PUNK GUIDE: A Consumer Manual To New Wave Wax

Although the exceptions are significant, most English punk is unreleased in the Yew Ess Ay, and some of it will remain so. That puts a seeker at the mercy of importers and makes genuine discount buying next to impossible. In New York, many Village record stores now stock some “new wave”, but the best selection by far (and all of the following stores do mail-order) is at Bleecker Bob's Golden Oldies, 179 MacDougal, NYC 10011. Discophile, 26 West 8th, NYC 10011, employs a well-respected enthusiast named Michael (mail-order to his attention; add $1.25 postage for all orders under $20). Both shops charge around $7 for an album, $3 for an EP, and $2 for a single. Cheaper but more out of the way is Pantasia, 4752 Broadway, Washington Heights, NY 10040. The two major import distributors—the rock-oriented Jem (Box 362, So. Plainsfield, NJ 07080) and Peters International (619 West 54th, NYC 10019)-both do retail mail-order. Rough Trade, 202 Kensington Park Road, London Wll, England, will also mail, and is worth visiting, should you find yourself nearby, as is Rock On, 3 Kentish Town Road.

There are two essential albums in English punk: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, available on American Warners, and The Clash, a CBS import that may well never be released here. Hard rock fans should pick up one and seek out the other. I know no one who was bowled over by The Clash first listen, and I know a lot of people who love it now; it’s one of my favorite records of the decade. Give it some time.