The "New York City Hardcore: The Way It Is" compilation is one of greatest records in hardcore history—but it's not perfect. Neither was the scene it documented. We can learn something from that.
I grew up in a small town in western PA and got this record when it first came out. It was an amazing introduction to NY hardcore and punk at the time for me. A lot of the bands also included their mailing addresses in the liner notes and I wrote to every single one of them and was psyched to get a few replies (which also kick started a lot of other letters that proceeded throughout my youth). Such an important record to me growing up and I still spin it often these days.
As a side note, man I really miss reading liner notes to learn about new bands and seeking out their records. It wasn't easy back in the day to track down releases from other bands! Nowadays it takes seconds!
My late friend Alex Givens (RIP) was a liberty spikes sporting, Sid-worshipping style punk in the 80s in Indianapolis. I was into punk already via Generation X, Adam and the Ants, Sex Pistols, and even Black Flag. But my introduction to hardcore came via this compilation, after Alex mistakenly purchased it at the mall (on cassette!) thinking it to be some sort of more punk type comp. He gave it to me simply to get rid of it, and the world of hardcore opened up to me.
(My introduction to thrash metal, a few years earlier, came similarly: a friend of mine who was really into hair metal bands bought a copy of Megadeth's Peace Sells... by mistake, and gave it to me to get rid of it. I saw a magazine with the guy from Megadeth on the cover, bought it, and learned about every other thrash metal band imaginable, and set about using my lunch money to get more.)
After getting that Rev comp, I started buying Maximum Rock N' Roll, and my buddy Reece and I met likeminded kids on the other side of town via the MRR classifieds section. The MRR classifieds is where we met Curtis Mead, who I still talk to every day (and who turns 50 today). The MRR classifieds section is where I first "met" Dwid, who sent me the demo for his new band, Integrity. (That demo, and the note he wrote me inside of it, sits on my desk as I type this.)
I don't think I'd have picked up MRR if I wasn't trying to learn more about the bands who appeared on the NYCHC: The Way It Is comp. Next thing I knew, I was reading a very combative "cover story" interview, where Tim Yo debated the guy from Youth Of Today about some kind of Hare Krishna stuff...
Somewhere in 'zine land, we met some guys from Louisville in a new band called Endpoint. (Just yesterday I explained to someone who grew up in the OC hardcore scene that Rob and Duncan were our Ray and Porcell in the Midwest.) MRR is also where I learned about Hardline Records, and sent a letter to a PO Box in Laguna Beach, California that I'd have the key to check in person a decade later.
Compilations, and print publications, continued to play such a crucial part in my experience with a world outside of my bedroom, especially comps of the homemade variety. I met this super cool girl named Deidre who knew about every hardcore, punk, ska, and Oi band you could imagine. I gave her a brick of blank tapes and she sent them back filled with a sampling of *everything.*
It's 2024 and here I am in the anti-matter letters section talking about comps and 'zines. Thank you, Jordan and Ray. Thank you, Alex. ❤️
Wow. Another great read. Keep them coming. Also, really enjoyed your use of the word "ameliorate." Look forward to the interview on Thursday. Take care.
Working in a music (can't call it a record) store in 2002, I have a vivid memory of showing up one morning as my coworker angrily snapped and stomped on a CD. That is when I learned who Skrewdriver were.
"...back then, many of us really tried to give each other the benefit of the doubt. In retrospect, that wasn’t always the smartest thing. But then again, these are lessons."
Indeed! And, I really liked the diversity of our shows in the 80s. We said a lot, we shared a lot, we called each other out, and so we learned a lot.
Compilations in general play such an important role in early hardcore - I had my eyes opened to a lot of different bands just because somebody had a copy of Flex Your Head or Let Them Eat Jellybeans and taped copies got passed around as well. And yeah, some of those bands/songs are not great in a modern context, but revisionism doesn't serve anyone well. Part of growth is knowing where you come from.
The Way it Was and I hope the way it is still is that the hardcore scenecan attract the ears, eyes body and mind/heart of someone from the outside. It first attracted my ears and body. Then it wormed into my mind. Then because of really great imagery it hooked my eyes. The Way it Is was one of those records encompassed all of those for me and made me want to go to the CBs matinees and be on the inside even if I was most defintely an outsider
This comp was for me a guide into what was happening in NYHC at that time. My friends and I were just getting into this in '88/'89, but it served to inform what I liked and didn't like. Louisville was mostly a punk rock/metal/art punk town, not a hardcore town. Judge did play here in 1990 and that was awesome. And then later of course seeing In Effect '91 video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr8BOcyi3EY) and getting to see those bands and the band members actually talk was awesome.
I grew up in a small town in western PA and got this record when it first came out. It was an amazing introduction to NY hardcore and punk at the time for me. A lot of the bands also included their mailing addresses in the liner notes and I wrote to every single one of them and was psyched to get a few replies (which also kick started a lot of other letters that proceeded throughout my youth). Such an important record to me growing up and I still spin it often these days.
As a side note, man I really miss reading liner notes to learn about new bands and seeking out their records. It wasn't easy back in the day to track down releases from other bands! Nowadays it takes seconds!
My late friend Alex Givens (RIP) was a liberty spikes sporting, Sid-worshipping style punk in the 80s in Indianapolis. I was into punk already via Generation X, Adam and the Ants, Sex Pistols, and even Black Flag. But my introduction to hardcore came via this compilation, after Alex mistakenly purchased it at the mall (on cassette!) thinking it to be some sort of more punk type comp. He gave it to me simply to get rid of it, and the world of hardcore opened up to me.
(My introduction to thrash metal, a few years earlier, came similarly: a friend of mine who was really into hair metal bands bought a copy of Megadeth's Peace Sells... by mistake, and gave it to me to get rid of it. I saw a magazine with the guy from Megadeth on the cover, bought it, and learned about every other thrash metal band imaginable, and set about using my lunch money to get more.)
After getting that Rev comp, I started buying Maximum Rock N' Roll, and my buddy Reece and I met likeminded kids on the other side of town via the MRR classifieds section. The MRR classifieds is where we met Curtis Mead, who I still talk to every day (and who turns 50 today). The MRR classifieds section is where I first "met" Dwid, who sent me the demo for his new band, Integrity. (That demo, and the note he wrote me inside of it, sits on my desk as I type this.)
I don't think I'd have picked up MRR if I wasn't trying to learn more about the bands who appeared on the NYCHC: The Way It Is comp. Next thing I knew, I was reading a very combative "cover story" interview, where Tim Yo debated the guy from Youth Of Today about some kind of Hare Krishna stuff...
Somewhere in 'zine land, we met some guys from Louisville in a new band called Endpoint. (Just yesterday I explained to someone who grew up in the OC hardcore scene that Rob and Duncan were our Ray and Porcell in the Midwest.) MRR is also where I learned about Hardline Records, and sent a letter to a PO Box in Laguna Beach, California that I'd have the key to check in person a decade later.
Compilations, and print publications, continued to play such a crucial part in my experience with a world outside of my bedroom, especially comps of the homemade variety. I met this super cool girl named Deidre who knew about every hardcore, punk, ska, and Oi band you could imagine. I gave her a brick of blank tapes and she sent them back filled with a sampling of *everything.*
It's 2024 and here I am in the anti-matter letters section talking about comps and 'zines. Thank you, Jordan and Ray. Thank you, Alex. ❤️
I'm a long time follower of Sergio's food Instagram!
Wow. Another great read. Keep them coming. Also, really enjoyed your use of the word "ameliorate." Look forward to the interview on Thursday. Take care.
Working in a music (can't call it a record) store in 2002, I have a vivid memory of showing up one morning as my coworker angrily snapped and stomped on a CD. That is when I learned who Skrewdriver were.
"...back then, many of us really tried to give each other the benefit of the doubt. In retrospect, that wasn’t always the smartest thing. But then again, these are lessons."
Indeed! And, I really liked the diversity of our shows in the 80s. We said a lot, we shared a lot, we called each other out, and so we learned a lot.
Compilations in general play such an important role in early hardcore - I had my eyes opened to a lot of different bands just because somebody had a copy of Flex Your Head or Let Them Eat Jellybeans and taped copies got passed around as well. And yeah, some of those bands/songs are not great in a modern context, but revisionism doesn't serve anyone well. Part of growth is knowing where you come from.
The Way it Was and I hope the way it is still is that the hardcore scenecan attract the ears, eyes body and mind/heart of someone from the outside. It first attracted my ears and body. Then it wormed into my mind. Then because of really great imagery it hooked my eyes. The Way it Is was one of those records encompassed all of those for me and made me want to go to the CBs matinees and be on the inside even if I was most defintely an outsider
This comp was for me a guide into what was happening in NYHC at that time. My friends and I were just getting into this in '88/'89, but it served to inform what I liked and didn't like. Louisville was mostly a punk rock/metal/art punk town, not a hardcore town. Judge did play here in 1990 and that was awesome. And then later of course seeing In Effect '91 video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr8BOcyi3EY) and getting to see those bands and the band members actually talk was awesome.