I have never been a record collector. I did have a little cheap tape recorder. I would record the music I liked, taken from a radio program, and play it over and over again. I duct-taped that little recorder on my bike and would play it while riding around the neighborhood. The Sex Pistols were my favorite. Everything I recorded was from KROQ when it was still free radio. It was current and on the cutting edge. The music opened some doors for me. Yet, I can list the records I purchased myself from 1978 to 1989 and beyond…
- The Saints, “I’m Stranded,” “Eternally Yours,” “Prehistoric Sounds”
- Vibrators, “Pure Mania”
- Stray Cats, “Stray Cats”
- Ramones, “Rocket to Russia,” “Road to Ruin”
- Charged GBH, “Leather, Bristles, Studs, And Acne,” “City Baby Attacked by Rats,” “City Baby’s Revenge,” ” Midnight Madness and Beyond,” “Punk Junkies, “ “Ha Ha,” “Perfume and Piss.”
- The Adicts, “Life Goes On”
- Avengers, Album
From 1979 to 1989 we at Flipside Fanzine received all our records free. Like many fanzines we performed a service to its readers and to the bands. (of course I will not list the endless supply of thrift store records that came and went for pennies…)
“Any review is a good review,” was my motto. Now I am comfortable with listening to YouTube freely. Any song I want is there for me. I can do what I have always done.
Don’t get me wrong, I spent a good 10 years addicted to the smell of fresh vinyl, but now I am amused by collectors and enjoy their company now and then. Before all this I listened to hand me down records via my siblings. When I left Flipside I also left all the records, I did love, to the Flipside Record collective.
Records are a small slice of the pie for me and punk rock. Then, I preferred live shows, reading letters from punk fans and making friends.
Another two bits about the BIG PUNK ROCK… there are many stories from the BIG PUNK ROCK, this is just one story.
https://hudleyflipside.com/2016/05/31/the-journal-out-today/