A Pistol Hot Cup Of Rhyme: Favorite Albums: 72

Moving right along...

72. Beelzebubba by The Dead Milkmen (1988)

This album, more than any other, reminds me of high school and skateboarding. Yeah, I was horrible at skateboarding (and at high school, really) but those were just some fun times, for the most part. (The skateboarding, not high school.) "Brat In the Frat" is a nice caustic little tune, basically just berating somebody for wanting to be like everybody else. "RC's Mom" Is a kind of funny, kind of annoying song. It's like a funk parody, almost, with lyrics about wife beating. Odd combo. "Stuart" is frigging awesome. It's basically a narrative about "what the queers are doing to our soil", and has one of my favorite lines from any song. One of the sections is talking about a kid in the neighborhood who gets a burrow owl for his birthday, and he's looking for it in a tree, and the narrator screams, "Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick! Everybody knows that a burrow owl lives in a hole in the ground! Why the Hell do you think they call it a burrow owl anyway?!?!?" Sorry, I just laugh every time I hear that part. That, and, "Pow! He was decapitated! They found his head over by the Sno-Cone concession!" Freaking hilarious song. "I Walk the Thinnest Line" is also great, talking about how he's walking the thin line between the good and bad sides of his mind. Funny song. "Sri Lanka Sex Hotel" is bad ass. I can never quite stop myself from dancing to this one. "Bad Party" is pretty crappy, really. Just a dumb song. "Punk Rock Girl" is pretty much the only Dead Milkmen song that anybody knows, and it's just a classic. Great tune. "Bleach Boys" is another fun little song, good to be-bop around the house to. "My Many Smells" is great. One of my favorite songs by them. (You'll hear that statement four more times on this album alone, and there are several others that are damn close to that level.) "Smokin' Banana Peels", on the other hand, is probably my least favorite Dead Milkmen song ever. Just annoying as hell. "The Guitar Song" is, without question, my favorite song by these guys. Just a nice simple melody, and one of the few non-funny, honest, sweet songs by them. Not a love song or anything, just a very very good song. (Each of the next two songs also fall into the "one of my favorite songs by them" category as well.) "Born To Love Volcanos" is basically a tribute to PBS fundraising auctions. Absolutely hysterical song. "Everybody's Got Nice Stuff But Me" is an awesome jealousy filled song. What makes it awesome, though, is the stuff he's jealous of. "She's got eyes of deepest blue. He's got hair that's green. Everybody's got nice stuff but me." Great. "I Against Osborne" is a hectic, frantic tune. Pretty good. "Howard Beware" is a great song about a paranoid conspiracy theorist who thinks absolutely everybody on the planet is out to get him. Love it. "Ringo Buys a Rifle" is about Ringo Starr losing his mind and going after the other Beatles, basically. Good but not great. The final song is also the final "one of my favorites by them" song. "Life Is Shit" is just amazing. Such a great song, and such a great way to close the album out. This album is just awesome. Cannot get enough of it, and hopefully I'll never tire of it. Great stuff.
5 Best Songs: (I could only find a video for one of these. Seriously????)
5. "Everybody's Got Nice Stuff But Me"
4. "My Many Smells"
3. "Born To Love Volcanos"
2. "Life Is Shit"

1. "The Guitar Song"

71. Apollo 18 by They Might Be Giants (1992)

It's kind of funny. This is very close to being my favorite TMBG album, yet the other one doesn't show up until the top 20. That's how close the albums on this list are, to me. Apollo 18 starts off with "Dig My Grave", a loud frantic song that just sets the pace for the rest of the album. It's short, just over a minute, but only three of the 18 songs are over three minutes, and there's even one shorter than this. Good song. "I Palindrome I" is great. At one point there's a section of about 15 lines that is an actual continuous palindrome. Awesome. "She's Actual Size" is pretty good also. Can get annoying after too many repeated listens, but for the most part it's a good song. "My Evil Twin" is pretty funny and pretty catchy. Good tune. "Mammal" is great, one of the best on the album, I think. Just a total nerd song, really. "The Statue Got Me High" is pretty good. Used to hate it, but it's grown on me over the years. "Spider" is a quick 50 second song, kind of annoying. "Dinner Bell" is really good. The way the verses are sung is great, with the dueling vocals and such. Fun song. "Narrow Your Eyes" has probably the best vocals on the album, as far as real singing, but it's just kind of boring. It's okay, just dull. "Hall Of Heads" has some great horns, but that's pretty much the only redeemable quality it's got. Blah. "Which Describes How You're Feeling" is a great song, but way too short at just under two minutes. The way he sings this song is great, though. Really wish it were longer. "See the Constellation" is okay, nothing special. "If I Wasn't Shy" is another song that is way too short, because it's really good, and really could be my theme song. "Turn Around" is also pretty great. Definitely a top 5 song. "Hypnotist Of Ladies" should be top 5, but probably comes in sixth. We'll see. Very good song. The next song is "Fingertips". Technically, the next 21 songs are "Fingertips". It is a collection of little snippets ranging from 4 seconds to one minute one second. Basically, this song was designed with the "shuffle" feature on CD players in mind. Remember, in '92, this was still kind of a big thing. Basically, it makes it so that if you threw the CD on shuffle you'd never hear the same album twice. Brilliant concept, and brilliantly executed, because even as a whole, these 21 snippets make a pretty interesting and fun song. The final song is "Space Suit", a nice little instrumental. Good closing song. Overall, this album is just kick ass. Absolutely love it, and absolutely recommend it.
8 Best Songs: (going 8 since there was only 1 video for the other album.)
8. "The Guitar"