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The recent murder of Linda Stein, whom the two New York tabloids dubbed a punk pioneer owing to her stint as co-manager of the Ramones, got me thinking about the fate of some of the other characters crucial to the genre's first wave. And it's not the first time I've had these thoughts. A few months ago, we put together an issue of Spin dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Sex Pistols' astounding Never Mind The Bollocks, which debuted in October 1977. Featuring interviews with Johnny Rotten as well as a bunch of luminaries from the original U.K., New York, and Los Angeles scenes, the magazine is (we hope) an eye- and ear-opener that gives props to the architects of the sound that revolutionized rock. Oh, and it also provides some voyeuristic where-are-they-now? thrills. Many of the old-schoolers featured (like sexagenarians Charlie Harper of the U.K. Subs and Knox of the Vibrators) are still plugging away more than three decades later for small audiences primarily interested in safety-pinned nostalgia, and the Pistols themselves are currently up in everyone's faces again. But in my research for the issue, I also came across little-known recent work by a few of the issue's stars that's shockingly good and strangely vital. Give a listen.

Paul Cook: Continuing the potentially-dodgy-collaboration gambit set by colleague Steve Jones (who has appeared on albums with Duran Duran's John Taylor, Lisa Marie Presley, and egads! Michael Des Barres), Sex Pistols' drummer Cook has hooked up with Def Leppard's Phil Collen and veteran glam lesser-light Simon Laffy in Man Raze. From what can be gleaned from the tracks available online, their best song, "Turn It Up," takes the glorious opening riff from Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" and stretches it into a shouty stadium anthem whose key line "Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up / I wanna hear that song again" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Marco Pirroni: The ex-Siouxsie and the Banshee guitarist (who later found success with Adam Ant and Sinead O'Connor) was always one of the best musicians in a scene where skill often took a backseat to furious energy. In his sorta new duo, The Wolfmen (with Chris Constantinou), Pirroni applies his stun-gun pyrotechnics to thoroughly modern yet strikingly exotic dance rock. "Two Eyes" finds guest vocalist Punjabi pop star Daler Mehndi going all Bollywood over a driving punk rhythm perfect for Vice City: Mumbai. Mesmerizing.

The Slits: Okay, so their Revenge of the Killer Slits EP has been available for a year, but these dubby proto-riot grrrls have come back in major way with the hypnotically boastful "Slits Tradition" and the London '77 throwback "Number One Enemy"--both of which were recorded with (whaddayaknow?) Paul Cook and Marco Pirroni. Fun facts: Slits frontwoman Ari Up is Johnny Rotten stepdaughter, and the band's current lineup includes Paul Cook's daughter Hollie.

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