Kids of the Black Hole

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“Kids of the Black Hole”
Cover of The Adolescents album
Song by The Adolescents
Album	The Adolescents
Released	1981
Recorded	1980
Genre	skate punk/hardcore punk
Label	Frontier Records

"Kids of the Black Hole" is a song by The Adolescents. The song was recorded in 1980 and released on their debut album, The Adolescents (1981). It also appears on the follow up live album, Return to the Black Hole (1997). The song is a description of an apartment that was located in Fullerton, CA in the 1980's^[1].

[edit] Conception

The song describes life at the so-called "Black Hole", which refers to a one-bedroom apartment (a punk house) that was originally owned by Mike Ness of the legendary punk rock band Social Distortion and Robert "Omlit" Logan of the Omlits^[2]. As described in the lyrics, The Black Hole was a house that "belonged to all the homeless kids". It was a filthy place to crash, drink, and socialize with others who were a part of the punk scene or kids who were visiting from other parts of the U.S. in order to see a show in Orange County, CA.

The song was written by Rikk Agnew, an original member of Social Distortion^[1]. Along with "Amoeba" and "Who Is Who", "Kids of the Black Hole" is considered one of the "representative songs" of The Adolescents^[3].

[edit] Legacy

Several notable bands have referenced, sampled, and covered "Kids of the Black Hole" including NOFX's "Kids of the K-Hole" from So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes (1997), Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' version of "Superstar" from Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah (2004). It was also used in the BMX video "Forward" which was produced by Etnies and featured Mike Escamillas. Also featured in the motocross video Crusty Demons of Dirt Volume 3. The Copyrights named the first song on their 2007 full length Make Sound "Kids of the Black Hole."

[edit] References