I actually “discovered” Fugazi by accident. Totally outside of the alt rock pipeline.

It was probably one of the most formative moments of my young life. I went the local record store and was flicking through the “US Independent” section and pulled out In on the Killtaker and brought it unheard. I got it home and it absolutely blew my little 17 year old mind.

It’s still to this day my favourite album of its kind.

Gramsci wrote: Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:02 am I actually “discovered” Fugazi by accident. Totally outside of the alt rock pipeline.

It was probably one of the most formative moments of my young life. I went the local record store and was flicking through the “US Independent” section and pulled out In on the Killtaker and brought it unheard. I got it home and it absolutely blew my little 17 year old mind.

It’s still to this day my favourite album of its kind.

I was temporarily living outside of Pittsburgh at the age of 15 and everyone around me was chugging down Pearl Jam. I hated Pearl Jam fiercely. My friend and I were at a record store and picked up a copy of Steady Diet of Nothing not knowing anything and it felt like the perfect antidote.

Oasis, definitely. From them to the Beatles to all sorts of left-of-field rock and folk from the 60s and 70s: Immediate Records, Vashti Bunyan, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Jean-Claude Vannier, François de Roubaix, etc.

joe_lmr wrote: Sat Apr 19, 2025 4:14 pm I was such a dork I was into Rollins Band BEFORE Black Flag.

Hey I was way into Ozzy w/ Randy Rhoads before Black Sabbath and a good friend turning me on to Songs: Ohia in 2001 got me past fuckin' Piece Of Crap and whatever and in to Ditch era Neil Young and etc so yr not alone...

I was 15 years old and a friend recommended listening to the punk show on local Indy radio station - 1983. Hearing Black Flag - no values - literally sent bolts of lightning thru me - I had never heard any anything with such energy or aggression - the door was opened for me and I never looked back. While the whole Nirvana thing didn’t do much for me it did provide other doors into other indie adjacent bands. Ironically I’m only catching up now to lots of music I was too narrow minded to have a bar of in my youth

Matthew Sweet lead me to Television, but more importantly, it lead me to whatever albums I could find that Robert Quine played on (namely the Blue Mask).

twelvepoint wrote: Sat Apr 19, 2025 9:18 am Nirvana is really interesting because I think there’s a big difference between people for whom nirvana was a gateway band, and people who were older and probably more tuned in by 1991. I was twenty-one then.

I was 14 when Nevermind came out and have talked to plenty of people my age who weren't moved by Nirvana because that spot had been filled by Dinosaur Jr. It was usually Green Mind , but one friend had a cool uncle who lent him his copy of You're Living All Over Me when he was 12.

One for me was Elastica. I was 18 and liked that first album when it came out. An older friend told me if I like that I should listen to Wire. He had the first three albums and that sent me off and obviously led me to more 77-82-era post-punk, which is heavily where I live today.

When I was 16 I heard "Savory" by Jawbox on the radio and being pretty square at the time, had never heard anything like it. I hadn't heard Fugazi or other contemporaries yet and that sent me on a path. I bought For Your Own Special Sweetheart and a couple years later bought the "Savory" maxi-single which included a cover of Big Boys' "Sound On Sound", which I loved. I eventually got The Fat Elvis and could not believe how fun the music was and that they weren't bigger. I listen to Big Boys roughly 50 times more often than Jawbox these days.

Anyone got a Dave Mathews Band story? I’d like to hear that one!

Gramsci wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 8:02 am Anyone got a Dave Mathews Band story? I’d like to hear that one!

I had seen some clips of a performance that MTV filmed and enjoyed it, so I bought tickets to see them at an amphitheater back in 1999 (I was in college/uni at the time, fwiw). I thought they were boring. They extended most of their songs out by a minute or more, and all those 'jams' sounded the same.

Not much of a story, I know. But they are one of these bands with (still!) a huge live following and I just don't fucking get it.

Gramsci wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 8:02 am Anyone got a Dave Mathews Band story? I’d like to hear that one!

I was in junior high and bought a DMB CD without having heard it. It was a huge disappointment. I also bought a Phish album thinking they were a 'punk' band. This was long before the internet.