Artists starting with V

Various Artists, “Local Customs: Lone Star Lowlands” (Numero Group, 2016; original recordings 1969-74)
The rock-and-roll Schlimanns of Numero here unearth a veritable buried city of sound, an entire community of post-hippie folk/country/rock musicians in Janis Joplin’s hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. And “community” is the operative concept: there’s a gentleness and warmth here, whether in the church-basement-r&b shuffles or the weathered acoustic strums, that’s perfect for making yourself at home with a warm cup of something indoors on a rainy day.
Start with 11, 12
4/7/19

Various artists, “Live From The Masque” (Year One, 1996; original recordings 1978)
More classic shit from the very dawn of L.A. punk. F-Word’s fuzzed-out Stooges-worship, twisted gutter-rockabilly from the Alleycats and (really early) X, and the Zeros’ melodic teen-Ramoneisms.
Try 1, 6, 9, 17, 19
1/13/13

Various Artists, “Last Call: Vancouver Independent Music, 1977-1988” (Zulu, 1991)
Exhaustive compilation of punk and postpunk from Vancouver. Across a wide variety of styles (hardcore, indie-jangle, and synth, just for starters), there’s a distinct local sensibility here – crisp, dislocated, bemused, often cool and frenzied at the same time.
Try 1/1, ½, 1/ 3, 1/ 4, 1/5, 1/8, 1/11, 1.12, 1/13, 2/1, 2/6, 2/16, 2/20
7/19/12

Various artists, “Killed By Deathrock” (Sacred Bones 2016; original recordings, early 1980s)
Deathrock was what happened when the still-forming Goth and hardcore musical streams met – a sound with the sepulchral, creepy spaciness of the former and the lean acceleration and raw-nerved scree of the latter. The best of it was pretty great, and the stuff here is of the highest caliber.
Try 2, 3
11/10/16

Various Artists, “Ho Dad Hootenanny Too!” (Crypt, 2015; original recordings 1964-66)
In our time, the term “Frat-rock” might conjure up thoughts of hacky-sack being played while dudes with acoustic guitars and bongos noodle through Bob Marley covers, but to vintage garage-punk fanatics it connotes the hardest of the hard. The first volume of “HDH” focused more on (great) novelty tunes, but this one was selected for maximum power, period. Start with pummeling, clattering drums, louder and more overwhelming than anything until early-‘90s jungle/drum/n/bass, add big honking blocks of speaker-blasting guitar, and then play “Louis Louie” thirty-two times in a row with different titles. Great.
Try 8, 12, 20, 28
8/16/15