I was posting this when the hard drive crashed…
A lot of the Punk will be hard on find on vinyl due to the fact that it was not pressed in anywhere near the numbers that even the New Wave albums were. Also, they were often owned by careless punk rockers, who threw up on them or used them as ashtrays. Most used record stores (that know what they are doing) will have the surviving albums priced pretty high. But you could always get lucky. Or go with the CD repressings.
Since my last posting, I would also like to support Wordman’s recommendation of Our Band Could Be Your Life. If you want to know what was going on in American underground music during the 80’s, it’s a really good place to start.
If you are Canadian, or interested in a Canadian version of the same story, you could check out the book Have Not Been The Same. Also good, but unfortunately, more industry oriented.
Watching the movie Urgh, A Music War would also be educational/entertaining… but keep the fast forward button handy. Decline of Western Civilization Pt. 1, Repo Man and Suburbia are all worth your time too.
A lot of people seem to be recommending 70’s bands/albums, which opens a whole other Sex Pistols / Clash kettle of fish.
I’m going to stick more strickly with your OP question and recommend (or second) a few more 80’s bands/albums I forgot the first time (not all of them actual punk)… Telephone Free Landslide Victory - Camper Van Beethoven Psychedelic Jungle - The Cramps Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables - The Dead Kennedys Bug - Dinosaur Jr. Songs To Learn and Sing - Echo & The Bunnymen Just Can’t Stop It - The English Beat Hexbreaker - The Fleshtones Solid Gold - Gang of Four II - The Meat Puppets 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Midnight Oil Wrong - Nomeansno Rum, Sodomy and The Lash - The Pogues Neurotica - Redd Kross Underwater Moonlight - The Soft Boys Hypnotized - The Undertones Call of the West - Wall of Voodoo More Fun In The New World - X The Men Who Loved Music - The Young Fresh Fellows
Aside of a a couple of the DK’s songs, they are almost entirely broadcast safe.
I am not sure if most of the music in my libary would be considered radio safe - but I am wondering since when did college radio stations require radio safe material? The first time I heard half the music I know on college radio - even the DJ’s were not radio safe.
Regarding the Canadian book - “Have Not Been The Same”, the title of the book is from a song by one of my favorite Canadian punk bands - Slow.
More Canadian punk that will just rock your socks off:
Viletones
Demics
Personality Crisis
NoMeansNo
DOA
Subhumans (the Canadian ones)
SNFU
Dayglo Abortions
Young Canadians
Unwanted
Stretch Marks
Riot .303
Deja voodoo
Jerry Jerry & The Sons of Rhythm Orchestra
Mailbu Kens
House of Commons
The Action
Death Sentence
Cardboard Brains
Some Weird Sin
63 Monroe
Or you just could look herePunk History Canada Band Database
I am one of the webmasters there - so :):):):):):) - but it is a cool site - even if I didn’t webmaster there.
Cool… I already had your web site bookmarked.
I was a huge Slow fan, and saw them several times. One of the best live bands, ever. Deja Voodoo also kicked serious ass. I wish all that OG records stuff would get re-released on CD. I’m not going to hold my breath, though.
I wish for it too - although there have been some great compilations that have come out though such as the Last Call CD.
Canadian punk on vinyl has almost instantly shot to insane prices on eBay for the past 3 or 4 years, because of the rarity outside of Canada - so if you are missing a certain album you once had, it is too costly to replace.
But - on topic again – in Canada most of the University radio stations are ran by the Student’s Union, and there aren’t really any rules about what to put on the air at all. In fact I remember listening to bands as crass as the Meatmen and the Mentors on the local University radio station in Calgary which is the most conservative city in Canada by all popular accounts.
Are things different stateside? The local university radio station has a funding drive, but still plays occasional commercials, without really being a commercial radio station.
- but it is a cool site - even if I didn’t webmaster there.