Ode to The Gnat

Left in the Dark is probably the greatest, most influential song of its generation, although AS I WROTE HERE I wonder if Diamonds in th Rough is actually a better song.  Meanwhile, Rrthur (YES, ladies, THAT Rrthur!) passes along this link:

Then, in the summer of 1980, they went to Faithful Studios in Urbana to record more songs. Faithful was an old house near a railroad track where a huge soundboard was shoved in to what used to be the pantry. Recording had to be stopped any time a train came by as it would rattle the house. Mark Rubel engineered the session which resulted in "Left In The Dark," "Teen Seen," and "Robbery." Their new friend, WPGU jockey Jon Ginoli, played the songs on his radio show a few days later, even though they never officially released the songs. Jon would later send the recording of "Left In The Dark" to Greg Shaw at Bomp, who included the song on the first Battle Of The Garages compilation LP that was released on Bomp's sister company, Voxx, in 1981.

Goddam, I still love that Battle of the Garages record, which I've had for over 20 years now. Long live The Vertebrats.