Not long after I discovered the The Rocky Horror Picture Show in one fell night
of toast, water pistols, and drunken debauchery (I was 17 at the time), a friend
of mine introduced me to Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies. If you haven't
heard of the Gimmies, they're a punk band that plays nothing but cover songs.
They've covered everything from Don't Cry For Me, Argentina to Summer
Lovin'...
But I digress.
So it seemed natural that one night, driving home from a midnight
showing listening to a Gimmie's cd, that it should occur to me
that a punk-rock cover of some of the Rocky Horror songs would make some
mighty good listening. So I went home, fired up my computer, and discovered...
The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show
I have never went from complete ignorance of a thing's existence,
to a desperate craving for, and then to actual ownership so fast in my life. The RHPRS was
released in the fall of 2003 by Springman Records (a seriously cool minor record
label), and includes major label bands like The Ataris, Me First & The Gimmie
Gimmies (of course!) and Alkaline Trio. But the real jewel on this album are
the otherwise-undiscovered bands: The Secretions, Gametime, The Phenomenauts.
Oh, see for yourself:
1 . Science Fiction Double Feature - Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies
2 . Dammit, Janet - Love Equals Death
3 . Over at the Frankenstein Place - Alkaline Trio
4 . The Time Warp - Groovie Ghoulies
5 . Sweet Transvestite - Apocalypse Hoboken
6 . The Sword Of Damocles - The Independents
7 . I Can Make You A Man - Pansy Division
8 . Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul) - The Phenomenauts
9 . I Can Make You A Man (Reprise) - The Secretions
10 . Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me - Caroline No
11 . Once In A While - Big D And The Kids Table
12 . Eddie - Swingin Utters
13 . Planet, Schmanet, Janet - Tsunami Bomb
14 . Rose Tint My World/Floor Show - Luckie Strike
15 . Fanfair/Don't Dream It - Stunt Monkey
16 . Wild And Untamed Thing - Gametime
17 . I'm Going Home - The Migranes
18 . Super Heroes - Ruth's Hat
19 . Science Fiction Double Feature (Reprise) - The Ataris
The entire RHPS soundtrack is there, in correct
order, including "Super Heroes" which didn't make it into the first re-release, but is present in the theatre, anniversary, and DVD versions of the movie. It's fast, hard, and seriously punk rock, but somehow you get the feeling
that every one of these songs somehow does justice to their originals. The
artists come across as having a serious respect for their absurdly silly songs;
they kept the precious timing ("Antici -- SAY IT! --
pation!"), without just re-playing the original. You can order the album online (www.springmanrecords.com), find it in an indie record store, or as a last resort, buy it in a Hot Topic
Thanks SansPoint for the "Super Heroes" correction!