NOFX - The Decline

ARTIST: NOFX

ALBUM: The Decline (EP)

PRESSINGS:
155 clear vinyl (avg. price $450.00)
??? Black (avg. price $14.00)

WHY IT'S AWESOME:
This is pretty much it, people. NOFX's magnum opus in one 18-minute-long song. If you're going to listen to NOFX, or even punk rock in general, you need this album because it just might be the best punk song ever written (there, I said it).

NOFX, in spite of being somewhat a joke of a band, are arguably the backbone of punk music. They've become rock stars without radio play (back when it mattered), MTV (back when it mattered), or ever being on a major label (back when it mattered). They are DIY incarnate-- They own almost all of their music, and release records on their own homegrown label, Fat Wreck Chords. Though the majority of their catalogue is worth listening to at least once (if not hundreds of times, like I have in the past few months), there is one album that stands miles above the rest: The Decline.

Although NOFX are known for having a few songs per record that clearly took zero effort and time to write, this album/song is exceptionally crafted from start to finish. Not a single second is wasted here, because, as the Fat Wreck Chords product description for this record reads: "NOFX are pissed off, and they want to tell you all about it."

NOFX accomplish precisely what they set out to do with this song: Tell you about the decline-- both societal and personal; And though the song starts out as bluntly as possible ("Where are all the stupid people from, and how'd they get to be so dumb?"), by the end Fat Mike is no longer just singing about the decline of western civilization, but about the personal and emotional decline that each individual member of civilization faces as a result of the society we've created: "Only moron and genius would fight a losing battle against the superego, when giving in is so damn comforting. And so we go, on with our lives, we know the truth, but prefer lies."

To drive the point home, this song intelligently and forcefully enunciates what punk rock was founded on: discontent. Indeed, NOFX are pissed, and not only do they want to tell us about it, they HAVE TO tell us about it. Fat Mike rails against everything that's wrong with us, from the religious and conservative right wing politicians, to the widespread apathy of a conditioned populace. There's a reason this song is a treat when you get to hear them play it live, and it's not just because of the music-- It's because of the emotion behind it that every NOFX or punk rock fan empathizes with.

So yeah, it looks like somehow I've once again managed to do exactly what I promised I wouldn't do in my first blog post: Compare Fat Mike to Michelangelo. Again. And I guess you could say that The Decline is like his Sistine Chapel. Godamnit.


- Frankie D

PS In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, listen to the first half here. Then go out and buy the whole thing. But good luck finding it on clear vinyl.