Friday, September 01, 2006

The 80's Through A Series of Tubes; Part 4 w/The Butthole Surfers

Although the Butthole Surfers didn't find commercial success until the 90's (with the song "Pepper"), I felt it was appropriate to include them in this week of 80's nostalgia because the band's most memorable and challenging work came out of the decade that we all fondly remember for ..... swatch watches? Hmmm.

But how do I even start when trying to write about the Butthole Surfers? The band is an evasive creature stylistically and very hard to catagorize, but I suppose if we're going to use labels, we could say they were one of the forerunners of indie rock as we know it, but even that seems horribly simplistic, because indie rock as we know it today barely touches some of what this band created in their hey-day. So, let me try again; The Butthole Surfers are "masters of calculated outrage, the group fused the sicko antics of shock rock with a distinct and chaotic mishmash of avant-garde, hardcore, and Texas psychedelia; sleazy, confrontational, and spiteful, songs like "The Revenge of Anus Presley," "Bar-B-Q Pope," and "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey Oswald's Grave" seemed destined to guarantee the Buttholes little more than a lifetime of cultdom." (from allmusic.com).

Alright, so I cheated. But sometimes it's better to quote a source when it obviously gets the point across a helluva lot better than I ever could hope to under the circumstances. And what are those circumstances, you wonder.....? I'm lazy. Pure and simple. And I have a cold. And I'm on dayquil! So there.

I could probably type away pages of this blog, just talking about the band and how great and original they were (are? I haven't listened to anything since Electriclarryland (uggh!), so I have no idea what 2001's release Weird Revolution sounded like), but as I've already said, I have a cold and I don't feel particularly well. Still, I feel slightly guilty about giving the Buttholes the shaft, so to speak....so I'll leave you with two youtube clips, rather than one and a short list of Butthole Surfer albums you should add to your collection if you don't already have them.

First, the list;
1. Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac (1985) - This was the bands first release with Touch and Go. It includes the songs "Concubine", "Mexican Caravan", "Lady Sniff" and "Butthole Surfer" (which was actually where the band got their name from, since a radio DJ mistook the song title as the band's moniker.)
2. Rembrandt Pussyhorse (1986) - This album is my favorite by the band. It's a bit more subdued in comparison to P...P...AMS (see above) but it always leaves me with this uneasy feeling, like it's gotten under my skin and I won't ever be able to scrub it away. Sometimes, that's just what an album should do. Also, the cover of "American Woman" totally puts the Kravitz crap version to shame.
3. Locust Abortion Technician (1987) - Ahh, the debut of the Gibbytronix vocal effects thingamabob, this album is a glorious mess. Critically, it's usually listed as the band's best album. You probably just need to listen to it for yourself. Do that, and then let me know what you think, ok?
4. Hairway to Steven (1988) - I like this album a lot, but not nearly as much as P...P...AMS and Rembrandt Pussyhorse. Still, it's worth listing for the songs "Jimi", "I Saw An X-Ray Of a Girl Passing Gas" (best song title ever?), "John E. Smokes" and "Backass", alone.

And now to the youtube videos;

The band at home and live performing "Jimi" in 198? on SnubTV;



Live in Detroit, 1985;

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