7 Seconds “Walk Together Rock Together” released 35 years ago, 1985. Better Youth Organization (BYO Records)/Positive Force Records. Produced by Ian MacKaye. In quarantine lots of folks turn to comfort food but I’m turning to comfort music, which for me is 80′s punk (and other stuff, too). Today I’m diving into my metaphorical bowl of mac-n-cheese and spinning this hardcore gem –  the original Walk Together Rock Together. 7 Seconds released a second expanded version in 1986 which includes all of the tracks on this EP plus a few other studio and live songs. The tracks are surprisingly relevant 35 years later for our current world pandemic situation. “In Your Face” isn’t really about admonishing people to socially isolate (it’s about friends being assholes I think) but the the lyrics “If I can give a fuck/you better start so use your head. Be aware. Give. A. Fuck!!!” seem super-fucking timely. “Strength” is super-short without many lyrics at all so the whole song feels like a timely pep-talk (shout): “If what you see is what you get/Just look toward us and never fret. I’ll sing this ‘til I can’t no more. A part of what I’m waiting for. It’s there so strong and you can see/A force. And what we have is strength! All we need it’s what we got!” And while we cannot actually walk together, nor rock together, “Walk Together, Rock Together” is a great reminder in these times of extreme difficulty that we all need to work together to end the threat. Finally, 7 Seconds’ cover of Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” is not only the best version of the song (and that includes the awesome original, in German of course – the English version isn’t as good) but is a glimpse into the post-apocalyptic world we could be facing if this shit isn’t dealt with effectively…. “It’s all over and I’m standin’ pretty in the dust that was a city/If I could find a souvenir just to prove the world was here/And here it is a red balloon/I think of you and let it go” (ending with the signature Whoah-whoah’s that punctuate nearly every single 7 Seconds song). However, “Spread” is exactly the opposite of what we want right now: “But what I’d like to see most in the world today/We’ve got to spread it! Spread it!” (They’re not really talking about disease of course, but love and affection and emotion)