Punk Rock New York

iTunes Review

You won’t find a more thorough compilation of recordings by hardcore heroes Reagan Youth. The first half of Punk Rock New York was recorded in 1983 and 1984. A pioneer band on the East Coast hardcore scene, Reagan Youth was fronted by Dave Rubinstein (a.k.a. Dave Insurgent). That fact that his parents were Holocaust survivors inspired much of his anti-racist lyrics, as heard here on the adrenalin-charged “I Hate Hate” and the erratic “Down with the New Aryans,” a song that shared Dead Kennedys leader Jello Biafra’s views that Ronald Reagan’s administration and the Christian right had beliefs paralleling those of white-supremacy hate groups. Rubinstein’s bratty, nasal-toned inflections also suited songs like “No Class,” a powerful tirade railing against economic division. Tracks 10-21 were recorded in 1990, and though Reagan Youth were still railing against the system, these songs sound like a different band.