On this day, all the way back in 1985
Two Scots brothers with wraparound shades, birds-nest hairdos and an affinity for white-noise feedback, American girl groups and the Ramones made a debut album that still ranks among the wildest things I’ve ever heard.
I saw them on an early US tour where the set barely lasted a half hour and guitarist William Reid (one of the two brothers) played in the dark with his back to the audience. “Contempt for everyone” might be a good descriptor of the band’s early stage and personal presence.
Legendary. Rediscovered later (around the time they broke up for the first time) via the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s “Lost In Translation.”