The Frogs. (Edit -- Dennis Flemion RIP)

we threw him the life preserver, he was struggling

arrrrgh ;_;

dang. saw them in the basement of a coffee shop back in like 2000 maybe. wish i could remember it better but i was on drugs that would blow your mind

miss these dudes and miss this guy. i hope hope hope the show i went to (portland ME 2001) will come out. i know it was recorded because they kept talking about posterity until they got in a fight with the soundguy who pulled the plug

That SUCKS, I missed the news story. They were great live. "he played the organ". God bless him. RIP.

"I am listening to the Frogs from a rehearsal tape they did for a show opening up for the Smashing Pumpkins in 1997...doing Smashing Pumpkins songs, very much in their style."

Is this findable? That sounds incredible.

― Walter Galt, Tuesday, July 10, 2012 2:31 AM (1 week ago)

By good chance -- turns out some hyper Pumpkins fan out there has been uploading this very thing earlier today. So I give you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcugjT3BofA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSUu4VHv810

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spUXUQMYASg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-lClqQh3Fk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGSX7wbHlUo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJb5uMYcdA8

Or just a playlist if you like:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL345D3F4CAFD406A5&feature=edit_ok

Thanks for the links Ned; interesting to hear.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashvillecream/archives/2012/08/06/photo-of-the-week-local-chick-fil-a-billboard-gets-banksyd-with-frogs-reference

Been getting aquainted with some less known Frogs numbers which are indeed making my ass stand on end.
Namely 'The Wild Mouth Of The Buck-Toothed Priest' and the truly terrifying 'New In Town Sailor'.

So looks like Jimmy Flemion and Billy Corgan have been doing a few things together lately after Dennis's passing -- here's some stuff just after Dennis's memorial service at his house:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09_7fOgIMAk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIv-1Ejzzls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz3v7rEX5zU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o6q2SOM-9A

And this was the other night in Austin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGaHI7uLBe4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbEhGhafHDI

If Jimmy joined the Pumpkins I would actually go and see them

Via Jimmy on FB/elsewhere:

Hello everybody. I set up a new p.o. box :

The Frogs
P.O. Box 81234
Austin, TX 78708

To those of you who have expressed interest in sending fan mail, tapes and things, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. In the past we have allowed taping @ our shows, with the understanding whoever taped or filmed agreeing to send us a copy. Unfortunately more often then not, those who taped or filmed and said they would send us a copy never did. That was one of the main reasons we reluctantly allowed taping or filming. If some of you are out there, I ask to do the right thing and please, send your tapes, cd's or dvd's to the new p.o. box. It would mean so much to me, especially now.

Also, I've started a blog @ tumblr.com, stay tuned.

My greatest challenge is communication, as well as my greatest reward.

From my heart to yours,
Jimmy

And that tumblr he mentions is now up:

http://jimmyflemion.tumblr.com/

La da da da
La da da dee
La da da dum dum

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, July 20, 2011 2:13 PM (six years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

^^^^ i had that song stuck in my head today out of nowhere, prolly haven't listened to these dudes in 10 years

oh charming rabbit slut boy
where did you come from
was it england or TOKYO?

Abandoned first album coming out soon. The preview song is great, more like the live show than anything on the records I've heard. Jimmy and Evan Dando will do a short tour billed as 'The Frogs". I feel like Dennis would think Dando was a funny enough replacement.
https://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/the-frogs-1st.html

After owning It's Only Right & Natural on LP for 10 years now I can officially say I don't understand the appeal beyond being a silly novelty record. The way people talk about it I always assumed it was supposed to transcend that. I suppose at this point I need it explained to me.

Hm, well, maybe this'll help? I posted it on FB just now along with some photos I took:

So the other night, I saw the Frogs, or rather the current version -- Jimmy Flemion plus, on about half the tracks either on guitar or drums, Evan Dando. Honestly didn't know what to expect, or even how to feel about them these days, though I'd seen them a couple of times back in the 2000s, wrote a number of AMG reviews, etc. My sis, however, is a massive fan, and I thought, well, why not? Just the other day a thread was revived on ILX wondering if it was all just cheap novelty in the end, and I've been pondering more with time and the years about jokes, their goals, who gets to tell whose story and more. And none of those thoughts have gone away.

Still, I gotta say this -- it was really good. Often great. Jimmy came out with a feathery headpiece for the first song -- a cover of Three Dog Night's "One," which, sung as early video of Jimmy and Dennis played behind him, really did feel poignant in new ways. He switched to a hat for the next song -- Evan joined in at that point -- but otherwise appeared for the rest of the set as is, no wings, head shaven, simply dressed nattily enough. And he was in very fine voice throughout -- years ago I called his approach that of a 'sweetly vile troubadour' and I'll stand by that, positively. But it makes the heartfelt songs when they appear -- and they did -- all that much more so. (Near the end he did a number about Dennis and his death and the damn thing was really lovely.)

The cover choices were especially intriguing -- doing Bowie's "Starman" made perfect sense, there was always something about them that was _Hunky Dory_-into-Ziggy and Jimmy is absolutely no slouch on guitar in that vein, plus T. Rex's "Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat)" and in the encore a stellar "Sometimes It Snows in April" by Prince. Of course, plenty of _It's Only Right and Natural_ cuts and more besides, and I got a clear sense that any number of older gay couples (and I'm guessing singles) in the crowd loved it all without irony. Who can say?

And it's gotta be said -- Dando's aged very well. (My sister was even more vocal on the matter.) He seemed to have a little frustration with his drumkit and I'm not sure if he normally sits out half the show, but he was great when he was onstage and I was mildly surprised when at one point he sang "It's a Shame About Ray" with backing from Jimmy. I've only ever seen the Lemonheads the once, back on a KROQ summer radio fest bill in 1993, but they did that then, and him doing it now was strange but affecting nostalgia I didn't expect.

So anyway, I bring all this up because per a Twitter post by Jake Fogelnest earlier this afternoon -- I'll link it in comments -- there's apparently a Frogs documentary in the works. I'll be especially interested in seeing that.

(Said Tweet:

Hi, Dennis. We spoke after this tweet (which sadly was your last before you passed away). Wanted to let you and everyone know, OF COURSE they're making a documentary about The Frogs. I just filmed my interview. I'm sure you're pissed it's not done and hasn't already won an Oscar. https://t.co/BJazF5xznp

— Jake Fogelnest (@jakefogelnest) February 21, 2020

Etc.)

So it turns out there's a new Frogs album as such, which apparently had been in the works for a while

https://thefrogs.hearnow.com/

Hi everyone. The Spiritual album is here.
Damaged Goods / Sinned in Reverse.
Out now! Finally. Our album that has been talked about in interviews & the works for the last 30 years. Today digitally available everywhere.

— Jimmy Flemion (@JimmyFlemion) July 7, 2021