Buzzcocks “Modern” – this is the first (and hopefully last) time I’m posting a CD rather than vinyl (or cassette) but – 1. Modern was released on this date, September 7th, in 1999 (on Go-Kart Records) 2. I was not willing to spend $199.98 for a copy of out-of-print vinyl and a CD was my only option and 3. my excuse for not getting it on vinyl in ‘99 was that we had just gotten married and bought a house. I really like Modern, even though many old die-hard Buzzcocks fans were put off by its, well, modern sound – lots of electronic elements and its tendency to lean hard toward the pop end of power-punk-pop, mirroring the radio-friendly punk revival sound of the 90′s (i.e. Green Day). Yes, Modern is very accessible and many of the songs catchy as hell: “Soul on a Rock,” “Speed of Life,” “Runaround” and “Turn of the Screw” are dancey, hook-filled and full of harmonies but also snotty and packed with three-chord power.

We saw the Buzzcocks while they were on tour for Modern in November of ‘99 in the basement of the Rave in Milwaukee. At that time I was writing album and show reviews for The Shepherd Express and I wrote about the concert for the Nov. 11th edition. As I note in the article, the Buzzcocks were less interested in capitalizing on the resurgence/emergence of punk in the mainstream music market than they were in evolving their sound to acknowledge and embrace new technologies and trends.