The Misfits “She” (Blank Records 7″ Version) “Skulls” (Master Sound Sessions) “Night Of The Living Dead” (Lost Recording)

Happy Halloween, dear fiends, uh, friends.

Y’all knew the Misfits post was coming, right? As I said earlier, they’re probably my favorite punk band (Minor Threat’s up there too).

On the surface, the Misfits were sort of the ne plus ultra of American trash culture: kids from Jersey hyped up on b-movies, Elvis and too much caffeine, regurgitating the plots of horror movies and conspiracy theories as too-fast-too-loud garage rock, roaming the country like Huns to preach their disposable gospel.

And that’s fucking charming to begin with. But Glen Danzig, as easy a target for mockery as he is/was, had a sort of songwriting genius. The tight focus of his lyrics drew both humor and pathos from this late-night TV received material. And more importantly, his melodies were soaring, as infectious as the zombie’s bite.

For all the trash posturing, Danzig was also a weird type of perfectionist, recording and scrapping and re-recording so many versions of his songs, firing or driving away band members at such a clip, that it might’ve derailed the Misfits’ legacy–if they weren’t so goddamn classic.

Today I’m presenting a trio of songs from the “lost recordings” disc of the Misfits box set, which I only got around to purchasing this year. Before that I was hooked on the excellent self-titled collection.

This “She,” a bit of a curiosity, comes from the band’s 1977 debut single, featuring Glen on electric piano(!) and no guitars(!!), an early formulation I wasn’t aware of before picking up the box. It’s thin and crispy, but the song’s there, as is Glen’s howl and the balls-out tempo. Hell, there’s even a little flashy bass playing.

I love “Skulls” partially for the overkill of its lyrics (noted previously). Structurally, it deploys what became at a later point the default “catchy” chord progression, I V vi IV, although Google tells me that it goes at least far back as doo wop. Catchy, gory, perfect Misfits distillation, and maybe my favorite song by the group.

I’ve mostly picked out “Night Of The Living Dead” because it’s an adaption of my favorite horror movie. It’s sort of a precursor/inversion of “Astro Zombies”–those awesome gang vocals at the start of both, the invasion story, even some of the vocal cadences–which feels like a slightly superior song to me.

As in “Astro Zombies,” “Teenagers From Mars,” etc., etc., Glen sympathizes not with the terrified humans, but with the undead other in “Night Of The Living Dead.” (My friend (A Superhero Named) Tony might have something to say about that.) This approach really best draws out in the Misfits’ music all those classic themes of horror–the existential discomfort of being human, man’s alienation from his own body, fear of the other, fear of contamination, fear of fear, et al.

And these Jersey boys get to play the ultimate outsider–ghouls, ghosts and spooks.

The Box Set at Newbury Comics.
The Misfits at Newbury Comics.