Razorcake Podcast #68: With Todd Taylor
Music and stuff.
Thanks to the Los Angeles Public Library System and their teen outreach programming, I’ve found myself in front of kids with a bunch of records, zines, and a record player to talk to them about DIY punk. It’s billed as “The History of DIY punk,” which is both wholly correct and wholly misleading, since the only hard fact I drop is this one: “Punk is largely understood to have first exploded in England in 1977. Everything else is open to debate. Actually, that first sentence is open to debate, too.”
And then, after a short prepared introduction, I start asking questions to the kids, open up a dialogue. It’s a thinly veiled excuse to play vinyl in a public setting for an hour.
The last presentation I did was at the Echo Park Library. When asked, “Raise your hand if you know Green Day,” pretty much every hand in the room went up. When asked, “Raise your hand if you know Against Me!” One of the librarians raised her hand. When asked, “Raise your hand if you know the Marked Men.” I was the only one with my hand up.
Part of me is largely comforted in their response. If they do some exploring, man-o-man, the audio riches they may find. The thrill of the musical hunt that’s not served on the drive-thru platter of mass consumption is still alive and well. Discovery still can result in rewards.
So, here’s an hour of music. It would tickle me to no end that the next time I ask a room of kids, “Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Tragedy,” it’d be more than just me who has their hand up… but I won’t be bummed if that never happens.
Here’s to finding your next favorite band or song.
-Todd Taylor
Tracklisting:
Tim Version, “I Am Not a Tree” (Snuffy Smiles)
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Young Offenders, “Hard Life” (625)
Rocket From The Crypt, “I’m Not Invisible” (Vagrant)
Young Governor, “Virginia Creeper” (Plastic Idol)
This Moment In Black History, “Obama” (Insect)
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The Pant Hoots, “How to Fuck” (Earwig Acres)
Tenement, “The Best and Worst of Times” (Forcefield)
Kalashnikov, “Angosicia-rock” (Kalashnikov Collective)
Giant Haystacks, “Wrong Shoes” (625)
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The Shitty Limits, “We Had a Gang” (Sorry State)
Crimson Ghosts, “Night of the Living Dead” (Necro-Tone)
Tragedy, “Conflicting Ideas” (Tragedy Records)
Canadian Rifle, “Climbing Down from the Grave” (Residue)
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Future Virgins, “Radio Down” (Plan-It-X South)