I recently dug out my old CaseLogic (tm) CD binder and thought it would be fun to flip through it and comment on some of my past purchases and obsessions.
To explain the contents, let's first establish a (very) rough chronology of my media format preferences:
...I haven't bought any records in a while, and I'm thinking about switching back to CDs. That's a post for another day.
Anyway! Let's get to what we're all here for.
Purchased in the mid 90's, likely from Hot Topic. This was the first entry in what would eventually become a recurring Fat Wreck Chords sampler series that would release on an intermittent basis until being discontinued in 2016.
This first volume was a huge influence on my musical taste at a time when it was developed, but still solidifying. Listening to it today, there are some definite bangers, with the opener being a prime example:
Anti-Manifesto, by Propagandhi (YouTube)
I'm pretty sure I first saw these guys on MTV. Remember when MTV actually played music videos? Anyone of a certain age will certainly remember their single "Fat Lip", which was everywhere:
And yeah: as silly as it seems now, for someone who had just graduated high school, this song, this music video, this whole album...it really did resonate. I'm not embarrassed to still feel some attachment to this one.
I was hooked on Blink since Dude Ranch (1997), so I was all over this one when it came out. Not that you could escape this album. Remember the teen comedy American Pie? Yeah, this album was represented on that (extremely 90's) soundtrack.
Do you remember being a kid, shopping with your mom, and hearing the old people music on the department store radio? This is the old people music now. Ouch.
All The Small Things, by Blink 182 (YouTube)
I think "What's My Age Again?" had more staying power as a single, but I've always appreciated how All The Small Things (linked above) parodied the boy bands of the time.
Let me come clean. I consider Propagandhi to be my favorite band, they've held this distinction for a long time, and it all started here. This band, and this album in particular, put me on the the idea that music can and should have something to say. This won't be the last time they come up here, so enjoy a couple tracks that feel particularly relevant in 2026:
Hate, Myth, Muscle, Etiquette, by Propagandhi (YouTube)
Head? Chest? Or Foot?, by Propagandhi (YouTube)
That concludes part one of this series. Have you listened to any of these albums? Email me and let me know what you thought of them.
Stay tuned for part two, where things are going to get a little weirder...
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