Modern indie rock couldn’t exist in its fullest form without shy, soft-spoken San Franciscan rock aficionado Greg Shaw, a.k.a. ‘The Pope of Punk’ and ‘Father of Rock Journalism.’ In late October ’04, the venerable renegade succumbed to heart failure after beating life-threatening kidney disease during ’98.

Shaw helped promote and expose admirable obscure artists through ‘66-launched publication Mojo-Navigator (the blueprint for Rolling Stone’s format), moving to L.A. to start up ‘70s Who Put the Bomp, which concentrated on emerging alternative glam culture (New York Dolls) and pre-punk happenings (Flamin’ Groovies).

He then wrote Creem’s singles column, ‘Jukebox Jury,’ and assembled marvelous long-lost tracks for influential ‘60s-garage compilation, Nuggets, then Pebbles lofty 30-disc series. His own label, Bomp!, commenced in ’74, releasing several delightful works by savage Detroit punks Iggy & the Stooges, arty Ohio new wavers Devo, L.A. scum-punks Germs, Chicago’s pop-rooted Shoes, and numerous hard-to-find perishables.

In recent years, he bolstered controversial indie rockers Brian Jonestown Massacre, who’ve now gained cult acclaim and a modicum of disputation. Go to bomp.com for more info on this subterranean legend.