“Zig Zag Wanderer”, Captain Beefheart

This way: Zig Zag Wanderer

Safe as Milk is the debut studio album by American music group Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, released in June 1967 by Buddah Records. A heavily blues-influenced work, the album features a 20-year-old Ry Cooder, who played guitar and wrote some of the arrangements.

Before recording Safe as Milk, the band had released a few singles through A&M Records, and it was to this company that the group first proposed their début album in 1966. They presented the label with a set of R&B-influenced demos, which the label felt were too unconventional and decided to drop the band. Beefheart later said the label dropped them after hearing the song "Electricity" and declaring it "too negative". A&M's Jerry Moss thought the content too risqué for his daughter's ears. This, plus Leonard Grant's severance as manager, added to the discontent. The band instead turned to Bob Krasnow, who was then working for Kama Sutra Records; he recruited them to record for the company's new subsidiary label, Buddah.

Meanwhile, Beefheart had been secretly planning changes to the Magic Band's line-up—a practice common throughout the group's existence. The group that recorded the two A&M singles had consisted of Doug Moon and Richard Hepner on guitars, Jerry Handley on bass, and Alex St. Clair on drums. Hepner had already left, and Beefheart was keen to replace Moon with Ry Cooder, who was then playing with Gary Marker and Taj Mahal in the Rising Sons. These and other changes resulted in a Magic Band with Handley on bass, St. Clair on guitar, and John French on drums, with Cooder providing additional guitar parts. Cooder's arrival had been swayed by Marker, who had spent time with Beefheart and had been given to believe he would produce the album; in fact, Marker was only engaged in demo recording.  

[Spotify] Zig Zag Wanderer

“DEMOS 1977 - 1978”, Units

This way: Units Demos

One of my all time fav bands. I saw them live a few times, and I'm still not sure why there instrumentation did not take off to be more popular, 2 synths and real drums. Such a perfect combo for rock n roll. Well they killed it to be sure. Here is a new release of the early demos of this great band. 

 

[Spotify] There is Gravity

“Right Time”, The Crowd

This way: Right Time

Huntington Beach's first & foremost punk band. . . . .  

This from 1980. Featuring Jim ‘Trash’ Decker (vocals), Jay Decker (bass), Jim Kaa (guitar, vocals), Tracy Porterfield (vocals) and Barry ‘Cuda’ Miranda (drums), they were almost completely divorced from the prevailing hardcore punk ethos. Dressed in dayglo beachwear, and with their own version of communal dancing (it is often suggested that Decker invented the ‘slam dance’), the Crowd specialized in trashy surf punk, akin to a less skilled Agent Orange. 

[Spotify] Right Time 

“Free Rider”, Joe Pug

This way: Free Rider

Joe Pug is an American singer-songwriter from Greenbelt, Maryland. He has released two EPs, as well as the albums Messenger, The Great Despiser, Windfall, The Flood in Color, and The Diving Sun.   

While working as a carpenter in Chicago after dropping out of the University of North Carolina, Pug wrote and recorded what would eventually become his debut EP, Nation of Heat. Its literate lyrics received widespread acclaim and Pug's unorthodox promotional strategy of distributing free CDs to anyone interested in sharing his music resulted in the EP selling over 20,000 copies. After touring with Steve Earle in 2009, Pug was signed by Nashville indie label Lightning Rod Records and released Messenger in 2010. After moving to Austin, Pug released The Great Despiser in 2012.   

 

[Spotify] Free Rider

Cardinals at the Window

This way: Cardinals at the Window

This LP just dropped on Bandcamp for the benefit of Flood relief in Western North Carolina. All kinds of great artists and songs compiled here. R.E.M., Gillian Welch, Mt Goats, Jason Isbel. There's 136 songs for crying out loud. And they are only asking ten bucks, well worth it for a good cause.

[Spotify] NO

“Gold to Rust”, Get Smart!

This way: Gold to Rust

Here is a great one from my old pals Get Smart!. This track from the stellar LP Swimming with Sharks released in 1986. Naked and wet. Some of the finest songwritin' of their day.

Get Smart! is a three-piece post-punk band formed in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1980 consisting of Marcus Koch, Lisa Wertman Crowe and Frank Loose. The band released 2 studio albums along with some singles and EPs over a 10-year career. The band re-united in 2020. 

The band formed while at University of Kansas in 1980 and, along with bands like the Embarrassment, and the Mortal Micronotz, they were prominent in the alternative music scene in Lawrence. They released their first record in 1981, which was a flexi disc released with "Talk Talk" magazine. This was followed by a self-released 4-track EP called Words Move. They had 5 songs on the four band split cassette, released by Fresh Sounds Records, called Fresh Sounds From Middle America (vol 1) (the four bands being Get Smart!, the Embarrassment, the Yard Apes and the Mortal Micronotz). In 1982 they relocated to Chicago, Illinois. The group were signed by Colin Camerer to his Fever Records label (an independent label in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and released their first album, Action Reaction in 1984. Their second album, Swimming with Sharks, was released in 1986 on Enigma Records' "Restless Records" imprint.

[Spotify] Gold to Rust

Punk is not dead, you are!

This way: Loud Fast Rules!

The Stimulators were an American punk rock band from New York City. Although they have a limited discography, they are notable for being consistently cited as an important transitional band between the late-1970s New York City punk rock scene and New York hardcore, and for being the musical entry point for future Cro-Mags founder Harley Flanagan.

Denise Mercedes grew up in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, raised by a longshoreman father who played flute and piano. Teaching herself to play guitar, she became infatuated with punk rock after having seen the Damned play their first New York City show at CBGB. Denise attended the gig with a friend who worked for Stiff Records and has recalled of the event "literally the second they started to play, my life changed." She elaborated that punk rock made creativity and attitude more important than "being able to play like Jimi Hendrix."

Determining that her local punk rock scene was beginning to age and soften ("there was a pause" in the vitality of NYC's punk landscape, Mercedes remembers), and after a tryout as a guitarist for a side-project of the Damned's Rat Scabies didn't pan out, Mercedes set out to form her own band called the Stimulators, named after a piece of equipment used in acupuncture.

[Spotify] Loud Fast Rules!

“Diamond Shine”, The Clean

This way: Diamond Shine

The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound", and one of the first bands to be described as "indie rock". Led by brothers Hamish and David Kilgour, the band rotated through a number of musicians before settling on their well-known and longest running line-up with Robert Scott. Their name comes from a character from the movie Free Ride called Mr. Clean.

Hamish and David Kilgour started to write and play music together in Dunedin in 1978, influenced by 1960s pop rock and garage records, punk rock, and psychedelic music. Both brothers were part of a small but growing alternative music scene at the time in Dunedin, which followed the growing American and British punk movements closely through imported magazines and vinyl records. Hamish was friends with Chris Knox through this scene, then-frontperson of early influential New Zealand punk band The Enemy.  

[Spotify] Diamond Shine

“Get Still”, Alan Sparhawk

This way: Get Still

Low was an American indie rock band from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993 by Alan Sparhawk (guitar and vocals) and Mimi Parker (drums and vocals). The band was a trio from 1993 to 2020, having featured four different bassists. Low disbanded following the death of Parker in 2022.

The music of Low was characterized by slow tempos and minimalist arrangements. Early descriptions sometimes referred to the band's style as a rock subgenre called "slowcore", and Low were often compared to the band Bedhead, who played this style during the early 1990s. However, Low's members ultimately disapproved of the term. 

[Spotify] Get Still

“I'll Make you Sorry”, Screaming Females

This way: I'll Make you Sorry

Screaming Females were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey comprising Marissa Paternoster on vocals and guitar, Jarrett Dougherty on drums, and Mike Abbate on bass. They released their debut album Baby Teeth in 2006. The band were featured on NPR, Last Call with Carson Daly, and MTV. They played with bands such as Garbage, Throwing Muses, Dinosaur Jr., The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists and The Breeders. 

Dougherty (left) and Paternoster (center) perform with Ted Leo (right) at SXSW in March 2011. Paternoster and Abbate formed a band in high school under the name Surgery On TV. After several lineup changes they finally became a trio with Dougherty and changed the name of the band to Screaming Females. The band got their start in the basement show scene of New Brunswick, New Jersey. In the basement show scene, concerts are held in the houses of various bands, students, and residents, so people under 21 can attend. Screaming Females self-released the albums Baby Teeth in 2006 and What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.? in 2007. The band then signed with Don Giovanni Records, which later re-released these two early albums

[Spotify] I'll Make you Sorry

“Plenty for All”, Hot Snakes

This way: Plenty for All

Hot Snakes were an American rock band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis found international success with Rocket from the Crypt. Hot Snakes disbanded in 2005, but reunited in 2011. 

Although they shared musical similarities with members' previous outfits, Hot Snakes forged a sound that was much more primal than that of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu or Rocket from the Crypt. Reis and Froberg were also heavily influenced by bands such as The Wipers, Suicide, and the Michael Yonkers Band, with these influences giving Hot Snakes a distinctive sound that has been described by PunkNews as "hardcore garage punk." The band's recordings and merchandise were produced using principles of DIY, with Froberg providing all of the artwork and Reis releasing the material via his Swami Records label. 

[Spotify] Plenty for All

“Rumble”, Link Wray

This way: Rumble

Link Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. His 1958 instrumental single "Rumble", reached the top 20 in the United States; and was one of the earliest songs in rock music to utilize distortion and tremolo. 

Rolling Stone ranked Wray at No. 45 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. He received two nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prior to being inducted in the Musical Influence category in 2023. Wray was born on May 2, 1929, in Dunn, North Carolina, to Fred Lincoln Wray Sr. and Lillian Mae (née Coats), whom her son identified as being Shawnee.  He recalled living in very harsh conditions during childhood, in mud huts, without electricity or heating, going to school barefoot, barely clothed. He recounted that his family experienced discrimination, including times when they had to hide from the Ku Klux Klan. Wray later said: "The cops, the sheriff, the drugstore owner—they were all Ku Klux Klan. They put the masks on and, if you did something wrong, they'd tie you to a tree and whip you or kill you." His family listed themselves as White on census records. Three songs Wray performed during his career were named for Indigenous peoples: "Shawnee", "Apache", and "Comanche".

Wray lived with his family in Portsmouth, Virginia from 1942 until 1955. He and his brothers Ray and Doug (born July 4, 1933 – died April 29, 1984) drove cabs during the day while working at night clubs in the Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia area. Wray's first bands, The Lucky Wray Band and The Palomino Ranch Gang, formed in Portsmouth and included brothers Ray, Doug, and Vernon (born January 7, 1924 – died March 26, 1979) and two other musicians, Dixie Neal and Shorty Horton. Wray served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War (1950–53). He contracted tuberculosis, which hospitalized him for a year. His stay concluded with the removal of a lung, which doctors predicted would mean he would never be able to sing again.  

[Spotify] Rumble

“Long Way Home”, Tom Waits

This way: Long Way Home

Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected the influence of such diverse genres as rock, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk, hip hop and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Per The Wall Street Journal, Waits “has composed a body of work that’s at least comparable to any songwriter’s in pop today. A keen, sensitive and sympathetic chronicler of the adrift and downtrodden, Mr. Waits creates three-dimensional characters who, even in their confusion and despair, are capable of insight and startling points of view. Their stories are accompanied by music that’s unlike any other in pop history.”  

Tom Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in Pomona, California. Inspired by the work of Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the San Diego folk circuit. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His first albums were the jazzy Closing Time (1973), The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) and Nighthawks at the Diner (1975), which reflected his lyrical interest in poverty, criminality and nightlife. He repeatedly toured the United States, Europe and Japan, and found greater critical and commercial success with Small Change (1976), Blue Valentine (1978) and Heartattack and Vine (1980). During this period, Waits entered the world of film, acting in Paradise Alley (1978), where he met a young story editor named Kathleen Brennan. He composed the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (1982) and made cameos in several subsequent Coppola films.ons involved a lot of editing, and the band would often record several versions of the same song before deciding on a final take. The vocals were then recorded in New York separately.  

[Spotify] Long Way Home

“Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine”, Modest Mouse

This way: Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine

Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy. The Lonesome Crowded West is the second studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse, released on November 18, 1997, by Up Records. The two towers pictured on the album's cover are The Westin Seattle.

The Lonesome Crowded West received positive reviews from critics, and appeared on several lists of the best albums of the 1990s. The album was reissued by Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace label in 2014, along with Modest Mouse's 1996 debut This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About.

 

Blake Butler of AllMusic praised the album's diversity, noting the range of "quiet, brooding acoustics like 'Bankrupt on Selling' and dark and pounding thrashers like 'Cowboy Dan'", and called the album "indie rock at its very best.".

[Spotify] Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine

“Eating the Egg Whole”, Wild Pink

This way: Eating the Egg Whole

Wild Pink is an American indie rock band from the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. Wild Pink began in 2015, releasing an EP titled 2 Songs. In May 2015, Wild Pink joined Texas Is Funny Records and released a new single, as well as announcing a second EP, Good Life, which was released on June 30, 2015. In 2016, the band announced their self-titled debut full-length album, which was released on the Tiny Engines label in February 2017. The band's second album, Yolk in the Fur, was released on July 20, 2018. The band's third album, A Billion Little Lights, was released on February 19, 2021, with Royal Mountain Records. Two months later, in April 2021, the band released the EP 6 Cover Songs, which includes covers of songs by Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and a cover of the Jeopardy! theme tune. The band released their fourth studio album ILYSM in 2022.  

[Spotify] Eating the Egg Whole

“Like a Fool”, Superchunk

This way: Like a Fool

Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Laura King. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s. Their energetic, high-velocity style and do-it-yourself ethic is influenced by punk rock, notably such bands as Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, Minutemen, and Buzzcocks.

 

Members McCaughan and Ballance founded the successful independent record label Merge Records in 1989 as a way to release music from Superchunk and music created by friends, which has expanded to include artists from around the world and records reaching the top of the Billboard music charts. Superchunk released a string of full-length albums and compilations throughout the 1990s. After releasing their eighth studio album in 2001, the band went into a period of reduced activity. In 2010, the band released a new studio album, Majesty Shredding, and followed it up in 2013 with their tenth studio album, I Hate Music. Their eleventh studio album, What a Time to Be Alive, was released on February 16, 2018. Their twelfth album, Wild Loneliness, was released in February 2022.

[Spotify] Like a Fool

“Silver”, Wunderhorse

This way: Silver

Wunderhorse are an English rock band formed in 2020 by frontman and songwriter Jacob Slater. Initially a solo project, Wunderhorse became a full band in 2021, with Slater (vocals, guitar) being joined by Harry Tristan Fowler (guitar), Peter Woodin (bass) and Jamie Staples (drums). They have released two albums and toured internationally. Wunderhorse released their second album, Midas, on 30 August 2024. It was produced by former Rolling Stones producer Craig Silvey and was preceded by the release of five singles: the title track "Midas", "Silver", "July", "Rain", and "Arizona". The album received critical acclaim from multiple publications.  

[Spotify] Silver

“Waterford Crystals”, Dark Blue

This way: Waterford Crystals

Dark Blue is John Sharkey III, Andrew Mackie Nelson and Michael Sneeringer. ‘Victory Is Rated’ is the 3rd studio album from Philadelphia’s Dark Blue, following 2014’s ‘Pure Reality’ and 2017’s widely acclaimed ‘Start Of The World’. Over the course of the last half decade, the ensemble —helmed founder John Sharkey III, have walked a thin line between defiance and fatalism, often trading in the anthemic with equal doses of the sardonic and the melancholy. That all of it is increasing informed & influenced by the real goddamned world probably helps.

There’s some cruel irony in Sharkey’s (second) self-imposed exile from the USA occurring right after completing the recording of ‘Victory Is Rated’ with conspirators Andy Nelson (Ceremony), Michael Sneeringer (Strands Of Oak, Rosali) and B. David Walsh given that this is by far, Dark Blue’s most fully realized statement — in some alternative universe where this band toured consistently, they’d be way too big for this label (frankly, they already are), but really, what has America done to actually deserve their brutal honesty? 

Sharkey says the album’s main themes are class war and mortality. I’m not entirely sure there are other themes (not simply on ‘Victory Is Rated’, either) , but we’re very fortunate he’s so skilled at writing about those two. He also likens the record to “if Blitz went Brit pop” and while that ticks off a couple of crucial boxes for me, let’s get something rather thorny out of the way. 

[Spotify] Waterford Crystals

“St 37”, Chrome

This way: St 37

Chrome is an American rock band founded in San Francisco in 1976 by musician Damon Edge and associated with the 1970s post-punk movement. The group's raw sound blended elements of punk, psychedelia, and early industrial music, incorporating science-fiction themes, tape experimentation, distorted acid rock guitar, and electronic noise. They have been cited as forerunners of the 1980s industrial music boom.

They found little commercial success as part of San Francisco's 1970s music scene, but developed a cult following in the United Kingdom and Germany following the release of the LPs Alien Soundtracks (1977) and Half Machine Lip Moves (1979). Edge died in 1995; subsequently, guitarist Helios Creed has revived the Chrome name for recordings and performances.

Chrome was formed in 1975 by Damon Edge (drums, vocals, synths, production) and Gary Spain (bass guitar, violin) in San Francisco. While studying at the California Institute of the Arts, Edge became influenced in making unusual sounds; this progressed after a trip to Morocco where he heard a lot of Arabic music. In his head, he began putting a beat behind the music and started coming up with ideas for songs. Chrome's music contained a lot of atmosphere in the sound production, featuring three- and eight-note melodies, usually layered with an atonal drone backed by a rhythm section. This sort of atmosphere was influenced by the music he had heard in Morocco. About six months after that trip, Edge began forming a band and recording his new music.

[Spotify] St 37

“Rudolph”, MJ Lenderman

This way: Rudolph

MJ Lenderman is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has released three solo albums, and also plays with the alternative rock band Wednesday. He also has played drums for Indigo De Souza. Lenderman's style has been described as alt-country, classic rock and indie rock music.

Lenderman was born in Asheville, North Carolina. His great-grandfather was saxophonist Charlie Ventura. He was raised Catholic and was an altar boy. He played basketball and obsessively watched tapes of Michael Jordan.[2] He grew up listening to Mark Linkous and Jason Molina. In his junior and senior year of high school, he began posting his music to Bandcamp. Lenderman studied at UNC Asheville for three semesters. 

In 2018, Lenderman played the drums for fellow Asheville artist Indigo De Souza on her albums I Love My Mom and Any Shape You Take. Lenderman met Karly Hartzman, lead singer for the group Wednesday, and he joined the band for an EP called How Do You Let Love Into the Heart That Isn't Split Wide Open (2018).

In July 2019, he released a self-titled album, his first solo album. At that time, he was working in an ice cream shop to support himself financially. 

[Spotify] Rudolph

“Less Talk More Action”, John Maus

This way: Less Talk More Action

John Maus (born February 23, 1980) is an American musician, composer, singer, and songwriter known for his baritone singing style and his use of vintage synthesizer sounds and Medieval church modes, a combination that often draws comparisons to 1980s goth-pop. His early lo-fi recordings anticipated and inspired the late 2000s hypnagogic pop movement. On stage, he is characterized for his intense displays of emotion while performing. He is also a former teacher of philosophy at the University of Hawaii, where he later earned his PhD in political science.

Maus' early influences included Nirvana, Syd Barrett, Jim Morrison, and composers of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. In 1998, he left his hometown of Austin, Minnesota to study experimental music at the California Institute of the Arts. When he befriended and first worked alongside classmate Ariel Pink, he took a greater interest in pop music. He produced most of the music from his first two albums Songs (2006) and Love Is Real (2007) on cassette tape with an early 1990s sound bank. The albums generally drew negative reviews upon release, and it was not until the success of his third, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011), that he became more widely accepted as an outsider artist. Following a five-year absence from public appearances and releasing new music, he returned in 2017 with the album Screen Memories.   

[Spotify] Less Talk More Action

“I Have ...”, Saccharine Trust

This way: I Have ...

Saccharine Trust is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza. The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. However, Baiza described Saccharine Trust as the "black sheep" of the SST roster. Drummer Rob Holzman appeared on their 1981 debut Paganicons but left the band to play in Slovenly, replaced by drummer Tony Cicero. After a ten-year hiatus circa 1986 to 1996, the band re-formed and began performing around the West Coast. Baiza describes the band's sound as "poetry music" or "mini-theater." 

Joe Baiza met Jack Brewer in Wilmington, California while looking for a summer job. Brewer was already in a band called The Obstacles with Marshall Mellow on guitar, William Trujillo on drums and Joe Burgos singing and playing organ. Baiza wanted to join the band so he suggested the need for a bass player and ended up taking the position. The group was initially more mainstream but Baiza slowly pushed them in a punk rock direction. One by one band members quit until finally it was just Brewer and Baiza.

After spending almost a year attempting to put together a new lineup which included a failed audition by Mike Watt, Saccharine Trust played their first gig in 1980 with the Minutemen. The lineup consisted of Baiza on guitar, Brewer on vocals, Luis Maldonado on bass, and Richie Wilder on drums. The band's name came from a line in the David Bowie song "The Bewlay Brothers" on Hunky Dory.

Wilder left the band and joined Mood of Defiance. He was replaced by Rob Holzman who heard about the open position from his friends Bruce Lossen and Tom Watson. Maldonado was more interested in hardcore punk and as the band started exploring jazz he decided to leave and Earl Liberty replaced him on bass.

Soon the band was invited by members of Black Flag to play a show at the Star Theater in San Pedro. Black Flag band members and SST owners Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski were present at the show and asked the band to record for SST. Before their debut EP Paganicons was released, Saccharine Trust appeared on Cracks in the Sidewalk a compilation album on Mike Watt's New Alliance Records label.

Joe Baiza contributed guitar to Minutemen's What Makes a Man Start Fires? and Jack Brewer contributed songwriting to the Minutemen's landmark 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dime.

[Spotify] I Have ...

“Circle”, Versus

This way: Circle

Versus is an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 1990 by vocalist and guitarist Richard Baluyut, bassist Fontaine Toups and drummer Edward Baluyut. Richard Baluyut and Toups remained the two core members throughout the band's history. The band was noted for their marriage of indie pop songwriting and vocal harmonies to the "loud-soft" dynamics of grunge and alternative rock. They were also noted for their proficient and disciplined musicianship and for their credo of "meat, sports, and rock", none of which had much currency in the early 1990s American indie scene. The band was named after the Mission of Burma album Vs.

Versus has counted at least two and sometimes three of the Filipino-American Baluyut brothers as members throughout its existence. The New York Times listed Versus as one of the most prominent 1990s American indie rock bands featuring Asian American members. The band has been signed to TeenBeat Records, Caroline Records and Merge Records.

The band broke up in 2001 but reunited in 2007 and in 2009, released their first album in a decade. After another lengthy break, the band released their sixth album Ex Voto in 2019, their first in nine years.

 

[Spotify] Circle

“Pop Pop Pop”, IDLES

This way: Pop Pop Pop

Idles are a British punk rock band formed in Bristol in 2009. The band consists of Adam Devonshire (bass), Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), and Jon Beavis (drums).

After spending eight years honing their live performances, the band released their debut album, Brutalism, in 2017 to critical acclaim, Their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018), increased their exposure significantly, and was followed by their first UK number 1 album, Ultra Mono, in 2020. The band released their fourth album, Crawler, in 2021. Tangk, their fifth studio album, was released in 2024.  

[Spotify] Pop Pop Pop

“Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”, Ian Dury

This way: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Ian Dury (12 May 1942 – 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and previously Kilburn and the High Roads.

The single "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", released 26 August 1977, marked Dury's Stiff Records debut. Although it was banned by the BBC, it was named Single of the Week by NME on its release. The single issue was soon followed, at the end of September, by the album New Boots and Panties!! which achieved platinum status. "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" was not listed on the album's track list, yet it was nonetheless present as track 1 on side 2 of some later 1977 pressings). 

[Spotify]: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

“Tears on Fresh Fruit”, Sparklehorse

This way: Tears on Fresh Fruit

Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. It was active from 1995 until Linkous's 2010 death. Before forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands Johnson Family and Salt Chunk Mary. Only one song, "Someday I Will Treat You Good", survived from these earlier bands to be played by Sparklehorse. Linkous said he chose the name Sparklehorse because the two words sounded good together and could be a loose metaphor for a motorcycle. At its inception, members of Sparklehorse included Paul Watson (banjo, cornet, lap steel and electric guitar), Scott Minor (drums, chord organ, banjo), Johnny Hott (Wurlitzer organ, percussion, backing vocals), and Scot Fitzsimmons (standup bass). 

Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995), produced by Cracker frontman David Lowery (credited as "David Charles" on the record), was a modest college radio success. In 1996, while touring Europe with Radiohead shortly after the album's release, Linkous consumed a combination of anti-depressants, valium, alcohol, and heroin in a London hotel room. Unconscious and with his legs pinned beneath him for almost 14 hours, the resulting potassium build-up caused his heart to stop for several minutes after his body was lifted up. The ensuing surgery almost caused him to lose the use of both legs and, as a result, he needed to use a wheelchair for six months and required dialysis for acute kidney failure. 

[Spotify] Tears on Fresh Fruit

“One Chord Wonders”, The Adverts

This way: One Chord Wonders

The Adverts were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 that existed until late 1979. They were one of the first punk bands to achieve mainstream success in the UK; their 1977 single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" reached No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart. The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music described bassist and founding member Gaye Advert as the "first female punk star". The band was formed in 1976 by T. V. Smith (Tim Smith) and Gaye Advert (Gaye Black). Smith was from the town of Okehampton in mid-Devon, and Advert was from Bideford, a small coastal town in North Devon. After relocating to London, the two young punks recruited guitarist Howard Pickup (Boak) and drummer Laurie Driver (Muscat), and the Adverts were born. 

[Spotify] One Chord Wonders

“Knights and Weekends”, Light Asylum

This way: Knights and Weekends

Light Asylum is a Brooklyn-based electronic music project from Shannon Funchess. Her music is heavily influenced by 1980s music and incorporates elements of darkwave, synthpop and post-punk. The Guardian compared Light Asylum to Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode. Funchess founded Light Asylum in 2007 and asked Bruno Coviello to join as keyboard player after hearing him play guitar for a friend's project.

The band released their first EP In Tension in 2010. The four track EP was re-released in 2011 through indie label Mexican Summer. Their self-titled début album was released in May 2012. It received generally positive reviews from Pitchfork, FACT, Mixmag, NME, XLR8R and The Quietus. Coviello left the project in 2012 shortly after the debut LP was released to pursue other things. Funchess has provided vocals for acts such as TV on the Radio, !!! and Telepathe. Funchess also collaborated with The Knife on the track "Stay Out Here" from the band's fourth album Shaking the Habitual in 2013.

[Spotify] Knights and Weekends

“Sitting in my Room”, Ramones

This way: Sitting in my Room

Dear Ramones, the ones. Question: Can you write a song? Answer: Yes 100 perfect songs. This answers that question full on. The whole record is a masterpiece of punk, of pop music, of Rock n Roll. This is one of Dee Dee's and he was stellar when it came to song writhing.   

[Spotify] Sitting in My Room

“In the Flat Field”, Bauhaus

This way: In the Flat Field

Bauhaus were an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. Known for their dark image and gloomy sound, Bauhaus are one of the pioneers of gothic rock, although they mixed many genres, including dub, glam rock, psychedelia, and funk. The group consisted of Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone), Peter Murphy (vocals, occasional instruments), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass).

The band formed under the name Bauhaus 1919, in reference to the first operating year of the German art school Bauhaus, but they shortened this name within a year of formation. Their 1979 debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is considered one of the harbingers of gothic rock music and has been influential on contemporary goth culture. Their debut album, In the Flat Field, is regarded as one of the first gothic rock records. Their 1981 second album Mask expanded their sound by incorporating a wider variety of instruments—such as keyboards, saxophone and acoustic guitar—and experimenting with funk-inspired rhythms on tracks like "Kick in the Eye". 

[Spotify] In the Flat Field

“Freak Show”, The Lurkers

This way: Freak Show

The Lurkers are a British punk rock band from Uxbridge, West London. They are notable for being the first group ever on Beggars Banquet Records for whom they released two albums, the first of which charted in the UK Albums Chart, while five singles also charted in the UK Singles Chart. 

The Lurkers formed late in 1976, the original line-up consisting of Pete Stride on guitar, Pete "Manic Esso" Haynes on drums, Pete "Plug" Edwards on vocals and Nigel Moore on bass. Edwards was replaced by Howard Wall after a few rehearsals, with him becoming the band's road manager. Stride was the band's main songwriter. The band played their first gig at Uxbridge Technical College in December supporting Screaming Lord Sutch to an audience of 10. The band were one of the early punk bands that played live in the first few months of the Roxy Club in London. Moore was swiftly replaced by Arturo Bassick. They supported The Jam in February 1977, Eater in March, and Slaughter & The Dogs in April.

The Lurkers recorded four sessions at Maida Vale Studios for John Peel at BBC Radio 1, between 1977 and 1979. Their debut single "Shadow", the first release on Beggars Banquet Records, was voted by John Peel's listeners as twelfth best track of the year in 1977's Festive Fifty. with "Love Story", the B-side, at number 31. Bassick left the band after this first single, and was replaced by former Saints member Kym Bradshaw, who left before the recording of the third single, 1978's "Ain't Got a Clue"/"Ooh, Ooh I Love You" which saw the return of Moore to the band. That single was their biggest hit, reaching No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart.  

[Spotify] Freak Show

“I am a Dalek”, The Art Attacks

This way: I am a Dalek

The Art Attacks were an English punk band from April 1977 to March 1978.

Their songs released as singles were "I am a Dalek"/"Neutron Bomb" and "Punk Rock Stars"/"Rat City". The group was formed by Edwin Pouncey and Steve Spear, two students from the Royal College of Art, London for a one-off gig at the college. They were asked to do a gig at Wimbledon College of Art and this led to the band's short career. They had two tracks on the Live at the Vortex (NEMS) compilation album, ("Frankensteins Heartbeat" and "Animal Bondage") and one on the Streets (Beggars Banquet Records) compilation album, ("Arabs in Arrads"). They played at most of the London punk club and pub venues including The Marquee, Nashville and Vortex supporting bands like Generation X, 999, The Motors and The Lurkers. They also played out of town at venues in the south and north east of England. Their tracks have turned up on various punk compilations over the years and were collected and released with a bootleg live recording on the Outrage and Horror album (Overground Records).

[Spotify] I am a Dalek

“Sick on You”, The Boys

This way: Sick on You

The Boys are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976. Members of the band had previously played in other groups, including London SS and Hollywood Brats. After recording four studio albums and eight singles, as well as recording Christmas themed music under the name The Yobs, they disbanded in the summer of 1982. The band reformed in 1999, and released a new album in 2014. 

The Boys came together when singer/guitarist Matt Dangerfield left the punk band London SS in September 1975 to form a new band with ex-Hollywood Brats keyboard player Casino Steel. Dangerfield’s art college friend, guitarist Honest John Plain, was recruited and in June 1976, two of Plain’s co-workers at a T-shirt printing company, bassist Duncan "Kid" Reid and drummer Jack Black, completed the line-up. Steel (ex-Hollywood Brats) and Dangerfield played in the London SS together. The band's early recordings were made in a home recording studio which Dangerfield had set up in his rented basement apartment in Maida Vale.

[Spotify] Sick on You

“Nunca Volveré A Amar”, Dead On A Sunday

This way: Nunca Volveré A Amar

Out west to Colorado to hang out with Ross Ryan, better known to listeners as Dead On A Sunday. Dark emo rock from the city of Denver, Colorado, Dead On A Sunday was formed  in early 2021 by artist/producer Ross Ryan. After years of touring under another  moniker on the electronic music circuit, Ryan felt a calling back to his roots in  dark-rock based music. Having never sang in a project before, he tried his hand  at lead vocals (as well as performing, writing, producing and mixing all the music  for the project).

[Spotify] Nunca Volveré A Amar

“A Random Act of Kindness”, Kevin Morby

This way: A Random Act of Kindness

Kevin Morby (born 2 April 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. A former member of Woods and The Babies, Morby has released seven solo studio albums: Harlem River (2013), Still Life (2014), Singing Saw (2016), City Music (2017), Oh My God (2019), Sundowner (2020), and This Is a Photograph (2022).

Kevin Morby was born in Lubbock, Texas. His family relocated around the U.S. due to his father's employment with General Motors before settling in Kansas City, Missouri. Morby learned to play guitar when he was 10. In his teens he formed the band Creepy Aliens.

At the age of 17, Morby dropped out of Blue Valley Northwest High School, got his GED, and moved to Brooklyn, supporting himself by working bike delivery and café jobs. Morby has stated he had "loved New York from the movies" he'd seen, "I just wanted to experience it". He later joined the noise-folk group Woods on bass. While living in Brooklyn, he became close friends and roommates with Cassie Ramone of the punk trio Vivian Girls, and the two formed a side project together called The Babies, who released albums in 2011 and 2012. 

[Spotify] A Random Act of Kindness