March 04, 2008

The Local Anesthetic

The Local Anesthetic

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:
  1. Frantix - My Dad's A Fucking Alcoholic
  2. Frantix - Car
  3. Frantix - Your Ill
  4. Frantix - My Dads Dead
  5. Your Funeral - I Wanna Be You
  6. Your Funeral - The Abyss
  7. White Trash - Wake Up
  8. White Trash - Nazis In My Neighborhood
  9. White Trash - Ballad Of Ronnie Raygun
  10. White Trash - I Hate Toes
  11. White Trash - Daddy Warbucks
  12. Young Weasels - Twist & Burn
  13. Young Weasels - Happy Feathers
  14. Bum Kon - Bum Kon
  15. Bum Kon - Forced Away
  16. Bum Kon - Drunken Sex Sucks
  17. Bum Kon - The Draft
  18. Bum Kon - Slow Death
  19. Gluons with Allen Ginsberg - Birdbrain
  20. Gluons - Sue Your Parents
  21. Frantix - Face Reality
  22. Frantix - Cat Mouse
  23. Frantix - Sharin Sharon
  24. Frantix - New Questions
  25. Jeri Rossi - I Left My Heart But I Dont Know Where
  26. Jeri Rossi - It's A Man's Man's Man's World
  27. Rok Tots - Suicide Weekend
  28. Rok Tots - Situation Kid
  29. Defex - Psycho Surfer
  30. Defex - Machine Gun Love
  31. Nails - Cops Are Punks
  32. Nails - Big Star
  33. Nails - Another Lesson

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