1983 was hardcore's golden year. Classics like Minor Threat's Out of Step, SS Decontrol's Get It Away and the Misfit's Wolfsblood/Earth A.D. were being released - shortly before some of these legendary outfits were bidding fond adieu to the crew (present day reunions, notwithstanding). Hardcore and the DIY tropes of the day were inspiration aplenty for the bystanders to form bands and onlookers to write and publish their own zines. xXx was no exception. Inspired by the fertile Boston scene, chocked full of great bands including early interview subjects like Fall River, MA agit-punks, The Proletariat and Cape Cod's The Freeze (whose "No Exposure" was a song-grenade in their war against local hardcore bible, Forced Exposure), xXx emerged in June 1983, just in time to be sold at a Dead Kennedys gig in Waltham, Mass. The layouts and writing were nothing short of raw and naive - but completely from the heart and honest. From the straight-minded bludgeon of Negative Approach or Jerry's Kids to the California screaming of Suicidal Tendencies and the Circle Jerks, the 19 songs on this playlist pack the punch that was Hardcore '83.