NOFX

Liberal Animation (1988)

FuckYouOiOiOi

This was the first NOFX CD I bought. If I hadn't bought the Punk-O-Rama comp a week later, I might never have bought another NOFX CD again.

Not that it sucks, it was just pretty fucking bad at first, and really hard for someone who's just getting into punk to listen to. But, after I listened to all the essentials (White Trash…, Punk in Drublic, The Decline, …Valuum, etc.) I went back and listened to this and loved it.

There is a huge difference between this and modern NOFX albums. It's not melodic; just fucking fast, hardcore punk with some metal riffs thrown in. Mike couldn't sing for shit and this is hilariously evident in "Truck Stop Blues." The lyrics, for the most part, are laughably simplistic, and the subject matter is fucked when you compare it to modern NOFX. They speak out against peace punks in "Piece" and veganism in "Vegetarian Mumbo Jumbo" and "Shut Up Already," the latter of which features the simple yet true line:

If a big animal had the chance
It wouldn't take another glance
It would eat you up.

But even with all the differences there are obvious similarities that reminds us this is, after all, NOFX. First of all, the album title, like the majority of NOFX album titles, is a pun. And, like every NOFX CD, there is one song dedicated to getting a laugh. This comes in the form of "A200 Club," where Mike delightfully sings "I got crabs;" fucking hilarious shit. There is a drug/alchohol song with "Beer Bong". There are 'political' songs like "Freedumb" and "You Put Your Chocolate in My Peanut Butter," which I suspect is about cops and has the line, "There's no justice / there's just us / so trust us." And of course, no NOFX CD would be complete without puns. This is no exception, and the best pun is in "Mr. Jones" (about heroin):

I can't seem to live without you
Without you, what's the point?

The album is very interesting to listen to and see how they've evolved as a band. It's not something that will stick with you after you've listened to it, and it's not a great hardcore CD by any means, but it will capture your attention for the time it is on.