The Soft Boys

Robyn Hitchcock got his start in the Soft Boys in 1976, at the onset of the Punk blowout -- not that they were really a part of it. It was more the aftershocks of Punk that allowed the Soft Boys to make their (then) minor waves. Hitchcock's absurd, Syd Barrett-esque images, folk strumming, and revved-up Power Pop still seemed an anomaly during the time of gob-smacking and pogo-ing, but "I Wanna Destroy You" had the right message, at least. A Can of Bees (1979) and Underwater Moonlight (1980) influenced a new wave of nonsense-slinging guitar psychedelia from R.E.M to Pavement.