Trying to round up the best of any one genre during a single year is almost counter intuitive. And working to distill an entire decade is almost just plain impossible. With there being so much stuff referred to as punk today, the endeavor actually becomes ridiculous. But nevertheless, what follows is a sort of short list of important, enjoyable and in some cases forgotten recordings from the last ten years that might not actually be the best, but are all worth a listen.

The inclusion of a number In the Red Records releases seems unfair. It might be, but the fact points to the imprints dogged tenacity at releasing high quality work. And while the label surely released a few clunkers, there’s more gold in there than in most label’s back catalogs


Murder City Devils – In Name and Blood (Sub Pop, 2000)
The first few Murder City Devils’ full lengths garnered the group enough of a following to eventually be affixed to the Sub Pop label. The Seattleites’ relationship with such a venerated outlet enabled the garagey group to tour with some proper support, even if the venues it frequented never grew in size. Regardless of that and the amazing songs cobbled together on this organ based ensemble’s disc, the release would be its last. Recently reforming for a west coast tour and an appearance at Chicago’s Riot Fest hasn’t hurt the group’s legacy. And maybe during next decade’s end round up, I’ll get to mention a reunion disc.

Geraldine – Pure Bastard Rock (Orange Records, 2001)
Being based out of Athens, Oh – a tiny college town renowned for its drunkenness and its love of herbs and spices – didn’t help Geraldine’s chances of making a proper name for themselves. During the first blossoming of the new millennium’s garage infatuation Geraldine cut a few singles and a full length for the Orange imprint. The album didn’t wind up making inroads into larger media markets (released today, that might not have been the case), but on every trip through Athens, groups that would eventually be greeted with success found Geraldine enticing enough of an opening act as to return again and again…

The Stitches – 12 Imaginary Inches (TKO Records, 2002)
The southern Californian’s that make up the Stitches weren’t going to be able to replicate the success that the 8x12 disc resulted in. That being said, a completely different approach to rock stuffs got cranked out for the groups TKO Records debut. Having moved to a bigger label may have informed some of the Stitches’ decisions – maybe not. But the new wave styled stuff that 12 Imaginary Inches was populated with referenced a punk past and pushed through it. There are always common elements in the Stitches work, but even the single that led up to the release of this disc couldn’t have prepared fans for what was here.