Didjits - Strictly Dynamite: The Best of Didjits Didjits

Didjits combined a love of hard rock (AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick), punk (Sex Pistols and, importantly, the metallic art show of The Plasmatics), and fifties rock and roll (specifically Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard) into a brand that was, as Dexter Holland from the Offspring correctly describes, “a teetering train about to go off the rails”. Chaotic live shows would have guitarist and vocalist Rick Sims skillfully turning the audience against him, adding to the frenzy of the stop-on-a-dime crazed rock that they were slowly perfecting. Early Didjits supporter Jello Biafra would marvel at their ability to alienate the audience of gathered stock punks yet still leaving them slack jawed and hearing impaired. Starting in 1988, Didjits released five full-length albums on Touch and Go Records (including a reissue of their 1986 self-released debut album, Fizzjob) along with two singles and an EP. MTV videos, sold out clubs, tours of Europe and North America followed - ending in 1994 (ironically the same year The Offspring released the platinum selling Smash containing a cover of “Killboy Powerhead” from Didjits 1990 release Hornet Pinata). Pressed on 180-gram opaque purple vinyl, this LP is an archival legacy of the band from their beginnings in rural Illinois to their dissolution over a decade later. The tracks selected compile 17 fan favorites from Didjits’ Touch and Go discography on a single LP.

The recklessness and abandon that got me into punk in the first place… a teetering train about to go off the rails. I couldn’t wait to hear what was next. — Dexter Holland (The Offspring)
The best Rock and Roll band of the 80s. — Steve Albini (Shellac, Big Black)
Kick Ass Rock and Roll… I’m in love! — Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys)