but that 7" single was released on June 23, 1980.
1. Out of vogue (1:07)
2. You belong (1:13)
3. Situations (1:49)
4. Insurgence (1:07)
That's right. The issue here is the dates -- not quality, influence, or staying power. Bad Brains is outstanding, brash and experimental, but Middle Class's little EP was the first hardcore committed to vinyl, and that means a lot.
Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown would be the first recorded hardcore record in January 1978 but it was not released until February 1979.The other contender was the Germs Lexicon Devil e.p released in May 1978.
RF7 was early hardcore as well.
One of the most important punk records hands down. I dare say even the greatest.
Their was an interview in flipside magazine back in..81/82 with HR and he talks about how they were inspired to play hardcore, not once does he say "btw we invented hardcore" No one started saying that till the 90s when they released that comeback album on madonnas label. As a punk back in the 80s in Miami, bad brains was never cited as starting anything, just that they were unique for mixing reggae rasta stuff with hardcore and that they were black.
Hardcore. This is my shit. 1978 this is where it all began.
many consider this to be the first hardcore punk album...its hard to disagree and its a beautiful thing
Punk is punk there is no definition who cares its just superior music I cant explain it myself
First time listening to Middle Class. A refreshing take on the hardcore/punk sound.
My point is how many hardcore bands were around at that time that never got any of the material recorded.
As A MATTER FACT Black Flag didn't even play this fast, especially the vocals.
No, Siree, they did not.
Two different styles. BF was never about speed. It was about raw fucking power. I love both bands, and credit them both for helping to birth hardcore. Middle Class broke the speed barrier, and Black Flag was like getting punched in the gut by a punk rock Hulk.
Germs were nastier than both. That being said i love em all.
@@ericks9979, well said.
Who cares? Punk is punk fast or not. Peace.
letteralmente un E.P. incredibile per i tempi
litterally an incredible E.P. so ahead for the times
when i was 9 years old, i went to a record store with my dad, and they had a blue vinyl reissue of this EP
and for whatever reason, i insisted to my dad that we buy this. i didn't even know what it was at the time
guess it really worked out
this is pure orange county hardcore. the first. one of the best.
Light-years ahead of their time.
a comment you can read all over TH-cam. Apparently EVERYONE was "way ahead of their time"
Friend and I had this on vinyl back in the mid-90s, and for some reason I always thought that it was Circle Jerks. Don't have the record or the friend (heroin overdose) around these days to check my memory, but can anyone corroborate? There was either a split with Middle Class/Circle Jerks, or Circle Jerks covered "Out of Vogue." Or my brain just ain't what it used to be.
Not that I know of. I double checked discogs too
The start of hardcore: This song
There's earlier hardcore..check out Blast Damned Flame-majestic..its hardcore and it's from 1973
I heard thats fake @@DumPhuc
This is surprisingly hard for 1978. I can hear how it must have really influenced hardcore punk's prominence around 81.
and this how Black Flag, Circle Jerks and FEAR were born
Hardcore en 1978!!!
These songs are 🔥🔥🔥 I forgot how good!!!
The first hardcore band
Sorry- Black Flag beat them by a year
Yes, Flipper were hardcore.
True story: A few years ago I did a total, top-to-bottom rewrite on the Wikipedia page for Flipper. Naturally, it got blown to shit as time passed. But one of the first commenters on the article was Bruce Loose, who wrote something like, "YES!! You totally got what we were trying to do!"
Whatever that proves, it's still difficult to say WHY Flipper was a hardcore band -- and why Negative Trend definitely wasn't.
I'm not saying I know the answer.
First time hearing this. Definitely hardcore. These guys might have been the only ones in the UK doing this in '78
This is a California based band.
I've been a hardcore fan for 20+ years and I've been looking for this forever. Thanks for posting this. Pioneers!
this music is the exact opposite of mainstream
My two cents on the "who invented hardcore" debate. It really comes down to this: when you think of hardcore punk what comes to mind? Likely LA, DC, and NY. And the two bands who are often cited as the biggest influences on those scenes? Black Flag and Bad Brains (BB mostly East Coast though). Ergo, they get the "first/invented" hardcore tag due to their influence and impact. Like it or not. This Middle Class EP, while undeniably predating the Bad Brains and faster than Black Flag and it was ahead of it's time, how truly influential was it? I mean, how many outside of California 1978-1980 even knew of it's existence? In fact the only old school band I've heard cite the Middle Class as an influence were the Adolescents. So basically while it came out before, the fact is few knew about it, or were influenced by it, but tons of the first "hardcore" bands always cite Black Flag and the Bad Brains as the bands that inspired them, so for all intents and purposes they were the first hardcore bands. So while Out of Vogue clearly is the first true "hardcore" slab, that doesn't diminish the fact that BF and BB are the bands that truly kickstarted it. (Yes, I'll concede the Bad Brains are a tad overrated, but the proofs in the pudding. The entire DC scene (and the early nyhc scene) was pretty much a Bad Brains soundalike competition.) For the record, the Bad Brains were inspired to play fast by The Dickies, so does that make The Dickies hardcore pioneers?
And in the end, who cares? It's all punk rock. Wasn't the whole point of it to avoid this type of analytical elitism?
Well stated. And yes, who really cares about debating this? No one was debating it back in the early 80’s when hardcore was peaking, that’s for sure. We were just getting off on the raw energy and living in the moment. Everyone’s so analytical these days. For my money, the Stooges invented hardcore in 1972 when they recorded “I Got a Right”... but I refuse to waste my time debating that with people.
TL;DR This is the first hardcore record whether you like it or not, first means first
Why are The Germs almost never brought in these types of conversations?
Erick Salazar The germs were way after this, this is a whole ass year before GI
@@happyfarm7997 lexicon devil ep 1978 Circle One and No God just as maybe even nastier than anything at the time.
rip mike.
Yes, this is indeed how it should be done.
In my opinion this song is the first hardcore punk example with fast rhythms and accelerations!
Nope,theres earlier..Blast Damned Flame-Majestic..recorded in 1973,check it out!
@@DumPhuc I'd also add Zakary Thaks Bad Girl from 1966, Man on The Dune by The Outsiders from 1968 and SS - Coca Cola and Mr. Twist from 1978
@@DumPhuc Still wouldn’t call it Hardcore Punk. This EP is considered by many as the first true Hardcore sound.
Rest In Peace Mike
I don't mean to get into an argument but I am related to Brendan Mullen who owned the Masque club in Hollywood. I was fortunate enough to see the Germs, Weirdos, X, the Plugz, the Screamers, Black Flag, Eddie and Subtitles, and many other bands back in the late 70s. I clearly remember a lot of talk about some of the more "hardcore" punk bands back then and the complaints about them. This was around 78' so what thenewmusicnetwork is saying is actually quite right.
"'Out Of Vogue' In the UK it was released on an ep on the Fast Records label. John Peel also played it a lot on his radio show."
Really? The Gang of 4's label? [checking] Oh, they were on Earcom 3, the double 7" comp.
I didn't know that.
So wait. This was 1979, right? It was on John Peel's show?
How would you set the odds that a certain band in Stoke-on-Trent heard it and was incited to, you know, speed up? 'Realities of War' was released in Feb. 1980.
I think that it’s quite possible.
there was no internet..it all happend with a mouth, a radio, and a flyer. Information was scarce and valuable, now there is a disgusting excess of it. I'm glad I got to see them dudes play live up here in SF Bay Area. Word.
Origin of Hardcore punk, first release 78.
Nope, germs beat them by a year
@@Weensx th-cam.com/video/-KTQD2VjjSU/w-d-xo.html
Sometime around 1984 I got a vinyl records for sale catalog from Bomp Records. It had this EP for sale. They were a dollar each. Seriously. A buck apiece.
I called the phone number on the catalog. "I'll take 'em all."
The guy on the other end asked me "Really?" We've got about 10 copies left and no one seems to want them."
Along with other tunes...19 & Nowhere, Pee, Beep Beep, and Hated...the band played perhaps the first punk show in OC; a lunchtime show at Fullerton High School in Fall '77. Amongst the student body audience, a 10th grade Mike Ness, who later confessed to stealing the band's distortion pedal.
Sorry to disappoint dissenters, but "Banned in DC" (unless I'm mistaken and there was a hardcore record by that name released before this one released in January of '78) is pretty much a compilation of Bad Brains numbers going back to 79/80. Came out sometime around 2002 or 2003.
As for Black Flag's Nervous breakdown EP -- yes, it was released the same month and year as Out of Vogue, but musically, it isn't the same Black Flag that came later. Don't get me wrong -- the music they recorded was terrific, but it's not hardcore -- it sounds more like hard-edged Ramones, or even Sex Pistols, or even old Clash. Fast-paced, but not the 2/2 of hardcore.
Out of Vogue by Middle Class stands alone as the first recording of the high-speed music that was later on called "hardcore". Three of the four songs in this EP have that characteristic. This type of sound was soon copied by bands all over the west coast and Canada. No other explanation.
Now, if there was a recording by another band that had all the musical attributes that we can hear in Out of Vogue, and was released before January of 1978, please let me know.
I'd say both we're in the same year. But eh in the end Socal had the hardcore scene since '78 ✊
Black dots was supposed to come out in 78 but it didnt. Banned in dc came out in 1980.
Sorry. Banned in dc came out in 1982. So the middle class is the first hardcore record ever .
This comment just about closes the book on the subject, however the single "Damned FLame" by Blast from Belgium Released in 1974 comes damn close, only falling short in terms of tempo
Some say the birth of hardcore is right here...
for me Middle Class was more than the first hardcore band, I would rather give this title to Black Flag that had a more typical hardcore punk sound in 1978. Middle Class had more of a chaotic approach with atonal screams, "wall of sound" noisy drums and cold guitar riffs, which sounds a lot like... grindcore in many ways! It's obviously not as brutal as Napalm Death or even Siege, but the roots stand clearly here!
Holy shit. This is really good.
One of my FAVES! I'm always in vogue though...and so is this!
That was when hardcore and punk was born I think it was like late 1979 it came around I had a little brief of rock and roll influence
Out of vogue >out of step
You can’t really compare a 21-minute record to a 5-minute record, though.
Gonna go see them this Friday!!!
"We dont need your magazines
We dont need you fashion show
We dont need your tv
We dont want to know
We dont need we get our fill
Its esoteric overkill
Its a shiny new aesthetic
Get us out of vogue
The middle class formed in 77 and were the first to put out music this fast unless you want to consider twangy finger picking banjo music to be before it. lofl
"We dont need we get our fill
Its esoteric overkill
Its a shiny new aesthetic
Get us out of vogue
Out of Vogue"
amazing
the germs were part of the hollywood art punk scene (weirdos, screamers, etc), not the actual hardcore scene. but they were respected in hardcore circles. also, unlike most of the art scene in hollywood, the germs were a lot younger, which they had in common with hardcore kids
They weren't playing hardcore in 77, They started playing jazz, then segued into punk. their early punk stuff was typical punk stuff, they started playing faster towards the end of the decade, when bands in cali had already started playing fast. The. 'bad brains invented hardcore' is a myth that started in the 90's. I was a punk back in the 80s and no one ever talked about bad brains starting hardcore.
bullshit
Clearly you haven't heard Black Dots
rocknroll_jezus9 No, no, he’s right. They were playing jazz from ‘76 up until ‘78. Then started doing Sex Pistols covers before moving on to the songs you heard on Black Dots in 1979.
rocknroll_jezus9 That being said, they were the probably the most “punk” jazz band. Played everything extremely fast, shouted all their lyrics, and kicked out/blacklisted everywhere they played...
Dude Mike Patton the bassist for Middle class is my boss hahaha lol.Who knew?
He dosnt play that anymore now its CCR mostly
(Creedance Clearwater Revival)WOW His band rocked. Most the bands I knew where: U.T.I.
Violation,Hang Over, Gadnium
wow that was a long time ago!!!
So simple, I wish I could have thought of something so awesome.
Talking about OC bands, I remember as a kid meeting Casey from DI at Cash for Chaos