The Cramps – Flame Job

Originally written around 2014. I mostly feel the same way today. I would define “dangerous” differently at 44 than even I would have at 34, and definitely differently than at 14, but the rest remains the same.

It was 1994. I was watching 120 Minutes on MTV and they played “Ultra Twist” by The Cramps. I cannot be certain of the time of year – if it was the end of middle school, the beginning of high school or the summer in between. All I know is this video blew my mind. Perhaps I had seen their name somewhere before, perhaps I'd seen a t-shirt somewhere before, I don't know. What I do know is that I'd never heard or seen them before and it blew my mind.

First off, visually, this looked like a party I wanted to attend. Flirtatious revelers doing the twist, the band in skin tight vinyl clothing – including Ms. Poison Ivy, who seems to never age. Lux was wearing high heels and while my 14-year-old self thought that was crazy, I loved his willingness to push the envelope. Having grown up during the 80's I was used to guys in make-up and tight leather. Lux made more of an impact visually while not trying nearly as hard. 

Secondly, and most importantly, sonically - they rocked. It was simple. It's more or less four notes or chords, but it grooves, it has attitude, it’s sexy, it has everything a 14-year-old boy obsessed with the 1950's could ask for and then some. I'd been playing guitar for two or three years at this point and I could play this song. I'm still, 20 years later, not the guitar player Ivy is, but I could play this song. 

I still hadn't found Social Distortion yet, but here was rockabilly meeting punk. I grew up on old country and rockabilly through my family (in addition to 80's pop and rock on the radio), and this made me look at punk in a whole new way. Punk was still fairly new to me at the time and all I knew of it was hard and fast power chords. This aided my search for individuality by showing me that punk is whatever the fuck I wanted it to be. 

My love affair with The Cramps continues and Lux has been gone now for five years as of today. 

The Cramps helped me find my way back to early rockabilly and blues records. They helped me appreciate the genius of nameless artists. They taught me to push the envelope, that there is a plethora of amazing music out there to be found and that music is still performance art.

And most importantly - they taught me that rock and roll is supposed to be dangerous. Today, three generations have been listening to rock music, it's become safe. You have parents taking kids to see everyone from Aerosmith to Marilyn Manson and that is not right. Your parents are supposed to hate your music and call it “devil worship” and all kinds of other hyperbole. When did rock and roll become about conformity?

Gross.

Lux, the torch that you and Ivy lit in so many of us still burns and I will do whatever little things I can to keep the fire burning. One of my only regrets in life is that I never got to see a Cramps show, but nonetheless, you had a huge impact on me. Wherever you are, out in the ether, your spirit lives on here in all of us you touched. Rest in peace Lux Interior.