Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist: 5/4/12

Acid Baby Jesus is dirty garage pop punk made by bratty Greek kids from Athens. Pertaining to their self–titled debut LP from Slovenly Records, I’ve heard comparisons to the psych punk of the Black Lips as well as to the drugs–era Beatles, which is more than apparent in “You Had it Coming,” a song that they should be sued for, as they directly rip off the opening riff of “I Saw Her Standing There.” My favorite songs are the stomping epic “Tomboy,” a fitting soundtrack for the Greek riots, and “I’m a Baby,” a song that fingers your heart in the cutest and yet creepiest way. Another highlight is the chaotic yet orchestral “Fingerpainting,” the soundtrack to your slow descent into insanity. I’m half Greek myself, and pleased to see that the Greek art scene is blossoming. This album is only foreshadowing what’s to come.

By now, everyone should know about NoBunny, as he is the world’s new favorite rabbit. Although his album Raw Romance was originally released in 2009, Burger (the best label ever) re–released it on CD in 2011. The contents of this CD differ from NoBunny’s usual brand of super catchy garage pop. This is more like a NoBunny campfire medley, as most of the songs are done acoustically and there is an absence of percussion. It seems more like leftover scraps from other albums. There are a couple live recordings (DOIN IT LIVE), including a very touching rendition of “Tonight You Belong to Me” with a ukulele (of course). There is also an alternate acoustic version of perhaps their catchiest hit “I Am a Girlfriend,” which retains all of its catchy, punky, stalkery, serial–killery glory, even quoting Silence of the Lambs. Overall, this is definitely an album for die hard NoBunny fans; if your ears have not felt his glorious penetration, I would recommend that you immediately listen to the essential Love Visions.

Now that you know what I’ve been listening to, you may be wondering what has recently penetrated my eye sockets and wormed its way into my fried, useless brain. In the 1995 black and white Western Dead Man, Johnny Depp stars as a city slicker who travels to the South in the hopes of getting a job but has to go on the lamb after being framed for murdering a prostitute and her fiancé. He meets a Native American shaman named Nobody and together they share some wacky adventures. The soundtrack is Neil Young slowly eating a guitar with full power distortion, which ends up sounding like Earth. Iggy Pop plays a bean–eating transvestite.

In terms of other cinematic masterpieces, check out the Evil Dead series if you like dumb catch phrases, chainsaw arms and floating demon zombies, or Scarface if you like cheesy ‘80s montages and mountains of cocaine. Seek out copies of my old ‘zine (short for magazine), Strange Fruit, at various bookstores, and keep your eyes peeled and salted for my new zine, Sh*t Your Pants and Do the Death Dance, which I will be distributing in the coming months.