Duff McKagan’s column runs every Thursday on Reverb. He writes about what music is circulating through his space every Monday.I have been writing about some good old punk rock over the past several weeks, and no good punk collection would be close to complete with some Germs.The effect that the Germs’ album (GI) had on me when I first heard it at age 15 was one of complete awe edged with not a little confusion. Up to this point in punk rock, songs and sounds were pretty simple and somewhat simple-ish to get one’s head around. When (GI) hit, everything changed, and hardcore was born.Without writing a whole editorial about the exact lineage of punk and hardcore, trust me when I say that without this all-important Germs record, much of the harder music that we hear today would be a whole lot different.Read the lyrics to this record if you get a chance; singer Darby Crash was a straight-up wordsmith.”Richie Dagger’s Crime”: Guitarist Pat Smear completely re-set the tone for American hard rock with this simple intro.”Media Blitz”: What the fuck?! Kick some ass and take no names. Germs forever!”Lexicon Devil”: Gimme some of that. If you need more Germs after this, may I suggest Germs (MIA)–The Complete Anthology.