Screamin' Mee-Mees LIVE FROM THE BASEMENT (Gulcher 418)

Oh boy! Listen up, music lovers and noise heads, improvisers and olde-skool punks: This 'un's gonna knock yer sox off! The new CD LIVE FROM THE BASEMENT 1975-1997, from Gulcher Records, collects the 7-inch vinyl output of the Screamin' Mee-Mees, legendary pre-punk crazies from St. Louis, Missouri. With this disc, Jon Ashline and Bruce Cole finally get the respect they probably still don't think they deserve. Such is the self-deprecating racket-roll these two yahoos have been spewing about in Bruce's basement since 1972. The Gulcher CD picks up the story with the release of their debut EP, LIVE FROM THE BASEMENT, recorded in '75/'76, but unleashed during the punk-rock frenzy of 1977. The Mee-Mees were punk more by timing than by design. It's true they had grown up on a diet of Stooges, Velvet Underground, and 60s garage--like many early punk-rockers--but they were equally influenced by more outside sounds like Amon D~~~~l I, the Godz, Silver Apples, Captain Beefheart, etc. Although a few of their songs are composed in the old-fashioned way, most are spontaneous eruptions of rhythm, sound, and absurd word play. I should also mention that the Mee-Mees possess a very strong all-Amerikan sense of stoopid. They recorded a second EP, HOME MOVIES, in 1978, but it remained unreleased until their comeback in the '90s. The '80s were a pretty dry period for the duo, but their 90's singles are all here: "Pull My Finger"/"Family Tree" ('93), "Life Never Stops"/"Oscillations" ('94; B-side is the Silver Apples song), and "Answer Me!"/"Arthritis Today" ('96). Also included are the Mee-Mees' cover of the Twinkeyz' "Cartoon Land" from a split single with Mike Rep & The Quotas, and "Squawk Squawk Squawk" from a comp EP for WHUMP! fanzine. The most recent tracks are from Bruce Cole's 1997 VENUSIAN PLATEAUS solo EP, which you probably missed completely. Bruce took a very natural turn into more overt forms of improv, noise, and drone. Half of the Gulcher CD tracks are re-mastered from the original tapes, most done properly for the first time after various botched vinyl jobs. There are also numerous extended versions, with music, noise, and conversation not included on the original 7-inch releases. Lots of great sounds here, boys and girls! And it all comes packaged with a 20-page booklet full of rare photos, reproductions of the sleeves, an interview with Bruce Cole by Jeff Kopp from HEAD IN A MILK BOTTLE fanzine, liner notes by yours truly, and a complete discography for the Mee-Mees and related projects. (Eddie Flowers/Slippy Town)