In 1977, punk gave American kids permission to explore music. Some had grown up in L.A. listening to the Sunset Strip bands in heavy rotation; others worked in record stores with "old heads" who taught them the secret history of the past, or educated themselves by digging through the vinyl libraries at their college radio stations.

Thrift shops were full of paisley rags and fringed jackets, and young bands started dressing like it was 1966. They dreamed of rewriting the history of rock, finding inspiration in songs that didn't get played on the radio and discovering the forgotten weirdness of that decade.

'This Can't Be Today' captures a snapshot of America's second wave of psychedelia, a coast-to-coast phenomenon. It saw bands as diverse as R.E.M., The Dream Syndicate, Green on Red, Flaming Lips, and Meat Puppets revisit a sound and aesthetic all but blown away by the pomp of 1970s heavy rock, AOR, and disco.

Knowingly backwards-looking and infused with a pop sensibility, many of these bands became household names and legends in their own lifetime, while others produced one-off, scene-defining classics or became a footnote in a later band's origin story.

Inspired by the seminal Nuggets and Pebbles compilations—often with one eye on "Swinging London" and working to tight budgets with college radio listeners in mind—this movement was the polar opposite of Reaganomics, shiny movies, and day-glo hair metal.

It offers a trip to an America the rest of the world rarely got to see. Resplendent in artwork by the inimitable Cally and compiled by American A&R, production, promotion, and artist management veteran James Barber, this is both a time capsule for those who were there and an invaluable entry point for anyone interested in America's response to punk rock and the post-punk scene.

DISC ONE
1 The Last - She Don't Know Why I'm Here
2 Plasticland - Office Skills
3 The Bangs - Getting Out of Hand
4 Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos
5 The Fans - True
6 The dB's - Nothing Is Wrong (Demo)
7 Green On Red - Death And Angels
8 The Unclaimed - Deposition Central (The Acid Song)
9 The Vertebrats - Left in the Dark
10 The Dream Syndicate - Sure Thing (Live at KPFK)
11 R.E.M. - Gardening At Night
12 Action Now – Try
13 Tommy Keene - Mr. Roland
14 Translator - Nothing Is Saving Me
15 R. Stevie Moore - I Go Into Your Mind
16 Al Bloch - Hangin' Around
17 The Long Ryders - And She Rides
18 Wednesday Week - Sad Little Dog
19 The Rain Parade - What She's Done To Your Mind (Album Version)
20 True West - Steps To The Door
21 The Point - Magic Circle
22 Wire Train – Everything’s Turning Up Down Again
23 Darius And The Magnets - Saturday At 3:00 P.M.

DISC TWO
1 The Rain Parade - This Can't Be Today
2 Plan 9 - White Women
3 Redd Kross - Citadel
4 Droogs - For These Remaining Days
5 Plasticland - Euphoric Trapdoor Shoes
6 The Dream Syndicate – Mr Soul (Live at KPFK)
7 Bangles - The Real World
8 The Long Ryders - Too Close To The Light
9 The Three O'Clock - Her Head's Revolving
10 The Pandoras - It's About Time
11 The Reverbs - Picture An Eye
12 The Twisted - Sheez Wycked
13 Naked Prey - The Story Never Ends
14 Meat Puppets - Plateau
15 The Eyes Of Mind - With You Again
16 The Tell-Tale Hearts - Come And Gone
17 Dreams So Real - Everywhere Girl
18 The Impossible Years - Flower Girl
19 Thee Fourgiven - Anything
20 The Prime Movers - True To Me
21 The Suburban Nightmare - Every Night
22 Yard Trauma - Must've Been Something I Took Last Night
23 The Romans - Vicki Seventy

DISC THREE
1 The United States of Existence - Welcome Tomorrow, Goodbye Today
2 28th Day - 25 Pills
3 Dumptruck - Back Where I Belong (2024 Mix)
4 Hüsker Dü - Hardly Getting Over It
5 The Flaming Lips - With You
6 Game Theory - Regenisraen
7 Thin White Rope - The Three Song
8 Camper Van Beethoven - Circles
9 Drivin' N Cryin' - Count The Flowers
10 The Things - You Can't Deliver
11 Flying Color - Dear Friend (Single Version)
12 Winter Hours - Hyacinth Girl
13 The Steppes - Sky Is Falling
14 The Green Pajamas - Kim The Waitress
15 Mod Fun - Hope It's Today
16 The Inn - What's It Like
17 Absolute Grey - For Some Reason
18 Dead Moon – Graveyard
19 The Cynics - Took Her Hand
20 The Sneetches - Home Again
21 Ultra Vivid Scene - Mercy Seat