La Flor de Mal

There are differing opinions on the definition of true art (Jello Biafra once said words to the effect that anyone not using art as a weapon is not an artist), but speaking as someone who is reasonably well-rounded – I count Beethoven, Bach, Howlin’ Wolf, and Captain Sensible amongst my Gods – I can tell you that Reel Ten by The Plugz, the song played during the final moments of Alex Cox’ Repo Man, is one of the finest three minutes of music in the history of humankind.

You got that – HUMANKIND. In the history of THE WHOLE EARTH. Yup yup, all arrogant, holier-than-thou classical snobs and music nerds of the rock'n'roll variety are rolling their eyes, lamenting the day that the interweb gave everyone – even twits like I – a forum for spewing forth ignorant, clueless drivel. Good; we've had hundreds of years of only having you creeps to listen to, so dig this: it ain’t Beethoven’s 7^th, but it moves me as much as Beethoven’s 7^th, so what’s the diff? Reel Ten is a benevolent force of nature; it stops evil in its tracks, causing it to wither and die. It cuts the feet off the myriad mundane headaches of everyday life as effectively as it crushes the larger problems into fine dust. It’s a clear, achingly beautiful day with a full moon at dusk, a starlit night full of possibilities; it’s heroin without the addiction, a grand, grand buzz without the hangover or dehydration. It gives me faith in humanity, a giddy sense of I Can Do Anything, a love of men and women, not as conniving demagogues, but as creative teachers helping us understand and appreciate life for the gift it is. It makes me marvel at my good luck that I was born at all, on the one beautiful planet in a solar system otherwise devoid of life. It’s enough to bring me back. In a world where the great ignorant masses accuse the president of being a socialist, where muslim clerics find cause and effect between promiscuity and earthquakes, where wackjobs shriek hysterically for their right to carry loaded guns into restaurants, where the unspeakable horror and carnage of war are simply a means to an end, or sometimes an end themselves-

This song, every time its haunting opening notes ooze through my speakers, rescues me from the darkness, a giant hand from Los Angeles pulling me back from that dark place where the darkness gets so thick that, finally, you may not be able to find your way out.

If you aren’t hip to The Plugz, or Steve Medina Hufsteter, or The Quick, or Tito Larriva, or Tito and Tarantula, you ain’t doing yourself any favors. Tito and Steve had their fingers in multiple pies back in the halcyon days of the L.A. punk scene, and their talent was so huge they quickly grew out of that scene and fused traditional Mexican sounds with their rock’n’roll roots.  But it was their collaboration on Reel Ten for Repo Man that – for me, anyway – will forever be the most brilliant thing they ever did; a once-in-a-lifetime shot where they delivered beyond all expectations, with such conviction and grace that they’ll always have at least one chump out there who is grateful. And thankful.