Taking a break from the classic rock discoveries thanks to Sea of Tranquility and moving to another massive source of music discovery: Henry Rollins – specifically his role as DJ at KCRW (which you can stream to your heart’s content here) and the collection of books detailing his playlists and the inspiration behind. It was his radio show that got me into the first two Generation X albums, and without his championing I never would have come across Empire, the band formed when guitarist Bob Andrews and drummer Mark Laff over a desire to move in a different musical direction than the more commercial punk/pop Billy Idol craved. The result may have only been one album, but 1981’s Expensive Sound is a great hidden gem in the post-punk/rock and pop world.