In New Zealand we had one tv show called Radio with Pictures that played exclusively underground music. It was pretty NZ music oriented, meaning even more obscure. Back then it was mostly imported copies of Melody Maker and the NME that were good for discussion new bands.

cakes wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 11:51 am

Krev wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 11:43 am I liked Elastica when that came out, as well. Also, I was into Failure before I discovered real space rock like Hawkwind and Loop.

I was turned on to Failure about 5 years ago and really got into it. Def a band I would have loved when they were current.

I liked anything that I perceived as "really heavy," and "Stuck on You" got me when I saw the video on MTV.

Growing up in the 90's US, I think the blind spot for mainstream listeners without cool older siblings was probably first wave punk/hardcore. Everybody knew the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads and Sex Pistols, but anything more than that was esoterica. So probably from Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Pixies, I picked up on most of those bands from Husker Du to Buzzcocks. Everything else was already pretty well covered....we still had oldies and Classic Rock radio, and my parents liked country, even though we weren't in the South. Even the local independent scene and their orbit also had press in the 90's. So yeah...another Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Pixies story. But I guess you could say that Oldies and Classic Rock radio was much more influential overall than any one band.

trey wrote: Sat Apr 19, 2025 5:03 pm Not long after that, I bought Sonic Youth's album Schizophrenia and another door opened in my head.

Sister?

...For me the gateway artists were Elton John, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, David Bowie, (the) Sweet, Queen. You know: most of the rock music that got played on the radio in the United States starting in about 1975. And then, thanks to print media and one or two radio stations and record stores, there were Television, Patti Smith, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols. You know: punk rock.

Spite Zero wrote: Tue Apr 22, 2025 3:17 pm

trey wrote: Sat Apr 19, 2025 5:03 pm Not long after that, I bought Sonic Youth's album Schizophrenia and another door opened in my head.

Sister?

...For me the gateway artists were Elton John, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, David Bowie, (the) Sweet, Queen. You know: most of the rock music that got played on the radio in the United States starting in about 1975. And then, thanks to print media and one or two radio stations and record stores, there were Television, Patti Smith, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols. You know: punk rock.

Thanks for the catch. I corrected my post. Must be my old timer's syndrome.

trey wrote: Tue Apr 22, 2025 3:53 pmMust be my old timer's syndrome.

Pretty sure I'm older than you are by about five years! *waves cane* ...I happen to love Sister , as any right-thinking person does, so this jumped out at me

trey wrote:pylon

I adored their debut album when it crossed my path in 1982. I still have the 7" single of "Crazy," and it is still one of my favorite songs OF ALL TIME. Never got to see them.

(Off-topic: Interested to hear your thoughts on Becoming Led Zeppelin, after you've had a chance to watch it.)

if we're doing outside media that had an influence on your musical taste, blogspots were the absolute king. You could go from reading a Clif Hanger comment lauding filesharing on a post about The Freeze to discovering Anatolian rock via a Selda Bağcan rec. The drummer from Ludicra/Hickey/etc ran one that turned me onto Rudimentary Peni, black metal, and unsung Blue Note jazz classics. Did any other medium touch on Yugoslavian new wave like that first Idoli mini-LP mere clicks away from a Nirvana liveshow with a hair-raising version of "Polly" in double time, or maybe some oddball noise rock like Terminal Cheesecake or Daisy Chainsaw or Morsel's Noise Floor?

for fucking free?

The internet used to be so goddamn cool.

gotdamn wrote: Wed Apr 23, 2025 3:55 am The internet used to be so goddamn cool.

allmusic.com was indispensable for connecting musical dots around the turn of the millennium.

penningtron wrote: Wed Apr 23, 2025 7:49 am

gotdamn wrote: Wed Apr 23, 2025 3:55 am The internet used to be so goddamn cool.

allmusic.com was indispensable for connecting musical dots around the turn of the millennium.

Agree on both counts.

I still use allmusic.com, but its value is not what it once was.

Rateyourmusic is much more helpful in its organization, I think, but the way some of those guys "review" albums makes even me seem grounded and unpretentious. That is no small feat!