| "Kids of the Black Hole" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by The Adolescents from the album The Adolescents | ||||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | skate punk/hardcore punk | |||
| Length | 5:26 | |||
| Label | Frontier Records | |||
| Writer | Rikk Agnew | |||
| Composer | Rikk Agnew | |||
| Producer | The Adolescents, Mike Patton & Thom Wilson | |||
| The Adolescents track listing | ||||
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"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 1980s.[1]
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 Casey Royer, 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]
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 featured in Anthony Van Engelen's part in the skateboarding video Mind Field. It was also used in the BMX video "Forward" which was produced by Etnies and featured Mike Escamillas as well as during Terje Haakonsen's part in the Mack Dawg snowboard video "Simple Pleasures". 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." The song has also been heard on an episode of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. A book titled Kids Of The Black Hole: Punk Rock In Postsuburban California will be released November 1, 2010. The book is written by Dewar MacLeod and tells the history and development of punk rock in Southern California.