Dear Friends,
Dave Cookus is gone. I have to get used to this and I don’t want to do that. I can’t write about him just yet, but I will.
I love you, Dave.
*****
Levity. Brevity. Bone.
The mouse sat on the throne.
Levity. Brevity. Bone.
The mouse was Al Capone.
Levity. Brevity. Muscle.
The mouse knew Charlie Hustle.
Levity. Brevity. Lungs.
The mouse climbed all the rungs.
Levity. Brevity. Bone.
The mouse is on the phone.
Levity. Brevity. Brain.
Dead mouse goes down the drain.
*****
The road does things to your brain. I thought of so many things while driving across the country this time around. Many things, many people, many ideas. When I wake up, I’ll have to try to make some sense of it.
*****
I’ll be honest here. I got the Giorno Poetry Systems record, Smack My Crack, because of the Butthole Surfers. It’s a very good reason, actually, to buy this compilation, but there are a few other bonus benefits.
I got it first on cassette tape. I think I found it a Zia, but could be wrong, and then I got the CD a bit later. A few years ago, I got it from my friend, Nate, on vinyl, so I have the trifecta. It is safe to say it was never on an 8 track.
This was kind of like the Holy Grail for me for a bit. I don’t remember how I became aware of it, but in my quest to have everything the Butthole Surfers ever released in the late 80s and early 90s, I had to have it. I searched high and low, too.
For years, whenever I would go into a record store, I would search through the compilations. This helped me find a bunch of other cool stuff, but I often left disappointed. When I finally found it, I lost my mind a bit.
“Boiled Dove” is probably my all-time favorite Surfers’ song, too. It’s everything I ever wanted from the band. It’s weird and great sounding and the lyrics are awesome.
“Imagine your father was naked and you had just fallen through the ceiling into a room full of soft, moist eyeballs.”
This might be the greatest first line of a song ever.
When I heard these words the first time, I knew I was hearing the Buttholes at their finest. Gibby Haynes can sometimes be quite the poet. The music is excellent, too. “Boiled Dove” by itself is worth price of this comp.
The rest of the tracks come in a varying level of crazy and interesting. There is a pretty cool noise track by Einstürzende Neubauten. I have to say that I’m way more familiar with their name than their music, but whenever I listen to this track, I always think to myself that I want to check out more.
Diamanda Galas checks in next with some wailing that does not suck. I have heard more of her stuff over the years and she’s always pretty intriguing. I don’t know if her music could be a daily driver for me, but I love musicians who lay it out there and go for it.
William S. Burroughs is up next with the “Words of Advice” track. It’s a slightly different take than the one on Spare Ass Annie, but it’s always good to hear Uncle Bill.
As for the rest of the album, it doesn’t suck, but there isn’t a ton of goodness to write home about, either. The Swans song is pretty underwhelming and on Side B, the Jon Giorno Band and Chad and Sudan are the most interesting tracks. Tom Waits, Chris Stein, and Nick Cave all make contributions, but they really don’t do too much for me. This compilation is worthwhile for your collection because of the Butthole Surfers.
Tell me I’m wrong.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Soft and moist
bonus