7 Seconds
Cargo Music
Back in the eighties, large groups of skinheads began using punk rock to promote violent racism and bigotry, ideological tenets antithetical to the ones that inspired punk in the first place. Meanwhile, some of the less motivated punks just wanted to sit around drinking beer and getting high. The straight-edge scene demanded clean living and tolerance, and soon numerous punk bands began preaching the gospel of intelligence, sobriety, and racial equality. The movement's fight for intelligence in punk rock was led on the East Coast by D.C.'s legendary Minor Threat and on the West Coast by Reno, Nevada's 7 Seconds.
Singing direct, confrontational songs with such overtly political titles as "Racism Sucks," "Anti-Klan," and "The Kids Are United," 7 Seconds were a vital catalyst to a notoriously decadent and self-destructive punk rock underground, introducing sensitivity, social consciousness, and productivity into a world marked by excess. 7 Seconds still exists, making it the longest-lasting of any group from the early days of California punk rock, though frontman Kevin Seconds is the only surviving member from the band's earliest incarnation.
The songs on 7 Seconds' '95 Cargo release, alt.music.hardcore, including "Drug Control," and "We're Gonna Fight," are collected from three early '80s seven-inches recorded in Reno. The record showcases the anthemic, incendiary punk rock style that garnered the band its rabid following. "War in the Head" is also an early '80s track, from 7 Seconds' 1983 full-length Old School. "Motionary" was recorded much later in the band's career, coming from 1993's Out the Shizzy. 7 Seconds is one of the most important punk bands ever....And they rock.
Jesse Ashlock
last updated:
08/10/01
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Minor Threat, No For An Answer, Fugazi, Black Flag, Descendents, Final Conflict, Uniform Choice, Naked Aggression, Litmus Green, Kid Dynamite, Lifetime, Bad Brains
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