In 1972 Lenny Kaye compiled the Nuggets compilation for Elecktra Records, it was subtitled "Artifacts from the first psychedelic era", but the music was soon dubbed punk rock, probably by Greg Shaw, although Dave Marsh seems to think it's important for the world to know that he coined the term. Actually the first use of "punk" in music writing was by Nick Tosches who described Ed Sanders of the Fugs as having a "punk muse". No matter, the sound of these one-hit, teenage American bands was soon changed from punk rock to garage rock to distinguish it from the safety pin through the face variety of 70's punk. What I find so interesting is Lenny Kaye's vision in excavating the past. The music was only six years old (using 1966 as the banner year for American garage), yet Kaye understood it's importance at a time when most rock writers were busy analysing Bob Dylan's lyrics (or digging through his trash), or heralding the coming revolution, which was to be led by the Jefferson Airplane or Abbie Hoffman or whom ever. Only two of the above tracks made it onto Nuggets (Talk Talk was short listed but was unavailable due to legal problems, the Barbarians were represented by the song Moulty, not their best record, but surely a first class "artifact"). The Preachers track appeared on the first Pebbles album (Greg Shaw's bootleg continuation of the Nuggets concept). There was something in the air, for that same year, Mark Shipper released the first Sonics re-issue Explosive (Buckshot), sold through an ad in Who Put The Bomp fanzine. This was followed by the aforementioned Pebbles series which kicked off in 1976 and opened a floodgate. Soon every collector of garage 45's had their own compilation album on the market. My favorites: Hipsville 29 B.C., three volumes (Kramden), What A Way To Die (Satan), Open Up Yer Door (Frog Death) Off The Wall, two volumes, (Wreckord Wracked) The Chosen Few, two volumes (A-Go Go) and of course Back From The Grave nine volumes (Crypt), which was legally done unlike the others which were bootlegs. All of these can be downloaded from various blogs, try looking via Chewbone or Captain's Crawl (new URL). Soon their would be similar comps by every style, region, and/or label configuration possible, sometimes it seems like there were more comps than their were original 45's. The Droogs issued their first 45-- He's Waitin' b/w Light Bulb Blues (Plug'n'Socket), the first "new" group to revive the sound of '66. By the mid-70's more bands appeared like the Fleshtones, DMZ and the Chesterfield Kings to play much in the style of these (not very) old records. This caused much confusion as to what "punk" was or should be. I bring this up because the world seemed so much bigger and more mysterious back then, when everything hadn't been re-issued. The fans themselves were able to grasp control of the music for the first time ever. It really did change history.

Moulty!
All I have is Nuggets plus one Pebbles comp.
"sometimes it seems like there were more comps than their were original 45's" - that has always mystified me, too.
- tom moody 8-12-2009 4:32 pm [add a comment]

a rabid completest fan base counts for a lot. the notion that the music was only six years old at the time kaye put out nuggets is mind boggling. that would equate to finding a movement that forgotten and of similar depth and potential value from 2003. ok go!

looking back at rock and roll progress from the 5o's forward its one pop revolution after another. bang bang bang!!! my personal nitch was glam rock circa 72-74 or 75 which drew heavily from bubble gum, garage and little richard-jerry lee r and r. then disco-soul came along... bang again! jazz fusion, bang! punk, new wave bang! bang! art noise, bang! i foget what came next but... bang! ...what ever that was, oh yeah grunge. bang!
- bill 8-12-2009 4:48 pm [add a comment]

Agreed about Kaye, he definitely had the insight. But in '72 we were well into Elton John and prog rock and those '66 recordings did sound old and raw. It wasn't till '77 or so that the full impact of Nuggets was absorbed and music reflected that influence. Then we got New Wave, normalizing it again.

Six years is a long time in pop history. Sally and I have been arguing about whether internet art, as it was known and understood 6 years ago, is different from now. (She takes the long view that it's all one thing since the '90s.) Unfortunately I have no interest in making a comp of classic net art. Because I'm an anti-fan.

cpb.tumblr, however, has made something of a fetish of older net art tropes (among her other interests). I like that stuff--just not the hubris that came with it.
- tom moody 8-12-2009 6:53 pm [add a comment]

patty smith horses came out in '75 w/ a retake of garage anthem gloria. but she is the godmother of punk.
- bill 8-12-2009 7:23 pm [add a comment]

And of course the Stooges never lost the juice throughout that late 60s-early 70s span.
- tom moody 8-12-2009 7:44 pm [add a comment]