It's hard to imagine in today's hyper-compartmental microgenre musical environment, where musical styles are sliced ever thinner, until individual bands become genres of one. But lost in the mists of history (well, it was the 70s, so maybe that's not mist) was a time when the Clash, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols snuggled up alongside Aerosmith, the Bay City Rollers, and Queen in the same record collections. And that rock omnivore's paradise was captured by the brilliant, funny New York-based magazine
Rock Scene.
But fat chance of me ever seeing an issue, right? That's what I thought for many years - but now
every issue of Rock Scene is available to read online thanks to an obsessive punk collector in Austin. If there's a Nobel Prize for Rock, Ryan Richardson deserves it for this invaluable public service.
Bowie, the Stones, KISS, and the Ramones got the most shine from
Rock Scene's spotlight, but the mag's coverage ran wide and deep. Look at that head of hair on Ted Nugent! Read transvestite glam-rocker Wayne County's paean to KISS! Marvel at how even Steven Tyler once looked young! Wonder why you've never heard of New Wave also-rans like the Cretones and Max Load! What did people say about
London Calling and
Born to Run when they were brand-new?
Even with the ugly watermarks, the photos alone make every issue an unbelievable treasure for a rock geek like me, let alone the writing - fantastic at its best, and always amusing. We'll never have another moment like this again, but at least we've still got
Rock Scene. Dive in, put on that second New York Dolls album - come on, it's way underrated - and discover that gloriously trashy time anew.
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Arcade
08-24-2011, 03:40 PM
Rock Scene: Every Issue Of The Great Lost Rock Mag Of The 70s, Now Online
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