Bucky Fellini [Import]

The Dead Milkmen share something in common with Frank Zappa: Hippies, with their emphasis on peace are revealed as declasse bums. Beatles idolatry is disdained. Teenage THE SMITHS/THE CURE fans who wear black nail polish are toast according to the Dead Milkmen worldview.

So what is cool, you may ask? Swapping bodilly fluids with nasty forest creatures(The Badger Song). Building a huge miserable failure from scratch is to be considered a high watermark of civilized societies (City Of Mud). The Milkmen are sharp enough to realize that voices which emanate from within aren't neccessarily a bad sign, (The Specialist) providing that your libido runs on a more potent mixture (Nitro Burning Funny Cars).

BUCKY FELLINI: It's a little bit country, it's a little bit surfy. A sprinkling of adolescent angst, for the may queen, mixed with a liberal slug of disaffected scorn for the "established" counterculture (stickin' it to the establishment, man...) as it was affected by Art-Rock wannabes during the 80s club scene.

That, plus it really kicks ass, in an 80s hair-band kinda sense!

Really, I did. When it was recommended to me, it was as if, "oh what do you mean you don't have this? It's like standard issue." And when I got it, I thought, this album is so awsome, why did it take me so long to hear it. But now I realize, not everyone loves this album, or has even heard it, or even the heard of the Dead Milkmen. In some ways, the songs on this album are so tightly arranged, crafted, and played, that one could make a Beatles comparison. And Dave Blood's bass playing is worth mentioning, on this and all albums. He really was one of the best bassists. This is the most polished and well produced album they put out as well. It is their Dark Side of the Moon.

Ah, Bucky Fellini. What can I say about this gem? Even though it parodies "Ballroom Blitz," "the Pit" is probably my favorite DM opening track. It also includes classics like "Watching Scotty Die," "Instant Club Hit," "Surfin' Cow," and "Tacoland." Sadly, the owner of that glorious bastion of booze was killed during a robbery a while back. This album was recorded in Austin, and therefore has the obligatory Daniel Johnston track. It is also the groups' first collaboration w/ Brian "Mudlounge-Bongwizard" Beattie, of Glass Eye fame, I believe. Beattie loved recording w/ vintage, and I mean VINTAGE equipment, and it definitely shows here. Personally, I preferred the drum sounds on "Paisely," but Bucky doesn't suffer from the recording; rather, it seems to really play a role in the overall mood, which is really, really fuzzy. There's even a disclaimer on the inside: "Warning--this album contains reverb. Don't try this at home." That makes me smile, because it makes me wonder if it's a playful jab at legendary, acerbic "engineer" Steve Albini, who proclaimed his hatred of the effect in the mid to late 80's. At the very least, Albini must have had some kind of influence on the DM, as Rodney name checks Big Black on "Beezlebubba" (Sri Lanka Sex Hotel) and shouts out the man himself on "Metaphysical." (Now Everybody's Me). Wow, I just got really sidetracked. Anyway, "Bucky Fellini" captures the Dead Milkmen in their prime; you can't go wrong w/ this record.