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.

Lemonheads “Skulls”

So here’s the fun Halloween-themed post that I aimed for and thoroughly botched this morning. Evan Dando, king of the alt-rock covers, gives the solo acoustic treatment to a Misfits classic, off 1991 EP Favorite Spanish Dishes.

Take your pick from the irony bin: the natural tension of gruesome lyrics about a serial killer sung prettily; or “hack the heads off little girls/and put ‘em on my wall” after this morning’s debacle.

The Lemonheads were never my pick of the hometown homestate scene, but Dando acquits himself well here. Then again, “Skulls” is a killer pop tune, so it’d be tough to fuck it up.

Now, the NKOTB cover off the same EP–there’s some horror for you.

[Favorite Spanish Dishes is out of print.]

Low (Live @ Spaceland, 10/31/98 aka The Misfits Show) “Words/Turn/Over The Ocean”
(all three as one file)
“Over The Ocean” (album version)

Here’s a little seasonal post with a dash of “I was there” egotism. Halloween, fast approaching, got me thinking about the Misfits, maybe my favorite punk band. And naturally, the Misfits got me thinking about Minnesota’s glacially-paced Low.

Make sense?

Eight(!) years ago, rather than doing the typical Halloween party thing, my g/f-at-the-time and I went to see Low play Spaceland. I can’t remember much about their main set, mostly that we found seats in order to fully enjoy it. They make pretty music, but their spare, slow, pristine style doesn’t make for dancing. It’s tough to even sway.
By 1998 they hadn’t really diverged much from their signature refinement of Galaxie 500, and you sort of wondered whether was the only kind of music those three people could make together.

So their encore was one of the most memorable concert experiences of my life.

The band-members turned their backs to the audience and… did each other’s make-up? We couldn’t really quite tell what they were doing. The bassist helped the guitarist clip a Danzig-style devillock onto his bangs–things were starting to become clearer; the Sharpie tattoos of stuff like the Black Flag logo were starting to make sense. Then the group reached into a bag and started chucking pieces of candy, rather aggressively, out into the audience, screaming, “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!” (Unfortunately not captured in today’s mp3s.)

And then the slowest band in the world played a revved-up, messy five-minute encore as the Misfits.

And it was good.

These were not Misfits covers, but the band doing their own songs as the Misfits. Three adults rocking out with the abandon of hyped-up children and poking a little fun at their own collective persona. Conceptually brilliant, and much more fun than a Low show is supposed to be. I apologize a little for the crappy quality of the mp3s I found, although the low (oops) fidelity might complete the impersonation.

They bring back a great memory for me. I hope they capture, and this post communicates, a little bit of why.

I Could Live In Hope (home to “Words”) at Newbury Comics.
Long Division (home to “Turn”) at Newbury Comics.
The Curtain Hits the Cast (home to “Over The Ocean”) at Newbury Comics.