7. Various ArtistsBold Beginnings: An Incomplete Collection Of Louisville Punk 1978-83

This is mislabelled as punk. Many of the folks in many of the bands on this compilation had a parallel visual art practice going on, some of whom are still continuing this today, so this is a collection of art music, really. A DIY kind of art music. This stuff was happening when I was eight to 13 years old, and I didn’t go to my first show until I was 13, but by that point, these guys were already legends.

There was an old abandoned hotel in downtown Louisville where their shows had been happening – that was one of the main venues in the early 1980s, in the cracks and crevices of Louisville culture. These were the first noises being made by people who would, for a lot of us, continue to define what art and expression is in Louisville to this day. I still find this music viscerally, insanely exciting and inspiring. It’s still exploding at the seams with vitality and creativity and urgency. This is truly one of the best records ever, and I’m also including it in lieu of including separate releases by The Endtables, Tari Barr or The Babylon Dance Band.