I’m keeping the energy level high this week with garage punk band The Murder City Devils. From their self-titled 1997 album, the sexual innuendo and female backup in “Boom Swagger Boom” makes it a hell of a lot of fun to listen to, and the simple, memorable lyrics make it just as easy to scream along with as you drive.
Of course, if you prefer your tunes with a more spontaneous vibe, you might want to check out the track on R.I.P. (released by Sub Pop in 2003), where Pretty Girls Make Graves front woman Andrea Zollo joins Spencer Moody live on vocals. This particular album was recorded and videotaped in 2001 at Seattle’s The Showbox. As the story goes, the band was pretty trashed by the time they got to this song, but it’s every bit as fun, and only ever so slightly less coherent.
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About the Curator - Jane Asylum
When my mother wasn’t walking around the house belting out early 60s’ girl-band lyrics, she was collecting compilation albums, specifically from K-Tel. She may not have had the most refined taste, but she enjoyed variety, or at least that’s what I recall. I poured over them all, preferring some sounds to others. And when I found the perfect song, I’d play it over and over until ready to perform my latest theatrical dance incarnation.
With my family all gathered on floral grey sofas in our basement apartment, I’d set the vinyl on the turntable of a brown fibreboard stereo and not-so-carefully lower the needle. It would pop, screech, and crackle before any music spilled from the weaved-wheat speakers. My toes would press, lift, and sweep through the blue-green shag carpet, my arms would flail, and the music would bass and treble through my soul.
I’m no longer that 6-year-old doing private-audience interpretive dance routines, but my passion remains just as intense. I have no special superpowers as a curator — just my love of sounds and lyrics that transport, transform, move, and make your body groove.
