learn to hate in the 80's 7"
[1981, vvv]

when it comes to infamous punk rockers, bobby soxx (bobby glenn calverly), is right fucking up there, despite being so insular within the texas scene. the stories i've seen, and the innumerable ones i'll remain unaware of, paint him as a pretty big prick (he would eventually come to spend some time in prison and a mental hospital), especially if you were unlucky/lucky enough to be sharing a bill with one of his bands (either teenage queers or stick men with ray guns). obvious street credit aside, this 7" is amazing. while the stick men had some good songs, nothing he ever did, in my mind, touches the snarling brilliance on display here.

no one will ever accuse calverly of being a gifted singer, or lyricist (he had a predilection for almost cartoonish crassness), but what's so appealing about him is his uniqueness and delivery, and on the a side's title track, it shines through remarkably. after a false start, things get right into gear with infectious riffing alongside a simple, upbeat drum tempo, over which bobby barks "time's running out, chaos is near, everyone's angry with fear" setting the scene for a war-torn future. especially effective is the chorus, with the shouted, militant chant of "learn to hate!" while soxx supplies the "in the 80's" in increasingly desperate yelps. his rambling style of fear-mongering here, which has a tendency to veer away from the song's rhythm, juxtaposed with the tightness of the guitar and drums, pays off well. easily one of my favorite punk anthems, right up there with i'm bored, by zero boys.

side b's scavenger of death, while terrific on its own, also serves as a logical continuation of a theme. after everyone's destroyed themselves, what's left? vultures, clearly, and bobby's all too happy to provide the gruesome details. this time out, he and cohort jerry dirkx (also of the telefones) will opt to slow things down, considerably, while cranking up the menace. we get another foot tapping drum beat (aided by.. cowbell? why not.) and gloriously dark guitar chords. soxx will match that by, literally, croaking out his lyrics about gnawed flesh and decay. the highlights here, outside of bobby's overall performance, are the killer changes in guitar tone, while still maintaining the same riffs, which periodically occur. it's also great that there's a tonal shift within the chorus, as well, as it moves into a plaintive repeated phrasing of the title.
while this record was just released as bobby soxx, he was helped out by jerry and steve dirkx (steve was on the a side), all three of whom were in teenage queers, whose sole release live at raul's 1980 was issued in 1998 on brain transplant, and also features these songs.

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teenage queers @ ft. worth, texas 6/21/80