I Can't Hardly Stand It

Hmm.. that's funny.. that title explains a few things in my life at the moment.. :)

Anyway - new song of the week! It's 'I Can't Hardly Stand It' by the Cramps.

This is from the biography page on www.thecramps.com:

In the spring of 1976, The CRAMPS began to fester in a NYC apartment. Without fresh air or natural light, the group developed its uniquely mutant strain of rock’n’roll aided only by the sickly blue rays of late night TV. While the jackhammer rhythms of punk were proliferating in NYC, The CRAMPS dove into the deepest recesses of the rock’n’roll psyche for the most primal of all rhythmic impulses — rockabilly — the sound of southern culture falling apart in a blaze of shudders and hiccups. As late night sci-fi reruns colored the room, The CRAMPS also picked and chose amongst the psychotic debris of previous rock eras - instrumental rock, surf, psychedelia, and sixties punk. And then they added the junkiest element of all — themselves.

— J. H. Sasfy, Professor of Rockology
from the liner notes of The Cramps 1979 release Gravest Hits

It would be almost impossible to have never heard of The CRAMPS. Their career has been the stuff of legend. Dangerously bizarre but most of all cool, The CRAMPS represent everything that is truly reprehensible about rock’n’roll. Founding members Lux Interior (the psycho-sexual Elvis/Werewolf hybrid from hell) and guitar-slinging soul-mate Poison Ivy (the ultimate bad girl vixen) are the architects of a wicked sound that distills a cross of swamp water, moonshine and nitro down to a dangerous and unstable musical substance. Their cultural impact has spawned a legion of devil cults and dance-floor catfights, and created in its wake a cavalcade of cave-stomping imitators. As punk rock pioneers in the late seventies, they cut their teeth on the stages of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City and recorded their first record at Sam Phillips legendary Sun Studios, funded mainly by Ivy’s income as a dominatrix in NYC. They coined the now popular term “psychobilly” on their 1976 gig posters. Their hair-raising live performances are still a total, no-holds-barred rock’n’roll assault. After a quarter century of mayhem, they’re too far gone to even consider any other course.

It's definitely a different type of music, but also a type that had a huge impact in the music world. I'd suggest checking them out - even if you don't like this type of music - give them a chance!


On another note, I'm working on some new pieces.. a Dave Matthews piece for Gilpin's Bagel and Deli downtown. Currently, my Marilyn sketch is hanging there, and my Beatles Collection will be there after Wednesday this week. I did have the Rat Pack sketch there, but my sneaky boyfriend bought it! Now that's a supportive boyfriend!

I'm also working on an Ava Gardner piece, as a WWII nose art pin up painting. I'm really excited to get going on this one.

I'll keep you updated!