Punk Rock was prophetic: its forbearers were voices in the wilderness, its leaders reveled in ‘the-axe-is-at-the-root-of–the-tree’ proclamations and its followers envisioned a rule-less paradise wherein each believer wrought their own culture. But even fierce prophets struggle with local acceptance; since once their prophecies come to pass they’re left to explain the fall-out. Like that glut of cheap CD compilations that still clog up retail racks, those are punk rock's fault. Before punk, the compilation, soundtracks aside, was primarily an exercise in nostalgia, a history lesson. But punk and especially hardcore would turn those sepia snapshots of the good old days into blurry Polaroids of the near future. The Rodney on the Roq compilations envisioned LA punk’s long desert-march to the pop charts and Bruce Pavit and co.’s American Youth Report, besides being a near-perfect compilation, predicted the riotous growth of the American Underground.
It Came From the Pit L.P.
