ILM Artist Poll No. 105 · THE CRAMPS · Voting Thread [Ends 25/OCT/2020]

I've never participated in a poll before, but this one calls to me. Unfortunately, I haven't listened to much beyond the first two albums and Bad Music for Bad People.

Why did Bryan Gregory leave? I've never come across an explanation for that. I love his sound, I don't think they ever really recovered from losing him. Although there were still lots of good jams.

The Cramps are monuments of biodegradable culture. The non-mellow remembrance of the teenage barbarian that you once were or rather, always wanted to be.

saw them twice in '84, can confirm that they were all that

Yes they were all that and yes Gregory is quite an amazing guitarist in the context of this band. It's cool that they tried to get Congo Powers to sorta copy him on Psychedelic Jungle but they soon gave up on that because he cannot be replaced.

This will be an interesting poll for the albums, as their greatest years are favoured by outstanding compilations and live albums which overlap in content and vary from country to country.

ie. 90% of "Bad Music..." is on "Off the Bone" but it just depends which country you were in.

Don't do this often, but I may re-listen to a few favourites from the first three records; I was a big fan back then. I saw them in 1980, about a week after Bryan Gregory left. Lux Interior drank water out my shoe.

!!!

Tell me more, tell me more!

That's pretty much the whole story. It was a club, everyone was up near the stage, and I...took off my shoe, handed it to him, and he poured water in it and drank. Think I saw them once more after that in a much bigger hall.

What an honor! Never seeing them is a big music regret.

I bought Bad Music For Bad People and it stunned me. Like the Velvet Underground &Nico, revolutionary and recorded like shit. Both put me off initially, I wasn’t used to music produced so raw.

“She Said” threw me for a loop. I didn’t realize a lot of the songs were covers, the collection gelled into a greaser sex freak stew.

My introduction to the band was via "Green Door". I was studying in Montpellier, France. The population is like 70% students so it's common in weekends to have open building parties. It's a fun experience. By open building parties I mean full buildings where every apartment is open for strangers as long as you or anyone in your group got invited by anyone living in the building and who'll vouch for you in case you break something or are being an asshole. Only rules are to respect private property and bring your own poison. For all the people and alcohol involved it's surprising how civilized people are over there.

Anyhow, this was my first party in this format and in this particular party there were 3 floors. The first floor was were all the frat-type people were hanging out; shots, shouts and shit music but everyone seemed to be having a good time. Maybe too much of a good time, way too sober and way too early for me to enjoy that vibe.
Second floor was playing r&b and hip hop on one apartment and Manu Chao and Alpha Blondie on the other apartment... people intensely talking ideas and not too much dancing going on, I guess this could be described as the floor for people who were toking.
Third floor was my favorite by far. There were two apartments per floor, one of the apartments had no music and older people talking over glasses of red wine. I think they were not really involved in the open party thing since this was the only apartment were the tenants introduced themselves and acted confused when I opened the door. In contrast, the other apartment was an absolute madhouse. I'm not making this up: My first view as soon as I entered was a fully nude man skateboarding around the apartment, a group of about 10 very attractive and very drunk people attempting to play board games and a sort of improvised dancefloor with about 40 people dancing to Chuck Berry. It was heaven to me. I stayed dancing and mingling in there until sunrise. At one point the 'dj' played 'Green Door' and a group of people cheered and sang along to the full song. I didn't know the song, but it had an immediate effect on me. It's one of those songs you feel like you've known your whole life. The music was genius for the most part but my biggest takeaway was discovering The Cramps. Iirc "Goo Goo Muck" was also played.

ooooooooooft

<3 for the last 23 posts

Never saw them live, always wish that I had. Might put together a quick 20 & dive into this here gene pool

PS Lux’s Christmas mixtape JEEZUS FUCK IT’S CHRISTMAS is on spotify & when the holidays roll around you should crank it all the way up to hell because it’s great
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1x1TUuj3grxTq1rLBXxEnr

Daily reminder to consider voting in this spooky poll

fun reminder for everyone that Lux sang on Spongebob Squarepants #BirdBrains4Ever

https://youtu.be/3GcVvEGUHpE

really only know the greatest hits, but i trust you turkeynecks to do the hammer lock in my absence

Have narrowed it down to about 40 tracks. Though I don't think I've heard any of Look Ma, No Head! Should check whether that's all secretly awesome.

i’ve got 20 tracks off like the first few albums...i’m screwed lol

I went through the late albums in search of hidden gems, and found 1 or 2 but now they look suuuuuper tokenistic...oh, well.

Maybe the band that opened up more listening worlds for me than any other? Defiantly the band that erased the notion of "oldies" in my late-teen mind, and made the past into a playground. I have many thoughts 'n' feels, and I'm always surprised when talking to a rock person who has never listened, or even more surprisingly, listened a bit an dismissed them as a novelty act.

They're one of those perfect-package bands to me, like Ramones or Motorhead, where the concept is so strong, I can get a lot out of later releases even if I know they can't top the first run of records. Date With Elvis is their Too Tough to Die or Back in Black, where they settle into the mode that will carry them the rest of their run. I eat up plenty from that one and Stay Sick. It does get redundant after that, though as fodder for the latest tour, the new tracks worked live.

The late records are carried by Ivy's guitar, no longer primitive but so crazy wiggly. Oh that solo on "Cornfed Dames". The moment it breaks down for me though, is when the word "fuck" show up on Flamejob. That broke the rules I was holding them to: working with what would have been possible (in a crazy way) and acceptable before 1965.

I hearby propose Purple Knif Show as a valid album, as digging was as much a part of The Cramps as playing:

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2016/10/24/radio-cramps-the-purple-knif-show-4/

Such a great live band. First saw them in 1980 at the long gone Ontario Theatre in Washington DC with a bunch of DC bands opening including Teen Idles

One of the few bands whose live show I would describe as "jaw-dropping," and again, I didn't see them until late in their lifespan. In the '80s they must have been unbelievable.

If Purple Knif Show is deemed valid I will need to re-submit.

I first saw them in '86 which i just this minute discovered is on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DStUtOVl8

I'd have loved to have seen them a bit earlier too, eg at this one in 1980 supported by The Fall.

https://tinyurl.com/yykvty4z

Would be cool to do a poll of Lux and Ivy's Favorites collection

"Shombalor"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ_ptl-uXok

i was listening to Rockin Reelin in Auckland New Zealand, so much goddamn fun

there’s no drop between studio & live performance or quality or timing or anything: you can feel/hear the energy go up like a full 50% which feels impossible

and makes me love them more because they knew the value of Putting On A Show

I feel like the difference in sound between Flamejob (1994) and Big Beat From Badsville (1997) is a great illustration of what compression is and also a wider document of general attitudes in rock insofar as that point in the 90’s can be seen as a tipping point of sorts. Now, 2020, it seems like shit is equivalent to shinola for probably most anyone, lol.
And yeah, they absolutely killed it live. I saw them from pressed up to the lip of the stage at Hollywood Palladium on Halloween late 80’s/early 90’s and it was 100% pure rock’n’roll.

Would be cool to do a poll of Lux and Ivy's Favorites collection

that would be great. tracing down their covers and references were so formative for me in my digging and listening back in the day, like others have said upthread their role in killing the idea of "oldies" was a big leap for me. one of the great record collection bands.

xp: Make that “100% pure GOD DAMN rock’n’roll.”

moka i hope it's cool if i submit my partner's ballot, too? i'll be submitting my own as well

The more the merrier

I just relistened to Look Mom, No Head for the first time since it was new, and uhhh... I just can't with this. I love dumb fun like "Surfin' Bird" and "The Crusher" as much as the next guy, but the novelty/annoyance factor of "Alligator Stomp" and "Eyeball in my Martini" are too over the top for me. Sole high point: the ballad "The Strangeness in Me," a retitled cover of "When I Get The Blues" by The Runabouts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FOG6dXxF98

Yes, that's the album where the over-the-topness stops working. Which is sad, because I love the camp on Female, Elvis and Stay Stick. Roxy Music with grilled cheese sandwiches, as the cover of Date with Elvis makes explicit.

I put "The Strangeness in Me" on my ballot, but yeah, that album mostly sucks.

I saw the cramps in 1991 - candy del mar era - which I guess was somewhere between the peak and the plateau, but they were good

me and two mates bunked off school to catch a train to see them at the University of Newcastle (Aust) cos the Sydney show was over-18s only - after the show we had to hang out at the train station until 6am to get the first train back, while I respect the decisions of my younger self these days I feel exhausted just thinking about it

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-premiere-sessions-livestream-sally-cant-dance-the-cramps-tickets-125044277801?fbclid=IwAR3tZmY8gjFK3U1UyF_4lyOkxQquYXwu1MneiSAZSdIy7uT1xIfp8ulJlCo

October 30 stream concert with a huge number of bands doing Cramps songs in NYC

A brand new, professionally mixed and pro shot, socially distant livestream series featuring some of our favorite artists, shot right here at The Bowery Electric! With different ticket tiers, high-quality sound, special merch, virtual tip jars, a live chat after the show, and other killer experiences and add-ons brought to you by Veeps, this is as close to a live show as you're gonna get! All sales will benefit the artists and help save our incredible venue!

With performances by:
Kid Congo - The Cramps, The Pink Monkey Birds⁠

Chuck Prophet

Jim Jones - Jim Jones Revue, The Righteous Mind⁠

Kathy Valentine - The Go-Gos

Steve Wynn - The Dream Syndicate

Lynne Von Pang - The Carvels NYC

LA Witch with Gregg Foreman

Matthew Orr - Gnarcissists

Liz Lamere - Alan Vega

Josh Brocki - Night Spins

Jeff Klein - My Jerusalem⁠

Jeremy Lubin - Jeremy and the Harlequins⁠

Andrea Sicco - Twin Guns⁠

Johnny Scuotto⁠

Don Flemming - B.A.L.L.⁠

Bebe Buell and the Scent

Kenneth Levine - Skull Practitioners⁠

Dylan Hundley - Lulu Lewis

The Schizophonics⁠

Diane Gentile - Diane + the Gentlemen⁠

The Ghost Wolves⁠

Gordon Lawrence - Beechwood

Leah Victoria Hennessey - Hennessey

Mark C - Live Skull

and many more!

House Band:

Bob Bert - The Wolfmanhattan Project

Sam Hariss - The Sweet Things

Jason Victor - The Dream Syndicate

Palmyra Delran - The Friggs

Ace!

Lux would have been 74 today.

Only 6 ballots received so far! Should I extend the deadline or are you guys upping your voting game in the following days?

I just sent in a ballot

Yes!! 3 more ballots came through. Keep em comin’!

deadline is Sunday? I can work with that.

*BUMP*

(If only because I think I voted somewhat strategically and want to make sure tracks I thought "will get lots of votes anyway" actually do get lots of votes. LOL.)

i'll be submitting two votes tomorrow (me and my non-ilxor partner)! both will probably be on the short side, and mine will definitely be full of "will get lots of votes anyway" :)

sent

“Mean Machine” too low!!

bad human bean.

Counting around 24 hours from now to close voting!

hey Moka, is a mixed ballot (top 10 ranked, 10 unranked) ok? if not, we definitely rank them all!

I don’t have a problem but I’d have to check how the points for those would work! If you can rank or unrank them all it’s easier for me but don’t worry I’ll work something out if you have a hard time ranking the bottom 10.

all ranked is cool! we are getting close. this is an intense process

shit!

ok, just submitted a ranked ballot!

Hahaha excellent

Anyone else interested in sending a ballot in the next couple of hours? If not I’m closing down voting to start prepping the results.

Closed!

I was thinking of starting the rollout tomorrow.

TUESDAY: Top 5 albums/eps/compilations + Top Tracks 50-40
WEDNESDAY: Top Tracks 39-21
THURSDAY: Top Tracks 20-01