Eat Your Paisley - The Dead Milkmen
Track List:
Where the Tarantula Lives
Air Crash Museum
KKSUCK2
Fifty Things
Happy Is
Beach Party Vietnam
I Hear Your Name
Two Feet Off the Ground
The Thing that Only Eats Hippies
Six Days
Swampland of Desire
Take Me Apart
Earwig
Moron
The Fez
Vince Lombardi Service Center
Twas after a D&D session
Earlier today when the DM’s wife suggested this album. I hadn’t picked anything out so this sounded delightful. She did indicate this is punk and I seem to remember hearing about this band when I was studying Nirvana at some point in the past. I don’t think I’ve heard any of these songs before.
Where the Tarantula Lives
A twangy punky song. As for a meaning I am clueless. I would like to know what gives. Why are they cloning a nazi? When did Donny and Marie go punk? I am unfamiliar with multiple references and I could look them up but I am not going to since I am listening to an album. This seems to be a social commentary and perhaps indicating that someone (the tarantula) behind the scene is pulling the strings.
Air Crash Museum
Wow. A song about making a museum dedicated to musicians who have died in plane crashes. I do think this is a bit more melodic and musical than a lot of punk I’ve listened to.
KKSUCK2
That was neat, instrumental. Again more melodic and musical than I had expected.
Fifty Things
I think this is closer to what I had expected. Angry punk lyrics spit at me while listening. The lyrics seem to describe being busy and feeling that the narrator is being asked to help with more and not really having the capacity to help but feeling obligated to commit.
Happy Is
There are a lot of references to bodies and corpses so far on this album. An exploration of an emotion but also almost a threat. Exploring the question about what is happiness but also almost a fascist thought of happiness that you can’t claim that I am happy because my happiness is dependent upon your destruction. It goes as far as comparing the subject of the song to a mad dog or a worm that is undeserving of life. I believe this is more social commentary about the absurd and not a declaration of belief.
Beach Party Vietnam
The title of this song intrigued me. Okay so this has similar vibes as When You Get Drafted by Dead Kennedys. Frankie and Annette are a young couple in the 60’s. Frankie gets drafted and comes back as a disabled vet. He struggles to adapt back to life after returning home.
I Hear Your Name
The song explores falling out of touch with a person. Thinking you see them and being mistaken.
Two Feet Off the Ground
I really enjoy the grittiness of the lyrics. I feel like the song is about hallucinations. Not sure if they are induced by substances or something else.
The Thing that Only Eats Hippies
The song tells a story of about a creature that eats hippies. It talks about different bands and how the creature is eating them. I find it funny that the thing trips on acid after eating deadheads. It also eats Stills and Nash but doesn’t eat Crosby, I wonder why? And why did it ignore Young? I was also unaware of the apparent clash between punks and hippies.
Six Days
A song about touring?
Swampland of Desire
A declaration of love.
Take Me Apart
A song detailing the feelings of a scorned lover after a breakup, feeling like the other person used them and then left them hurt.
Earwig
The subject of this song is literally falling apart. Some of the lyrics seem to be describing radiation poisoning.
Moron
A fast lament about people following trends and not bothering to think.
The Fez
This is weird. The spoken word parts remind me of Jello Biafra. I think there are several references to other songs in this one. Jimi Hendrix for sure, but I suspect the other lines before (ha ha ha ha) were also references to other songs.
Vince Lombardi Service Center
I really didn’t realize that instrumental punk songs were a thing before this album. This is cool.
End
I absolutely loved this. It’s folky punk. I feel like they likely heavily influenced Harley Poe, a more recent folk punk band that I’ve explored deeply. I also think that The Suicide Machines were also influenced by this. If I were to try to describe this to someone with contemporary artists I would say The Dead Milkmen exist in a space somewhere between Violent Femmes and Dead Kennedys. I can’t wait to listen to more, I see they have another album titled after a Robert W Chambers book of short stories that I think I will add to my list of albums to listen to here.
