After hearing many of the songs individually, I finally found a copy of the Monks - Black Monk Time and it really lives up to the hype. The music is probably more 60's Garage than straight punk, but there's always been a very fine line there and I think the Monks straddle it nicely. Songs like 'I Hate You (But Call Me)' are very funny, but there is a real sense of anger and frustration in these songs as well, and that combination reminded me of early LA punk bands like Fear and Black Flag.
This is one of those records that hipper musicians love to name check, and sometimes that can lead to some pretty ponderous listening, but 'Black Monk Time' is a fun, rockin' record (especially after a couple of beers) and more than lives up to it's rep as a 'progenitor of punk'.
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