The Cramps and their era

[willbo]

I've been listening to a bit of The Cramps lately. I've been feeling a bit nostalgic since I got back into them. Not just for the music but that whole world they represent. That 80s/90s nostalgia of 50s/60s b-movies, horror, pop culture, trash culture (samples of 50s TV Californian self help gurus, preachers and stuff), classic fetish figures like Bettie Page, TV shows like Avengers and Batman. Ed Wood, 50s trash sci fi. I remember when that stuff was everywhere. Like comic shops like Forbidden Planet were full of it. Anyway, I don't know if there's any "psychobilly" bands playing live right now, but I definitely have a taste for the genre. I 've been hearing a bit of 60's US garage rock too. I didn't know female bands were so big in the genre.

[Johnny Yesno]

I'll always have a fondness for the Cramps due to them writing two of the dumbest songs I've ever heard:

People Ain't No Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT4EJ0l0hUc

Mean Machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_mKyQstK9M

Don't get me wrong. These are high art. But still dumb.

[Johnny Yesno]

On the subject of Psychobilly music, I'm also bang into the Reverend Horton Heat and Th' Legendary Shack Shakers.

Big Sky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQfLOO7aBwc

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kneQsf-SgriI7StXgcg3RYSXEVwgs5C_E

Iron Lung Oompah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRrJLOiiTmA

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n78-zWgdS6Ld54GBRAhl7qYjxFtLa4-4Q

[Rizla]

...that whole world they represent...

You wanna watch yourself getting involved in the world of the quiffys - massive crossover into a sordid netherworld you may regret entering. One minute you're snapping your fingers to a song about motorbikes, the next some big unit's got her tongue in your ear whilst a bloke in his 50s who looks like a roadie for Showaddywaddy rubs his crotch discretely, it ain't worth it.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

I'd avoid the majority of British Psychobilly as it's mostly dogshit. The only band I'd rate is Demented are Go and only their earlier stuff. The Meteors are worshipped by many in the scene but they're fucking dreadful and the main guy is an absolute weapon whose influence on the Psychobilly scene is very toxic.

Love some Rev Horton Heat and Cramps though.

[the science eel]

Could never get into the Cramps even tho' I'm a big fan of what they influenced and what influenced them (Link Wray, Stooges, Fall, Gun Club etc). Not sure why - they're two-dimensional somehow. But cool.

[Johnny Yesno]

Not sure why - they're two-dimensional somehow.

Years ago, someone brought a cassette of their singles and b-sides to an acid trip at our shared house and I can assure you this is not the case. The guitars are incredibly spacey in ways that hadn't occurred to me before.

[willbo]

I'm actually preferring the later Cramps albums like flamejob

[Avril Lavigne]

For modernish stuff along these vibes I recommend The Ghastly ones

and Messer Chups

both very surf-influenced but Messer Chups started out with more heavy use of random trash culture audio samples as mentioned in the OP.

For older stuff I highly recommend the compilation series 'Infamous Instro-Monsters of Rock'n'Roll' which is full of the original surf/garage material that inspired these kinda bands.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

I would dearly like to second Messer Chups, but they seem to have been ploughing the same singular furrow for quite a while now. I watched their most recent gig from December 25th last year, on YouTube and the vast majority of it could have been performed at any time in the last 10 years ( or indeed 14 years, as it's just over 14 years since I first saw them play live).Excellent guitarist, and they knock out a decent version of " Peter Gunn" and the Pink Panther theme and all that, but they're really not ones for mixing things up too much ( save for a version of Herbie  Hancock's " Rok It" what they did a few years ago which was quite interesting). Also both the guitarist and the bassist never seem to age to an extent that is actually quite frightening.

[JesusAndYourBush]

I'm actually preferring the later Cramps albums like flamejob

Intetesting. I prefer their earlier stuff... up to 1984, anything later is a lot less good.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

1981's " Psychedelic Jungle" ( in which they don't appear to have a bassist) is probably their best album, inclusive of a version of " Green Door" which is almost as good as Shaky's. Even as relatively early as " A Date With Elvis", they appear to be repeating themselves, and the string of bassists they employed didnae seem too taxed by the number of chords they had to play. Still, their later works yielded a song by The name of " Elvis Fucking Christ", so that's nice. If yer man Lux hadn't died, I dare say they'd still be plying their wares to this very day.

[willbo]

I've noticed that someone seems to be doing a huge business in Cramps branded compilations of various themes (rockabilly, exotica, spooky, sci fi)

not heard of Ghastly Ones or Chups, thanks

not exactly the same genre but what about The Courettes? They seem to be having fun

[SpiderChrist]

The Courettes are great - new album was one of my faves of last year.

Was lucky enough to see The Cramps at Warwick Uni while on a weekend long amphetamine bender with my oldest friend. They were really rather marvellous. The live Smell of Female mini-album is my favourite.

[Head Gardener]

[The Mollusk]

Wrap your listening gear 'round "Horse of the Dog", the debut album by Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. I mentioned it in the short albums thread and now I'm mentioning it here, SO WHAT.

Ferocious noisy psychobilly bollocks, 25 mins of searing barbed lightning-in-a-bottle nervous energy. Every song fucking rules, it's perfect.

[AllisonSays]

I listened to it based on your recommendation on the other thread and yeah, it's a banger, worth repeating in here!

[cosmic-hearse]

I've noticed that someone seems to be doing a huge business in Cramps branded compilations of various themes (rockabilly, exotica, spooky, sci fi)

not heard of Ghastly Ones or Chups, thanks

not exactly the same genre but what about The Courettes? They seem to be having fun

The Songs the Cramps Tought Us series is pretty good, as is the Born Bad series. These mostly contain songs The Cramps covered, collected or were influenced by. They're fairly eclectic & hint at the vastness of Lux & Ivy's 7" collection (by all accounts a sort of canon of lowbrow Weird America).

Those newer comps don't seem to have any real Cramps connection - the Christmas one was not bad but mostly just a collection of rockabilly songs that are no longer in copyright.

[xxxx xxx x xxx]

I saw them in (I think) 1981 because The Fall were supporting.  Half way through the set someone hurled a glass bottle at them - Lux stuck his arm out, caught it neatly in mid- air, raised it and said "Let's drink a toast to this stupid motherfucker" while pointing out the prick who'd thrown it.  Still one of the most impressive things I've ever seen on stage.

[McChesney Duntz]

My favorite picture, by far, of Lux and Ivy:

[Head Gardener]

I saw The Cramps supporting The Police at Friars, Aylesbury in 1979, they blew the fuzz away! Lux even got his dick out and rolled around the floor when they did Domino - they were truly magnificent

[Goldentony]

There's an earlier fan version of those compilations called Lux & Ivy's Favorites put together by a guy called Kolger, i think, that were compiled based on whether either of them had mentioned the recod, covered it, played it on a radio show or similar. Tried those newer ones on streaming services and as mentioned their involvment in any Cramps lore can sometimes be negligible. The first few of those fan ones though are great if you can still find them.

Best album for me v easily is Smell Of Female. Absolutely HUGE and got some of their best originals on there. Probabnly their two best originals anyway. I love it.

[McChesney Duntz]

I'll always love Lux's Purple Knif Show radio program from 1984 - he really should have DJ'd more often...

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2016/10/24/radio-cramps-the-purple-knif-show-4/

[Goldentony]

always wished the audio was better on this, but this Urgh! A Music War outtake version of Human Fly is great, proper slow and grinding  - https://youtu.be/Xt70UxI6biE

[Vitamin C]

Anyone know what happened to Ivy? Fantastic guitarist and producer.

Urgh! A Music War probably merits a thread in itself. Fantastic stuff, apart from, y'know, the Police and that.

[Shaky]

Bit obvious perhaps - although not strictly psychobilly - I'd put the first two B-52s albums in there as well. Fantastically strange, twisted pop tunes - Ricky Wilson was amazingly underated and his odd, jerky guitar lines never quite sounded like anybody else's.

[Mr Farenheit]

There's an earlier fan version of those compilations called Lux & Ivy's Favorites put together by a guy called Kolger, i think, that were compiled based on whether either of them had mentioned the recod, covered it, played it on a radio show or similar. Tried those newer ones on streaming services and as mentioned their involvment in any Cramps lore can sometimes be negligible. The first few of those fan ones though are great if you can still find them.

You can get them, with some background story from the KOGAR THE SWINGIN APE, here  (it gave me a warning that they 'can't be downloaded securely' but I just proceeded and it works).

This also has a link to a great Lux and Ivy interview with Rex of the Fool's Paradise show on WFMU (which is as good a weekly blast of weird low-brow Americana as you'll find)

[jobotic]

I'll always love Lux's Purple Knif Show radio program from 1984 - he really should have DJ'd more often...

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2016/10/24/radio-cramps-the-purple-knif-show-4/

Yeah I have this and its great. Love his voice and the effects as well as the records he choses.

It's Smell of Female for me, just for the first two tracks.

[willbo]

Wrap your listening gear 'round "Horse of the Dog", the debut album by Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. I mentioned it in the short albums thread and now I'm mentioning it here, SO WHAT.

Ferocious noisy psychobilly bollocks, 25 mins of searing barbed lightning-in-a-bottle nervous energy. Every song fucking rules, it's perfect.

saw them live in a tiny room in 2003, close enough for their sweat to be raining on us. There was another noisy band called Martini Henry Rifles playing with them

[Jockice]

I nearly saw The Cramps live three times but ended up missing all of the gigs for various reasons. It's as if we were doomed never to meet.