Razorcake Podcast #228

Summary: The assignment from Todd was simple enough: put together a podcast of stuff that eighteen-year-old Jimmy listened to. In typical overkill fashion, I put together four podcasts of various stuff that was floating in the air around me between the ages of thirteen and twenty. The sources varied, “some was stuff homies were bringing around on tape, vinyl or whatever; some came through via mostly long gone and terribly missed late night L.A. radio shows like 12 o' Clock Rock on KPFK, The Final Countdown and Stray Pop on KXLU and, of course, Rodney on the Roq; and a good chunk was bought via “snail mail” or with lunch money during weekly pilgrimages to Poo-Bah Records in Pasadena, “but all of it got tons of airplay when most of it was still “new.” It was a bit of a challenge putting this together ‘cause at some point early on in this podcasting stuff I'd set up some ground rules for myself. One was that, while it was okay to play older tunes, I'd refrain from wholesale wallowing in nostalgia ‘cause, frankly, there's too much cool stuff going on right now to sit and pine for a time that wasn't always as “golden” as others would like to remember. Then again, I've pretty much broken every other rule I've either set of been given (two for these podcasts alone were a) Todd said “punk” stuff, which is why The Who and The Bangles are included; b) I decided no “eastside/local” stuff, hence the Detox, Child Molesters and Circle One tracks, the latter also being a request from my homie Richard “Stinky” Martinez), so what the hell, why not? One last thing: Given the rather virulent puritanical strain that's developed in certain quarters of the punk community, some of the subject matter, language and attitudes found in some of the songs just might upset and/or offend the sensibilities of the more sensitive amongst us who would prefer such things were silenced. Like the folks responsible for these songs, I come from a period of time when things like free speech, an open exchange of ideas (some of which very much offended me) and a wicked sense of humor wielded to piss off as many as possible were considered sacred to folks beset on all sides by censors, authority figures, and other “purveyors of good taste” attempting to stifle what was seen as open rebellion against almost every facet of the status quo. That said, I (or Razorcake) may not like or agree with some of the sentiments expressed here (a good chunk of which you'll find upon closer inspection are written with the express intent to ruffle someone's feathers), but I abhor censorship more. If I don't like what's being said, I change the station, turn the dial, or walk on in search of something more interesting going on. Funny thing, the First Amendment. Most folks seem to think it only applies to those who agree with them, when its purpose is actually the opposite: to protect “unpopular” speech, which over the years has included civil rights, women's suffrage and openly questioning the government alongside the morass of stupidity Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and those Westboro Baptist Church ninnies spew. Much as I hate bigots and homophobes, I recognize their right to voice their drivel as much as my own right to say they're phenomenally ignorant assholes that should've been hugged more as children and that I hope their children are regulars on RuPaul's Drag U one day. Anyway, enough soapboxing. Here's part one of a sampling of the varied bits of noise from all over the place I and a bunch of other louts from City Terrace, Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Montebello and elsewhere were grooving on in the days before the internet and shit like this was not a mouse-click away. –Jimmy To download the file to your computer, right click the link below and select "save target as..." It's a hefty file, so it may take some time to download to