Vietnam Generation
1990 · New Wave NW032 · Arcata, California
- Artist
- Agent 86
- Title
- Vietnam Generation
- Release
- Vietnam Generation
- Year
- 1990
- Label
- New Wave # NW032
- Format
- 7" · EP
- Language
- English
- Country
- Arcata, California, USA
- Genre
- Punk · Hardcore Punk
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Hardcore Punk band, formed in 1982 in Arcata, California, USA. They are currently based in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Members included Mike Briggs (vocals, guitar), Miss B. Haven (bass, vocals), and David Ziegler (drums, vocals). Kicking off the 1990s, they released the song "Vietnam Generation" (New Wave Records # NW032), an interesting representation of a protest by the generation that lived and grew up in the shadow of the Vietnam War: "just the pawns in a game...born in a troubled nation". It reflects on the long-term impact of the war, and shows how it has became a benchmark in US society and culture. The song also referred to contemporary issues: "Nicaragua (South Africa)".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Vietnam generation, look at the mess you have made / You're just the pawns in a game the government got your name / Vietnam generation born in a troubled nation / But that was long ago, now it's Nicaragua (South Africa) / Body counts on the news, you don't have too much to lose / Except the ones of this nation, of the Viet generation
Notes
New Wave Records NW 032, label marked "P.A.I.". The yellow picture sleeve shows a grainy photograph of a smiling fighter holding a rifle aloft, reproduced on the label. The back has a live photograph of the band with the track list: side 1 "NG3" and "Vietnam Generation", side 2 "South Africa" and "Stepping Stone". It prints the addresses A.P.M.C. B.P. N°6, 75462 Paris Cedex 10, France and Agent 86/Mike, P.O. Box 70354, Washington DC 20024, USA, together with a circle-A logo reading "Be strong and resist always" and a Gabelli Photogravure credit. [From the record sleeve and labels]
About the artist
Political punk band formed in 1981 in Arcata, California by Humboldt State University students, fronted throughout by singer-guitarist Mike Briggs; the 'Vietnam Generation' 7" EP appeared on the French label New Wave Records in 1990. Briggs relocated the band to Las Vegas in 2008 and died in 2019. [Source: Wikipedia (German); Maximum Rocknroll; Las Vegas Weekly]