As far as I know this lower-league punk single was the only release by The Rowdies, released on Birds Nest Records in 1978. You may be able to hear the sound of barrels being scraped. (more…)

This is rather marvellous. Youth Valley are a new shoegaze/postpunk band who come from Athens, like R.E.M. and The B-52s. But not the one in Georgia.

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If there’s going to be a soundtrack to the end of the world, then we could do a lot worse than this: Spitting Off The Edge Of The World by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

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Here’s a new playlists of summer sounds, from pre-pubescent rockabilly to tear-stained balladry via black-boy punk, old-time country, old-skool soul and ambient electronica.

The Carpettes never reached the giddy heights of the Pistols or Clash but they made their mark on punk as one of a handful of bands from the North East.

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Last night I finally got to see Mary Coughlan live for the first time – something I’ve wanted to do ever since I got a cassette of her debut album Tired & Emotional in 1985.

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The Adicts were musically influenced by Malcolm McLaren but their image was pure Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange.

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Here’s a cracking rarity from the tail end of punk by The Pack. Built around a cracking guitar riff and a pounding rhythm, the dramatic vocals are by future Theatre Of Hate / Spear Of Destiny star Kirk Brandon.

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This is beyond meta: Teenage Fanclub, who directly inspired Yo La Tengo, a band famed for their outstanding cover versions, repaying the compliment by covering one of theirs in return.

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Not only have I never heard of Pure Hell before, but I never knew there was a punk group made up of four black guys til now.

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