Austin360 blogs > What's Good > Archives > 2006 > October
October 2006
Music: Halloween = the Cramps
Yes, it’s Halloween, time once again for my bi-annual rant about the greatness of the Cramps.
There are pretty much two types of people in the world: Misfits people and Cramps people. Surely, there are those who like both, but really, most folks who are aware of both catalogs tend to lean in one direction or the other.
Had I been exposed to the Misfits first, had an older kid in my high school (God bless you, John Pickett, wherever you are) been playing the Misfits’ “Walk Among Us” and not the Cramps’ compilation “Off the Bone” in our high school art room, I could be a Misfits person today.
But no, I remember standing there after school as the wall of fuzz at the beginning of “Human Fly” just flattened me against the wall. Two guitars, two chords, no bass, BZZZZZZZZZZZ “Well, I’m a human fly/I spell (it) F-L-Y”
There are a couple of songs I remember thinking, “I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear this.” “Sister Ray” by the Velvets. “Loose” and “TV Eye” by the Stooges. “Waiting Room” by Fugazi. And “Human Fly” by the Cramps. Two guitars, no bass, thumping drums, a sound that said rockabilly, 3 a.m. movies, and old comic books all at once. Trash rock as art rock as punk rock, all held together by Lux Interior’s reverbed bellow: Elvis, Bela and Ghoulardhi, all at once.
“I’m a human fly/and I don’t know why/I’ve got 96 tears/and 96 eyes.”
Everything you need to know about the Cramps is in that one line: a fondness for simplicity, an awareness of rock history and an absolute unwillingness to take it remotely seriously. These guys were smart, they loved junk culture, and they made no bones about it.
They were also a bit older than their punk peers, though I didn’t know how old until ‘03, when I found out Lux was two years older than my father, who didn’t have kids until he was well into his 20s. I mean, what was Lux doing in the ’60s? Hanging out in leather pants and listening to Charlie Feathers? Collecting every rockabilly single he could find? Watching the Late Late Late Movie somewhere in Ohio and thinking, “Yeah, I could be that.”
Now that I think about it, probably all three.
Recommended listening:
“Gravest Hits” EP (1979, IRS)
“Songs the Lord Taught Us” LP/CD (1980, IRS)
“Psychedelic Jungle” LP/CD (CD includes “Gravest Hits”) (1981, IRS)
“A Date With Elvis” LP/CD (1986, New Rose)
Pretty much any bootleg from the 1980s.
Music: MySpace lowers the boom on copyrighted music.
MySpace, now owned by NewsCorp, announced Monday a crackdown on those who post copyrighted music.
That sound you hear is millions of users named MySoulisHaunted82 removing that one Evanescence song — you know the one, with that girl — from their sites.
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Music: What I’ve learned…
…since the Stones show…
A lot of you thought I should have rated both “Some Girls” and “Goat’s Head Soup” a bit higher. After some vigorous re-listen, I pretty much stand by my ranking of “Goat’s Head,” but “Some Girls” probably could stand to be higher, even though it’s in the top 10. “Goat’s Head” seems about in the right place.
A lot of you really, REALLY don’t like “Flowers,” and find it silly. I’m pretty sure it’s still a wonderful snapshot of a side of the Stones they barely even acknowledge anymore. (Except, of course, for playing the “Hot Rocks” classic “Let’s Spend the Night Together” in Austin.)
I promise to spend more time with “Tattoo You.” Promise. When I have time. Soon. Really.
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Music: American idiot, indeed.
Am I the only one who is reminded of the Natalie Maines dust-up?
I look forward to the Killers dude demanding that Green Day’s records be taken off country radio.
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Comics: “Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall”
Man, DC Comics/Vertigo straight knocked it out of the park with this thing, the first original hardcover graphic novel for the “Fables” comic book.
For those unfamiliar, “Fables” takes the fairy tales and folk stories of old and crams them into a coherent universe, sort of the way sci-fi writer Philip Jose Farmer linked Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes in his “Wold Newton” stories. Veteran comic book writer (and former Austinite) Bill Willingham has made a concept that could go horribly wrong work brilliantly- it’s easily one of the most consistently excellent title DC/Vertigo publishes.
I’m not a huge fan of the original hardcover graphic novels format; there is rarely enough story-bang for your buck. But with a host of artists, including the first seqential story by increasingly god-like “Fables” cover artist James Jean, Charles Vess, Mark Buckingham and Jill Thompson, Willingham has delivered the goods with a series of tight, sharp, thematically linked short stories illustrating the secret history of the Fables universe. Just what happened to Snow White with those dwarves? How did Reynard the Fox aid his fellow Fables during the great crisis? Why is the Big Bad Wolf so big and bad?
Nice job.
For those that would like to meet WIllingham, Austin writer Matt Stuges (with whom Willingham writes the “Fables” spin-off title “Jack of Fables”) and “Jack” artist Tony Akins, they will be hanging out at Austin Books from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Oct. 21 for the “Fables Remembrance Day Celebration.” (Remembrance Day is a holiday in “Fables.”
Tickets are $5 or free with the purchase of “Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall.” Food, drink and Vertigo sale items will abound.
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Music: ASCAP will sue you.
Looks like that version of “Crosstown Traffic” your band has been throwing into its set is not quite legal.
The real question:
Will there be fallout for tribute bands?
I mean, what will Mini Kiss do?
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Comics: Telling it like it is.
Author Tamora Pierce calls out “Civil War” writer Mark MIllar for his characterization of women.
But then again, I’ve always thought his comics has kind of sadistic, sleazy streak in general. See also his run on “the Authority,” his series “Wanted,” and his run on “Ultimates.”
It’s as if he saw Pat Mills nasty. satiric take on superheroes in “Marshal Law” and decided to take it very, very seriously.
(Thanks to Lying in the Gutters for the link.)
Forget an Oscar.
In case you forgot the definition of TOTALLY AWESOME, well, now you know.
Let’s just give these cats a genius grant right now.
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It wasn’t enough…
to have written a couple of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Now, Iggy and the Stooges have the single most excellent tour rider of all time.
(Thanks to the Smoking Gun.)
“Studio 60” = “SportsNight” + “The West Wing”
I mean, come on. Let’s stop kidding ourselves.
Nevertheless, we watch it. Even if Bradley Whitford is playing Leo McGarry as Thomas Schlamme. Or something.
And Sorkin seems to have folded something from Seven of Nine’s life story into Amanda Peet’s character, who I enjoyed more when she was played by Felicity Huffman. So there’s that.
Sarah Paulson, on the other hand, is straight killin’ it. And Matthew Perry gets to play an actual adult. Sort of.
Speaking of “West Wing” Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (which I sort of was) his character was based on Rahm Emanuel, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President Clinton. Rep. Emanuel is now holding down Dan Rostenkowski’s old district in Chi-town, and according to this story, he and Howard Dean may someday come to Godzilla vs. Rodan-style combat in the streets of D.C. over the future of the Democratic Party.
Anyway, you know who Rep. Emanuel’s brother is?
Ari Emanuel, the model for “Entourage” uber-agent Ari Gold.
Yes, both brothers have been portrayed on TV as larger-than-life versions of themselves.
And unless your last name is Kennedy, that’s a very specific, very strange, weirdly impressive measure of familial success.
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