Repo Man

Personnel: Tito Larriva (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Dez Cadena, Tim McGovern, Philo Cramer, Lee Ving (vocals, guitar); Derf Scratch (vocals, saxophone); Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Mike Muir, Iggy Pop (vocals); Greg Hetson (guitar, acoustic guitar); Gustavo Santaolalla (guitar, charango, background vocals); Grant Estes, Roger Rogerson, Greg Ginn, Steve Hutsteter, Steve Hufsteter, Zander Schloss (guitar); Chuck Biscuits, Earl Liberty (acoustic guitar); Steve Berlin, Jeff Hollie (saxophone); Morley Bartnoff (keyboards, background vocals); Rubin Garcia, Greg Kuehn (synthesizer); Charlie Quintana (drums, background vocals); Clem Burke, Eric Thompson, Spit Stix, Amery AWOL Smith, John Ingram (drums); M.B. Gordy (percussion).
Photographers: Ron Slenzak; Martin Turner.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Circle Jerks; Tim McGovern; Juicy Bananas; Lee Ving; Suicidal Tendencies; The Plugz; Burning Sensations.
As a backdrop to his fast-paced and cartoon-like debut chronicling the wayward life of Los Angles repo men, punk auteur Alex Cox did well to use music from the city's early-'80s hardcore punk scene; the tongue-in-cheek histrionics of Fear and the Circle Jerks (who appear in the movie as a punk band-turned-lounge act) fit flush with the film's mix of displaced suburban youth, gruff, and wizened repo veterans, Mexican hoods, industrial-skid row scenery, and irradiated UFO conspiracy theorists. Along with tracks by punk godfathers Iggy Pop ("Repo Man") and Jonathan Richman (writer of "Pablo Picasso"), the album's additional L.A. hardcore highlights include Black Flag's "TV Party," Suicidal Tendencies's "Institutionalized," and the Plugz's "Hombre Secreto (Secret Agent Man)." The Plugz's noir-ish, punk en espanol tracks, in fact, formed the trademark sound of the film. One of the first soundtracks to use pre-existing band cuts in lieu of an original score, Repo Man is a fine, if not terribly thorough document of L.A.'s punk heyday. ~ Stephen Cook