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Youth of America
Studio album by Wipers
Released	November 11, 1981
Recorded	1980
Studio	Wave Sound Studios, Vancouver, Washington
Genre	Punk rock post-punk proto-grunge
Length	30:40
Label	Park Avenue
Producer	Greg Sage
Wipers chronology
Alien Boy (1980) Youth of America (1981) Over the Edge (1983)

Youth of America is the second studio album by American punk rock band Wipers. It was released in 1981 by record label Park Avenue.

Content

The album marked a distinctive change in the band's sound. Compared to its predecessor, Is This Real?, which was composed mostly of raw, sleek and relatively traditional songs, Youth of America featured much longer and more complex compositions; the title track alone clocks in at over 10 minutes. According to frontman Greg Sage, this change of pace was a deliberate counter-reaction against the trend of releasing short songs, which many punk bands did at the time.

The Quietus noted the album's genre as post-punk and further described its style as "a six track set of lowly garage rock which traverses the cosmos irrespective. Secondly, it's a gothic downer but leavened by motion and momentum thanks to its krautrock influences. And lastly it's a grittily real punk record defined by an unerring air of unreality – as unromantic as it is fantastical". Rolling Stone has called the record "proto-grunge", and bands such as Melvins, Nirvana and Hole have covered their work.

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Boston Phoenix
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography	6/10
MusicHound Rock
OndaRock	7.5/10
Pitchfork	9.1/10
The Rolling Stone Record Guide
Sound
Spin Alternative Record Guide	5/10

Released in 1981, Youth of America was, according to Sage, not well received in the United States at the time of its release, but fared better in Europe. Milo Miles of The Boston Phoenix had mixed feelings about the album's tracks: "The side-long epic 'Youth of America' sags over the long haul, since no amount of innocent determination could keep such a ream of guitar psychodoodles free from Ted Nugent blots. But the other lengthy track, 'After It's Over,' leaps headlong into a frantic ascending riff, and never lets go."

In its retrospective review, Consequence of Sound wrote, "(f)rom its style of production and songwriting to its driving, angular guitar work coupled with anthemic hooks, Youth of America is as strong and fresh-sounding today as it was 30 years ago". The Quietus wrote "there may be more essential punk albums out there but never again did the genre sound so searching". Head Heritage noted its "enduring legacy".

Youth of America was later reissued on record labels Backbone and Restless, with different covers for each, and on Sage's own Zeno Records as the second disc of the Wipers Box Set, albeit with a different running order to the original vinyl issue.

Legacy

Along with other Wipers records, Youth of America has since come to be acknowledged as an important album in the development of American underground and independent rock movements of the early 1980s. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth cited the album as an inspiration, and covered the track "Pushing the Extreme" with Keith Nealy for Wipers tribute album Fourteen Songs for Greg Sage and The Wipers.

The title track was covered by Melvins on their 2001 album Electroretard and by Mission of Burma on the live album Snapshot. Kurt Cobain listed it in his top 50 albums of all time.

Pitchfork ranked the title track at No. 173 on their list of "The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s" and ranked the album at No. 102 on their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Greg Sage

Personnel

Wipers

• Greg Sage – vocals, guitar, piano, production, recording
• Brad Davidson – bass guitar, tape operation assistance
• Dave Koupal – bass guitar
• Brad Naish – drums

References

1. "Youth of America by Wipers - RYM/Sonemic".
2. ^ "50 Greatest Grunge Albums". Rolling Stone. April 2019.
3. "TrouserPress.com :: Wipers". www.trouserpress.com.
4. ^ "Wipers..Youth of America". zenorecords.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
5. ^ Calvert, John (October 26, 2011). "The Quietus | Features | Anniversary | 30 Years On: The Wipers' Youth of America Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
6. Kellman, Andy. "Youth of America – Wipers". AllMusic. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
7. "The Boston Phoenix 1982-06-08: Vol 11 Iss 23". Boston Phoenix. 8 June 1982.
8. Strong, Martin Charles (1999). The great alternative & indie discography. ISBN 9780862419134.
9. Rabid, Jack (1996). "Wipers". In Graff, Gary (ed.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (1st ed.). Visible Ink Press. pp. 737–38. ISBN 978-0-7876-1037-1.
10. "Wipers - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto".
11. Anderson, Stacey (July 19, 2020). "Wipers: Youth of America". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
12. Arthur, George (1983). "The Wipers". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (2nd ed.). Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 553. ISBN 0-394-72107-1.
13. "Wipers: Youth of America (Park Avenue)***½. By Ralph Traitor : Articles, reviews and interviews from Rock's Backpages".
14. Alden, Grant (1995). "Wipers". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 434–35. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
15. Miles, Milo (May 25, 1982). "The perils of provincialism: Foundering on regional rock". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
16. Comaratta, Len (June 18, 2011). "Dusting 'Em Off: Wipers – Youth of America". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
17. Lawrence (December 16, 2013). "The Wipers – Youth of America". Head Heritage. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
18. Kellman, Andy. "Wipers | Biography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
19. Thiessen, Brock (January 19, 2009). "Thurston Moore Says New Sonic Youth Album Inspired by the Wipers • News • exclaim.ca". exclaim.ca. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
20. Kennedy, Thomas (May 9, 2013). ""Top 50 by Nirvana" Journal // Joyful Noise Recordings". Joyful Noise Recordings. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
21. Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
22. "The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s – Page 2". Pitchfork.
23. "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s – Page 5". Pitchfork.

External links

• Youth of America at Discogs (list of releases)

• 1981 albums
• Wipers (band) albums