Crass : iSOUND.COM™

Stats

Members:
Penny Rimbaud

Formed: 1977

iSound Site: www.isound.com/crass

Biography

Sounds Like

Artists:
Disorder
Conflict
Penny Rimbaud
The Exploited
Genres:

Featured Album

	Christ the Bootleg [EP] Released: 1999

Albums
Click on one of the albums below for more info.
	Christ the Bootleg [EP] Released: 1999
	Penis Envy Released: 1995
	Best Before 1984 Released: 1995
	Yes Sir, I Will Released: 1995
	Christ the Album Released: 1995
	Stations of the Crass Released: 1979
	Feeding of the 5000 Released: 1978

Biography

The brittlest and most hard-line radical of the first wave of British punk bands, Crass issued a blitz of records that were ruthless in both their unrelenting sociopolitical screeds

and their amelodic crash of noise. The horrors of war, the arbitrary nature of legal justice, sexism, media imagery, organized religion, the flaws of the punk movement itself -- all were subjected to harsh critique. Like few other rock bands before or since, Crass took rock-as-agent-of-social-and-political-change seriously, and not just in their music. In addition to putting out their own fiercely independent records (though the majors were certainly not knocking at their door), they also formed an anarchist commune that worked with other artists and labels, and on the behalf of various political causes. But they were also afflicted by considerable tension between the medium and its message -- not more than a few thousand people were exposed to Crass' very broad social concerns, and their musical inflexibility guaranteed that the band would be preaching to the converted almost exclusively.
In keeping with early punk ethos, Crass assumed obviously fake stage names. The membership changed a bit over the years, but the group's mainstays were vocalists Steve Ignorant, Eve Libertine, and Joy de Vivre. Drummer Penny Rimbaud and G. Sus, who did tape collages and provided the distinctively bleak black and white artwork on the fold-out posters that usually enclosed their LPs, were also important contributors. Their late-'70s recordings may sound like just so much hardcore punk decades later. But at the time they were indeed shocking assaults of noisy guitars and relentless drumming, backed by throaty, angry rants that were made incomprehensible to many ears by the heavy British accents and the sheer speed of delivery.

They were the definitive uncompromising punk band, which guaranteed them a cult following of very disaffected youth, and also ensured that they would never come remotely close to mainstream exposure, or even to many new wave playlists. An undiluted lyrical message was far more important to Crass than commercial considerations, and until 1984 they cranked out anarchist-leaning recordings without much variation in their attack. Occasional experimental cuts were promising variations on their format, particularly when they branched into tape collage, or spoken poetry. Those were largely the exception rather than the rule, though Crass weren't without the occasional moment of humor.

Crass always intended to disband in 1984, and true to their ideals as always, they did exactly that when that year came around. Even for those with no taste for the band's brand of confrontational punk, they deserve recognition as one of the relatively few acts in the music who attempted to live their values, and not just sing about them.

Bio written by: rancidfreak99

Artist Forum


Discussion Topic	Creator
whoioi Finally crass is on here!	rancidfreak99

Replys	Listener
wow, guess no one likes Crass...guess ill have to talk to myself	rancidfreak99
hey good lookin!	rancidfreak99
Why thank you rancidfreak99	rancidfreak99
Why thank you rancidfreak99	rancidfreak99
Rancid sucks ass, Crass is dope!	ILoveSidVicious
whats wrong with rancid?	rancidfreak99
nice little conversation you got going there. yeah, crass is good. but whats wrong with rancid.? well, i hear the new stuff sucks, but the old stuff aint bad..	shadowbug26
I can't really comment to much here, coz i havent heard much of Rancid's stuff, and I've never heard of Crass, but anyway, I'll do it anyway, just to make u ppl feel happy that ppl come to this board.	Pollard88
We've gone through this so many times before, so here it goes, I DON'T LIKE RANCID. I didn't like Rancid before, I don't like Rancid now, and I'm pretty sure I'll never like Rancid, ever! Now, they're just a bit too much ska for me. Ah, I'm not much of a ska lover. I rather listen to Rancid over good charolette, or avirl lavigne, but that doesn't mean I like them. I'm pretty sure there might be a band I like you might not like. It's like Holiday In Cambodia. I just hate that song. It's the only song I hate from the Dead Kennedys. It's so burn. I didn't like it ever, and I'll never like it!	ILoveSidVicious
We've gone through this so many times before, so here it goes, I DON'T LIKE RANCID. I didn't like Rancid before, I don't like Rancid now, and I'm pretty sure I'll never like Rancid, ever! Now, they're just a bit too much ska for me. Ah, I'm not much of a ska lover. I rather listen to Rancid over good charolette, or avirl lavigne, but that doesn't mean I like them. I'm pretty sure there might be a band I like you might not like. It's like Holiday In Cambodia. I just hate that song. It's the only song I hate from the Dead Kennedys. It's so burn. I didn't like it ever, and I'll never like it!	ILoveSidVicious
rancid is ska????.....I DONT THINK SOO	reelbigpunk22
And where did you get the idea that Rancid is ska?	L1th1um
It is! Rancid is NOT PUNK! That is all. End of story. I'm not going to say it again. I'm not going to speak about Rancid again!	ILoveSidVicious
The new stuff is pop punk. The old stuff is punk. Like it or not, it is.	L1th1um
Vicious how the FUCK can you hate Holiday In Cambodia? Its one of the greatest songs ever composed.	GC_SUCKSMYLEFTNUT
Why does everyone like arguing with me? What is up with that? I don't like Holiday in Cambodia because it's a fucken sell out song. I mean, they even play it on the radio. What the fuck is that all about. Then you hear people saying, "Oh I LOVE DEAD KENNEDYS! My favorite song is holiday in cambodia"... It's just sad to watch a band become sell outs. Not that they are, but Holiday in Cambodia is. *L1th1um, don't even bother commenting on what I just wrote. You just love arguing with me don't you...	ILoveSidVicious
arguing is fun..	shadowbug26
Comments on what you said Well I don't enjoy it, but I tend to argue with you because you say things I disagree with. And argueing is ussually what you do when you disagree. I'd prefer a friendly discussion, but you hurl swear words at me (or any one) everytime they disagree with you, so the whole "argueing" thing is really your fault.	L1th1um
anyway...Crass is good.	rancidpunk213
damn right	rancidfreak99
Lithium here's a song for you; SYSTEM BY CRASS, YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO IT!	ILoveSidVicious
Rancid is made fun of by one of those Sid Vicious lovers. Sid was a cunt. all he did was killl the Pistols. Im a huge Sex Pistols fan, but vicious is what doomed them. One, he cant play bass so they unplug it at live shows. Two, he got on drugs and the rest of the band on drugs. Three, he kills his girlfriend. I hate people who assosiate Sex Pistols with this fag. Johnny Rotten is the REAL voice of the Sex Pistols. and to stay on topic CRASS rules!!	Revenant13
hahaha ya i agree with the kid above me, it is rediculous about sid, i love the pistols despite what people say...but besides the fact..crass is awsome which is pretty fucking obvious. they are amazing and hold alot of strong points on what they sing about. and i love the way how they just state what ever they want to say in a way they dont preech. they r definetly one of the best anarcho/crust/punk or what ever u want to classify them as. they r absolutly amazing... crystal chaos	CrYsTaLcHaOs
commenting on revenant, sid never got the rest of the band on drugs. check your facts. Johnny was against drugs at the time he was in the pistols and still is.	THE_DROOGIE
FUCK YESH!!! CRASS!! THE BESTEST BAND IN THE WHOLE WIDE...WORLD?! ...Rancid sux by the way...	AskOgaSm
So Crass is finally here, who cares it's just going to be anothe board that I just end up talking to myself on.	GASPATCHO
ILoveSidVicious your a cunt, rancid are good but no where near as good as crass.	2-Tone-Army