I can only imagine that everyone has their favorite place in the world to go. I’ve had two in my life. One – Common Grounds in Gainesville, Florida – has been closed for ten years or so. The other – Extreme Noise Records in Minneapolis, Minnesota – has now been open for just under 25 years. For punk rockers like me, it is hands down the best record store on the planet. It’s been impossible for me to go in there and not spend every dime in my pocket. Impossible. And that it’s been 100% volunteer run for all these years is a testament to its D.I.Y. ethic and a point of pride for thousands of loving patrons.
Extreme Noise opened during my formative years as a young punk. I was 16 and in the midst of a desperate search for as much punk as I could find. I’d been to all the other Minneapolis record stores (at the time there were quite a few decent ones – all of which are now defunct), but Extreme Noise had the real shit. When I walked in there for the first time in 1994 I was a fresh-faced know-nothing punk. When I emerged from that dingy hole-in-the-wall with my stack of records, I felt connected to the whole world.
The following episode is made up of music I discovered at the 124 West Lake Street location (the store’s first of three). This is by no means a comprehensive list of the wonders I found there, but it’s a start. Long Live Extreme Noise!
Anti-Cimex Warmachine
Wretched Ones Hey Old Man
Antisocial Official Hooligan
The Varukers Protest and Survive
Assrash Enemies of Tomorrow
Aus Rotten Tuesday, May 18, 1993
The Templars Night of the Seagulls
Swingin’ Utters Mommy
Blanks 77 Let’s Riot
The Subversives Know Your Enemy
Submachine Laughing
The Boils Dependent
Stun Guns Brand New Year
The Showcase Showdown Step Right Up
The Bristles Kill the President
Quincy Punx Malicious Mischief
Civil Disobedience Manufactured Citizens
Code 13 Doomed Society
Pud The Kids Wanna Rock N’ Roll
The Pist We’re the Pist
da Toddlers Kats
Destroy Burn This Racist System Down
The Oppressed Work Together
Dillinger Four Smells Like O.K. Soda
DIRT Manhunter
Mankind? Selfish Schism
Discharge Society’s Victim
Hellkrusher Fields of Blood
H100s Picked On
F.Y.P Toss My Cookies
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.