D.I.Y.: The Modern World - UK Punk II (1977-78)

Been waiting for my copy of Hungry Beat for ages, can't wait to read it, and can't wait to see if it effects my decision to try to move ahead with a publishing project.

but regarding Subway Sect, being who I am, I think a LOT, i mean A LOT, about post-punk. What it is. What it means. Where it came from. Where it went etc.

disregarding america, where what we now call post-punk if often just as likely pre-punk or Television or Talking Heads or weird art-damaged proggy DIY releases from 1975 cleveland, I do look at the UK narrative separately, despite obvious influences and overlaps with america...

point is from what I've read Subway Sect is sort of where it started. The early days of UK punk here's this band that's wearing sweaters and sports coats and singing this literate stuff. Maybe it's just one version of punk, but important seeds are sown with them. Simultaneously add Siouxsie and the Slits. Then, and timelines get confused as it's all happening really quick, The Prefects and The Fall.

Follow this by Magazine and PiL and the gates are wide open.

A lot of these bands though, such as Subway Sect, the Fall, Prefects etc, existed for a year or two before getting their records out.

Dan, are you still in the business of releasing compilations or obscure artists? I imagine you could do justice to many unsung heroes.

I am very much not in that business. I wrote this in 2017: http://acuterecords.com/blog/?p=1114

I may be entering the business of publishing instead, for various reasons, though that would be on top of a few other businesses like a day job and a side-gig so who knows.

There are a lot of great labels doing great reissues these days, so I feel like it's covered pretty well.

america, where what we now call post-punk if often just as likely pre-punk or Television or Talking Heads or weird art-damaged proggy DIY releases from 1975 cleveland

ha yeah, i totally get this and have "felt" that but never thought enough to draw the line more cleanly.

despite being a new yorker I was always a bit UK-centric and like, didn't really get into the Talking Heads until well after I was a decent UK DIY type collector and it's pretty shocking to realize how much great post-punk is a reflection of that. Like uk post-punk is the influence or dub, reggae, jazz, funk, disco, krautrock etc into and w/ punk energy, but also the influence of Talking Heads, Television, No Wave, Pere Ubu etc.

so much of my historical perspective/ignorance/listening is right on this line and like i know maybe enough to see all the 76-78 divergence/coalition going on in uk music and i am AMAZED by all the cross pollination going on in there. so i end up getting super fascinated by like, what is monochrome set really doing in here at all? how would blitz kids even get spun off it? how is an outlier like bill nelson out there? (last two is just bowie lol)? why was american band friends of this uk band and went over, but not aware of usa band who did stuff more like themselves?

and looking at uk stuff i am always amazed how all them ppl knew/interacted with each other, so much more intensity

well UK is much smaller than US, and a lot of that US stuff came out on big labels like Sire and was promoted well. Then it's a question of what Rough Trade would have imports of?

D.I.Y.: Teenage Kicks - UK Pop I (1976-79)