OLD TIMEY HOUR

I just needed to clean out the ol' ear canals. I could have walked to the Bat Cave and grabbed a Q-Tip, but it was far easier to revisit Flipper's second 45 "Sex Bomb" from the comfort of my dilapidated office chair. I remember hearing it for the first time. My buddy Bill, who had been living in Berkeley, brought it home with him, and couldn't stop chuckling as he put it on. This is the same guy that blasted John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Life With The Lions, a totally abrasive affair, while watching The Loves of Hercules on TV, while his sister was attempting to neck with a sailor on the family couch. He appreciated unusual juxtapositions. Depending on what side of the gettin' chummy fence you were on, he was a total buzz kill, or a laugh riot.

Admittedly, this might be a case of you had to be there, but "Sex Bomb" was one piece of work, iconic in terms of a recorded fuck it all statement. There is no pretense of anything that makes sense. A simple bass line, grinding chords, lyrics that consist of about seven words, a slide whistle and a car crash just for good measure. (Bill was particularly fond of the "Woo!" right after the car crash.) It is liberating in it's total abandonment of anything proper. And it still sounds good.

Here's the original 45 version, and the flip, "Brainwash" which could be alternatively titled "Brain Fart" because that's what it basically is. There's also a link to Lennon and Ono's Life With the Lions, the entire album, streaming at YouTube. I encourage you to listen to the first couple minutes.  Try to figure out why Bill's sister didn't just fucking clobber him. Her and the sailor didn't flinch. She was a strong woman. She out mind-fucked her arrogant kid brother.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Flipper - Sex Bomb (original 45 version) mp3 at Little Mike's
Flipper - Brainwash (the flip) mp3 (via Box.com) at Bleeding Out 
John Lennon and Yoko Ono - Life With the Lions LP (streaming) at YouTube Entire album. In case you're wondering, I made it through the first seven minutes. That was reminder enough. But bookmark it.
Visit: 
Sex Bomb - A blog that collects versions of the handmade "Sex Bomb" 45 sleeves. Someone had to do it.