I have a few friends who are somewhat incredulous that I can like bands like, say, Television, the Young Marble Giants and XTC while simultaneously appreciating arguably more populist stuff like Metallica, Rush and KISS. There was indeed a point during my high school years wherein I wrestled with which factionalized subculture to pledge myself to. And while I did indeed divorce myself from some of the less refined fare from that latter group (I no longer listen to, for example, Helix and Grim Reaper very much), I’ve never fully weaned myself off heavy metal (in all its myriad permutations) and select swathes of good ol’ hoary classic rock.
Several years back, I came to the definitive conclusion that I really don’t give a rolling rat fuck if I’m not “supposed” to like bands like Agnostic Front and the Human League and Yes all at the same time. I do. Deal with it.
Anyway, one of my strongest allies in my allegiance for all things metal and hard rock for quite some time has been fellow blogger and proud Minnesotan Bryan K., whose endearingly ephemera-fixated blog, This Ain’t the Summer of Love (named, if you’re an ignorant layperson, after a storied Blue Oyster Cult track) has been an amazing trove for rock minutia and period-specific rock geek detail for about eight years. I can’t remember what it was that initially made us aware of each other, but it was invariably our mutual love for the lore of early NYC punk, The Plasmatics, the New York Dolls and KISS that confirmed us as kindred spirits.
Sadly, Bryan just announced that he was removing his stacked leather heels, smearing off his grease-paint, unplugging his amplifiers and putting TATSOL on ice. It will live on in an archival capacity, but Bryan’s moving onto other things.
Salute him and his efforts by diving in here.
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