Pure Punk Picks
New Kind Of Kick – The Cramps
“Life is short, filled with stuff. Don’t know what for? I ain’t had enough.”
Andy and I saw The Cramps live at The Channel, mid-eighties, New Year’s Eve. It was an eventful night as after the show we, inadvertently, upset a young lady. We had been talking to two young women when another approached- “I know you,” I said, “You’re Richard’s girlfriend.” Richard being a guitar player we knew in a popular, local new wave band.
“Well, I used to be,” she replied crestfallen. There was an awkward moment and then one of her friends said to us- “So why don’t you guys fuck off?”
And that we proceeded to do.
On the drive back home I mentioned I knew of a party going on, thrown by a co-worker from my office job. We went. It was a triple-decker party and as I was standing in a corridor- a door, not secured, slightly opened on its’ own accord. There I saw one of the male supervisors from my office group making out with a guy.
He asked me to keep this discreet, which I did, though, there was an unspoken promise, not to bother me when I came into his section to fondle one of his secretaries breasts, while we were back working in the office (and yes, she was totally obliging), and would’ve blabbed all over the office if I let my secret out.
Yeah, all the above is true- but now is not the time or place to elaborate because now, we’re looking for some “New Kind Of Kick”. Whether that be a new drug, a new sexual kink or maybe, what I’m always lusting for- another great song from another great band.
So sorry, folks- you gotta settle for the later. Truth be told, TNB is against drugs and we abstain from sex now, for that matter. But we hope and condone all the kicks you find and are having, as long as they don’t harm anyone else.
“I ain’t had enough.”
This is the eighties recipe for happiness and perhaps, the capitalist dream as well. That says too much, is never enough. I need more of everything because if I get it, I will finally be happy.
More money, more sex, more drugs, more alcohol- and let me swim in its’ toxicity, let me drown until it rises over my neck, blocking my breathe, until it resides and then, I can take it all in again.
But what that leaves is an emptiness and a hole that you realize, you can never fill- a bottomless well.
When you realize that, when your ambitions are more reflective, more healthy, more reasonable- then satisfaction and peace of mind is achievable.
This song embodies the wildness of fifties rock’n’roll and rockabilly, along with the grunge of sixties garage rock. On top of that it demotes the nihilistic stance of early punk, though I see this song more as poking fun at an excessive lifestyle.
This song, and this band, is not so much linked with punk, but more paying tribute to the styles of music that led up to punk, such as the genres I just mentioned.
And I feel, you don’t really need a new high, but just appreciate the music that you have and all the wonderful bands and influences that helped create it- which epitomizes what The Cramps played.
“I’m looking, I’m looking, I’m looking for- something I ain’t had before.”
From the late seventies into most of the eighties, I know that Bang and I, we were looking for something we hadn’t really heard in rock music before. We longed for music that was a bit more rough, more raw, more real and most of all- more exciting. Maybe folks like Iggy Pop and Motorhead whet our appetites- but we were open to new musical experiences. And though, there were not a lot of young people who had the same desire as us, there was enough to create a network of bands, clubs and media to create the blueprint for what is now known as indi rock.
And every genre of rock now, follows the rules that punk and hardcore created. You have to network, not rely on major labels, and sell your “merch” by hand.
I wasn’t aware, until fairly recently, that The Cramps were part of the original CBGB’s scene. They were playing there around the same time as bands like The Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Television, Blondie and countless others were at the beginning.
Just like The Dead Boys and Devo originated in Ohio- The Cramps came from Sacramento, California. (A place I resided in two years before TNB was created).
Searching for a new drug, a new high can often be fatal. But exploring your sexuality can take you to a place you feel more comfortable to be ( I know that from recent experiences).
And searching for new music should be a life long quest. But the first bands you love might never match, at least in your heart and mind, the bands that you experience after that.
I feel there’s been much, too much, seriousness in this review about such a fun, fun band like The Cramps.
Their music expresses wildness, and creativity and joy which this review totaly lacks!
But I will end it with my favorite line of this song, a line that Beavis & Butthead could’ve wrote!
“Like baby needs Mom. Like Suzie needs Dick. I need a new kind of kick.”
I’ll settle for that.
(Slimedog)
