From the age of ten, until my mid twenties (and this must be true for most of you out there too) was the most enlightening musically for an impressionable lad. Looking back now is a privelige that rests easily on older shoulders despite the trials and memories of a former time, when everything required effort, dedication, and single-mindedness on a scale, thankfully, rarely required since. The small black discs appeared like a bountiful treasure (much to the annoyance of plural parents) and were collected with vigour, stashed carefully, and only withdrawn from their pristine sleeves when a musical discovery was imminent. A discovery, that, looking back, must have happened in slow motion and yet appeared, at the time, to be a journey being undertaken at breakneck speed. Teasing the fabulous sounds from the invisible grooves was a revelatory experience, when peers were still musically buried in seventies "adult" rock, the aural delights were (even then) self evident to impressionable ears. What on earth was going on? Surely these sub 3 minute blasts of shambolic irreverence and anarchy could not be "The future"? It was all about the "now", the instant gratification and the knowledge that this was not (at the time) music for the masses. It was personal.
I still have many of these rabid, visceral, rough hewn slices of life affirming discs, and have recently begun to un-earth many of them. Although now not so pristine, having survived more house moves than I care to recount; I can honestly say that there are still those that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. So here, then, is the rebirth of the journey which started some 3 decades ago.
I dont know, what shall we call it? "Part 1" or something equally ridiculous?
The Stranglers - Something Better Change. Like many of these early singles, I have only a vague idea how they managed to fall into my hands. This one was on Pink vinyl - something that just didnt happen! I mean - PINK? These four tracks were So different to anything I had heard: The snarl, the walking bass, & attitude! Not a duffer among them. I snuck this one into the treasure chest with no hesitation at all! .... Peachy.
Stiff Little Fingers - At The Edge. I was always acutely aware of the problems going on in Ireland at the time, but the Rigid Midget Digits (as they were affectionately known) brought the angst and aggression of that province right into my bedroom. The political theme was a whole world away, but in the safety of a teenage bedroom it was just something magical. This was by no means the SLF's first attempt at world domination, but for some reason the memories of the time gravitate towards this cut. Filthy gorgeous.
XTC - Take This Town + The Ruts - Babylons Burning. Again, how I managed to get hold of this without any money eludes me. I think possibly that an older brother of a friend was discarding stuff that didnt fit his pre-conceptions. Either way I loved Babylon's Burning from the get go - I had never noticed the "From Times Square soundtrack" label on here, such was the desire to "fill brain through ears with noise". XTC were to feature heavily later as one of my favorite bands of all time, and much underrated even today. Sussed.
X Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents. Amazingly listening to this track today, it feels like nothing has changed. A throw-away single at the time, this one just gets under your skin in all the right ways and plants itself. Time has been kind to the grooves here - from a bygone age when people called themselves Poly-Styrene and sneered a lot! And yet I still feel myself muttering "They dont make them like this anymore ...!". Toothpaste-tastic.
Simple Minds - Chelsea Girl. Dont get me wrong here, The Simple Minds that were to take over the stadiums of the world in the eighties were a million miles from the sub-cultural vibe that got me into this in the first place. Lets be blunt - I ended up loathing the monolith they became! However before the Lord came down and stole their credibility, this perfect slab of punk(ish) synthesiser punctuated with power riffage had already blown me away. Cred for the song (forever) and the group (for about 6 months). Bite me.
The Fly's - A Bunch Of Five EP. I've had this record since forever. Its insanely hard to find these days, and rightly so (issued on their own Zama Records). Back then it was dismissed as pseudo punk clap-trap. The band sold out to EMI later, but man oh man! These grooves are ALIVE! Holy crap Batman, I think its music from another planet! "Can I Crash Here?" is (for me) timeless ... I defy anybody who leans remotely towards the pub rock punk of the day not to be emotional about this one. Crackles and all. No contest. 
The Jam - In The City. What can I say about The Jam? I absolutely loved this record, and I didnt care who knew it! I was not the sweetest of teenagers (sorry mum) but to me the very essence of everything good in the world was hidden in the very grooves of this sub 3 minute masterpiece. "... A thousand things I wanna say to you ..."
Doll By Doll - The Palace Of Love. I couldnt understand at the time why no-one had heard of Doll By Doll. Now, of course, I am familiar with the Jackie Leven story, but back then life was whizzing by so fast that any story or background to the people making the music would have to wait. This, for me, was the stuff of legend. Check the drawn out, rough cut, even shambolic beginning of this track .. marvel at Leven's vocal majesty ... and then die a thousand deaths at the train-crash of an ending that refuses to come to a halt. This was the greatest record ever made, and nobody I knew, was aware of its existence. I made it my own personal crusade to seek out anything and everything that resembled the vision of anti-excellence, that was being presented so urgently in these grooves. That crusade had begun in my formative years and still continues to this day. Thank you Mr Leven, and the band. Ssssshh ... dont tell anyone.
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