Discharge - Why

DISCHARGE - WHY

Whether or not there was a corpse in the mouth of Cal, lead vocalist of Discharge, was negligible. What was certainly true, however, was that there were plenty of corpses in his dreams and visions - and subsequently in his lyrics.

Snapping at the heels of their three classic singles, Why was Discharge's first foray into 12" vinyl territory and though it may well have suggested to some that they were perhaps a one trick pony; what a mighty, thoroughbred, uncastrated stallion of a pony it was.

Consisting of nine brilliant slabs of roaring Punk intensity, Why was the sound of the anti-war/CND/peace movement being dragged completely away from the trappings of the 1960s into the ugly reality of the 1980s. Combining once again Cal's haiku-like lyrics with the sonic violence of the music, taken as a whole, Discharge had forged a quite astonishing Zen-Punk-like experience:

"My head is filled with fear of war, fear and threat of war. Horrific disturbing visions of war fill my head. Among the maimed and slaughtered my body lies... I look out my window to a blinding bright light, Enola passes, passes by. Hysterical men, women and children run in search of their families. Skin is shed like that of snakes but it's not the work of mother nature. Tomorrow, tomorrow, a look at tomorrow... Besides her man she kneels, holds him tight and begins to cry. Her loved one's just another piece of meat on the battlefield. Why, why, why but why... Men, women and children cry and scream in pain, wounded by bomb splinters. Streets littered with maimed and slaughtered, in rigid pathetic heaps... In order to satisfy their mania for conquest, lives are squandered... Scorched earth is all that's left where trees and flowers once grew. Nothing left but wasteland littered with human flesh and bone... Sounds of distant aircraft get louder. Men, women and children flee from the open in search of safety. A woman breaks down and cries, her child is left playing in the street - massacre of innocence... Why, why, why but why..."

Could there be any better way of conveying such thoughts other than through harsh blasts of furious noise? What Discharge had created was the almost perfect vehicle for such anger and horror that in time would be much copied but never bettered.

Whilst the focus of Why was rightly upon the subject of war, two songs that stood out from the set dealt with wholly different topics. On the track Does This System Work?, that very simple question is posed along with a very brief example of why the answer might be in the negative: "Men and women, young and old, out on the streets homeless. In plastic bags they carry their homes, clothes in rags they walk the streets. In bins they search for the odd dog end, the odd dog end and food. Does this system work?"

It was enough to make you wonder, at least.

The other song - and probably the best track on the record - entitled Ain't No Feeble Bastard, turns their noise into an immediate and in-your-face proclamation of empowering defiance: "Ain't no feeble bastard that has no say, I say what I think not what they want me to think. Ain't no feeble bastard, no fucking scapegoat."

This was the kind of song that if heard by any parent being sung by their children might make them slightly worried. The kind of song that if heard by your average Daily Mail reader might make them fearful as to what was becoming of the younger generation.

In truth, however, all the songs on Why were extremely positive and life-affirming. All, in actual fact, very sane responses to an insane situation. "The voice of common sense has to be heard, for man is an endangered species," said Cal in Discharge's first and only interview with the NME "Throughout the world, peace and anti-war movements are blossoming as never before. We each have a contribution to make."

The times were harsh and the harshness of Discharge was reflecting this perfectly. 

This was unlistenable music for unliveable times.

Unrelenting and unpretentious.