Throughout the month of October, OUTLOUD! RECORDS has been releasing daily drops of covers under the title We're A Fiend Family. Each song is taken from the Misfits or a Misfits-related project. Several TGEFM staffers and guests got together for a track-by-track discussion. This is Part 2, covering tracks 13-24. You can read Part 1 HERE.
13 Oct: Fuzzone – “She”
orig. Misfits – Cough/Cool 7″ (1977)
Jeff: I'm not going to lie. This isn't a very impressive cover on a lot of metrics: too much tone, not enough bass, too much of a clone. However… I LOVE it! Why? Because if we were at karaoke and doing Misfits songs, this is the guy who'd be doing his best Danzig impression, and it would be a great time.
Secretly, in our heart of hearts, every Misfits fan sings the songs and tries to emulate Danzig. a few fail, but win, with such gusto as FUZZONE does here. It's just plain old fun.
Julie: This is another cover that's a bit more Ramones-esque than the original. Which is perfectly fine. But I went into this thinking nobody could even come close to Danzig's vocal performance. And the vocalist doesn't sound exactly like Danzig, but he hits all the notes—literally and metaphorically—that he had to hit on this cover.
Greg: This would be really fun if I was at a show, but not something I'm likely to put on at home.
Jim: I almost skipped over this one, but then the vocalist kicked in and I said, Woah. Not exactly like Keanu Reeves, and only in my head. It's a short song and these guys bashed it out in their style, which didn't stray far from the original. But the singer…
Tiffa: Ok the singer was feeling their oats in this one, good for them! Kudos for doing what Danzig does in your own voice! As Greg said though, I'd bop along at the show but wouldn't reach for this cover in the dark.
14 Oct: The Chumleys – “Twist of Cain”
orig. Danzig – self-titled (1988)
Jeff: You remember how I said that FUZZONE's cover of “She” was like from a fun karaoke night? Well THIS is a live band just having fun with it. From the overly campy Danzig impression (intentional or not, it is… and it's GREAT), to the cleaner production and over-accentuation of the… I want to say high-hat (I'm probably wrong)… just builds into how cheesy this song is. And let's be honest, the original IS a cheesy song. I'm not really a fan of Danzig's bluesy rock 'n roll stuff but, even with that in mind, “Twist of Cain” is one of the ripest of the bunch.
The Chumleys sound like their just diving into that and having a blast. I can dig that.
Julie: This song just lacks confidence. The guitar in the original is big and bold while the guitar in the cover seems timid and afraid. The vocals do sound like karaoke, but not in a good way. I really think this might be the weakest cover we've heard so far.
Jeff: I'd have to strongly disagree. The guitar in the original, despite the bigger production value that Danzig could bring in, is utterly lifeless and over-produced. The whole song is. In a sense, The Chumleys are basically just taking an already abysmally dull and over-long song and trying to have fun with it. Sure, the guitars lose the center stage they had in the original (which, is good because that riff is 1) basic AF and, 2) gets super-repetitive right quick), but the drums and the bass are much, much fuller.
Everyone's allowed their opinion but, damnit Julie, you're wrong!!! (laughter)
Julie: I feel like everyone is overlooking the fact that everything Danzig does is, at minimum, 30% ironic and intentionally cheesy. Jerry is the one that lacks a sense of irony.
Jeff: Ohhh.. I don't know about that at all. When Danzig left to go out on his own, I think he began to take himself waaay too seriously. In the process losing all of the camp that made Misfits great in the first place. This song does not possess a single iota of intentional irony. Just bad lyrics that someone like Danzig would think sound evil and tough. That kind of stuff works with the Ramonescore style that Misfits played. This song… not so much. At all.
To be honest, I was sooo hoping that The Chumleys would've just sped this one up. Like, a lot. I do think it would've helped. Also, replace that high-hat with a cowbell. “Twist of Cain” couldn't get any cheesier, except if they added a cowbell.
Julie: Really? You think Danzig looks at all that bravado and swagger of his and thinks he doesn't even look just a little bit funny? I don't know, I guess I just hold out hope that no human is capable of lacking that much self awareness.
Jeff: Honestly, I don't. With Misfits it seemed like there was always this subtle wink-nod about the whole thing. But solo-era Danzig, I've never gotten that impression, and I've been subjected to solo Danzig for over 2/3s of my life! (laughter)
In “Skulls” when he sings “Collect the heads of little girls and / Put 'em on my wall / Hack the heads off little girls and / Put 'em on my wall” you think “well, that's gruesome.” But you also laugh a bit because it does sound catchy, and it is so patently absurd that it becomes fun in a campy way. But “Yea twist of Cain / Yea drives my brain / Yea twist of Cain / Make me come alive / 'Cause it does” sounds like some 12yo who just discovered D&D and is learning to play guitar via Zeppelin track trying to sound “evil.”
And, as I've mentioned before, the style of music does not lend itself well to the intent of the lyrics.
Steven: I was not feeling this at all on first listen, probably not helped by my general indifference to the original, however after a couple more listens I definitely see where Jeff is coming from. This is a band who are just having a blast playing what is essentially a pretty terrible song. I can forgive the hollow guitars, because in my head I picture Matty Tubs doing his best John Christ impression and the whole thing just sounds so ridiculously silly that I kinda love it.
Greg: Yeah I think Danzig has forgotten that what made his early work so good was that it was kind of tongue in cheek. Based on his reaction to pretty much everything I don't think he has any sense of humor about himself anymore.
I kind of love this cover though. I haven't listened to the first Danzig record in quite a while and forgot how good this song is. This definitely has a fun energy to it.
Tiffa: I only made it 2:30 before turning this off, does that make me a bad person? Sounds like these guys were having fun, wish I was too.
15 Oct: Mob Rule – “Bullet”
orig. Misfits – Bullet 7″ (1978)
Greg: I'm getting a little burnt out on how straightforward a lot of these covers are, which is a shame because I actually really like Mob Rule‘s version of Bullet. It has a great energy to it and the band is a lot tighter than some of the others we've heard on this comp so far. I just wish that this one had shown up a lot earlier.
Steven: I quite like this, the added guitar parts and marginally faster pacing makes it a little different (albeit not much) from the original. I also like that the vocals from Jordan are about as affected as they need to be in placesc- I would definitely come back to this one again and has made me go and see what else Mob Rule have to offer.
Julie: Is it possible that all the other covers were so straight forward that we're over-praising Mob Rule for what are pretty minor changes? Perhaps, but I still love this cover. First of all, the original ties into Danzig's slightly paranoid lifelong vendetta against the Kennedies, which I know he still has because he brought up at Riot Fest Denver five years ago for their first reunion show. He kept talking about all the dark power the Kennedies have and I was like “Danzig, you're a brilliant lyricist but are any of them currently holding any office?” Mob Rule inject just a touch of hellbilly along with a looser vocal performance to make “Bullet” the unhinged piece of brilliance it was always intended to be.
Jim: The song ended before I could get my thoughts together. Possibly a good sign, because rather than form thoughts about the song, I just listened to it. They drive it a little harder than the original, and the vocalist infuses his own style, which happens to work here where it didn't work so well for The Beaters Band. Definitely a stand out track for me.
Tiffa: Bass is absolutely doing the most in this and I'm here for it. Paired with the real Americana guitar riffs settled behind the familiar track, like Julie said, it becomes a bit hellbilly/psychobilly in essence which makes this stand out among the plethora of straight forward covers & Ramonesification we've been through.
16 Oct: Frankenpine's Monsters – “All Murder All Guts All Fun”
orig. Samhain – Initium (1984)
Julie: I had never heard the original before today, or any other Samhain songs for that matter, and now I'm in love with both the original and this cover. The original sounds like if Danzig wrote the harmless punk theme song to a rebellious-looking-but-actually-fairly-wholesome children's cartoon series, but in a good way. The cover makes the song into something like a deconstructed surf-rock tune. I love the added part at the beginning with the chorus of children chanting “kill.” This feels like that one really creative cover we've been waiting for.
Greg: This might be my favorite track so far. If nothing else, this definitely gets the award for most creative.
Tiffa: This is almost like if Jay Reatard covered The Misfits/Samhain/Any Danzig. I really like the garage/surf element this has, doesn't read as a knock off of the other. There was definitely thought put into this cover.
17 Oct: The Cheap Pops – “Die Die My Darling”
orig. Misfits – Die Die My Darling 7″ (1984)
Julie: This cover doesn't follow too closely to the original at all, and that's great. It's a wickedly fun reimagining of the original as a slicker, more pop-punk style. And when not playing as close to the original as some of these other covers, The Cheap Pops feel more justified in not trying to sing the song like Danzig. This is not just my favorite track off this album so far, I think this could become one of my favorite Misfits covers I've ever heard, and we all know how plentiful the punk world is with Misfits covers.
Greg: I'd really like this cover for its inventiveness but the vocals really don't do it for me. The drum production is very sleek and standard for its genre, but that kind of bass drum / tom tone has always irked.
Tiffa: This is the Misfits if they were on Paper+Plastick Records. I like that they went somewhere else with it but I have to agree with Greg, there's something to the sleekness of this that just puts me off of this brand o' pop punk in general as the instruments tend to sound synthetic the more production that goes behind this. Same thing here though, you can tell a lot of thought went into this cover and for that I have to tip my hat. This is reads as well practiced and rehearsed and not slapped together for this comp at all.
Julie: I guess where we differ is that I don't think that “pop” and “sleekness” are dirty words. I feel like after a certain age I lost the energy to pretend that I don't just goddamn, unironically love pop-punk.
Also, you can't say that this band didn't try to warn you, they literally named themselves The Cheap Pops.
Greg: I didn't mean for it sound like I'm averse to pop and sleekness, but more that there's a specific drum production style that I really don't like haha.
18 Oct: The Rip Taylors – “Braineaters”
orig. Misfits – Walk Among Us (1982)
Julie: “Braineaters,” the Misfits' anomalous closer on Walk Among Us is the band's one and only oi song. Clocking in at less than one minute, I always thought of it as mostly just a throw-away novelty. The Rip Taylors do a fantastic job of transforming this oi song into pop-punk, while keeping all the shouted “Oi oi ois!” in the song. Plus bonus points for the part at the end where the guitar starts playing Green Day's “Brain Stew.” I suppose if you were stuck somewhere where they only served you brains, eventually you'd have some sort of brain stew. Have I been overthinking this one?
Jeff: It's funny because, if the original song wasn't a bit out of left field, this would've just been another in a string of tame covers. But “Braineaters” is one of the more silly songs Misfits ever put out, and The Rip Taylors flip it back into a pop-punk song but really make it their own. It's tighter, they don't do the gang vocals as much, and the ending is pretty funny. I think they really sat back and said “let's enjoy this,” and did.
Greg: I was worried that whoever did this song would not remember how extremely goofy and weird the original is. A+.
Jeff: (laughter)
Tiffa: 10/10, knocked it out of the park. This is so fun and funny and one of the better pop punk translations we've heard so far.
19 Oct: The Abinormals – “Who Killed Marilyn?
orig. Glenn Danzig – Who Killed Marilyn? 7″ (1981)
Greg: Not sure how intentional this is, but I like that The Abinormals are matching the original's production style. The vocal harmonies are a nice touch in an otherwise pretty straightforward cover. The “whoa's” at the end don't work too well though.
Jeff: Yeah, I was really thinking the same thing on all fronts. If anything, the production is even worse on their cover, and it's probably intentional. The original is not the best production in the first place, even for a band that had a lot of bad production (which, I'll admit, is part of their charm). But, yeah, the whoas and screaming and whatnot could've been a little more convincing.
Julie: And further down the Kennedy rabbit hole we go! The original is Danzig's first solo single, although it appears on The Misfits' Legacy of Brutality compilation and the box set. I've never been clear if those versions are actually re-recordings of the song by the actual Misfits or if the solo single is just packaged under the Misfits name because it came out while Danzig was in The Misfits.
I didn't like this cover on first listen but it grew on me by the second. I agree that the bad production adds something fun to it. I didn't have any problems with the whoas at the end. I feel like, if we're going to commend them for intentionally bad production, we have to allow for intentionally sloppy vocals as well.
Jim: Agreed that the “garage” sound on this track works quite well. I tried to google the Abinormals to verify that they have a female lead singer, that did not go well. Their name does not lend itself to googling. She/he did a great job channeling some Glenn Danzig, while still being themself. I'm assuming the band name refers to Young Frankenstein, another feather in their cap.
Jeff: It's a she. The trio is from sunny California!
In hindsight, I realized I made an assumption as to what pronouns the singer of the song uses!
Tiffa: “They” covers what uncertainty can't! Anywho, kudos to The Abinormals because it really sounded like they had fun with this. The quality is slightly above recorded-through-a-tin-can, but I absolutely agree that kind of adds to the charm of this. Sounds like a live recording. I think the only thing holding us back from throwing a fist in the air and woahing along at the end is the recording quality. I think they did a spot on job staying true to the original while not trying to be anything more than the band they already are.
20 Oct: Mad Mulligans – “Hatebreeders”
orig. Misfits – Walk Among Us (1982)
Julie: For the last few tracks we've been lucky enough to have some really creative covers that really put the artist's own spin on it This is not one of those covers.
Jeff: I feel like a broken record at this point, but it's… not bad. It's just not something terribly exciting, though. Mad Mulligans clean up the production a bit, and maybe a bit too much? It's missing some of the bass-y “oomph” of the original, and since the lead singer doesn't try to go deep like Danzig's voice, they should've maybe upped the kick drum and bass to add a little more body. Otherwise, they speed it up by a bit over 20 seconds. This has been mentioned before, but this is one of those songs that is going to be great played live, and the crowd will eat it up. But more could've been done with it.
Greg: I don't really know how else to say what I've been saying with some of these other tracks: A good cover has to give me a reason to not just put on the original and this…doesn't.
Jim: One side benefit of being on a comp, someone might hear you and want to dig into your catalog. Although this isn't the best cover or a really stimulating attempt, there's something about the band, and the singer specifically, that makes me want to listen to their other stuff. I like the style, just maybe not in the context of this song. I'm gonna check it out.
Tiffa: Echoing the sentiment that this is absolutely a banger of a jam at a basement show, bar show, at a fest, or on a set in front of a crowd of aging tuff punx you're losing–but as Greg said, this cover, while charming, doesn't stand apart from the original enough for me to give it a second spin.
21 Oct: TV.STATIC – “Static Age”
orig. Misfits – Horror Business 7″ (1979)
Jeff: Well, there's something a bit different here. I can't tell if the tempo is a bit faster, they cut off the ending, or a bit of both. Either way the cover is a bit shorter by about 10 seconds. Also, instead of the Glenn Danzig yell/projecting his voice, TV.STATIC bring a more subdued set of garage punk-y vocals.
I'm not going to lie, I'm not really a fan of the original, and TV.STATIC's cover does nothing to change my mind on the song. But for a cover that seems pretty by the books, the vocals don't really try to do Danzig at all, and I think that works in their favor.
Julie: This is a hard song to cover in 2021 because, while the overall message of the song is still relevant, some of the technology referenced in the song is a bit outdated. That being said, TV Static—who could not have chosen a better song to match their band name—does a fine job with this song. The main difference is that they sing the lyrics in a monotone, as opposed to Danzig's screaming in the original. The monotone actually works thematically in a song about a boring and repetitive lifestyle.
Greg: Okay. Weirdly the original is in my top 5 Misfits songs so I was excited to see this show up. I like the monotony of the vocals but I do wish they had done something else with it after a bit.
Jim: It's not going to be on repeat in my CD player, but this version works for me. As mentioned by others, the monotone delivery conveys the song's message more accurately than screaming. I mean you can't be mad at everything!! Although I hated Static back in the day. I had to mess with the antenna to get the UHF dialed in. It pissed me off too, Glenn!
Jeff: (laughter)
Tiffa: Oh man I wish I wish I wish this had better production value. So close to being the perfect post-punk jam; imagine a thick, ropey bassline pulling you into the groove with the drums tight & in the pocket, quick little rips on the snare, and the monotone voice reverberating, booming over the twang and whine of the tremolo.
Definitely felt like it ended just as I was getting into it. Not one of the standouts for me, but certainly memorable.
22 Oct: Derek Pereza (of Mad Judy) – “Rat Fink”
orig. Misfits – Night of the Living Dead 7″ (1979)
Jeff: Well, here we go! Derek Pereza does something wildly different while still keeping the cover identifiable. The production quality seems to be as poor and the playing just a sloppy as the original, and I'm hoping that's an intentional homage because this punk-a-billy version is stupidly fun. Pereza definitely sounds like he's having fucking blast with this and I am 100% on the ride with him.
Julie: This is a weird one to cover because The Misfits' version wasn't the original. It was a cover of a song by Allan Sherman in 1963. And Sherman's song was itself a parody of the 1949 novelty tune “Rag Mop” by Johnnie Lee Willis and Deacon Anderson. So Derek Pereza is covering a cover of a parody of a song from 1949. I agree that the psychbilly element serves the song well, especially considering the original versions had a sort of swing feel to them.
Jeff: Well color me informed! Thanks for the history lesson.
I guess with the conceit of the comp being “Misfits and Misfits related” even a cover would still count, then? (laughter)
Greg: I'm SO into this cover. That's all. Thank you for your service Derek.
Tiffa: This RULES and so do Julie's history's lessons. Derek is fantastic, everytime I thought he was gonna put the song to bed, it kept going. Ya got me, Derek!
23 Oct: Couch Potato Massacre – “Halloween”
orig. Misfits – Halloween 7″ (1981)
Jeff: I'm surprised this came so soon, unless they plan on doing “Halloween II” on the 31st.
Julie: Agreed. I thought it would come out on, you know, Halloween. What's more, this is probably the most covered Misfits song of all time, from AFI to Dropkick Murphys to Alkaline Trio, and so it's really a challenge to make your version stand out from the crowd, and Couch Potato Massacre fails to do that.
Jeff: I don't know if it's entirely fair to compare this to other covers, and better to just judge it on its own merits. With that in mind, this isn't a terribly creative cover, but it's not a failure by any means. Few, if any of these are actual “failures,” they just lack a creativity to try something out of the box– in relation to both the Misfits and/or the band's ouvre. I can't really tell if this song has a faster tempo, but even with the soundbite intro it finishes faster than the original. The music is close to cookie cutter, just sounds like a better recording. But what I dig about this is that the singer doesn't really try to mimic Danzig and, often, cuts the other way in delivery from the original. Also, you can actually UNDERSTAND the lyrics with this. I know Misfits often suffer from rushed/poor recording, but even the original “Halloween” compounds with Danzig seemingly upping his mumble game.
Jim: Always better to start the festivities early, so they dropped this one before Halloween. Cool. The extreme low fi production in the original sorta irks me. CPM glossed it up with some catchy vocals. I like it. Halloween is fun, and these guys convey that. I'm not sure about dead cats hanging from poles or razorblades as good-time images, but they have fun with it and isn't that the point?
Greg: The vocals are so carefully measured that this just isn't fun to listen to.
Tiffa: I couldn't agree more and I will not stand for this erasure of the Mid-Atlantic accent/changing pronunciations of words to make it more singable. If the change of cadence in the verses only happened once maybe it could've worked, but for me it made this under 2 min long song feel like an eternity. Or maybe this guy is a huge fan of Ween and this was the only way he could work in a tribute in what is already a tribute piece.
Steven: That effect of ‘weeeeen' at the end of each utterance of the word must be done with a firm amount of tongue in cheek, and if so then I say bravo to them as this is a pretty fun cover – the vocal (aside from earlier comment) are pretty effective and the guitar work is solid. I mean one of their other songs uses the word Meeseek and there is no emphasis on the double ‘ee' so I'm guessing it's put on just for a reaction.
Tiffa: So it was a troll all along? What a twist!
Jeff: (laughter)
24 Oct: The Thorazines “Return of The Fly”
orig. Misfits from Collection II (1995) originally recorded during the Static Age sessions
Julie: I love the original on this one, but the vocals o the cover just aren't doing it for me. It's not just that the vocalist doesn't sound like Danzig, but his voice is actually grating on me by the end.
Jeff: So, you don't like Australians? (laughter)I'm a fan of The Thorazines, so I might be used to his voice so it doesn't rally bother me.
Overall, this falls a lot under the “straight-forward cover” criticism that we've all been expressing.
Jim: I know I've heard of The Thorazines, but I can't remember from where. The original isn't my fave because of all the repetition. I just can't handle repetitive songs. The only thing that makes it palatable is Danzig. No Danzig here and the singer doesn't make up for it.
Greg: Totally agreed Jim. This vocalist is having a really hard time cashing the check that this song asks him to write.
Tiffa: Greg, you're saying some really beautiful stuff in this overall, can I just say? lol This definitely sounds like someone asked them to do a Misfits cover and they went through all the motions of what it takes to do that (not much) and it sounds like that's the amount of effort we got back. Is it bad? No, but it, like a lot of other tracks on the album, is just a Misfits song done by A Band and not A Band's rendition of said Misfits song, if that makes sense. I think what I want to say is that so far, the most enjoyable covers have been the ones where the covering band's style/sound/finesse isn't lost under the song. That is to say, the Band is playing the song instead of the song playing the Band.
Steven: Ok, yes this is repetitve, but it's only 90 seconds and I think it's pretty decent. The vocalist isn't trying to impersonate danzig, but I don't think he struggles with it and the absolutelu terrible falsetto background vocals almost made me spit my tea out and definitely falls in the ‘so bad its kinda good' category. Not bad.
Tune in tomorrow for Part 3 of our track-by-track discussion, including Final Thoughts
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He's lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.