FOLLOW US ON:
GET THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
Disrespectfully updated punk Simon & Garfunkel covers
12.30.2015
01:44 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
The Coolies were an alternative band out of Atlanta during the mid- to late 1980s with a jokey sensibility reminiscent of generational confrères the Dead Milkmen, Stormtroopers of Death, Camper Van Beethoven, etc. They didn’t last too long, but they put out two albums before folding in 1989, and they were a beloved band in their hometown while they lasted.

Audaciously, the Coolies’ first album, dig..?, which came out in 1986, consisted entirely of nine punky Simon and Garfunkel covers and a bruising rendition of Paul Anka’s 1974 #1 hit “(You’re) Having My Baby.” The strategy was perfect for a band with its roots in punk but just maybe, without all that much to say. Recalling David Letterman’s early days, it was a viable strategy of the moment to throw real pencils through fake windows.

The Coolies’ charismatic frontman was Clay Harper, who later became a local entrepreneur, running the Fellini’s Pizza and La Fonda paella chains. dig..? came out on DB Recs, a thriving regional label probably best known for being the first company to release music by the B-52’s when it put out “Rock Lobster” in 1978; additionally, DB Recs put out Pylon’s first two albums and stuff by Bill Berry’s old combo Love Tractor.
 

 
Shortly after its release, Greil Marcus wrote about dig..? in the pages of the Village Voice, describing it as “a precise and gleeful mutilation of Paul Simon hits. ... it may be only copyright control that keeps the Coolies from taking on the townhouse jive of Graceland next, which deserves it more.”

Not all of the tracks from dig..? are on YouTube, but a few of them are available. The one I want to hear the most is “Mrs. Robinson,” of course:
 
“Scarborough Fair”

 
Much more after the jump…..

READ ON
Posted by Martin Schneider
|
12.30.2015
01:44 pm
|