Plenty of beatings and bashings, more than a few close calls and near death experiences in past decades, yet here we are ... Punk perseveres! 50(something) and as strong as ever. Born of necessity and it's never not been necessary since. More so now, than perhaps ever. Beit in the name of protest, awareness, community or catharsis, punk provides a place for us all. To quote my dear departed friend Todd, "It's my one true love and favorite place to go". I can recall doing similar such projects to this for Punk's 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th and 40th anniversaries. Those first few were done on cassette no less, long before it was hip or kitschy. Whilst most lovingly compile their fav's from the years prior to these milestone markers, I really like to examine more current sounds. Not to say entirely new bands, in fact this collection features artists and outfits from all five generations of the genre. Rather Be Birding is largely street punk and oi!, though there's still a healthy dose of hardcore and it's peppered with some melodic stuff, some angular stuff, plus a bit of gunk, general old school punk n roll and a few other surprises. Material is sourced almost entirely via bandcamp subscriptions and FPFTP (many, many thanks lads). The set comes from a selection of songs I've been scrolling away for the past year and a half or so. I still have quite a surplus and it's growing. Also many of the artists featured already have more recent material released, so we might see another one of these before year's end.
VA - Rather Be Birding [Punk Rock In Its 50's] (PukeGreenPinto 4X-PGPR-006)
101 - The Streetz - 2025 - Get Away {Los Angeles, CA}
102 - Mid Rats - 2026 - Back To Zero {Lancaster, PA}
103 - Grade 2 - 2026 - Better Today {Ryde, England}
104 - Seclusion - 2026 - Iconoclast {Washington, D.C.}
105 - Liberty & Justice - 2026 - Oxygen Tank {Houston, TX}
106 - The Riffs - 2026 - Join The Professionals {Portland, OR}
107 - Billy & His Imaginary Wigan Mates - 2026 - I Only Get This Feeling {London, England}
108 - Ceremony - 2026 - Other Hells {Rohnert Park, CA}
109 - Collaps - 2026 - A Future {NRW, Germany}
110 - First Attack - 2026 - More Sorrow {Vancouver, BC}
111 - The Stress - 2025 - Break The Chains {Long Island, NY}
112 - Pig Pen - 2025 - Highway {Welland/Niagra, ON}
113 - Vial - 2026 - Creep Smoothie {Minneapolis, MN}
114 - Failed Republik - 2025 - i-Simulate {Los Angeles, CA}
115 - Defrauded - 2025 - Frantic {Tampa, FL}
116 - Fatal Blow - 2026 - The Sharp End {Newport, South Wales}
117 - The Lads 69 - 2025 - Pulang {Cimahi, Indonesia}
118 - T.J. Welch & The Wasted - 2025 - Where Have All The Bootboys Gone? {Boston, MA}
119 - Ripcordz - 2026 - Straight To Hell (Decide) {Montreal, QC}
120 - Afflicted - 2026 - Insurrection {Lancashire, England}
121 - Complaint - 2026 - Still Standing {Brabant, Netherlands}
122 - Gimp Fist - 2026 - Never Had Much {Darlington, England}
123 - Brewtality Inc. - 2026 - I Didn't Care {Austin, TX}
124 - Perrybois - 2026 - Oi Oi Oi {Bandung, Indonesia}
125 - Civil Protection - 2026 - No More Slides {Madrid, Spain}
126 - Irkerd - 2026 - Death Cult {Newcastle Upon Tyne, England}
127 - Manicdotes - 2025 - Soros Ourobooros {Phoenix, AZ}
128 - Taker - 2026 - No Score {Buffalo, NY}
129 - Sharkbait - 2025 - Eagles [2nd Version] {Sydney, Australia}
130 - Rats Nest - 2025 - Crop Circles {Sussex, England}
131 - Beefy As Toro - 2025 - Never Again {NRW, Germany}
132 - Trigger Damage - 2026 - Never Change {Los Angeles, CA}
133 - Total Massacre - 2025 - Six More Feet {Los Angeles, CA}
201 - Heart Attack - 2025 - Background Music {Honolulu, HI}
202 - Evil Island - 2026 - Tiger Baby {Los Angeles, CA}
203 - Land Of Wolves - 2026 - Worth Has Run Out {Seattle, WA}
204 - Conservative Military Image - 2025 - Messe Cackle {Chicago, IL}
205 - Dad Fight - 2025 - Whole Lotta' Nothin {Queensland, Australia}
206 - Social Distortion - 2026 - No Way Out {Fullerton, CA}
207 - Noi!se - 2026 - You Versus You {Seattle, WA}
208 - Dropkick Murphys - 2026 - Always By My Side {Quincy, MA}
209 - The Vibrators - 2025 - On My Way To Hell {London, England}
210 - Gevaudan Dogs - 2025 - Pebbledash Temples {Leeds, England}
211 - Hebert & The Boys - 2026 - The Black Flag {New Haven, CT}
212 - The War Lovers - 2026 - Punk's Not Dead {Syracuse, NY}
213 - Teratoma - 2025 - WW3 {Vancouver, BC}
214 - The Do-Itz - 2026 - Freedom {Brownsville, TX}
215 - Sweat - 2026 - Tension {Los Angeles, CA}
216 - Convict Class - 2026 - Planet Earth {Warrnambool, Australia}
217 - The Clinch - 2025 - In This Life {Melbourne, Australia}
218 - Mad World - 2026 - Times Have Changed {Los Angeles, CA}
219 - Bad Form - 2025 - Freedom {Wollongong, Australia}
220 - Submit - 2026 - That's Unfortunate (Rave On) {Derbyshire, England}
221 - FörX - 2025 - Act Normal {Ottawa, ON}
222 - Broken Wrist - 2025 - We Died {Philadelphia, PA}
223 - Abscond - 2026 - Attack {Berlin, Germany}
224 - Justice Served - 2025 - Stomp You Out {?East Coast, USA}
225 - Shaved For Battle - 2026 - Battleground {New Hyde Park, NY}
226 - The Melmacs - 2026 - Showdown {Dresden, Germany}
227 - ComRad! - 2026 - Boots Theory {St. Louis, MO}
228 - Wreckage - 2026 - Can't Relate {Buffalo, NY}
229 - Bruise Control - 2026 - If Yr Not Mine {Manchester, England}
230 - Cyanide Pills - 2026 - Nothing Changed {London, England}
231 - Conciencia Total - 2026 - Cruda Realidad {Chicago, IL}
232 - Shop Talk - 2026 - Camp Hero {Brooklyn, NY}
233 - The Preps - 2026 - Unstoppable {West Chester, PA}
301 - Combat BC - 2026 - Remember The Time {NRW, Germany}
302 - Prisonnier Du Temps - 2026 - Dans La Douleur Et Les Larmes {Brest, France}
303 - Gatecrash - 2026 - Still Standing {London, England}
304 - Hi-Fi Murder - 2026 - Forever Forward {Salt Lake City, UT}
305 - Picket Line - 2025 - Make Your Skin Crawl {Seattle, WA}
306 - Justice Served - 2026 - My Pride {?East Coast, USA}
307 - The Mighty Thirst! - 2025 - Callin' In {London, England}
308 - Inflatable Idols - 2026 - Two Bit Hustle {Los Angeles, CA}
309 - Danny Wildheart & The UK Reprobates - 2025 - Don't Wanna Be Nobody Else {Peterborough, England}
310 - Electric Frankenstein - 2025 - Grenade Catcher {Hanover, NJ}
311 - Consensus Madness - 2026 - Let's Go To War {Chicago, IL}
312 - Dead Pioneers - 2026 - Seeing Red {Denver, CO}
313 - The Stress - 2026 - Kill Or Be Killed {Long Island, NY}
314 - Disposable Dogs - 2025 - Crushed In The Gears {London, England / Los Angeles, CA}
315 - Bomber - 2025 - Choose Your Fate {Los Angeles, CA}
316 - Posterboiz - 2025 - Remember {Hanover, Germany}
317 - Flash Kicks - 2026 - Social Isolation {Cologne, Germany}
318 - Oil! (feat. Joe Queer) - 2025 - Return To Bovver Beach {Cayucos, CA}
319 - The Stress Balls - 2025 - Translucent {Boston, MA}
320 - Generacion Suicida - 2026 - Nunca Escucharas {Los Angeles, CA}
321 - Jackknife Johnny - 2025 - Deadly Sins {Sacramento, CA}
322 - Lost Legion - 2025 - Gone {Chicago, IL}
323 - Intimidation - 2025 - Battle Fatigue {West MA / NJ}
324 - Out Of Line - 2026 - Rec Center {Bakersfield, CA}
325 - The Hidden Knives - 2026 - Tick Tock {Munich, Germany}
326 - Druglords Of The Avenues - 2026 - Cause And Effect {Oakland, CA}
327 - Dummy Toys - 2026 - No Means No {Qingdao, China}
328 - The Hates - 2026 - Bother {Houston, TX}
329 - The Strains - 2026 - Back It Up {Detroit, MI}
330 - Söap Charge - 2026 - Lost Cause {Tulsa, OK}
331 - Drama - 2025 - No End In Sight {Kaufbeuren, Germany}
332 - Civil Protection - 2026 - Productivity {Madrid, Spain}
333 - FLPSDE - 2025 - Lose My Mind {Philadelphia, PA}
401 - Hydra - 2026 - Warning {Hessen, Germany}
402 - Templars - 2025 - Let It Burn {Long Island, NY}
403 - Mess - 2026 - Liar {Guadalajara, Mexico}
404 - Hot Load - 2025 - No Streets {Los Angeles, CA}
405 - Thee Toe Tags - 2025 - Sidewalk Surfin' Motherfucker {Los Angeles, CA}
406 - Popperz - 2026 - Don't Let Me Go {Houston, TX}
407 - Scorpion vs. Tarantula - 2025 - Heart Like A Fist {Phoenix, AZ}
408 - Guerrilla Teens - 2025 - Johnny On The Mainline {Portland, OR}
409 - Steel Bashers - 2026 - Talk Down {Buffalo, NY}
410 - End It - 2025 - Anti-Colonial {Austin, TX}
411 - Lotus - 2026 - Vlaanderen Ontdooid, België Voltooid {Antwerp, Belgium}
412 - Vam17 - 2025 - One Of A Kind {Magdeburg, Germany}
413 - Night Patrol - 2025 - Harbor {Salem, MA}
414 - The Clinch - 2026 - Coming To Collect {Melbourne, Australia}
415 - Dead Street Dreamers - 2026 - No Control {Rutland, VT}
416 - Johnny Moses & The Electric Motherfu!kers - 2026 - News Of The World {London, England}
417 - The Easy Eight - 2026 - Hanging On The Wall {London, England}
418 - Pura Mania - 2026 - Contando Cucarachas En Mi Barrio {Vancouver, BC}
419 - Drakulas - 2026 - Garbage Strike {Austin, TX}
420 - Automatic Lovers - 2026 - Wasting Time {Madrid, Spain}
421 - Restraining Order - 2025 - Bashful Blue {West Springfield, MA}
422 - The S.E.T. - 2026 - Predetermined Hate {Baltimore, MD}
423 - Shooting Daggers - 2026 - T.R.L.T. {London, England}
424 - Not Today - 2026 - Safe Space {Bergen, Norway}
425 - Ultra Sect - 2026 - Public Enemy {San Francisco, CA}
426 - Geoffrey Oi!Cott - 2026 - Nowt To See Here {Leeds, England}
427 - Disposable Dogs - 2026 - Through The Cracks In The Walls {London, England / Los Angeles, CA}
428 - The Business F.C. - 2026 - It's Not Me {Lewisham, England}
429 - The Substandards - 2025 - Punk Anthem {Gatineau, QC}
430 - Rotten Finko & The Convicts - 2026 - Human Race {Chicago, IL}
431 - Bovver Bailey - 2025 - That's Just Tough {Liverpool, England}
432 - Peace Test - 2026 - We Disagree {Providence, RI}
433 - Acta Non Verba - 2026 - Moving Forward {Central FL / Puerto Rico}
RBB
NOTES:
track 106 originally performed by THE PROFESSIONALS
track 107 originally performed by DEE ERWIN
track 118 originally performed by THE WELCH BOYS
track 208 originally performed by HAYWIRE 617
track 217 originally performed by BONECRUSHER
track 416 originally performed by THE JAM
all other tracks originals to best of my knowledge.