Way back in 1983 (30 years ago!), some hipster employees at Warner Brothers Records came up with the inspired idea to make an LP filled with the best B-sides of various “new wave” singles put out on the label. The resulting compilation album series called Attack Of The Killer B’s contains some rare pleasures indeed by the likes of The PRETENDERS, TALKING HEADS, RAMONES, ROXY MUSIC and LAURIE ANDERSON among others. Take a trip back “new wave” lane with your host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse, fellow music geeks!

Voxx Records brought ’60s garage-rock into the ’80s in a big way, and the compilation known as Beasts From The East took up where the amazing Battle Of The Garages series left off with tracks by 8 notable bands from the Midwest and parts eastward. Listen to 1986 recordings by the likes of The LIBERTINES, The SKEPTICS, The TIME BEINGS, The ENDORPHINS, The DWARVES, The CYNICS, GREEN, and The C*NTS as they strive to make the world safe for raw teenage rock. Time to ride the garage wave, fellow music geeks!

In 1995 the estrogen-powered indie label Candy Ass Records released a monumental and highly influential compilation devoted to female empowerment, complete with a 75-page booklet with stories and self-defense tips. This episode features the entire 2-LP set (featuring the likes of LOIS, TEAM DRESCH, and pre-SLEATER-KINNEY bands HEAVENS TO BETSY and EXCUSE 17), along with highlights from the booklet read by host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse. Grrrrl power NOW!, fellow womyn-loving geeks!

Ebullition Records was a major force in the ’90s punk underground, sporting bands like ECONOCHRIST and SPITBOY. One of the label’s earliest releases was the Give Me Back compilation in 1991 which featured a variety of bands, including the mighty BIKINI KILL, with songs about gender issues. It also sported a thoughtful 20-page booklet (12″x 12″ pages, no less!) with great essays on a variety of issues from homosexuality to rape to abortion. Hear all the music and much of the writing contained in this comp, delivered with aplomb by host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse. Body respect and liberation for all, fellow music geeks!

Our good neighbors to the North have produced some of the greatest punk and hardcore bands of all time, including S.N.F.U., D.O.A. and NOMEANSNO. Hear those bands and many others known and obscure as host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse plays the entire It Came From The Pit compilation from 1985 and some tasty Canuck punk from his personal collection. Righteous skanking, eh, fellow music geeks!

The Hardcore Punk scene of the mid 1980s often eschewed the nihilism of many of its punk predecessors, with many bands espousing strongly leftist ideals and fiercely anti-war messages. All of that came together in a big way on a sprawling 2xLP compilation released in 1984 appropriately entitled P.E.A.C.E. Hear the entire set with commentary by your host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse. Morph those guns into plowshares, fellow music geeks!

If it weren’t for Dangerhouse Records, we would be missing a lot of the amazing music that was part of the L.A. Punk Rock explosion 1977-1981. Thankfully they were around to bankroll and archive incredible early performances by the likes of X, ALLEYCATS, AVENGERS, WEIRDOS, BAGS, DILS and many others. Hear some of those historical and often hysterical recordings, along with later recordings from the personal collection of host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse on this exciting episode!

Exotica experienced its first heyday in the late 1950s with pioneers like MARTIN DENNY and ESQUIVEL, making a music steeped in 3rd world traditions but with an eye to Space Age. Then 40 years later Exotica made a comeback in the New Millennium thanks in part to the tireless efforts of the fine folks at Dionysus Records. Hear this terrific compilation in its entirety, and then some Exotica from back in the day and beyond from the personal collection of host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse. Back to the future, fellow music geeks!

SST Records was rocking hard by the mid-1980s, with an amazing roster of bands that included BLACK FLAG, HÜSKER DÜ, MINUTEMEN, MEAT PUPPETS, DESCENDENTS and eventually DINOSAUR JR. and the VOLCANO SUNS. This compilation contains famous and infamous songs covered by those bands and more. Hear the comp in its entirety and then some rare and fine treats from host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse’s fave SST bands. Get hip to the reinterpretation scene, fellow music geeks!

As part of the Geek (Ema)Nation show’s ongoing public service commitment to bring better music through BOMP!, the Rock’N'Roll Nurse presents a rare but incredible compilation that came out on the L.A. label back in 1980, when the future seemed to be upon us. Power pop by the likes of STIV BATORS, the NUNS, the ROMANTICS, REAL KIDS, PAUL COLLINS, the SONICS, the WEIRDOS, the DEAD BOYS and the ROMANTICS amongst others. Bomp to the pop, fellow music geeks!

Last month Geek (Ema)Nation was graced by the presence of Steve from Subterranean Records, and this week he agreed to come back for Round Two! He�ll be bringing some of the rarest records from his incredible collection, including some test pressings that never saw the light of day for actual release. Plus he�s got great stories and explodes some lingering myths about the SF scene in the 1980s. Get yur SF underground history on, fellow music geeks!

There was some mighty fun noise going on in Chicago back in the late ’70s/early ’80s, and most likely you weren’t there to hear it. But now you get a second chance to hear inspired (if often inept) Punk Rock scratchings from the like of NAKED RAYGUN, DA!, END RESULT, TUTU AND THE PIRATES and many other Midwestern ne’er-do-wells. Host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse plays the entire soundtrack to the terrific indie documentary You Weren’t There, as well as some Chi-Town gems from his personal collection. Listen to da underground from da Windy City, adventurous geeks!

In the mid-1990s a compilation series called Red Hot And Bothered appeared on 2 sets of 10" records. Subtitled "the Indie Rock Guide to Dating," each set included a 36 page zine that included tips on safe, successful dating and sex, and info on the indie bands included on the comps (including FOLK IMPLOSION, GRIFTERS, THE VERLAINES, LISA GERMANO, and BUILT TO SPILL among others). Host The Rock'N'Roll Nurse plays the records in their entirety and reads highlights from the zines as a public service for the horny losers in the audience. Get it on, hot geeks!

Was New Wave just a clever marketing scheme of the early 1980s? Probably, and this week’s featured compilation LP set makes a strong case for that hypothesis. Released in 1981 by Columbia Records as “a cheap peek at today’s provocative new rock”, it places artists as disparate as LOVERBOY and BOOMTOWN RATS in the same musical genre. Hear the results of misguided corporate marketing on this episode of Geek (Ema)Nation along with quasi-anti-corporatist rants from host The Rock’N’Roll Nurse. Don’t believe the historical (hysterical?) hype, fellow music geeks!

In the 1980s and early 1990s Radio Tokyo was renowned as an L.A. recording studio that was cheap enough for indie bands to afford but provided quality enough for a plethora of great records and singles. Several fine compilations were released to showcase some of the studio’s most impressive accomplishments, and host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse plays Volume 4 of the Radio Tokyo Tapes (showcasing female artists’ recordings) in its entirety along with some choice L7 and SALEM 66 nuggets. Listen to the women rock, fellow music geeks!

Geek (Ema)Nation has its first in-studio guest ever in this epic podcast! Steve from San Francisco's own Subterranean Records drops in to tell stories and spin some of that label’s best and rarest records from the past 34 years. Plus, host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse (RNRN) manages to clear up some of his own misconceptions and faulty memories about Subterranean bands like FLIPPER and FRIGHTWIG. Knowledge of the SF '80s music scene will set you free, fellow geeks!

In the 1970s and early 1980s, San Francisco was home to the surprisingly influential Ralph Records label, home to The RESIDENTS, SNAKEFINGER, TUXEDOMOON, YELLO, and a vast array of other difficult and innovative performers and bands. In honor of The RESIDENTS’ 40th Anniversary, host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse plays the entire Best Of Ralph double-LP compilation and other choice Ralph nuggets from his personal collection. Get seriously art-damaged, fellow geeks!

The 1980s could be a pretty dodgy time for pop/dance music, but the Beggars Banquet label had a lot of the best bands of the era on it, most of which stand the test of time quite well. With the likes of NICO, JOHN CALE, The FALL, LOVE AND ROCKETS and The CULT on the roster, there were some pretty creative sounds being distributed in the UK by BB. One Pound Ninety-Nine was what this comp cost back in the day, and it’s a pretty nice sampler of the label’s finest acts circa 1985. Hear the whole LP and other songs by some of the artists represented, with running commentary by host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse. Get that Brit on, fellow geeks!

In the early ’80s, Slash Records was putting out the bands that mattered from the punk/hardcore scene that was picking up steam there, like X, FEAR and the GERMS. But it also was on the cutting edge, pushing bands that might be called “roots rock” now like the BLASTERS and RANK & FILE, and psychedelic/garage bands like the DREAM SYNDICATE, the VIOLENT FEMMES and the GUN CLUB. All these bands are featured on a remarkable compilation record from 1983 entitled Slash: The Early Sessions. Hear this entire LP plus selections from early Slash recordings with running commentary by host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse. Get that La-La Land itch, fellow geeks!

The early ’80s were a turbulent time politically and musically in the Underground all over the U.S., and the Midwest was not immune to the tumult. In 1981, at a local gay bar that allotted a night to Punk Rock music called Oz, some of Chicago’s most interesting and innovative bands gathered to play to a small but enthusiastic crowd of n’er-do-wells, and the result was recorded for posterity as the Busted At Oz LP. Host The Rock’N'Roll Nurse plays the entire compilation and then selections from his personal collection of DA, NAKED RAYGUN and EFFIGIES 7″ and 12″ records. It’s historic heartland rebellion, outcast geeks!