The Orphans

The Government Stole My Germs CD

by John Vettese

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Published: Jan 23, 2008

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I don't know if Erik Petersen was referring to GermicideMedia Blitz(MIA) anthology, with its iconic blue ring cover art and completist track listing — those awesome cuts like "Forming" and "What We Do is Secret" — well, that'd be enough to send me into fist-flying anarchy. Players in West Chester's mid-'90s punk scene, Petersen's Orphans kick off this high-strung jam with a guitar riff worthy of Pat Smear. The tin is fantastic; it sounds like it's being played through the metal air duct of a dilapidated warehouse until the drums start and the verse erupts. Petersen leaps in, outlining the ills of a totalitarian regime that kinda sounds like the U.S., circa Hard Copy. Soon we meet his central character, the last angry man yelling, "I got my gun, got my flags, believe everything I read in all the mags/ Paranoid and ready to kill, shootin' kids from my windowsill." What's his problem? Whether through oppressive censorship or a clerical error, the government did in fact steal his Germs CD. I can relate, dude. when he wrote this song. Maybe he meant that rarities comp. But damn, if guys in shades and suits busted down my door and confiscated my copy of the

The Orphans split in 2000 and Petersen mostly plays in Mischief Brew these days, but the band is back together for a reunion gig at the Fire on Sat., Jan. 26. Go to the show and hear the song — if it's not on the set list, window-smashing is acceptable.

 

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