They made their first recordings available in late 1979 via the SF Underground 7" compilation series released via Steve Tupper's newly-formed Subterranean Records. In 1981 a 7" followed Love Canal and Ha Ha Ha and the original lineup made 2 full-length studio albums on Subterranean, 1982's Generic and the 1984 followup Gone Fishin'.
Flipper's music was very shambolic and noisy, and oft considered "slow" for a punk band of the time. In many early shows, the band had half the audience on stage with them singing backup vocals, and encouraged horn players to join them for their anthem, Sex Bomb -- and the crowding on stage usually knocked the stringed instruments out of tune. Guitarist Ted Falconi installed spikes in the head of his guitar to help prevent this, but blaring, out-of-tune dissonance became part of the band's signature sound.
Bassist/vocalist Will Shatter died in 1987 of a heroin overdose. The remaining members reformed for the 1993 album American Grafishy on Def American Recordings which re-issued Generic, and a compilation called Sex Bomb Baby on Rick Rubin and Henry Rollins' Infinite Zero label. This relationship soured and the surviving Flipper members allegedly were duped out of their rights to their back catalog. Bassist/vocalist Bruce Loose got in a car accident which severely injured his spine resulting in a crippling injury which requires him to use a cane. Apparently drummer Steve Depace was in the works of writing an autobiography of his Flipper experiences to the irk of his band mates. Bruce most recently performed as Not Flipper at 924 Gilman and reunited as Flipper for a show in SF with surviving members Falconi and Depace. In December 2006, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic joined the band. On 22 September 2008, due to responsibilities at home, Novoselic announced his departure from the band.
Survivors of the Plague
Flipper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We have nothing
We who survived the plague
We have nothing
We who survived the plague
We have nothing
We who survived the plague
We have nothing
Oh we have labored
We have toiled
Yes we cleared this land
that we farm
And now the nation
Whom we've fed
looks upon us with scorn
And now the forest
the mighty forest
shall return to conquer
Oh we are a mirror
a distant mirror
when you look at us you will see
all your dreams
crushed upon the sea
Oh we have labored
we have toiled
webuilt our cities of stone
we have died
we did not fail
we built our cities of stone
yes we built our prisons
with their bars
we built the churches and spires
we built our palaces
and government houses
we built slums where we starve
Oh we are a mirror
a distant mirror
when you look at us you will see
all your dreams
crushed upon the sea
Flipper's song "Survivors of the Plague" is about the aftermath of societal collapse. The repeated line "We who survived the plague, we have nothing" refers to the fact that those who survived are left with nothing after everything they knew was destroyed. The song describes how the survivors have worked hard to rebuild and make a life for themselves, but are still viewed with scorn and contempt by those who did not have to endure the same hardships. They built the foundations of the society that is now flourishing, but they themselves are still struggling to make ends meet. The forest, described as "the mighty forest," is in contrast to the buildings and structures that the survivors have built, and symbolizes the force of nature that can easily overpower and reclaim civilization if it is not tended to.
Line by Line Meaning
We who survived the plague
The ones who survived the epidemic
We have nothing
We are left with nothing
We who survived the plague
The ones who survived the epidemic
We have nothing
We are left with nothing
We who survived the plague
The ones who survived the epidemic
We have nothing
We are left with nothing
We who survived the plague
The ones who survived the epidemic
We have nothing
We are left with nothing
Oh we have labored
We have worked hard
We have toiled
We have labored
Yes we cleared this land
We removed trees and debris from the land
that we farm
So we can grow crops
And now the nation
The entire country
Whom we've fed
The people we have fed
looks upon us with scorn
They are now looking down on us with contempt
And now the forest
The great forest
the mighty forest
The vast and powerful forest
shall return to conquer
Is going to reclaim the land
Oh we are a mirror
We represent
a distant mirror
A representation from afar
when you look at us you will see
When you see us, you'll realize
all your dreams
All the things you've ever wanted
crushed upon the sea
Are gone and unreachable
Oh we have labored
We have worked hard
we have toiled
We have labored
webuilt our cities of stone
We constructed our cities using stone as the primary material
we have died
We have lost lives
we did not fail
We have succeeded
we built our cities of stone
We constructed our cities using stone as the primary material
yes we built our prisons
We constructed prisons
with their bars
Using bars to keep prisoners in
we built the churches and spires
We built religious structures
we built our palaces
We constructed grand and luxurious buildings
and government houses
And places for government officials to work from
we built slums where we starve
We built poor neighborhoods where people struggle to survive
Oh we are a mirror
We represent
a distant mirror
A representation from afar
when you look at us you will see
When you see us, you'll realize
all your dreams
All the things you've ever wanted
crushed upon the sea
Are gone and unreachable
Contributed by Liliana H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.