Editorial Review

Back when indie really meant indie and alternative really was alternative, a handful of brave labels changed the shape of music by releasing albums by bands that cruised far below the mainstream radar in broken-down vans. Leave it to K-Tel to cull the best of the indie brat pack for what turns out to be a fairly surprising and definitive collection. The stalwarts are here (though in their full indie regalia, you might not recognize their later incarnations): the Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr., the Mekons, and the Fall. No collection would be complete without the triumvirate of indiehood--the Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, and the Meat Puppets--and they are represented with well-chosen tracks (kudos for choosing Meat Puppets' "Swimming Pool"--pure skronk-rock torture). There's also a host of de rigueur circa-'85 scenesters: the Feelies, Galaxie 500, Spacemen 3, and the Wedding Present. But the surprises are what make this two-CD set worth the price of admission: Savage Republic's Middle Eastern-inspired noise, "Andelusia"; the Wipers' seminal protopop grunge on "Nothing Left to Lose"; the unrestrained weirdness of Death of Samantha's "Coca-Cola and Licorice"; Half Japanese's "U.S. Teens Are Spoiled Bums"; Big Dipper's "She's Fetching"; and, best of all, Squirrel Bait's peerless and visionary "Sun God." Granted, ex-college-radio geeks may bemoan the exclusion of their favorite obscurity (Unrest, Big Black, Minor Threat, and Scratch Acid come to mind), and surely space for a Replacements' track could have been made, but otherwise Read more

Reviews (12)

Gimme Ghosts of American Astronauts
The two stars I give to this collection is solely for the Mekons excellent song "Ghosts of American Astronauts". Although the rest of the selections may be interesting rock history they are for the most part uninspired and forgettable as songs. If you like collecting obscurities for obscurity's sake then be my guest but if you are looking for well crafted memorable songs then this collection contains only one-the aforementioned "Ghosts of American Astronauts".

Thank you WLUW
WLUW in chicago played this album all the time when it came out.H?sker D?, Dino Jr and the rest are the only redeeming part of the Eighties.This makes you realize that there was good music during that decade.You just had to go underground.

Fascinating showcase for Post-Punk!
I didn't care for most of the stuff here because I really only wanted "Ghosts Of American Astronauts" by The Mekons, a sublime, haunting tune that was otherwise out of print.However, I did discover another gem, "Pink Turns To Blue" by Husker Du-Awesome!I already knew about (and love) "My Favorite Dress" by The Wedding Present and "She's Fetching" by Big Dipper.So, this 2-CD set is worth it if only for these songs mentioned.Who knows, you may discover other songs on the collection that didn't quite do it for me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. American Punk    3. American Underground    4. College Rock    5. Dream Pop    6. Experimental Rock    7. Hardcore Punk    8. Indie Pop    9. Indie Rock    10. Pop    11. Post-Punk    12. Rock   

Features

• Import

Reviews (2)

bauhaus burns like flame
bright bright burning band bauhaus. They took a stand against the serpent of mass destruction. eat me eat your self to destroy the very thing you have set out to defend. In listening to this i have become it.

BauHaus depth war frequency tones enlighten the ear
type your review? excellsRead more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. British Punk    3. Goth Rock    4. Hard Rock    5. Industrial    6. Pop    7. Popular Music    8. Post-Punk    9. Proto-Punk    10. Punk    11. Rock   

Features

• Import

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Punk Collections    3. Rock   

Reviews (2)

TKO Records can do no wrong
I loved this cd when it first came out years ago and I love it now that I just bought a new copy.There are loads of good bands on here, the bodies, the truents, etc.
hmm.
this cd isn't so bad for the price, but i personally only liked a few of the songs. if anything, it helped the bodies get a new fan. track 3, the bodies 'pack your bags' is an awesome song. the bodies, oi oi oi. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Pop    3. Punk Collections    4. Punk Revival    5. Rock   

Reviews (4)

An excellent survey of a great institution
Every track in this collection does justice to the great Kill Rock Stars label.Outstanding are the cuts by Tiger Trap, Slant 6, Mary Lou Lord (! ), and the uproriously funny CWA ('Only Straight Girls WearDresses'). This compilation record rates high in my cd-player
Stars Kill Rock has great songs such as HAIR and Only Straight Girls Wear Dresses that will get a person going at any time...:o)

Punk Rock in its finest hour
I think the record is great.The bands such as Cheesecake, Jack Acid, Pansy Division and Heroin display artistic freedom and make you want to strap on some brass knuckles and take out the football team. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Pop    4. Punk Collections    5. Punk Revival    6. Rock   

Reviews (1)

good, but not too good
This insightful collection of music mixes different sounds in punk and alternative music.Unfortunatley these music genres have not been very popular lately.I hope a few people will be willing to give this cd a try,cause it opened iup a whole new world of music for me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Punk Collections   

Reviews (6)

CHEAP PUNK
Ten largely unknown punk bands, two songs a piece and a bonus uncredited version of "Walk Like An Egyptian" make up this compilation from 1998 by Hopeless Records. These tracks too often sound like they're coming from the same band of loud aggressive vocals and garage punk musicians but there are some distinct outstanding moments. Amsterdam's "Funeral Oration's" two contributions have some great hardcore pop hooks and sound like refreshed early "Smiths" singles minus Morrisey's efeminacy. "Against All Authority" adds a brass influence to its heavy guitars and drums creating an eerie punk marriage of ska and metal. Permanently etched on the back cover of the CD is the price quote in the tradition of indie/punk music. It's certainly worth it's cheap price.

Mixed bag
Hopless has a few really good bands (AAA, Fifteen, D4 ect.) and them some really garbage pop bands (Queers, Nobodys Funeral Oration) if hopeless would just dump the pop bands it would be one of the best label's around.But they carry pop and are forced into mediocracy.Sigh.

Hopeless Records are awesome.
I bought this record because I was fortunate enough to sample Mustard Plug at a Barnes and Noble from beginning to end.After hearing Mustard Plugs latest I proceeded to buy all of their CDs I could find and picked this oneup and found out I liked all of the bands on this CD from Hopeless Records. I am now planning on buying more CDs from this label. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Pop    3. Punk Collections    4. Punk Revival    5. Punk-Pop    6. Rock    7. Third Wave Ska Revival   

Subjects:  1. 60's    2. Garage Rock    3. Punk Collections    4. Rock & Roll   

Reviews (1)

Awesome
This is a great CD, with some bloody good bands on it. buy it or there will be HELL TO PAY (The business)hahahaha.I AM GOD, WAHAHAHAHAHAHA, oh wellRead more

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Punk Collections    3. Rock    4. V/a Compilations   

Subjects:  1. Japan    2. Pop    3. Punk Collections    4. Rock   

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (2)

Bored Generation Review by NOFX on the Web!
This compilation is pretty good... it features a great song by NOFX called "Drugs are Good" which can also be found on the HOFX 12". Hmmmm.........nah
This could of been a really good cd if you like punk.But no they had to taint it with the likes of rap and heavy metal.The Rancid, Nofx, and Pennywise songs are all awesome.Too bad they were wasted on such a losercd. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 90's    2. Alternative Metal    3. Alternative Pop/Rock    4. Hip-Hop    5. Pop    6. Popular Music    7. Punk    8. Punk Revival    9. Punk-Pop    10. Rock   

Reviews (7)

nothing
I enjoyed this comp. alot. I was kind of sketchy about buy it at first becuase of bands like Riddlin' Kids, Fall Out Boy, and Reunion Show, but even those tracks weren't bad. BigWig, Face To Face, and Nerf Herder all had killer songs. In my opinion the two best songs on the cd are, Sparta and Duvall, both are very diffrent from the Jawbreaker version but they still pay good respect to the songs. ALSO BIG PROps to goodnight bad guy for an awesome cover of "jet black".
Jawbreaker Lite - A great attempt.
Though the tracks on this CD have been much poo-poo'd by so-called "fans since the Bivouac days", I found this album to be a refreshing take on a brilliant theme.
Not Such a Bad Scene...
Obviously when you set out to cover Jawbreaker the bar is amazingly high right off the bat. Unlike the majority of these reviewers, I think there is a lot of success in the tribute. Read more

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Punk Collections    3. Punk-Pop    4. Rock    5. V/A Compilations   

Features

Reviews (1)

Best Cd Ever!
This CD is by far the best 20 bucks I ever spent. If they made a CD better than this I would have to roll over and die in respect for the producers of this magically fantastic CD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Heavy Metal    3. Pop    4. Punk Collections    5. Punk Revival    6. Rock   

Reviews (11)

if you dont like it you are dumb
This comp. is amazing.Seriously so many amazing bands on this cd.There are some that kindof bad (lunachicks, always have been aweful) but 99% of the cd is amazing.If you are complaining about the vocals on this cd then you have no clue to anything.Look at the bands on this cd:lifetime, in my eyes, ensign, time flies, kill your idols, h20, I hate you, basically everything on the cd is awesome.I have never written a cd review before but when i saw the reviews i crapped my pants.This cd is a must have.

some people just don't know
i don't usually bother taking the time to write these things but i feel i must defend this comp. bouncing souls, anti-flag, ensign, kill your idols, against all authority, nine lives, atom and his package. i mean christ. this was my first real punk CD, it was my first time listening to these bands seven years ago and most of them (ensign, kill your idols, bouncing souls, anti-flag and probably others on the comp) are still together and still supporting and encouraging what we call our lifestyle. its real cliche to say punks dead, people just throw the phrase around without looking at those who keep it going. maybe this cd is just nastolgia for me but considering it was the cd that got me hooked or that encourage me to learn about the movement, im giving it five stars.
Punk is officially dead if this is what punk is
Who the heck are these bands? This CD contains everything that is pure garbage. Maybe I am just getting old, but this is not punk. All the tracks on here sound the same save a handful of them. I know, it is not supposed to be easy to understand the lyrics half the time, but c'mon. I dare anyone to identify one single word in any of these songs. Joey and Dee Dee are spinning in their graves. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Metal    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Hardcore Punk    4. Indie Rock    5. Pop    6. Popular Music    7. Punk    8. Punk Collections    9. Punk Revival    10. Punk-Pop    11. Rock    12. V/a Compilations   

Reviews (1)

A Must have for any Diehard Lagwagon fan
As some might know, lagwagon is (in my humble opinion) the best punk band making music today.Their records are all different from one another and their music is both catchy and musically talented at the same time.Lead vocalist Joey Cape is a musical genius.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Hardcore Techno    3. Pop    4. Rock   

Reviews (7)

Wow...many arguments over "Pop-Punk'
Within every genre of music, there will be "sell-out" bands. During the first punk rock period, The Damned + The Buzzcocks were considered too radio friendly. Yes, MTV has watered down many decent bands (Sugarcult, Fall Out Boy ) but Pop-Punk will always remain vital....now, that's not always a good thing, as I think Good Charlotte is AWFUL, and The Vines truly were crap, but when Blink 182, Sum 41, All-American Rejects etc, etc give the Punk credo to a new group of listeners, well, that's not a bad thing.
Bad
Normally these bands are excellent, and tsunami bomb is great, as are the ataris.however, there is such a thing as pop punk....bands like good charlotte and simple plan arent pop punk.leave out the latter, and thats them...pop. blink-182 are pop/punk, and as are green day. pop punk is defined by rebellious songs, as well as fun songs...pure punk was all POLITICAL rock which is not to be expected of poppunk bands....oh and by the way sum41 has never and will never appear on the atticus cds.

PEOPLE ARE SAD
Pop/punk is the stupidest thing anyone has ever come up with. It's either ROCK or PUNK or POP ROCK. There is no such thing as pop/punk. The artists on this album are mostly punk bands, well, their other songs are punk, and the Atticus album featured Sum 41, so how could you even think of praising Atticus? Basically, this album is good for the fans of these bands featured. Atticus is good for people who think that Blink 182 and Sum 41 are punk. (they are not. Spiky bracelets and guitars and profanity does not make you punk)Tsunami Bomb is a great band... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock    3. Punk Collections    4. V/a Compilations   

Subjects:  1. 90's    2. Hardcore Punk    3. Heavy Metal    4. Pop    5. Popular Music    6. Punk Collections    7. Rock   

Subjects:  1. Hardcore Punk    2. Pop    3. Punk    4. Punk Collections    5. Punk Revival    6. Punk-Pop    7. Rock   

Features

• Import

Reviews (1)

it's worth it alone for the Motorpsycho cuts
All around great party CD. Only down side is that it mixes the heavy metal junk of man will surrender, the grunge crap of pull, with the awsome punk of motorpsycho and the living end. Early voodoo glow skull stuff too. Buyfor the few good bands on it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock   

Subjects:  1. 90's    2. Alternative Country-Rock    3. Alternative Pop/Rock    4. Indie Rock    5. Lo-Fi    6. Pop    7. Popular Music    8. Punk Collections    9. Rock