The story behind, This is Boston; Not L.A.
This Is Boston, Not L.A. is a hardcore punk compilation album released in 1982. It is considered the definitive album from the Boston hardcore scene, as several of the bands that were prominent in that scene appear on the album.
The bands performing included The Groinoids, Decadence, The Proletariat, The Freeze, The F.U.’s, Jerry’s Kids, and Gang Green.
According to Clif Hanger, vocalist for The Freeze, the song\album title was coined not to insult Los Angeles, but to encourage other Boston acts to find their own unique, local sound rather than emulate other bands from other areas. However, Boston audiences often took away a different meaning. They assumed the song asserted Boston’s superiority to Los Angeles.
The original LP’s label, Modern Method Records, was an offshoot of the Newbury Comics independent record store, which also shared ownership with Boston Rock, the local music scene’s largest circulation music publication.
After the record’s release, Boston natives took to mocking the title with T-shirts that proclaimed in large type: “This is L.A. (Lower Allston), not Boston” in reference toAllston, Massachusetts. In the early to mid-1980s, the t-shirt appropriately mimicked the NBA rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
The Boston-based ska-punk band Big D and the Kids Table printed t-shirts referencing the song and compilation. They featured “L.A” with a strike through it on the front and “This is Boston Not L.A.” on the back. South shore pop-punk band A Loss For Words also made shirts that featured a modified version of the Boston Celticslogo and the same saying on the reverse side. This alludes to both the compilation and the Celtic’s victory in the 2008 NBA Finals].
The compilation was mentioned by the punk rock band NOFX on their song “We Got Two Jealous Agains”. The lyric reads “But when I saw Christ on Parade, and This is Boston, Not LA I knew you were the one”.
- “Straight Jacket” - Jerry’s Kids – 0:28
- “Uncontrollable” - Jerry’s Kids – 0:51
- “Wired” - Jerry’s Kids – 1:22
- “Desperate” - Jerry’s Kids – 1:17
- “Pressure” - Jerry’s Kids – 1:26
- “I Don’t Wanna” - Jerry’s Kids – 1:25
- “Options” - The Proletariat – 2:01
- “Religion Is the Opium of the Masses” - The Proletariat – 2:14
- “Allegiance” - The Proletariat – 1:38
- “Angel” - The Groinoids – 1:07
- “Preskool Dropout” - The F.U.’s – 1:32
- “Radio Unix USA” - The F.U.’s – 1:01
- “Green Beret” - The F.U.’s – 1:38
- “Time Is Money” - The F.U.’s – 0:21
- “Snob” - Gang Green – 0:27
- “Lie Lie” - Gang Green – 0:36
- “I Don’t Know” - Gang Green – 1:03
- “Rabies” - Gang Green – 1:27
- “Narrow Mind” - Gang Green – 0:44
- “Kill a Commie” - Gang Green – 1:08
- “Have Fun” - Gang Green – 0:54
- “Slam” - Decadence – 1:30
- “Broken Bones” - The Freeze – 1:32
- “Idiots at Happy Hour” - The Freeze – 0:59
- “Now or Never” - The Freeze – 0:39
- “Sacrifice Not Suicide” - The Freeze – 1:08
- “It’s Only Alcohol” - The Freeze – 1:23
- “Trouble If You Hide” - The Freeze – 2:46
- “Time Bomb” - The Freeze – 1:57
- “This Is Boston, Not L.A.” - The Freeze – 0:25
- “Selfish” - Gang Green – 1:47
- “Empty Skull” - The Groinoids – 1:20
- “Voodoo Economics” - The Proletariat – 2:49
- “Machine Gun” - Jerry’s Kids – 1:20
- “Ceta Sucks” - The F.U.’s – 0:59
- “Refrigerator Heaven” - The Freeze – 8:19
- Wikipediaaa. (:
