MUSIC: “Hated”
When G.G. Allin got naked around some fruit, you’d better have located the nearest exit already.
What to say about the dead, despised and debased G.G.? He was a scumbag du jour, a canvas of bad tattoos and punk rock’s foul id came to shrieking, stinking life.
Allin was one of the most notorious rock and roll anti-heroes ever, a man who often performed nude, defecated onstage, attacked the crowd and ended many a gig in handcuffs.
Allin’s the subject of one of the great rock and roll documentaries, “Hated,” which, for local cable subscribers, can be viewed for free on Cox In Demand this month on the Concert TV channel.
Check it out, it’s a must see.
The film was lensed by Todd Phillips, who later came to fame directing bawdy comedies like “Old School.”
But prior to that, he was a promising documentarian, who also made the unflinching “Frat House,” which chronicled brutal fraternity hazing rituals (though some of it was later revealed to have been staged).
“Hated” is among his best works, a gritty, in-your-face look at a dude who demanded the widest of berths.
Allin lived to be despised, savoring animosity like a last meal, but at his core, he was the embodiment of the existentialist ideal of living a completely unfettered life. He had no possessions, was beholden to no one (except the authorities, when they caught up with him) and did what he pleased, when he pleased.
Some people think G.G. was a racist — maybe because he looked like a prison block skinhead toward the end — but he was anything but.
Allin’s misanthropy was so raw, pure and unrefined, it wasn’t affected by something so trivial as race.
Simply put, he hated absolutely everyone, regardless of creed and color.
He was almost always on the lam, and “Hated” was filmed while Allin was violating parole, touring with his brother’s band, The Murder Junkies.
So, why pay attention to this geyser of vulgarity?
Because everybody needs to be offended from time to time.
It’s good for you.
Seriously, if you put strong stock in your mores, your value and belief systems, why not challenge them every now and then?
And “Hated” will most certainly do that, especially the scene where Allin disrobes in front of some NYU students and does some really bad things with a banana.
Eventually, Allin died of a heroin overdose after promising his loyal fans that he’d go out by committing suicide onstage.
In the end, he became the kind of rock and roll cliché that he always despised.
But, along the way, he did put out some pretty potent LPs — check out “Hated in the Nation” for some of the nastiest, most remorseless jams this side of Antiseen’s “Eat More Possum” or the Dwarves’ “Blood, Guts and ...”
And in meantime, watch “Hated,” it’s a rock doc for the ages.
It’s right up there with “Derailroaded,” “The Decline of Western Civilization” and “Shut Up And Sing” as one of my all-time favorite music documentaries.
What are some of yours?
