Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetapolothology (1998)

I don't know if there's another band from the 90s that has spawned more imitators and at the same time gone so un-noticed; maybe because the imitators they spawned got it all wrong, or did it "cleaner", or were less about having fun and more into whiny self-involvement (you know who I'm talking about), but Cap'n Jazz were definitely one of the most original bands of the early-90s Midwest emo scene, probably because they took a medium that was used mainly for heartfelt self-expression and had a shitload of fun with it.

The brothers Kinsella (Tim & Mike; vocals and drums respectively) along with bass player Sam Zurick and guitarists Victor Villareal and Davey Von Bohlen laid the blueprint for what was to come (basically any "emo" band that can't be tidily described as some form of "hardcore") and all the bands that grew out of their eventual demise; The Promise Ring, Joan of Arc, American Football, Ghosts and Vodka, etc. Here's their 1998 compilation from Jade Tree Records, which basically culls all their tracks ever (except for one song; Naive) so you can trace the arc of their career from early 7-inches to a fully realized, tightly coiled pile of post-emo indie punk rock. 

So if you grew up listening to all that early-millennium whiny screamy shit, here's where a lot of it started; except this band was a joyful, shrieking catharsis of sloppy precision...

Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetapolothology (1998; Jade Tree Records)

Faith / Void - Split LP (1982)

Faith was signed to Dischord Records from 1981-83, not solely because lead singer Alec is Ian MacKaye's younger brother; but because they played a rawer, dirtier (dare I say more urgent?) version of Minor Threat's brand of hardcore punk. They released two EPs (a 1981 self-titled cassette-only release and a 12-inch vinyl from '83 called Subject To Change) and then they were gone. The various members would go on to play in several seminal hardcore bands through the next decades, but this Split LP with Void was their shining moment.

Side 2 belongs to Void, with their more metal-based approach- at times it's terrifying, with all the rage of eventual thrash mavens Metallica and Slayer, barely preempting their two debut records by less than a year. It's ultimately the more rewarding of the two sides; what Faith lacks in chops Void makes up for with sheer moxie. Their career left behind even less music; a posthumous EP called Condensed Flesh and a demo called Hit & Run, because that's literally what they did.

If you're in the mood for some early-80s hardcore, here it is...

Faith / Void - Split LP (1982; Dischord Records)

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation (1977)

This is one of those albums that if you don't already have, it will most likely get you a serious palm-to-face transaction from yours truly. You don't have to be a punk aficionado to appreciate it, I'd actually liken it to something closer to New Wave; if it's punk then it's Art Punk; kind of like Television without the intricately woven guitar work- although Robert Quine does kick some serious ass on here.

Richard Hell is the reason for The Sex Pistols, he's the reason for the whole punk movement in general- he's had more to do with the early formation of what "punk" was in 1970's New York City. A brief look at his bio and one can see his imprint is on a little bit of everything; his resume reads like this- formed Neon Boys in '69 with childhood friend Tom Verlaine, the two would later start seminal band Television; being one of the first "rock" bands to play CBGB; would hang out with Patti Smith (both helping her to kick start her music career); would then leave Television and start a band with ex-New York Dolls Jerry Nolan and thee Johnny Thunders (called The Heartbreakers); eventually starting The Voidoids (with guitarists Quine and Ivan Julian and drummer Marc Bell) and the rest, they say, is history.

This is the 1990 CD re-issue with a Leonard Cohen cover (I'm Your Man) and a version of All The Way, a song popularized by Frank Sinatra in 1957. You can anonymously listen to this album so I don't laugh at you for not already having it.

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation (1977; Sire Records)

Wire - The Classic Years

Wire is another insanely under-rated band, probably because people have never been able to peg them into a genre neatly; like that tired cliché "a square peg into a round hole" sort of thing. If you trace the arc of their career trajectory you'll see them going from the original London punk scene to jagged edged post-punk to synth-pop new wave to flirting with electronica, all the while staying firmly rooted in their experimental tendencies and never losing that do-it-yourself punk attitude.

This is why Wire is such an awesome band, they never had to stay the same from one album to the next, as evidenced in their first three, or "classic albums". Enjoy!

Pink Flag (1977; Harvest Records)

Chairs Missing (1978; Harvest Records)

154 (1979; Harvest Records)

Wanna Buy A Bridge? - a Rough Trade Records compilation (1980)

A totally awesome and definitive compilation of post-punk from Rough Trade Records' artists from the late '70s. Includes tracks by Cabaret Voltaire, Young Marble Giants, Robert Wyatt, The Pop Group, The Raincoats, Stiff Little Fingers, The Slits, Kleenex, Television Personalities and a few more!

Never made available on CD, this is one of those "vinyl-only releases"; so the rip is directly from Rough Trade Records' Spotify account. There's some copies of the LP floating around on eBay and Discogs.com, so it's a pretty rare find. 

Tracklist:

1. Alternative Ulster Stiff Little Fingers
2. Mind Your Own Business Delta 5
3. Man Next Door The Slits
4. Aerosol Burns Essential Logic
5. Part Time Punks Television Personalities
6. Read About Seymour Swell Maps
7. We Are All Prostitutes The Pop Group
8. Soldier Soldier Spizz Energi
9. Ain't You Kleenex
10. Nag Nag Nag Cabaret Voltaire
11. In Love The Raincoats
12. Final Day Young Marble Giants
13. Skank Bloc Bologna Scritti Politti
14. At Last I Am Free Robert Wyatt

Wanna Buy A Bridge? (1980; Rough Trade Records)
-playlist is in alphabetical order-

The Dickies - Great Dictations: The Definitive Dickies Collection (1989)

Before there was punk there was pop, but utilizing pop sensibilities in punk music? 

The Ramones and Buzzcocks immediately come to mind, but let's agree that there's no real starting point and those bands most likely fed off of each other as much as acted as a catalyst for each other.

So, in short- this is arguably, and I love to argue about music so come at me, the first true pop punk record of all time. 

Let's fight.

 The Dickies - The Incredible Shrinking Dickies, 1979; A&M Records)