Later that year, the group released the classic hardcore single "Amoeba" on Posh Boy Records. The Adolescents signed with Frontier Records in January 1981 and recorded The Adolescents the following month. Rikk Agnew left and was replaced by Pat Smear, formerly of The Germs. This line up lasted until the end of June when Smear left.
The Adolescents broke up in August 1981. Cadena formed The Abandoned, Soto and Agnew joined Legal Weapon, Royer formed D.I. and Agnew joined Christian Death after his departure.
Rikk Agnew made his solo album in 1983 then joined D.I. with Alfie Agnew, Frank and Rikk's younger brother.
In 1986 The Adolescents reformed with their original line-up and started to work on a new album. They recorded Brats in Battalions in the late summer. The record came out in August 1987 due to the band deciding to produce and release the album themselves with little cash or backing.
The Adolescents broke up in April 1989.
The band regrouped to tour for the 20th anniversary of their self-titled album in 2001 and have continued to perform.
The Adolescents have a new release out on Finger Records, O.C. Confidential in 2005. Finger Records is owned and run by Mel Schantz out of Orange County, California.
The Adolescents toured in support of OC Confidential, but Frank Agnew left the band in 2006. Rotating through as the band's live guitarists over the next few years were Matt Beld, Joe Harrison, and Soto's former Joyride bandmate Mike McKnight. O'Brien left the band in 2008 and was replaced by Armando Del Rio. Reflex and Soto became the band's sole constant members and primary songwriters from this point forward, and signed the Adolescents to German label Concrete Jungle Records. A split EP with the band Burning Heads was released in 2009. For the band's next album, 2011's The Fastest Kid Alive, the lineup was Reflex, Soto, Del Rio, McKnight, and Harrison. The band also contributed a cover version of the Runaways' "School Days" to the tribute album Take It or Leave It: A Tribute to the Queens of Noise that year.
Dan Root took Harrison's guitar position in 2012, and the Adolescents released the American Dogs in Europe EP in conjunction with a European tour. This was followed by the band's sixth studio album, Presumed Insolent (2013). Del Rio was replaced by Mike Cambra, and McKnight by Leroy Merlin, for 2014's La Vendetta..., which was given a North American release the following year by Frontier Records. Hot War, a split EP with Russian band Svetlanas, followed in 2015, containing one song from Presumed Insolent and one from La Vendetta... The Adolescents' most recent studio album, Manifest Density, was released July 8, 2016 by Concrete Jungle, with Ian Taylor taking Merlin's place as rhythm guitarist.
Rip It Up
Adolescents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breaking heads well that don't sound like much fun
Is that your only way of getting kicks
By breaking heads you can't fix
Do you think you're tough
Because you rip it up
Gotta rip you up
Do yo gotta rip it up
Gotta rip it up
I've had enough of violence
Just to kill boredom makes no sense
We're not the background for your stupid fights
Get out of the darkness it's time to unite
Do you think you're tough
Because you rip it up
Gotta rip it up
Gotta rip it up
Gotta rip it up
Gotta rip it up
Gotta rip it up
In the Adolescents' song "Rip It Up," the lyrics speak out against violence and aggression and question the motivations behind such behavior. The opening line references "A Clockwork Orange," which is a novel and film centered around the theme of brutality and the effects of society's attempts to control it. The reference sets the tone for the rest of the song, implying that the violence being described is senseless and disturbing.
The lyrics go on to criticize the perpetrators of violence, questioning whether breaking heads is truly a fulfilling way to find excitement or if it's simply a way to prove toughness. The repetition of the phrase "Do you think you're tough/Because you rip it up" highlights the singer's disbelief that violence could actually make someone feel powerful or respected. Later in the song, the singer urges those who participate in violence to stop, arguing that it is a waste of time and a source of harm for everyone involved.
Line by Line Meaning
It's like Clockwork Orange a bit of twenty on one
It's reminiscent of the violence from the movie A Clockwork Orange mixed in with the recklessness of twenty people brawling.
Breaking heads well that don't sound like much fun
Physically harming others doesn't sound like enjoyable or rewarding pastime.
Is that your only way of getting kicks
Is causing harm to others really the only way you can feel excited and entertained?
By breaking heads you can't fix
Breaking others' heads won't fix any of your personal issues.
Do you think you're tough
Are you under the false impression that you're strong or formidable because of your violent actions?
Because you rip it up
Because you insist on causing destruction and violence.
Gotta rip you up
You need to be stopped or restrained in some way.
Do yo gotta rip it up
Do you really have to continue with your violent behavior?
I've had enough of violence
I'm personally fed up and tired of witnessing and being around violence.
Just to kill boredom makes no sense
Violence as a means of combating boredom is nonsensical.
We're not the background for your stupid fights
Others around you aren't mere background for you to display your violent tendencies on. You need to stop.
Get out of the darkness it's time to unite
It's time to stop focusing on the darkness and violence and instead focus on coming together and uniting.
Gotta rip it up
You continue to insist on causing destruction and violence.
Gotta rip it up
Your behavior needs to be stopped or restrained.
Gotta rip it up
You must be prevented from continuing to cause destruction and violence.
Gotta rip it up
Your violent behavior is intolerable and must be dealt with accordingly.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: RIKK AGNEW, TONY BRANDENBURG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
CR
on No Way
I perceive the "No ass, no head" lyrics to mean no sex, no blowjobs(head) hence the "gotta go home and jack off instead"