I’m not claiming I’m some sort of genius or something* but it is interesting trawling through the 1537 how accurate my first impressions of LPs are/were/is be. Sure, there are some great surprises occasionally, an album I like better now I’m all mature and wise and worldlyesque and, quite frankly, some LPs I just didn’t listen to properly/at all that do surprise me**.
When I inherited The Dead Milkmen Eat Your Paisley from my brother I was quite excited by it, the titles, the goofy lyric sheet, they looked good in the back cover picture and I knew I was going to get a good blast of funny punk. Wrong. I put it on, once, was fairly disgusted by the rubbish, weedy-sounding indie strummesquing and put it away for 19 years.
Well reader what do you think? was 2017 model 1537^ seduced by ‘The Thing That Ate Hippies’?
Was I bollocks! I am afraid to report that Eat Your Paisley remains a frustratingly ramshackle, underpowered experience and lyrically, with a couple of exceptions, I just find they grate – they’re not as daring, or cool as they should be.
Okay let’s do the positives, ‘The Thing That Only Eats Hippies’ is quite fun and bouncy almost verging on an under-produced B-52’s vibe and the travelogue of ‘Six Days’ is amusing but that’s about your lot. Despite its title ‘Moron’ just isn’t much good but the opening stanza made me grin, if only it was attached to something with a bit more crunch:
There isn’t too much else to say for me here, other than just to note that 1998 me can nod sagely at, umm, me and say ‘I told you so’^^. I understand why this isn’t a set of rip-snorting punk blasters, there were lots of other fools covering that particular base, for one. I listened to it twice for y’all tonight and found myself Jonesing for Adrenalin O.D instead.
I need of course to point out that Eat Your Paisley is a far better LP than any I have ever produced, they got out there and did it, I just sit here typing in my tighty whities; The Dead Milkmen win, especially with that Depeche Mode line.
738 Down.
*that’s your jobs.
**Jimmy Cliff Struggling Man is the supreme example and, if I may say so, one of my favourite posts.
^with added maturity, baldness and anti-lock brakes.
^^smug sod that 1998 me, I’m not keen.
I knew kids in high school who loved these guys. I honestly haven’t heard much of it. Your review isn’t really selling it but hey, who knows?
I do and its ‘meuurggh’ (no matter what Zack says!).
That should be a whole section in the record shoppes. Could you tell me where your “Meuurggh” section is? Back by the exhaust vent in that cobwebby corner? Perfect, thanks!
Also in moron, to their credit, they did manage to rhyme beer with beer!
Haha, you can’t knock that as a rhyme scheme can you. There’s a Beastie Boys song that rhymes commercial with commercial – to be fair commercial would be a harder one.
I know the name, but can’t say I’ve ever paid much attention. My brother was into punk, so may well have been in his collection…
But I do like it when I find my first impressions about an album are spot on. Even if it does suggest my tastes haven’t moved on much… I guess it’s just good to be right.
Amen.
I can’t believe that a band playing a song called Beach Party Vietnam could be anything but wonderful
I know. I always pre-judge LPs by the song titles too. Not that I learned my less on from this, I hasten to add.
Well, if they can’t spell commode in a song called ‘Moron’, that just about says it all, eh?
I couldn’t agree more (not that I spotted that myself). I think the standard of education in US Punk bands from the 80s is deplorable.
Exactly. What were they doing? Staring out the windows devising two-chord riffs and fantasising about cheer leaders I imagine. Or at least, that’s what I’d’ve been a-doin’.
Ha, you’d never catch me doing that. Mostly, because I can only do the E chord on a guitar.
That’s a fine looking wizard!
Why, thank you.
I never could get into The Dead Milkmen. I preferred my punk with more angst. Not sure The Dead Milkmen were even punk, actually. Faux punk, perhaps?
Yeah me too. This is just not my flavour.
I’d be happy to take this off your hands. I love the Dead Milkmen.
Mail me your address and I’ll send it with love Zack. I’d rather it was somewhere it’d be appreciated.
Can I just clarify, when I said I’d ‘send it with love’ I meant just general well-intentioned best wishes, I didn’t mean I was going to do something unsavoury to the package.
Really, I wasn’t thinking anything weird. But now that you mention that I’m wondering what kind of awfulness you could put in there.
Hah! That last photo!
I know of the Dead Milkmen, but I only know one song (you know the one).
That pic is only there because I thought ‘Mike’ll like that one’. True story.
I believe it. Thank you!