The Mutants

So American b/w Piece of Shit

scum stats: two pressings, just based on that, gotta be a couple thousand out there...it was the Seventies!

Back in the homeland means I'm beholden to other people's records here and Buick's desk offers up a classic, quintessential Detroit punk slab.

I saw this in bins here in town for YEARS before I ever even bothered to be curious about it. I'm rather embarrassed to say that, for longer than I care to admit, if someone didn't specifically TELL me to check out a record, I would usually just ignore it. I had a very narrow field of focus...60's garage, Seattle Sub Pop shit, Stooges and MC5...that if something didn't conform to that EXACTLY...I had no time for it.

I cringe imagining what records I browsed past in the years I operated under this belief.

Eventually, I feel like someone styled me with a stack of Detroit punk singles FOR FREE and only then was I able to acknowledge, you know, this shit ain't bad. If you talk to those who were around at the time, they oftentimes get super territorial and dismissive, spouting off shit like "they weren't PUNK, they were NEW WAVE" or "ugh, East Side bullshit" or any number of unwarranted complaints by old white guys whose prominence and influence is thankfully evaporating.

These two songs are solid. They're worth the $10 or so most record stores would ask for it (I think you can still turn this up any day of the week at most spots in Detroit) and I think that is beautiful.

I prefer "So American" and its quasi-ironic tone while "Piece Of Shit" has far more attitude and posture. A good two sides of the coin. Opened my mind a little bit all those years back and hope it does the same for you to...Detroit punk or just keeping your mind open in general.