The Cramps’ lead singer, Lux Interior, passed away last month. To celebrate his life, the excellent Jersey City radio station WFMU has made 13 hours of his favorite music available for downloading.
Well-known bands like the Kinks and the Stooges are represented — as are Bo Diddley and, oddly, Richard Strauss. But the bulk of the collection’s made up of obscure 45s, novelty songs, garage-band rave-ups: The Collins Kids’ minute-and-a-half-long “Whistle Bait.” The Chips’ “Rubber Biscuit.” Robert Mitchum’s (yes, that Robert Mitchum’s) “Ballad of Thunder Road.” The selections are songs that Lux and his wife, Poison Ivy, named in an interview (and because WFMU’s website can be a bit overwhelming, we recommend the alternate download links provided by Phawker.com). There are 300-plus songs in all — and our favorite by far is the Clovers’ decidedly NSFW reworking of “Dark Town Strutter’s Ball.” The title alone would make Prince blush.
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