BTW: You'll also find this on Imgur

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WHEW! I just completed this very thorough breakdown of my love for the 7" punk record. One band for every letter of the alphabet.Hope you guys enjoy it.There are a few genres that "own" the 7 inch record. Funk, reggae, and of course, punk. Without the 7" record punk music as we know it would not exist.There was a time when just about every mid-sized city on the planet had a small nearby record pressing company that fulfilled the distribution needs of every broke upstart band needing to get their feet wet in the record biz. The 7" record was the viable cheap and easy way to distribute 3 or 4 short songs to any given band's fans. Hell, if you are a punk band you can cram 8-10 less than a minute songs on a 7", especially if it was pressed at 33rpm, which many punk 7s are.Pressed records could be ordered in small batches, marketed as limited to "that number", and filled with homemade artwork and other hate loving trinkets.Most great punk bands dropped a cheap low budget 7" before they could afford to drop a full LP, so without that first baby step they may have had a completely different fate.Punk 7s are everywhere, in almost every record shop in the world, and often the town they are found in are unique to the region, fairly limited, and desirable finds. Not to mention, in this world of 33 dollar brand new single LP records, punk singles can be both cheap and good.Recently after years of researching and collecting the little guy, I discovered I had a punk band on 7" from every letter of the alphabet. I realized this gave me the unique opportunity to share what I've learned with fellow punk heads or those interested in getting deeper into the worldwide phenomenon of punk music.Punk music is alive and well and as you can see the punk 7" isn't going away any time soon either.The following A-Z selections I chose are based on a few common factors. I chose these mostly for their reasonable prices, relatively easy to find status, fairly unknown or underground nature, and of course, how much I love the music on the grooves.So let's get on with it already... It's time to do our A-B-C's...Starting out the A’s with the good “Oi” Boys from the UK, the Angelic Upstarts. This crew of 5 was already seasoned for 15 years of solid punk by the time they dropped this on Street Kid’s records. The A side’s only track “Paint it Red” is a lively, fairly tame for punk, but classy romp. As with many punk sevens, the B side is where it’s at.“5 Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is the best track on this single. It’s a fun loving rock barrage of simple and pure riffs and catchy lyrics that perfectly suits their otherwise slightly out-of-time “Oi” sound. The second B side track “Victory” isn’t quite as good but it’s a fantastic showcase of guitar skills.The letter B was a tough choice for me, I have plenty of good punk bands starting with “B” but there was something special about this one enough to make it my selection. No, it’s not the pretty blue color, (colored records are so common with punk 7s it’s not even a draw) and it’s certainly not the sound quality as the record is way too quiet and doesn’t have enough bass and its super cheap and easy to find, so it’s far from rare. It’s the “realness” factor that made it my choice.It’s got all the classic over packaging syndrome of ambitious young punks, including the lyrics written in English and in German, it has the low budget sound, and most importantly the content and angst is perfect.The whole thing is pretty good but the exceptional track is “Fast Food”. Overpowering fuzz guitar bleeds thru the speakers, the pissed off lyrics from guy who probably spits on at least half the burgers he makes for a mere 3 bucks an hour is genuine punk. It’s so good I put it on one of my first punk mixes, but because the bass was so quiet I had to EQ the bass all the way up to make it sound normal compared to the other songs on the mix.Normally, for any other genre this lack of quality sound would piss me off but it somehow seems ok for a bunch of punk ass kids who really know how to rock. I have no problem “fixing” quiet tracks with heavy EQ adjustments when the content is that good.In their lauded 33 year rock career the Cramps’ lineup changed often but their output remained consistent throughout each reincarnation. By the time they switched labels to this Warner Brothers imprint in 1994, their personal tribute to life’s excess was legendary.Their title track “How Come you Do Me?” is their good old signature psychobilly style, heavy on the Elvis vocal intonations, real, genuine Cramps.But the standout track on this goes without saying is on the flip side. “Let’s get Fucked Up.” Their driving guitar riff and unapologetic attraction to altered states of consciousness is so lovable on this catchy party-starting punk anthem.This is the one that basically started it all for me when it comes to collecting the punk 7” record. Back in the day, I was an undeniable unwitting punk newb who was totally oblivious to what would quickly become my new favorite rock subgenre. I’d never owned a punk 7 and after pawing at it for a few moments curiosity basically grabbed my wallet. I didn’t know anything about it. I liked the cover, I liked the name of the band, and I liked the price. Little did I know how much this one cheap record would drive my buying habits for the rest of my life.This is not the best punk 7 on the planet, I’m not saying if anyone else starts here they’ll end up addicted to audio angst, but it was the perfect place for me to start because it was music that was speaking my language. Everything about this $3 single is right. The band is so tight, the tempo is guaranteed to put a crink in your neck, all the short songs are blended together, and they are the right amount of pissed off.I cannot unbiasedly say what songs are best on this. In fact, I can’t even pick a side I like better. The whole thing is a nice short adrenaline rush.The Electric Ferrets are a smart group of garage punks from LA with an unexampled sound. Side A, the title track “2-3-4” is a hard, gritty and fast track. The guitar solos are beyond impressive on that song. The B side’s “Lumberjack Baby” is a spacy fuzz guitar led love song that vaguely sounds like Devo vocalists declaring their love for a female lumber jack. Also on the flipside is an audacious slow sad punk cover of Hank Williams’ “My Son Calls Another Man Daddy”. Sad punk usually doesn’t work but this does.Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that a 7” record mounted to the kid’s high hats? I can’t say I’ve ever seen that done before in the punk world or otherwise.The A side’s “The New Bomb” is ok, nothing groundbreaking, but decent. What makes this record worth noting is B1 “At Least You’re Getting Paid”. Another tribute to poverty punk song and this one is a solid 9/10. That one song makes this 7” worth seeking, and at an average Discogs price of 2 bucks, it’s not going to break the bank.BTW, I love it when Punk Labels like American Punk put a catalog of other releases in these sevens. Right there’s (2 pictures up) the fax number and mailing address of the label. Seems like so many punk labels reach out to the buyer in a more intimate way than the other guys.That’s right, it’s actually God, with a slightly disturbing cover of the band in towels on a bed, apparently pretending to inject their arms with flower stems, but I suppose it’s not that bad given the genre.Again, the B Side wins with “Meat Cleaver Boy”. The song absolutely fucking rocks. It’s short and sweet, the lyrics are the right amount of threatening, and the too short guitar solos are ungodly tight. The A side is cool “Rockin' Marky” but that song just blows it out of the water in terms of high octane testosterone laced rock.These kids were in high school when they dropped this incredibly tight single. It’s one of those records where you listen and in shock you utter out loud “These are High School kids??” How in the hell did they get so good and so advanced and so synchronized before even getting out of High School. There’s no fucking way these kids did any homework because they are that fucking good.I don’t know if I can pick a better side, all 5 tracks crammed onto this 7 are top notch. The first side is genius, with “Valerie 23” starting out as a funky ska jam, instantly changes tempo into hardcore, and then back into Ska with the kind of tempo change ability to flow that a 70s Black Sabbath would nod to.Got this record as a ”trade record” from my friend JB so basically I paid nothing for one of the coolest young punk bands 7” records I own.BTW: the run out grooves hide a nice punk message to the youth “MISSING FECAL MATTER” on the A-side and “SOMETIMES PARENTS ARE WEENIES” on the B-Side.Just past "The Iowa Beef Experience," a kick ass band who included a piece of genuine beef jerky inside every single 7" is this Canadian punk record from "Itch".Apparently this is the first glow in the dark vinyl record ever made in North America. I haven’t seen mine glow but then again I haven’t really tried the old “hold up to light” turn off lights trick I learned as a kid because I’m too busy enjoying the music. After all, let’s be real, if the music on the record sucks then who the fuck cares about cosmetics like what color the damn thing is or how trippy it looks in a blacklight.Regarding the music... punk piano anyone? The “88 keys” reference probably made that obvious. On the A-side is the “full band” versions of “The Club” and “Energy Vampire” which are very thick, very cool and dissident. But the “acoustic versions” of both tracks are insanely good.Lead vocalist and piano virtuoso Mark Critchley absolutely KILLS it on the keys, ferociously banging chords all over the piano. You’ll hear him hit the highest key and the lowest as he pounds out fast solos and breathlessly sings along. I cannot imagine how amazing that must have been to watch him record this one-of-a-kind minimal punk piano masterpiece.About damn time I got to some hardcore punk! File under raspy political speed punk. It’s simple and fierce with unrestrained short guitar solos unleashed like a rabid pitbull when the singer puts down the mic. Apparently these guy’s had beef with General Electric’s policies during the nuke scare 80s as they included a strike thru GE sticker along with a 12 page booklet about shady politricks.Punk 7s are often very low budget but the one place they’ll put their time and money in is on black and white photocopied slightly-disturbing anti-establishment artwork booklets they made in homeroom. You get their lyrics, (which is often necessary if you actually want to know what they’re yelling at) you get their overall stance summations, “We were all young and pissed off!” you get some anarchy symbols, anti-religious messages, anti-KKK cartoons, and it’s not unusual to see someone’s sketch of the current despised president.Numbered 121 out of 600.Man I love these guys and apparently so does Def Leopard because they either named a song after the band in 1999 or it's an uncanny coincidence.I have a few kinds of “Kings of” bands, (Convenience, Leon, Pressure) but none of those Kings are like these guys. The first song “Death Machine” is part blues, part punk, so as you can imagine it sounds like a talented drunk singing a distorted Bo Diddley song.The rest of the single maintains that rock and roll IDNGAF buzz. The B side “Signs” is not a punk cover of the Five man Electrical Band but you won’t be disappointed if that’s what you expected.Not surprising, punk rockers love their beer and loud vinylzzz just as much as we do.Oh look, a nice little poem about car bombs.Here's a short and sweet Texas blues punk masterpiece from one of the more interesting punk bands in my L section. There’s really nothing I don’t love about the first song “Take Me Home” it’s angst ridden grit vocals grab me every time.He’s one of those singers who sounds like he’s killing his vocal chords every time he spits out his filth because there’s no way any normal guy can sing with that kind of raspy loud grit for more than one song without losing his voice.Certain metal singers, and certain punk singers can bust out an entire show singing like they gargle with razor blades without hurting their voices and that is a unique talent often neglected by their fans until they try to sing along.“M”s was a rough one for me. There’s so many good Ms but this one has always been one of my favorites due to it's weirdness factor. Right after the "Minutemen" and right before "Mudhony" is good ol' "Modern Vending"From the small label that was once mail order only, comes the labels second record ever pressed, AJAX-002 "Kendle"As you can see, included in this 7" package is photocopied hand scissored artwork, credits, and an Ajax record distribution records and tapes list with crazy cheap prices from back in the day.A-Side's Kendle starts out fast and fierce, with cool mid tempo downshifts in between periods of hardcore. It's short and sweet.The B-Side's "Sandy Duncan and Mr. Vu" has punk harmonica if you can imagine such a thing. "Cockamamie" is a brief post punk romp.This record was strange enough and diverse sounding enough for me to dig deeper, so I bought their album "One Bad Peccary" as well. Great album, I highly recommend that album to alt rock and punk rock diggers.Here’s some more of that gritty punk blues\hard rock sound that I can’t seem to get enough of. Both songs are as good as the cover art, but “Nice Boy’s” on the B-side is really the rock anthem on this.While they aren't from Nashville the southern grit and style they rep fooled me from day one. If ZZ Top did strictly punk these guys would be their heroes.Observe some modern hardcore speed and agility with a subtle nod to punk pop lyricism. The first song kinda sucks, but “Don’t Be Sad” is self-fulfilling. Every other song on this is solid, so this one easily blew my only other “O” lettered punk “Olive Lawn” out of the water.God this singer is lousy. Why does that work with punk sometimes? Lousy singers, as long as they can keep time, get a pass with punk, it can work if bad is done well.The B-Side showcases the precise drummer and IMO, it has the stronger songs on this 4 track single. The singer is worse on this side so therefore is ironically better.Can't do a punk 7 post without at least one Sub Pop seven, and this one is hot fucking damn. Every single track on this clusterfuck of joy is a cover song, including a Joy Division cover and a cover of "Strychnine" by the Sonics.The best song on here is 2A, "What a Way to Die" written by the Pleasure Seekers. A alcoholic death embracing romp thru the hay song with a building peak that gets thicker and more enjoyable as the song rocks on.The Sonic's "Strychnine" is so poor in sound quality, it sounds like it was recorded from a tape recorder in some fan's pocket and it's so cool it doesn't even bother me. Punk should be low quality from time to time, that's how you know it's the real deal.This is the 1994 reissue of the 1993 Doheny Records original which is essentially the same as the original but with the sleeve image colors inverted. Not that it matters. With punk there's reissues of reissues of reissues and sometimes even the bands themselves can't keep straight what's OG or not.Original pressing might mean something if quality is an issue but in a lot of cases with punk, reissues are just as rare and have the same value as original pressings. This is not always the case as some originals of punk classics sell for hundreds or even thousands, but hey, we're talking about the Queers here.The first song "Nothing to Do" is a reoccurring punk theme and this one is only 50 seconds long. Punks are bored all the time. That's why they are angry, that's why they drink so much beer and do drugs and destroy shit and play loud music. They should be happy for boredom, because it's what feeds all that."Bonehead" is awesome. MAN they rock on that song. They embrace being boneheads, and "do not care about what you do, I just wanna be a bonehead!"Right before my "Rancid Vat" section is Rancid Hell Spawn. On the cover you see a woman's worst bathroom nightmare, well, almost. She should be happy that she didn't sit down first.File this music under Fuzz punk. Fuzz laced guitar, fuzz vocals, fuzz everywhere. Distortion, feedback, angst, indecipherable lyrics drowned out by glorious driving fuzz rhythms. This one is one of my favorites on this list for the title track "Festering Puss".So many "S's", so many choices, but I couldn't help but steer back towards the hardcore, because this slept-on modern 2009 single is solid all the way thru. Nice speed changes throughout the record, and each song is built on at least 2 tempos to keep the ears perked up.The B-side is dope. It's extra fast and extra loud hardcore, Do not head bang to your neck cannot jerk that fast and you'll get a headache.Ok, not really a gatefold, but I'm kinda surprised how thick and professional the card stock is they used. Someone besides the band must have actually done the artwork and packaging for this.I can't put this under "H" cuz "Thee" is the beginning of their name. I even double checked on Discogs, so "T" it is.This is a nice, cheap, easy to find Sub Pop punk record. The A side is hardly punk, just loud enough to be punk, and has a short guitar solo but in terms of song structure it's built like 60s pop/garage."Davey Crockett" is one of the tamest songs on here, fun, almost ska like in a way but nice and loud. Both songs are so short and sweet though, seems like they are over the moment they start.Side Note: I need to join the Sub Pop singles club, it's probably the ONLY label I'd ever pay to pick out my records for me.Ok, I'm not positive about this, but I'm pretty sure that's a real dead guy on the cover. Leave it up to a punk band to do the equivalent of a snuff film on the cover of their seven in single.This has to be the heaviest most sinister fuzz box guitar I've ever heard. Fuzzier than rancid hell spawn and way, way, more pist. You gotta wonder if they did this just to do it so they could say they did it, because it's just horrible noise. It's not random banging, there is order amidst the chaos but it's definitely noise punk.Honestly I'm not even sure why I like this twisted shit, I think it's because it's kind of like Gwar in a way, it's sonic gore entertainment.I cannot understand Swedish, and I don't even care what these guys are singing because whatever it is, it's fucking awesome and it's real punk.For a 2007 band, this crew really has a classic return to form style of punk. If I didn't know the date on this I'd say it was from the 1970s. Both songs on the A side are 8/10 or better IMO.On the B-Side they are actually singing in English for us stupid unilingual Americans and despite their strong Swedish accent it is fucking wonderful. With room to sprawled across the entire B-side the quality of the sound on this is so nice and loud.Honestly this one might be one of my favorites, because these guys are REALLY good. There's no doubt about it, I will be looking for more of their singles even if I have to have the thing shipped from Sweden.These guys really are the worst. Almost impossible to find on Discogs because you need those 2 dots over the u, called an umlaut to find the band. To even get that symbol you have to Google "u with two dots" and copy what comes up in the results or on the keyboard press and hold ALT key and type 0252 and when you release the alt key, low and behold the umlaut appears magically.But yeah, the band... they are the worst and they know this. They embrace it like a badge of punk honor. They acknowledge this not only with their play-on-words namesake but even on the liner notes thank you section they state "...those who supported even if only meant telling us we didn't suck when we did."They sucked on this record too but in that loveable kind of suck that makes for good punk records. I don't know how to explain how sucking can be a good thing other then they suck the right amount in harmony. The singer isn't trying hard enough to muster out the word while the band rolls in and out of tight tempo changes dabbling with metal and punk in the same song.There's enough talk about God in this that makes me wonder if they are religious or anti religious. Even reading along to the lyrics doesn't settle their stance because they are critical of the church yet they seem to call for change.Their anti war stance is clear enough and on those songs is where they shine. Bottom line, I'm not sure why this is so lovable when it's so bad, but for me this anomaly works perfectly.By the time I got to the letter X I realized I haven't given enough props to the ladies of punk, but luckily this Mexican X band is so talented compared to my other X's it was a no-brainer selection, so better late than never.The interesting thing about punk music that's not always true with all other genres, is that female vocalists can be just as easy to relate to men as it is to females. It's not girls singing to a girl audience or boys singing to boys, it's punk rockers singing to punk fans. Angst and a restless spirit is all that matters. Regardless of the dominant hyper-masculinity inherent in the music gender is irrelevant. In fact, I'd say some women in punk seem to be even more motivated to break down those stereotypes so they work very hard to kick some serious punk ass, and that's the case with XYX.Again, I only speak English, I don't understand a damn thing she's saying because all those years of Spanish class got me nowhere. But whatever she's singing about it speaks loud and clear.The tight guitar licks and hypertension in the rhythms make this entire 7" my adrenaline rush fix. I hope this fairly new band keeps doing this music because they have a top notch raw talent that cannot be faked.Legendary Finish independent punk band from the late 70s is finally starting to get the world wide exposure they deserved back in the day on their few limited authorized reissues. All of this labels reissues for Ypö-Viis used the original reel to reel for the best sounding pressing possible.Ypö-Viis has that distinct early 80s fast punk sound, slightly pop, slightly surf, but all punk. There are moments off fairly complex chord changes throughout, with 15 seconds is never enough guitar solos on both sides.The B-side even has some 80s synth stabs accents over one short section that really earmarks the period. And instead of giving the guitarist the solo they gave the drummer some. This 7" is further proof that good punk knows no borders.Dirty sax riffs start this mid tempo rocker "Mammy" as the drums and guitar roll in late. The out-of-tune singer howling out the tale of "mammy" will put a smirk on punk haters faces. The only refrain on a complex arrangement is the word "Mammy!" so it quickly becomes catchy once that kicks in. Gradually the tempo speeds up as the sax belts out ear-piercers until the tempo brings the piece back to earth at the very end. This kind of creative outburst makes this a great song, I absolutely love it.Horns? That's right, punk horns and sax, almost free jazz punk in a way. The first 30 seconds of the B side you swear you were in the wrong genre. But soon the drummer kicks in and the riffs roll, and the horns and remaining instruments line up in standard punk formation resulting in a clever improvised jazz-tribute punk single.That song is the perfect way to end any punk mix, a genuine head scratcher leaving the listener as confused as he\she is entertained. To have this kind of a live band free for all clusterfuck end up in harmony takes a special kind of skill that deserves recognition.Again, punk records seem to have no problem whatsoever getting intimate with their buyers directly. "Hey, here's our phone number. If you like what you hear give us a call, there's more where that came from." type shit.None of this, "Sorry, we only work with distributors, we only deal with the middle men who sell to the record stores!" superiority complex.It's almost like they feel lucky to have your money, they love what they do, they love hearing from their fans, and they do what it takes to stay in touch with their patrons. They don't have a huge budget, they do it out of love and they are happy even if they are life-long, broke-ass old punkers barely holding on to a niche label. That right there is real honor that cannot be fucked with.So here's this telephone number printed right on the sleeve. I wondered if calling them up would result in some raspy voiced old dude picking up to say "Horton Reflex" so I actually called this morning to find out if they still were dropping records. Assuming it would now redirect to some cell phone in that area, instead I got the 80's operator voice telling me "Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again."If they were still there with that number, I was prepared to tell them, "Hey, I love this record, and I am glad you guys are still there doing what you love. Keep doing it. " They probably would have thought I was a freak for calling on a Sunday morning but it's really all I'd be able to say to them and at least it would have been genuine.But, they aren't there any more. Probably out of business long ago like so many of these underdog labels. Who knows if they ever made one red cent doing this or if they owed money and folded as a bankrupt label.But that's the life of a punk record label, they come and go, live and die. So I hope the people that brought this music to us realize in the big scheme of things they contribute much more then they could ever know to the greater art form that will live on, punk music.Times change, and the message will continue to change, but the well placed anger and passion will always arouse positive change. This will always be the street music for and by the youth and youthful hearts, and it caters to those who see change as mandatory.This is always going to be rebel music, and it will continue to evolve and speak to those who aren't content to simply watch society constantly find new ways to fuck up the planet. Punk will always be much more than the music. It will remain a progressive movement evoking action and encouraging the underdogs to push on.The message isn't ever pretty, often it's horrible, just like the morning news.Personally I think we owe a great deal to the punks for using this 7" record as their cheap and accessible medium to reach the "every-man". Their message of discontent is loud and clear and by following their lead, through their unrest, we should strive to reconstruct our reality.