Back with a Bong!

Personnel: Todd Youth (guitar); Christopher Dowd, Angelo Moore, Walter Kibby (horns).
Recording information: Blue Canyon Records, Los Angeles; Chung King House of Metal; Dreamland Recording Studio.
Photographer: Frank White .
As angrily socio-political as so much punk rock tended to be, the genre also gave us quite a few bands that preferred goofy madcap humor over social or political commentary -- including the Ramones and the Dickies. Murphy's Law, a band that came out of New York's mid-'80s punk scene, was among the genre's goofiest. The aggressively rockin' Back with a Bong! isn't a CD that's heavy on political content -- song titles like "Panty Raid," "Cavity Creeps" and "Attack Oof the Killer Beers" underscore the fact that wild, irreverent fun is the primarily goal of the Astoria, Queens residents. Profile Records -- which had become one of the largest independent labels thanks to rappers like Run-D.M.C. and Dana Dane -- turned to Murphy's Law in the hope of increasing its visibility in rock. The album wasn't a big seller, although the punkers did command a small following. ~ Alex Henderson