Sunday, February 15, 2009

Frustrations - Exploding Mind

(Die Stasi, 2007)

Happy Presidents’ Day Eve, everybody! Do you have your Prezzy Day tree set up? I sure do, and I’m hoping that upon waking tomorrow I’ll see that the ghost of Thomas Jefferson brought me everything I asked for this year (leather-bound edition of the Federalist Papers, Jimmy Carter action figure, knife). Luckily I didn’t hafta ask Tom for the wunnerful Frustrations 7” that Die Stasi put out in ’07, what with me having already bought it on discount at Academy Records a few months back; as I always say, anything I can do to lighten the sack of a gift-bearing ex-prez, I’ll gladly do. But I betcha, extra weight or no, our badass forefathers would be keen to check these goofs, cuz the Frustrations are twitchy Cleveland-style punk with some overtly psychedelic elements – wordless, echo-heavy chorus on the A, for example – that edge ’em towards early Flaming Lips (circa Oh My Gawd!!) turf, a turf too rarely trod by today’s noisemakers. A manly, xylophone-laced Devo cover (“Freedom of Choice”) and a paranoid horror-show stomper (“Evil Twin”), all of which feature barely-controlled guitar vroom, seal the deal. No sir, my ears wouldn’t kick these guys outta bed, not now and not never.

2 comments:

Donald Brown said...

But wait -- why is the ghost of Tom Jeff doing the gift-doling? It should be Abe or George, since they're the ones with birthdays in this general vicinity? Is it simply that Jefferson gets your vote for most likely to play Saint Nick?

ithinkihatemy45s said...

A good question! Of the Greats, I guess he just seems most like the giving type; Washington is too cold and distant, and Lincoln would frighten small children. So Jefferson it must be... I'm flirting with a tasteless joke about his prez-sleigh being pulled by FDR's wheelchair, but I won't pursue that.