A little background

Once upon a time I devoted a large portion of my thought process to thinking and talking about music with friends. The first record I consciously remember buying was a 45 of the Archie's singing "Sugar Sugar." My musical tastes followed along with the times and my age- Partridge Family, Donny Osmond, Jackson 5 until I was 10. John Denver and The Beatles til 13. 7th grade seemed to be the time when what you listened to defined who you were.  Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Jethro Tull meant you were cool. John Denver was out.

  Most people I talk to who love music seem to always remember these "wake up moments" in their own musical history.  Saturday Night Live is one of those cultural windows for many teenagers. First you have to stay up late and that automatically makes you older and cooler.  I saw Devo for the first time on SNL and they kind of freaked me out a bit until I realized that I actually liked how completely different they were from everything I had ever seen before.  When I saw the B52's I was convinced I wanted to put those Grateful Dead and Neil Young records aside for awhile and see what else was out there. They were kind of the gateway band for my upcoming obsession. I went out and got a used copy of the Sex Pistol's  "Never Mind the Bullocks" and began a new adventure.