The Process of Weeding Out
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| The Process of Weeding Out | ||
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| EP by Black Flag | ||
| Released | September 1985 | |
| Recorded | March 1985 | |
| Genre | Hardcore punk | |
| Length | 26:28 | |
| Label | SST | |
| Producer(s) | Greg Ginn, Bill Stevenson, David Tarling |
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| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Black Flag chronology | ||
| Loose Nut (1985) |
The Process of Weeding Out (EP) (1985) |
In My Head (1985) |
The Process of Weeding Out is an EP released by Black Flag in 1985 on SST Records. The music is entirely instrumental and similar to the second side of Family Man.
The title is a dual reference. Most obvious is the band "weeding out" fans who didn't appreciate the band's instrumental explorations and wanted only to hear hardcore punk material. But also, at the time of the record's recording and release, Greg Ginn was a heavy marijuana user, as were Kira Roessler and numerous SST employees/associates, hence the title (i.e., "weeding" out).
The peak of Ginn’s 12-tone musical exploration, unhindered by the need for vocals, Ginn would argue that this music contained all the revolution, if not more so, than the obvious anthems lke “Rise Above” or “Police Story”. It is this EP that brings Black Flag closest to the idea of punk rock as free jazz.
“Your Last Affront” starts with a bass line that anchors the song, the drums then enter, free to find their pattern, finally settling on a back and forth clatter of cymbals before Ginn’s guitar meekly appears stage right and then begins exploding. At 3m40s a shift in the drums to snare and rapid fills marks the song stepping up a gear, with the guitar taking on and then distorting the bass part while the bass goes on to a brief solo, before everything becomes a clattering noise and by 5m29s the song returns to its original structure. At 6m05s it un-anchors itself once more and grinds to a near halt, plodding along while Ginn's tone drifts. This is remarkably snapped out of at 7m42s when Ginn stumbles upon a classic punk rock riff which in turn re-ignites the song into a looser version of its original self.
“Screw The Law” begins at a rapid speed without any long or extravagant introduction. Full of drive and energy, a mélange of rhythms, sounds and patterns played at a furious pace, it ends as suddenly as it started.
“The Process Of Weeding Out” is initially the least accessible of the four pieces, Ginn’s guitar exploring the 12-tone structure free of drums and only with a perfunctory bass line for company. When the drums rattle in at 1m14s the whole sound transforms as the tempo of the guitar steps up to match the whirlwind of percussion, with the bass now working at odds with the other three instruments. They reunite briefly at 3m23s, only to do an about-face and launch into the second half of the song with a far more conventional rhythm section for the guitar to play over. This mutates yet again into the third section of the song on 5m11s where Ginn locks himself into the bass part and where Black Flag sound most like the early work of Black Sabbath. The band stays in this format for the rest of the track, slowly distressing the elements they’ve constructed until the songs close.
“Southern Rise” has a real blues feel, created by the shuffling drums, the minor key of the guitar and the high register walking bass. Typically though, the song soon goes off on a tangent, or more accurately, Greg Ginn goes off on a tangent while the rhythm section holds the fort, providing a relatively conventional base by which he can launch himself and return to at will. It seems that Ginn reaches a peak at 2m57s after which he prefers to reduce the volume and tone and work on a more exploratory level; it is at this point where Bill Stevenson’s intense drumming comes to the fore and in a sense he becomes the lead guitarist.
[edit] Track listing
- "Your Last Affront" (Ginn) – 9:39
- "Screw the Law" (Ginn) – 2:24
- "The Process of Weeding Out" (Ginn) – 9:58
- "Southern Rise" (Ginn/Kira/Stevenson) – 5:00
[edit] Personnel
- Greg Ginn - guitar
- Kira Roessler - bass
- Bill Stevenson - drums
| Black Flag |
|---|
| Greg Ginn |
| Vocals: Chavo Pederast | Keith Morris | Dez Cadena | Henry Rollins |
| Bass: Raymond Pettibon | Spot | Chuck Dukowski | Kira Roessler | C'el Revuelta |
| Drums: David Horvitz | Brian Migdol | ROBO | Emil Johnson | Chuck Biscuits | Bill Stevenson |Anthony Martinez |
| Discography |
| Albums: Damaged | My War | Slip It In | Family Man | Loose Nut | In My Head |
| Extended plays: Nervous Breakdown | Jealous Again | Six Pack | TV Party | The Process of Weeding Out | Minuteflag | I Can See You |
| Live: Live '84 | Who's Got the 10½? | Annihilate This Week |
| Other releases: Everything Went Black | The First Four Years | Wasted...Again | The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More | Spray Paint EP |
| Related articles |
| Rollins Band | Dos | State of Alert | Gone | SST Records | Spot | October Faction | Joe Cole |
