YEAH, NOT CONVINCED.

I've never really come to terms with the Trashmen. If all they had done was "Surfin' Bird" and then just crapped out, I'd be fine like that. For all I knew that was what happened. For years all I knew was that song. Then my brother got a reissue of their LP, and it was kind of disappointing, Their vocal numbers, outside of "Surfin' Bird", were corny as fuck. "Surfin' Bird" was at least crazy. Their instrumentals were good enough, as good as surf music from Minnesota can be I guess.

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Listen:
The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Internet Archive
The Trashmen - Malaguena mp3 at Internet Archive
The Trashmen - Miserlou mp3 at Internet Archive
The Trashmen - King Of The Surf mp3 at Internet Archive Awful

IMBECILITY IS ALSO A WORD

Let's forget for a minute that the Trashmen were from Minnesota and had a song with "Surfin'" in the title. That's nonsense, but all sorts of land locked bands were cashing in on the surf craze. Let's forget that birds don't surf, and that the title of the song, "Surfin' Bird", was totally misleading. It isn't surf music, and it isn't about a bird, let alone a surfing bird. It's more about bird being the word. Or is it really? Shit, I've no idea the thought process behind the lyrics, let alone the song. Come to think of it, there may not have been a thought process. More than likely it was just a simple one, "Let's make a total crap record just to see if it sticks to the wall". Whatever the reason, "Surfin' Bird" went to #4 on the charts in 1963, and has been covered in some form or another by every band capable of making a total crap record of their own. The song will not die. None of that is to diminish the merit of the song. Even if you've heard it a million times, it deserves to be heard periodically. Every once in a while, you need ridiculousness. The Trashmen deliver.

Check out the post at Tapewrecks for twenty other variations, including bands from Sweden, Finland, Ireland, France and the UK. Oh, yeah baby, the shit is global.

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Listen:
The Rivingtons - The Bird's the Word mp3 at Tapewrecks Original
The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Trashmen - Bird '65 mp3 at Tapewrecks
The Cramps - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Tapewrecks
The Ramones - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Tapewrecks
Visit:
The Bird World War: 50 Years of Surfin' Bird (1963-2013) at Tapewrecks 20 more versions

MORE FROM THE JUNK DRAWER

Here's a few that I've been meaning to post, thought I'd throw them together for the sake of house cleaning. First, a couple Chuck Berry deepish cuts. I just did a Chuck Berry thing a while back, but I thought I'd hep you to the blog I found these at, The Rising Storm. It's a nice write up over there, and the site, a worthy bookmark. If all you own is a Chuck Berry compilation (you had better own at least one), then consider these a start on the other 99% of his catalog. (Links below.)

Next up is a video of the San Diego School of Rock, doing Drive Like Jehu's "Caress." (If that seems like an obscure choice, they also do a Pinback song, so chances are one of the instructors lives at the Casbah.)

I'm not sure what I think of the School of Rock franchise. I saw a set by the San Diego School of Rock a couple years ago, at a street fair. It just seems like it takes the garage out of the band, so to speak. I don't want to seem like Chicken Little over here, but it's like crib notes for an entrance exam. If you take all of the struggle out of it, like aluminum bats and surf leashes, the playing field isn't leveled, it's lowered. (And, yes, I know that blogs are, in effect, doing the same thing. But where else would I rag about a feel good story like the School of Rock?)

Another thing I've been meaning to post is the video of the singer the Trashmen (not the whole group, mind you), lip syncing "Surfin' Bird" on American Bandstand. It's the funniest thing I saw all week. (There's no embed code, so go here to see it.) Dig too, the other Trashmen cut below. It boss.

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Chuck Berry - It's My Own Business mp3 at the Rising Storm
Chuck Berry - Duece mp3 at The Rising Storm
Drive Like Jehu - New Math mp3 at Review Stalker
Drive Like Jehu - Future Home of Stucco Monstrosity mp3 at Pretty Goes With Pretty
Drive Like Jehu - Caress (audio only) streaming at YouTube
Drve Like Jehu - Caress (live, poor quality, 1992) at YouTube
The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Zminin.com
The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird video at YouTube
The Trashmen - On The Move mp3 at Beware of the Blog