This week on Lost in the Static, BMC digs into legendary radio presenter, John Peel’s role in helping The Undertones break through with “Teenage Kicks”. Theres also a look at Sonic Youth’s 2006 album Rather Ripped, a record that closed out their long run with Geffen and showed the band working in a cleaner, more compact form.

The episode also looks at Jello Biafra’s early path into punk, from seeing the Ramones in Denver to joining Dead Kennedys, launching Alternative Tentacles, releasing “California Über Alles,” and even running for mayor of San Francisco.

There’s also a spotlight on the anniversary release of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, the Martin Hannett-produced debut that did not chart on release but went on to become one of the central records of post-punk, as well as the connection between Joy Division and New Order through “Ceremony.”

The second half moves through several major alternative and punk milestones, including Helmet’s Betty, the 1994 Interscope album that pushed Page Hamilton’s band further into jazz, blues, noise rock, and alt-metal territory despite resistance from the label.

There’s also a look at Kira Roessler’s years in Black Flag and her later Oscar- and Emmy-winning work in film and television sound, Blink-182’s Dude Ranch and its move into major-label pop-punk visibility, AFI’s Very Proud of Ya as a transitional Nitro Records release before the band’s darker visual identity took shape, and the life of Echo and the Bunnymen drummer Pete de Freitas.

New music featured: The Linda Lindas, The Drowns, Whippits, Snag, and more.

Also music from: The Undertones, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Joy Division, New Order, Descendents, Hum, Suicidal Tendencies, Helmet, Black Flag, Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, AFI, The Offspring, Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Chameleons, The Specials, The Clash.