a frog who dreamed of being a king

Touch & Go Records recently launched a digital store, including many hard-to-get gems from their fantastic back catalogue. All releases from the T&G store are 256mbps mp3 format and free of any Digital Rights Management stuff. The mp3 albums are $9.99, which means that listeners in the UK currently get them for the princely sum of a fiver.

The first one I treated myself to was Killdozer's 1989 classic of "musical drudgery", 12 Point Buck!

Killdozer - New Pants and Shirt



Tortuously slow, grindingly relentless, downright hilarious - it's so cool to hear this track again. The lyrics sound to me like the words of a frustrated dandy who's stuck in the middle of nowheresville, where no-one understands his sarcasm or appreciates his dress sense. Born in a pigsty but looking at the stars and dreaming of Broadway, maybe.

The way he despairs of his mother at 2.25 makes me laugh out loud (or ROFLMAO, if you insist) every time. It's all in the delivery and the accent on the ends of words... "beD-uh" is a particular favourite.

I'm hoping that T&G will eventually make For Ladies Only available again - this was the Killdozer cover version album, featuring their glorious take on American Pie. Oxbow had this but he lost it....

Until they do, I'll content myself with the fact 12 Point Buck comes bundled with Little Baby Buntin', including this frightening version of a Neil Diamond song

Killdozer - I Am, I Said [Neil Diamond]



I love the fact that there are times throughout both these albums when you can hear the band really chomping at the bit, naturally wanting to go just a little bit faster, but holding it back. It's like a cartoon where someone's trying to stop a train going off a cliff by digging their heels in and holding on for dear life.

Buy - Killdozer 12 Point Buck / Little Baby Buntin' from Touch & Go
Visit - Touch and Go / Quarterstick Records
Read - Killdozer's 1988 European Tour Diary