Day 256: The Cramps - Bad Music For Bad People

I’m bad at having a cold. I hate the feeling of not being able to focus and I can’t seem to focus very well on anything right now, so I need something that’ll command my attention, something that’ll essentially force me to listen. Reader, I went for the Cramps.

Album cover courtesy of I.R.S. Records

The Cramps was formed in 1976 by singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy, and they kept going with a changing cast of members until Lux’s death in 2009. The two founding members originally met when Poison Ivy was hitchhiking home from the art class they shared, and they quickly became inseparable. While they weren’t married, they were together until Lux died. They were known for coining the genre of psychobilly, a mixture of rockabilly and punk with horror influences, and they cut their teeth playing among the punk scene that was emerging in New York at CBGB.

Since I’ve never listened to these guys, I thought I’d listen to a compilation album that was recommended as a good starting point, Bad Music for Bad People. It was released in 1984 with various B-sides and rarities after the band had left their label as a somewhat shameless cash grab, but it seems to still be a good place to start exploring the Cramps.

I didn’t realise I knew a few songs by them, but I’d heard their cover of “Goo Goo Muck” which was apparently also featured semi-recently in the Netflix show Wednesday. The album also has “New Kind of Kick," which was later covered by another previous Album a Day favourite band, the Jesus and Mary Chain.

I didn’t know I’d heard these guys before, in my head they were heavier and less melodic, but it’s instead very accessible loose psychobilly sound with a fuzzy lo-fi guitar sound that reminds me of another CBGB band of the era, Suicide. And long-time readers will know I gobble up horror themes and songs about monsters. Making any sort of spooky goblin songs is like pressing a button that makes me automatically like a band.

They got me, I’m interested, I’ll listen to them more. The surf punk ‘50s sound with a horror twist is right up my street, it’s an 8.5/10.