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Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies

Started by Neil, February 05, 2013, 11:39:20 PM

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Neil

Watched this Todd Phillips documentary for the first time a couple of nights ago, and found it so compelling that I sat up till 5am listening to both of the commentaries.  I love the idea of commentaries, but can barely ever bring myself to commit to the time they take up.  The ones on Hated are great, though, with Merle and Dino just fucking about on their one, and Todd Phillips giving some interesting insights on his. 

The documentary is, as I say, wildly compelling, taking a fairly traditional approach to such a transgressive artist.  I ended up watching Allin's funeral footage on my phone in bed afterwards, and am now going to watch his appearance on Jerry Springer (which is up in full on YouTube.)

He was a truly cathartic performer - I can see correlations between him and Jerry Sadowitz, where you have two people who are obviously deeply troubled and disordered, and the only way they can deal with that (without becoming a serial killer, in GG Allin's case) is to get it all out on stage.[nb]Insert your own ex-lax gag.[/nb]

I'll have to get the DVD at some point, if only because the extras contains video of a full, hour-long show. 

If you haven't seen Hated, seek it out - it's staggering.  Vicious and shocking, with its own twisted sense of humour.  And you'll have "Bite It You Scum" in your head for days afterwards. 

DukeDeMondo

Absolutely love this film, and was fairly obsessed with it for a while. I've got three of the live DVDs that MVD released on Region 1 five or six years ago, too, and each of those has, if I remember right, at least two shows on, sometimes three. Utterly terrifying stuff, yet frequently hilarious. The sight of GG hunched over at the edge of the stage, trying his damnedest to shove a chair leg up his arse with the assistance of an eager audience member, will stay with me forever. As will the moment when, having grown tired of the whole affair, he flings the chair to fuck and boots the audience member in the face instead. There's another great show on one of the discs ("Raw, Brutal, Rough and Bloody," the best of the bunch, I'd say) that has him and the lads performing in some sort of cage set up in the middle of a bar, and ends with him wandering about the building after the show in nowt but his boots with folks approaching him every so often asking if he'd be so kind as to rub some of the shite off his back onto their clothes. Remarkable.

I watched this a while ago (along with loads of archive interview stuff on youtube) and it's undoubtedly a fascinating and well made film but by the end of it I just thought Allin was a wholly pathetic, talentless individual. Any message he may have had became totally sidelined by his own desire to service his notoriety. There's a bit in the film where he's doing a spoken word thing and he clobbers some girl and then starts flinging his shit around like a fucking zoo ape. There's nothing to admire about that.

I just get bored with the whole "live fast, die young" Rock 'n' Roll ethos stuff. Maybe this sounds a bit conservative but I like music, and dropping a big old cack on stage and then sliding around in it has nothing to do with music.

But yeah, a very good documentary and well worth a watch.

hedgehog90

I remember watching this for the first time about 4 or 5 years ago, when I was still at school. I went in the next day and told all my friends about GG Allin. People thought I was strange for enjoying this, and I probably am.
But I could't help but be express to others what a totally fascinating character he was.

I try and put myself in his place, you know, pooing on stage, kicking women in the face while screaming a song, and I reach the same conclusive thought. How and why does a person do that?
It confuses me and frightens me, it's compelling.

Have a listen to Freaks Faggots and Junkies, his only passably decent album.
Contains the followong hits: Suck My Ass it smells & My Bloody Mutilation.
Wonderful lyrics.

Other good clips on youtube:
An appearance on 2 other Springeresque shows. One called something like Geraldo and one another presented by a woman (Sorry I can't check the titles or provide links, I'm on my phone.)
The first one shows GG with a young girl, a fan, and in a later one she returns and things get pretty grim. I have tried to find out what happened to her, she is almost as compelling as GG.
I think I read from on an IMDB discussion from someone who claims to know her that she now lives in Connecticut, married with kids. I hope that's true.

There's also about 30 mins of footage of GG walking around the streets of New York after his final gig, naked and covered in poo. That's great. The carnage and destruction follows him around. It ends with him getting in a cab, and hours later he died of an overdose.

Will provide links later.

cosmic-hearse

I'm a fan, though I've not watched Hated in a long, long time. There are some intersting characters in the film, especially Chicken John. It's a pity (from a musical point of view) that the film didn't delve into his earlier years, as he was relatively straight circa Always Was, Is & Always Shall Be. I mean check this sensitive little number:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqwvJoO2ZYE

He was also adopted by the New York art rock/ no wave or whatever you want to call it scene in the 80s, where I presume he was perceived more as a performance artist than a Dionysian rock'n'roller. I would love to have sat in with the recording sessions with GG & J Mascis - what sort of conversations did they have??

When Hated was made, his persona was more Southern[nb]Despite hailing from New England[/nb] rebel, perhaps in part due to his association with tedious sub-GG 'Confederacy Of Scum' acts like Antiseen.

I do wonder what he'd have done had he lived. Here he is with Johnny Cash:



I wouldn't have been surprised[nb]It would have been a surprise, now I think about it[/nb] if he'd become a born again Christian C&W singer.

hedgehog90

I haven't listened to the commentary tracks or seen any of the special features myself, so I just bought myself a copy of the special edition DVD.

Funnily enough, the best deal I found was on Sainsburys (£7.99):
http://www.sainsburysentertainment.co.uk/en/Films-TV/DVD/G-G-Allin-And-The-Murder-Junkies/Hated-Special-Edition/product.html?product=E10328686
Got me 14 nectar points :)

Those links for the Youtubes I mentioned earlier:

GG Allin on "Geraldo" (March 12th, 1992):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTUniRWnLgI

GG Allin on Jane Whitney:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OzPfYcpe8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ws-XarAE2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES6mdRgKHJQ

GG Allin's Last Day Alive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F9yk8X1TAw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRAVxrauCxg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjSsXTtr80U

Mark Steels Stockbroker

He just kept doing the same old stuff. He was the transgressive Peter Kay.

thenoise

Just been listening to some old compilation tapes with GG on them while doing the washing up (crazy life that I lead).  One of them is a telephone call from prison where he just slurs random filth down the phone line in a weird improvised poetry kind of thing, ha ha.  Yeah he was a fuck up alright, musically pretty boring but that is hardly the point.

Jerry Sadowitz seems wild and unpredictable, but he is in control of what he does, he doesn't even drink, and his comedy material is carefully thought out and worded.  GG Allin was a drugged up drunken mess.  Not sure what the comedy equivalent is but I remember seeing a young drugged up Russell Brand getting glassed off stage at the Edinburgh fringe doing deliberately annoying material, maybe if he hadn't cleaned himself up he could have gone down that route.

alan nagsworth

'My body is a rock and roll temple. My flesh, blood and bodily fluids are a communion to the people, whether they like it or not. I'm not out to please anybody. My rock and roll is not to entertain, but to annihilate. I'm trying to bring danger back into rock and roll, and there are no limits and no laws, and I'll break down every barrier put in front of me until the day I die.'

Probably the best quote ever. Things started to make a lot more sense to me once I heard GG say that. There's not a lot to truly like about the man but I find myself in awe of his lifestyle and attitude nonetheless. He was never afraid. He was just about as real as any human being you'll ever meet. There is a scene where he does a talk at some university and the atmosphere escalates extremely quickly from a bunch of giggling cunts observing what they think is a silly spectacle into a fevered rush for the exit as GG pulls a sandwich out of his arse and flings it at them. That scene is amazing, it illustrates to me the wonderful divide between what people think rock and roll can truly achieve, and GG. Don't take life for granted, because one day you'll get a face full of shitty bread from someone who is one of the most real and unrelentingly dangerous people on the planet.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: alan nagsworth on February 07, 2013, 01:24:32 PM
GG pulls a sandwich out of his arse and flings it at them.

How passé. I mean, you've seen it once, you've seen it a million times.

I wonder is covering yourself in your own leavings really transgressive when you do it every time you go on stage. Is getting kicked in the head really that entertaining ? I get the feeling that GG and his band of groupies were all mentally subnormal weirdos and should not be looked up to. Fascinating though.

alan nagsworth

Quote from: checkoutgirl on February 07, 2013, 01:49:04 PM
How passé. I mean, you've seen it once, you've seen it a million times.

Except if you were a member of that particular audience, who were shocked and disgusted by what they saw, which is the point. GG was a destructive force who became a spectacle and no matter how many people told themselves that it probably wasn't as severe as what they'd heard, every single one of them left an encounter either utterly repulsed or in total awe of a man not afraid to do these things in any light of day, under any circumstance. More fool them, he's only doing what he enjoys.

If you think that GG was supposed to have some kind of agenda whereby things got worse as they went along, it does seem like there was some vague semblance of a plan (i.e. "I'll kill myself on stage one day") but at its core, what GG did was simply push one big fat boundary and then hold it into submission until he died. It's not a complex routine. GG obviously saw that rock and roll was once a very controversial genre of music that had now completely lost all "original" meaning to him, however distorted and skewed that meaning is in his head, and so he wanted to be the one to go against that, to piss people off with what he did, and (inadvertently? Who cares) creating a dedicated following who got an extreme kick out of witnessing GG's performances.

In short, GG was a fucking nutter, and we could sit here and argue the toss over what qualifies as "performance art" and what doesn't until the cows come home, but what GG did with his life is important to me regardless of any labels or martyrdoms people wish to slap on his stinking cadaver. He was a fantastic rock and roll star, and underneath it all that's what I care about.

Dusty Gozongas

It's always good to see some positive opinions of a man who possibly shouldn't deserve to be thought of in the way he is. Essentially he took the punk ethic[nb]for want of a better cliche.[/nb] to one of the many possible logical conclusions. I've always been fascinated by artists who walk the edge (as is often the case by the very nature of the medium) and Allin was one of the few who was clear about the likely outcome of his excess.

It may sound twee, and I should point out that I get no pleasure from the spectacle of another dead rock star, but performers like him are actually refreshing on the odd occasion that they come along.

kngen

I'm pretty sure a lot of his issues stem from his ridiculously tiny penis (well, that and his batshit mental religious father calling him Jesus and making him and his brother dig their own graves in the basement when they were but wee bairns.)


I've read more than one person, most notably Mykel Board, say that, away from the stage and when not out of his gourd on whatever, Allin was actually a quiet, thoughtful type - so the Sadowitz comparison is a not a million miles off the mark, it would seem.

But the big question is - how the hell does Merle Allin grow that weird moustache curtain thing he has?

Also, Antiseen are great.

Neil

Merle and Dino talk on the commentary about the plan for GG to top himself on stage, and mention the proposed idea being a stick of dynamite up the bum, or in the mouth. 

checkoutgirl

Quote from: kngen on February 07, 2013, 04:40:04 PM
I'm pretty sure a lot of his issues stem from his ridiculously tiny penis

I've often wondered why I have such a stable, well balanced mind.

Egyptian Feast

Quote from: Neil on February 05, 2013, 11:39:20 PM
I'll have to get the DVD at some point, if only because the extras contains video of a full, hour-long show. 

This really is worth getting. The footage from the final show is pretty awesome, especially when it spills out into the streets.

I haven't listened to GG in ages. A lot of his back catalogue is pretty bad, but I had a great 'best of' tape compiled by a mate years ago, including such classics as 'I Hate People', 'Ass Fuckin' Butt Suckin' Cunt Lickin' Masturbation', 'I'm Infected With AIDS' and the immortal 'Ten Year Old Fuck', plus some truly awful poetry. I wish I still had that, as it's the only collection of his stuff I really enjoyed from start to finish.

I was surprised to find Hated In The Nation on vinyl in HMV Oxford Street a few years back, and couldn't resist picking it up. It's got some shite on it, but you can't argue with tunes like 'Gimme Some Head' or 'Drink Fight And Fuck'. I must dig it out again, as the chorus of the former has just jammed itself in my head. Better not sing out loud here...

Dusty Gozongas

Quote from: kngen on February 07, 2013, 04:40:04 PM
I've read more than one person, most notably Mykel Board, say that, away from the stage and when not out of his gourd on whatever, Allin was actually a quiet, thoughtful type

It's been ages since I watched Hated so I can't recall whether it includes his mother saying pretty much the same thing on camera. I recall her being quite open and philosophical about GG, her only disappointment being that some fans would be disrespectful of nearby graves in the cemetery he's buried in (although I found it touching that she'd leave the odd discarded JD bottle at the gravestone because it's 'what he would've wanted' or sentiments to that effect). I'm going to have to watch again now aren't I?

cosmic-hearse

GG had a virtual tribute act called Bloody Mess as one of his contemporaries. He was pretty mediocre for the most part, but in his early hardcore incarnation he wrote this  - and I'm not going to mince my words here - CLASSIC song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMJL0QsRiug

There was also The Dwarves (whom GG always thought of as milquetoasts, as he did with most of his contemporaries), who were a lot more acessible - I saw them live once, & there was a small amount of nudity & bloodshed, but no real unpredictablity.

Noodle Lizard

It's weird to watch that documentary knowing that this promising young documentarian would later shit out 'The Hangover' and 'Old School' and other such shite[nb]Though I suppose he could be seen to be continuing Allin's legacy by throwing shit in the faces of his audience - nooch.[/nb].

Anyway, yeah, GG was an interesting fellow.  One part of me really admires him, the other part thinks he was an idiot.  Altogether, I suppose I find him admirable because he was so relentlessly idiotic.  Like a slightly less-intense Bronson.

Fuck the music, though, it really is awful.  And his ultimate demise was a bit disappointing considering the build-up - a bit like when you think you've got a super life-changing fart coming on but it turns out just to be a puny puff of warm air.

Epic Bisto

Some of the music is quite amusing, but not worth paying for (I made that mistake once). In case you're curious, check out some of the funniest reviews in reviewdom: http://www.markprindle.com/allin.htm

I accidentally saw this after I set the video timer too early when Film4 broadcast "DOA" (the film about the Sex Pistols tour - this was way back when Film4 was subscribe-only and excellent and stuff). Damn it, "Hated" was so funny. Got the first DVD with the last live concert too, which is as demented as the actual film.

Essentially, he was a man with limited intelligence and a thoroughly juvenile brain, but at least he served his purpose. It's a shame he didn't live long enough to appear at the Royal Variety Performance, smashing Jimmy Tarbuck's face with the microphone throughout.

kngen

I was just about to nominate Poison Idea as the perfect balance of awesome musicality and truly dangerous, unpredictable live shows, but then I remembered H-100s from Cleveland. Yeah, they had the spirit of GG and the Germs rolled into one.

Then of course there's GISM...


Dusty Gozongas

Aye, my mistake. Was gonna use the cover-all "square bottle" as I wasn't entirely reminiscent but I'm not sure how widespread that term is over here.

Famous Mortimer

Thanks Epic Bisto for reminding me of DOA, one of the finest music films I've ever seen.

Like a lot of you, love the film, am slightly baffled by the music.

Don_Preston

Quote from: alan nagsworth on February 07, 2013, 02:24:53 PM
but at its core, what GG did was simply push one big fat boundary and then hold it into submission until he died. It's not a complex routine. GG obviously saw that rock and roll was once a very controversial genre of music that had now completely lost all "original" meaning to him

They should have filmed him from the waist up, arf.

checkoutgirl

I watched this the other day after reading the thread. It's mercifully short at under an hour and I think the film maker did a reasonable job. GG Alin was isolated as a kid and his brother is a bit of a weirdo too. When he did that talk in some New York university and he's on the stage saying basically nothing and the assembled students scatter, I couldn't help feeling sorry for GG. He was basically one of the most pathetic degenerates ever and his fans/followers seemed like quite sad people, not the ones doing interviews for the film, they seemed alright. I was nodding along with what former Alin band member Chicken John was saying, then at the end he starts punching his own face really hard. A fitting way to end the film.

I can appreciate what Alin was doing but he is essentially a talentless, perverted savage of a man who just found a vague philosophy that allowed him to act in any way he felt like. Hardly a messiah figure for me.

Noodle Lizard

I think it's healthy to have a few people like that enter the public consciousness every now and then though.  Who do we have nowadays?  Mel Gibson's a bit shit, really.  Charlie Sheen fucking a few prozzies and doing some coke?  Lindsay Lohan being banned from the Chateau Marmont for leaving her room messy one too many times?  Eh. 

Then again, I'm not sure how much of a household name GG ever was.  So maybe Cuntlip Yoghurtcock from the band Horsebastard going mental at a gig at The Fleece and Firkin in Goole is as good as we're gonna get for the time being.

Mark Steels Stockbroker

Give Frankie Boyle some mind-posoning drugs and leave him on stage with a hand-mirror and a collection of DIY tools.

Noodle Lizard

I suppose you could say someone like Sadowitz is the comedic equivalent, but even he's not quite as insane as legend would have you believe ("he'll jizz right in your face if you sit in the front row!")

Weirdly enough, I remember stories about Russell Brand's earlier stand-up days where he'd often cut himself and break stuff.  For some reason.  But to compare him to GG Allin would be a bit silly, really, wouldn't it?  Guys?

checkoutgirl

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on February 12, 2013, 01:48:12 PM
Mel Gibson's a bit shit, really.

Have you heard the Mel Gibson tapes (You were supposed to blow me BEFORE THE JACUZZI) ?

Fucking hilarious. The world would be a less funny place without Mel 'Colmcille' Gibson.