YOUNG, LOUD, AND SNOTTY
February 23, 2010
Posted by Bil

I remember the first time I heard the Dead Boys, sitting on the bedroom floor at my best friend's house in the 7th grade, reading Maximum Rock-n-Roll and affixing pyramid studs to a black hoodie already covered in patches, buttons, and safety pins. Formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975 they were initially known as Frankenstein and had evolved out of the band Rocket From The Tomb. After Joey Ramone persuaded them to move to New York City in 1976, they changed their name from Frankenstein to the now infamous Dead Boys. Power chord-driven songs, incoherent and slurred vocals, and outrageous live performances helped cement their place in the early punk rock movement in America. They are also known as writing one of the greatest punk anthems of our time, Sonic Reducer. Their fuck-off attitude, love of the crass, and dismay for settling into a complacent life resonated in songs like Dead and Alive, I Need Lunch, All This and More, and Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth.

Lead singer Stiv Bators was known for lewd and inappropriate stage antics, including self mutilation, simulated homosexual acts, and incessant profanity and lewd behavior. The vulgar and nihilistic lead singer was also notorious for exposing himself during photo-shoots, even going as far as hanging himself during a live show (with his post Dead Boys band, The Lords of The New Church), a stunt that went awry and led to him being pronounced legally dead for several minutes. The Dead Boys eventually broke up in 1979, just two albums into their career, as a result of heavy pressure from their record label, Sire Records, to write more pop-oriented, radio-friendly material. Bators later went on to star in John Waters film, Polyester, and eventually moved to Paris where he died in his sleep (summer of 1990) after crossing a street drunk and being struck by a taxi. In the director's commentary of the film "Polyester," John Waters, in relating Bators' death, stated that Bators' girlfriend had snorted his ashes, although there is also a rumor that they were spread across the grave of Jim Morrison, per Bators' request. Fans of the Dead Boys included John Belushi, Lou Reed, Divine, and G.G. Allen, among many others. You can buy their SHIT at Amazon or MusicStack, and I encourage you to hunt for vinyl copies as well.

Dead Boys - Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth (192 kbps) | Download

Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer (128 kbps) | Download

Dead Boys - Dead and Alive (160 kbps) | Download