1980 on 45: You Had to Be There

In 1977, The Clash famously sang "No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones." Two years later their obvious yet unspoken agenda was "absolutely nothing but Elvis, Beatles and Rolling Stones," and tons of other old-timey favorites.

It's Winter, but it Feels like Strummer.

Today is International Clash Day, which was started by KEXP-FM to give middle-aged milquetoasts an opportunity to tell us how London Calling changed their lives, on whatever social media platform they're stinking up these days. 

1980 on 45: Pretenders Calling

It’s hard to imagine in this day and age, but the very first month of the Eighties saw the release of some of the most important and influential records of the decade.

Joe Strummer, Twenty Years Gone

 

Joe Strummer died two decades ago today and I have no idea how that could be twenty years ago now. What has changed? The world in many ways seems to have become trapped and frozen somewhere along the way. 

1983 4EVER: You Will Know Synchronicity

 

Whether you loved it or hated it, there’s no talking about 1983 without talking about the Police’s mega-smash Synchronicity, released 38 years ago last Thursday. The album even knocked Michael Jackson’s mighty Thriller off the top of the Billboard charts, a position it reached no less than 17 times. 

"The Only Difference is That They Didn't Have Electricity"

The exact same thing as the ancient Mystery festivals.

'Tis the season for celebrated mythology: The Secret History of Rock 'N' Roll 

Grail Guitar Doors

 I need to tell you all something: the catalyst for everything I’ve done on The Secret Sun -- and with Synchromysticism in general -- ultimately stems from a five-month period in 1984 in which I had a genuine religious experience during what I now see as a bonafide mystery cult convocation. 

My Essential Punk Rock Discography

Even though this is my personal list, every record listed here is invaluable for its historic and artistic significance and are listed in no particular order. Every band here, though all comfortably fitting in the Fast/Loud category, has a strong identity and sound, and no two of these bands are alike, whether in concept, sound or image. 

I consider every band on this list to be trailblazers and pioneers, and all of these records to be essential documents of a time and place. So if you want to know what my personal experience of Punk was like, buy these records, research these bands and ponder what the difference is between them and the modern acts that call themselves Punk Rock. 

Read Us the Book of the Names of the Dead.

If the Aquarian spirit of the late Sixties essentially kept its sunny disposition in California New Age mysticism, its East Coast counterpart found a distinctly darker expression, with the OTO (or more accurately, competing OTO sects) rising to pole position among the welter of witch cults that popped up like mushrooms after a rainstorm.