I Was Punk B 4 U Were Punk

Mikey Wild And The Magic Lanterns, “I Was Punk B 4 U Were Punk” (Bulb, 1999; original recordings 1970s/80s/90s)
As the title suggests, Mr. Wild is one of the pioneers of the Philadelphia punk scene, going back to the mid-‘70s. He’s also struggled with serious mental disabilities, but in the bizarre-mirror anti-society that is punk rock, that’s an asset. There’s an alienation and rage here, and a crude, absurd humor, that can’t be faked. The music is rumbling, mid-tempo sludge, so jagged and ungainly it’s avant-garde without even half trying, and Wild’s vocals pour out in a tongue-tied, volatile torrent of free-association frenzy. Singularly inventive, totally fucking primal, this makes most other punk rock sound like mere studied mimicry by comparison.
Picks: 2, 5, 7-10, 12, 15