Depending on where you start the clock, “Search And Destroy” might be the first really classic punk rock anthem.
Depending on where you start the clock, “Search And Destroy” might be the first really classic punk rock anthem. (Other candidates: “Kick Out The Jams,” “Ghost Rider,” “(I’m) Stranded,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Anarchy In The UK,” etc.) The immortal barnburner kicked off the third album by Iggy And The Stooges, released in 1973, and has been covered by everyone with even the remotest claim to a punk rock lineage, from The Dictators and The Dead Boys to Def Leppard and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Now, local new wave swashbucklers League Of Space Pirates have added themselves to this formidable list with their own keyboard-driven take on “Search And Destroy.” And whether you find their total reinvention of the track to be a fascinating 21st century update on a played-out previous-generation punk anthem or a thorough desecration of an untouchable icon, you’re bound to have an opinion about their unique version of this legendary tune.
Originally released as the B-side to their Digitized 10 inch, a single specially designed to look like an 8-bit rendering of a vinyl record and featuring Space Pirates original “Lonesome No More” on the A-side, “Search And Destroy” was previously a vinyl exclusive. Now, like “Lonesome No More” (which has been available online for a while as part of the mp3 EP Hypertrophy), the band has now made their Stooges cover available for stream and download on the internet. Check it out below:
“Search And Destroy” is available as an mp3 from Bandcamp, and there are still a few copies of the Digitized 10 inch vinyl EP available from the League Of Space Pirates webstore–order one for yourself by clicking here.
