Has there ever been a band more cut out for Halloween than the Cramps? C'mon, really. I don't care, bring on Screaming Lord Sutch, bring on Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Bring on Bobby "Boris" Pickett, or anybody else. Any contender pales. The Cramps weren't playing dress up. Once they fully hit their stride and really became the Cramps we all know and love, '78 or so, they were just that, the Cramps, twenty four-seven. Particularly Lux and Ivy. Always striking in appearance, they had some attitude, they made some excellent music, and on top of all that, they shared their encyclopedic knowledge of forgotten, creepy, nutty, raw and sick records. All those thrift store finds, and along with them, stories. They didn't have to share. But they did, and what that really makes them is the consummate populist rockers. All inclusive. Just sharin' the love, The love of creepy maybe, but sharin' nonetheless. A big ol' Hee-Haw salute for these two.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:The Cramps - I Was a Teenage Werewolf mp3 at Hey Cool Kid
The Cramps - Rockin' Bones mp3 at Johan Urban (?)
The Cramps - Confessions of a Psycho Cat mp3 at Review Stalker
A Lux Interior hosted radio show:
The Purple Knif Show - Includes 28 Lux seletions at Aquarium Drnnkard Warning: slow download
Visit:
Interview with Lux Interior and Poison Ivy at Cool Pidgeon
More in past Cramps posts, including a mess of mixes of their favorites. Scroll down.
2 comments:
Funny, I was just thinking about the Cramps this morning. Read on a forum yesterday that Alvin Stardust (of which I knew practically nothing about, except that his name sometimes pops up when British GLAM is mentioned) died recently. Following up that thread today, someone had posted this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itSHKDaoelE, while questioning Stardust's status as a "legend" (according to UK press)… Well yes, "legend" is probably pushing it, but this clip immediately brought late Lux Interior to mind – I'm pretty sure he would have dug the irresistable combo of bedroom-eyed aging leather-clad rocker backed by grinning bearded studio-"wankers" in home-made pink band shirts. It's like a dream. A real good one. One you never want to wake up from.
(…and yes Tom, the song IS a near-complete rip-off of Norman Greenbaums "Spirit In The Sky".)
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Ha! I've always thought of Alvin Stardust as one of those second or third tier glam people that just didn't have that certain oomph that my taste requires. I gotta say the video changed my opinion. Though nowhere near "legend" he certainly has the ticking creepy time bomb thing going. I think you're right about the appeal to someone like Lux, because really, is he not at the very least clueless in the way an outsider must be? With the combination of his get-up, the way he holds the microphone, and that ludicrous backing band? "Bedroom-eyed aging leather-clad rocker": that slayed me!
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