In the golden age of punk (1977-1983) tons of band craved for the release of a 45. Most of them never got that far, and those who did were local heroes. Collectors pay outrageous sums for an original single, but for the less hardcore music geek there is always the compilation CD that covers a whole scene - if you can call it that - in one big sweep. Such as The Local Anesthetic - eleven bands from Denver (well, two are from Boulder actually) tearing through 33 songs.
Denver is in the middle of nowhere, in case you didn't know. Wax Trax Records co-owner Duane Davis formed the in-store label called Local Anesthetic and released the debut single by Denver band Gluons featuring Allen Ginsberg on vocals. The punks hung out in his shop, he liked their music and gave them a change. Things kinda snowballed after that and this collection proofs that the kids in Denver listened to Siouxsie (Your Funeral) and Lydia Lunch (Jeri Rossi) and the Dead Kennedys (Frantix, White Trash). There were no parental advisory stickers back then and writing f*ck was a fucking disgrace, just like voting for an actor to be president - White Trash with their magnificent Ballad Of Ronnie Raygun.
O, and incidentally - Peter Buck and Thurston Moore both fell in love with the Frantix' My Dad's A Fucking Alcoholic back then and indepedently decided they wanted to be musicians. It's like that Brian Eno quip about the Velvets. The original singles did not sell a a lot, but those who listened started a band.
The Local Anesthetic is released on Smooch Records.
Tracks:
- Frantix - My Dad's A Fucking Alcoholic
- Frantix - Car
- Frantix - Your Ill
- Frantix - My Dads Dead
- Your Funeral - I Wanna Be You
- Your Funeral - The Abyss
- White Trash - Wake Up
- White Trash - Nazis In My Neighborhood
- White Trash - Ballad Of Ronnie Raygun
- White Trash - I Hate Toes
- White Trash - Daddy Warbucks
- Young Weasels - Twist & Burn
- Young Weasels - Happy Feathers
- Bum Kon - Bum Kon
- Bum Kon - Forced Away
- Bum Kon - Drunken Sex Sucks
- Bum Kon - The Draft
- Bum Kon - Slow Death
- Gluons with Allen Ginsberg - Birdbrain
- Gluons - Sue Your Parents
- Frantix - Face Reality
- Frantix - Cat Mouse
- Frantix - Sharin Sharon
- Frantix - New Questions
- Jeri Rossi - I Left My Heart But I Dont Know Where
- Jeri Rossi - It's A Man's Man's Man's World
- Rok Tots - Suicide Weekend
- Rok Tots - Situation Kid
- Defex - Psycho Surfer
- Defex - Machine Gun Love
- Nails - Cops Are Punks
- Nails - Big Star
- Nails - Another Lesson
MP3: Your Funeral - I Wanna Be You
MP3: White Trash - Wake Up
MP3: Bum Kon - The Draft
MP3: Jeri Rossi - I Left My Heart But I Don't Know Where