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(Subterranean, 1983)
Well gosh, Bruce Loose loses an "O" to become "Bruce Lose", and then goes and LOSES the rest of Flipper while he's at it in order to become his very own solo guy for this one-off single. The cad! Recorded between Generic and Gone Fishin', it clearly features elements of both albums: you get the repetition of the former and the branch-out experimentalism of the latter. But, unfairly or not, this trebly 7" suffers by comparison in that it misses the messy intensity and beef of even the artiest Flipper material. And while sure, Loose/Lose was off doing his own thing here -- as evidenced by the thin vocals, lack of guitar/bass-roar, and the ticky-tacky drum machine that dominate both sides -- it's tough to deny that, at the end of the day, "thoughtful" rather than "hilariously bludgeoning" inevitably rates unfavorably when put up against BL's parent band, making the single more curio than anything else.
AND YET.
...At the same time, I oughta be clear that DUD this is not. Not HARDLY, son! For example: "What's Your Name" is a creepy-crawly, door-scratching nighttime take on standard Flipperisms, and "Waking to Sleep," well, shoot, that's a San Franciscan sludgepunk-whiteguy straight-up perpetrating some hip-hop in 1983! This record won't explode your ear-world (nor does it try to), but it's deserving of at least a cursory play by anyone even mildly curious about Flipper extracurriculars. Fusetron tends to have copies on hand, so those so inclined might as well give some bucks and give some listens. Thoughts?
(Matador, 1992)Say, this is more like it! Tighter and screamier (almost in a Dee Snyder sense) than what one might expect from Flipper, “Flipper Twist” is a snappy retardo romp that’s just as singalong-ready as “Sex Bomb,” and operates on a similar level of goofy fun. A great song for hearing and loving and having and hugging! Real head-sticky, too! The less memorable “Fucked Up” has a lot in common with the seriousness of the so-so previous single, but Bruce Lose’s echo-heavy vocals are far more effective here than those on “Some Day.” Overall – thanks largely to the A-side – this record is a big improvement, even if the emphasis is again unfortunately placed on the singing rather than the bludgeoning power of the instruments. Both songs (along with “Some Day” and “Distant Illusion”) ended up on the American Grafishy album, which was released on Def American and executive produced by the gentle hand of noted beardo Rick Rubin. Who’da thunk?
(Subterranean, 1990)Now recognized as an Important Influence, Bruce, Ted, and Steve are back to do their Flipper Shtick once more, even though singer Will Shatter had ditched the band a few years earlier in order to focus full-time on being dead. That means that Lose is left to take all the vocals, and you’re certainly itchin’ to know: how does THAT work out? Well, if choked sing-rapping and choked sing-screaming are your bag, then you oughta take this little record out to the corner store tomorrow morning and carry your goods home in it, because that’s EXACTLY WHAT YOU GET. But before you go using a Flipper reunion single as a grocery sack, consider that the songs themselves are mediocre and rather tired rehashes of what had come before. They’re not terrible – no sir! – it’s just that they don’t have the edge and catchiness of the earliest records, the weirdness of the second album, or the smart/dumb humor of the ’80s catalog as a whole. As with the Bruce-songs on, say, Gone Fishin’, the lyrics are more serious and “poetic” (which isn’t surprising on “Some Day,” given that it’s a tribute to Shatter), mostly to their detriment; I mean, do we really need another impassioned attack on scenesterism, as on “Distant Illusion”? Anyway: as a re-creation of the heavy Flipper sound of days gone by, this is a not-embarrassing second go-round for three-fourths of the old band – just make sure to go into it expecting regressive ultra-seriousness rather than a disc of shiny, new (in 1990) drunkpunk classics.
(Subterranean, 1982)Remember the time Paul McCartney covered “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and released it as a single? Sure you do! That shit, screamed stunned listeners far and wide, was FUCKED. Well, Flipper’s not about to let Paulie hold a monopoly on all of the world’s zany ideas, so they respond ten years later with their own noize-smear take on “The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” The playing is a loosey-goosey racket, the singing some inspired Dave E-style snottery – whole thing’s like a doped-out Electric Eels. Then, unpredictable as ever, the B-side is the more serious and melodic “Get Away.” With its dense, weirdly distorted guitar and crunchy drums, it should probably be considered a chunk of scuzzpsych rock rather than a “punk” song; in fact, I think the Brian Jonestown Massacre might’ve “borrowed” the first 15 or so seconds of it on one of their early tracks, the scoundrels. Oh, and guess what? There’s nothing happening at work today, so this one’s coming to you STRAIGHT FROM MY OFFICE, THE ROCKIN’EST OFFICE IN TOWN. Now I’m going to make some coffee, some real stickin’-it-to-the-suits coffee.
(Subterranean, 1981)The goofy single! The mindnumbingly-repetitious single! The famous single! And why not? “Sex Bomb” is a masterpiece of half-assed, drunk-assed songwriting, with chunky, noisy Flipperisms underneath happy/maniacal whooping and hollering that mainly consists of the line “SHE’S A SEX BOMB, BABY! YEAH!!” over and over. Stupid. And perfect. I actually hear a lot of David Baker’s live style (see: “Very Sleepy Rivers”) in the way Will Shatter grunts and screams here, bending the line to make it sound new each time he lets it loose. And even if the joke gets old after about 60 seconds, the inarticulate hardcore lunk (Bruce Lose) who stammers over the standard-issue thunka-thunka backing of “Brainwash” is extremely funny once or twice. Complete lyrics: “Um… OK, like… see, there’s this… and… but, and then uh… nevermind… forget it… you wouldn’t understand anyway.” Too bad the band decided to loop the same snippet over and over again for six wrist-slit-inducing minutes! OK, OK, it’s also kinda funny that the disc ends with a lockgroove on the final “forget it… you wouldn’t understand” for maximum annoyance.There appear to be many sleeve variations, most (all?) of them involving simply the “dead fish” logo and band name hand-stamped on white paper in some fashion. Collect ’em all!
(Alternative Tentacles, 1981)Good ol’ Flipper. This first single gives Joe Listener a good idea of how the band was out to stick a finger up the rump of punk convention from the get-go: It’s slow (relative to their peers), bleak sludgepunk that could perhaps musically be considered an uglified descendent of the VU’s backing on “The Gift.” The horror and disgust of the lyrics, however, are cut with some degree of wiseacre humor, as on the jaded suburban observations and obnoxious laff-riot chorus of “Ha Ha Ha.” Adding a further level of weirdness, tape fuckery abounds on the vocals – speed-ups, extreme reverb, etc. The whole thing’s wasted, lumbering, and unpretty, but at the same time cutting, smart, and funny. Nice fold-out sleeve on this one, too!
The Flipper catalog was finally reissued a few weeks back – a happening that long ran neck and neck with the recent Loop reissues in the “believe it when I see it” sweeps – and this material is included, alongside the other ’80s singles, on the 100% awright Sex Bomb Baby comp.
