This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - the Godfathers' "Birth, School, Work, Death"

I must confess that it took me a full 16 years of serious music listening to properly discover punk rock, a fact over which I kick myself daily. Even so, fresh off my classic rock-hair metal phase as a teenager (even though you can't see me, I'm hanging my head as I write this) and entering a period of mild interest in the burgeoning alternative genre, I found much that spoke to me in the muscular rock nihilism of this 1988 track. And although I possessed only the slightest knowledge of the first-wave British punk bands (the Damned, the Sex Pistols, the Clash) that inspired the Godfathers a decade after the punk explosion, I recognized energy, anger and renegade spirit when I heard it.

Without being overtly political, the Godfathers offered a semi-Marxist and plenty anarchist take on modern culture that resonates as forcefully today as it did for alert rock listeners nearly two decades ago. If you'll remember, the late '80s marked a fairly gaping void in commercially accessible hard rock, what with the domination of often superficial pop metal and the suppression of underground indie and college rock that could have filled that empty space. So we should all give thanks to this London band for serving as a vital link that allowed for the rise of grunge and, especially, the punk revival of the '90s.

• Sample a fairly representative cover version of "Birth, School, Work, Death" here.
• Compare prices on Godfathers CDs here.