Violent Femmes: Gordon Gano (guitar); Brian Ritchie (acoustic guitar); Victor de Lorenzo (drums).

When Slash/Reprise released Add It Up (1981-1993) in September of 1993, it was a bit of a slap in the face for die-hard Violent Femmes fans. Though the 23 tracks of "hits," rarities, and live cuts were more than appreciated, the group's supporters were once again forced to try explaining to the unconverted what the fuss was all about. Ever since their self-titled debut, which has become a right of passage for anyone embarking on puberty, fans have had to defend the group's forays into folk, country, jazz, pop, and rock, not to mention their protagonist's constant battle with spirituality both Christian and demonic, with equal parts passion and frustration. Permanent Record: The Very Best Of is a more coherent collection by far, providing both longtime fans and newbies with a solid hour of concise teen, artistic, and spiritual angst, most of which is just as cathartic now as it was in the '80s. The fact that such sexually charged and explicit songs as "Add It Up" and "Blister in the Sun" have found such a secure place in American pop culture is a testament not only to the group's raw talent, but its timeliness. In an era when punk sold out to corporate pop, the trio's bare-bones acoustic setup and melodic teen-rage sarcasm inspired a cultlike fervor among those who were willing to take the trip, and what a strange trip indeed. That the schoolyard simplicity of a track like "Kiss Off" would lead to a full John Zorn freak-out horn section on the subversive anthem "Black Girls," or that an old Appalachian praise & worship number ("Jesus Walking On the Water") would share the same slab of vinyl as the murderous "Country Death Song," goes so far beyond the term "forward-thinking" -- or more appropriately, polarizing -- that it's a wonder anybody had the nerve to follow them at all. Permanent Record captures all of the schizophrenic bliss that fueled the group's long road to legend without all the filler that made Add It Up such a challenge for the uninitiated. ~ James Christopher Monger

Intense, wry, risque, and dependably quirky, the music of Violent Femmes helped define "college rock" in the 1980s. The Wisconsin trio's willfully primitive folk-punk emerged fully formed on the group's 1983

eponymous debut, unleashing such classic acoustic barnstormers as "Kiss Off," "Add It Up," and the dance-floor sing-along favorite "Blister in the Sun." These tracks are all present on PERMANENT RECORD, a

band retrospective that follows the Femmes through the fuller sound of HALLOWED GROUND and beyond, touching down on the Talking Heads-like rendition of T.Rex's "Children of the Revolution" (which features the Heads' Jerry Harrison) and the oddly uplifting, nostalgic "American Music."

Although this 16-song set overlaps somewhat with ADD IT UP: 1981-1993, it follows the Femmes catalog through 2000's FREAK MAGNET (including the melancholy, soul-tinged "Color Me Once" from the soundtrack to 1994's THE CROW), making for a more wide-ranging overview. Throughout the compilation, frontman Gordon

Gano's unmistakably whiny vocals, caustic lyrics, and fierce acoustic-guitar strumming are at the fore, embodying the skewed charm of this utterly unique ensemble.