The Authorities

For me the best feature of the IPod is the shuffle feature, which has let me enjoy so many tracks that have been buried in my collection. Case in point, The Authorities. "RadiationMasturbation" popped up and I knew I had my next post. The Authorities hailed from Stockton, CA and were active from the late 70's to the mid 80's. In all that time they only managed to release one 7", 1982's Soundtrack For Trouble EP. Four tracks of snotty, uptempo punk. "I Hate Cops" from this release would also be included on 1983 US Hardcore compilations We Got Power and Sounds of Hollywood: Copulation (both on Mystic). "RadiationMasturbation" and "I Hate Cops" would later get the Killed By Death treatment, appearing on the initial installment of the lost punk series.

In the late 90's the Soundtrack For Trouble songs and unreleased tracks from 1983 were reissued by Existential Vacuum on vinyl, later by Get Hip on CD as Puppy Love. It's 14 tracks in all, many of the unreleased songs are just as catchy if not better than their best known tracks.

Two originally from the Soundtrack For Trouble EP:

The Authorities - I Hate Cops.mp3
The Authorities - RadiationMasturbation.mp3

One from the unreleased 1983 sessions. More melodic and depressing. According to the historical website linked above there were some definite heroin issues within the band:

The Authorities - Your Life.mp3