Between 1977 and ’83 hundreds of U.K. bands put out their own records and cassettes –on the cheap and utterly without apology. With 'D.I.Y.', Punk and everything that came before it collided gloriously with D.I.Y.'s fresh aesthetic of making and sharing recordings outside of the established music business -with only the slightest regard for an audience. There’s no common style: instead these songs are united by wit, enthusiasm, musical risk-taking (especially these London bands) ...and a conspicuous lack of pose.

Messthetics #101: Rare tracks from the Scissor Fits, The Rich & Famous, Exhibit A, Different I's, Acid Drops, Grinder, Take It, the Jimmy Nipper 5, Funboy Five, Twelve Cubic Feet, Tiny Town, Existence, Collective Horizontal, Karel Fialka, Tiny Town, and The Door and the Window… Never-released material from the Homosexuals, Blue Screaming, Rejects (the final original from their 1977 demo, pre-Homosexuals), Different Eyes, Milkshake Melon, George Harassment, Grinder, TDATW. 16-page booklet, photos of (nearly) everyone, 22 songs (27 if you count 5 ripping MP3s of related stuff that wouldn’t fit). $16.00 (Almost gone!)

Listen:
Scissor Fits-'I Don't Want to Work For British Airways'
Acid Drops-'Distance Between Us'
Funboy Five-'Compulsive Eater'
Exhibit A-'Distance'
12 Cubic Feet -'Evercare'
Existence-'I'm Glad'
Tiny Town-'Know Better'
Different I's -'This Week'