Saturday 5 January 2008

VARIOUS – THE BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD EXPERIENCE (GEFFEN)


VARIOUS – THE BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD EXPERIENCE (GEFFEN)

Back in late 1993 this was an undignified return of Nirvana to record.  Kurt was still around (just about) and he hardly appeared to have much in common with Beavis and Butthead, indeed in many ways they were the audience Cobain appeared fearful of appealing to.  However the sad reality was this compilation shared a label with the band and thus strings were shorter to pull.

With the benefit of hindsight to include “I Hate Myself And Want To Die” on a cheap and nasty album like this feels painfully crass.  The title of the track (and almost their final album) was not so much a cry for help, more a painful reality that nobody really took seriously.  What a fucking situation.

It begins with crowd cheering then the cartoon pair making guitar noises before said Nirvana off cut drops in all during the course of the first CD track.  And a Nirvana off cut always tended to be of ten times the value of most bands.  Sounding straight off In Utero it has trademark Albini drums and a gnarly guitar snarl.  It made the album worth buying to me.

Then reality kicks in as Anthrax follow first conversing with Beavis and Butthead in an excruciating manner before delivering a naff and pointless cover of “Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun” by the Beastie Boys.  The pair was always more Headbangers Ball than 120 Minutes.

By this stage the joke has already worn wafer thin ahead of appearances by big hitters such as Aerosmith, Run DMC, Megadeth and White Zombie.  That said the Megadeth contribution “99 Ways To Die” isn’t bad (thanks to a decent hook) even if Dave Mustaine does sound like Beavis on it.

Things turn wacky was Primus, Sir Mix-A-Lot and Jackyl chip in with the expected contributions, although for a while I did find myself partial to the term of “Mental Masturbation” as used by the latter.

At the eleventh hour the Red Hot Chili Peppers manage to storm proceedings with a spot on cover version of “Search And Destroy”, a take faithful and ballsy enough to held up to The Stooges’ original.  For this collection though, its too little too late to up the overall stakes.

Then it all ends with the abortion that was their “duet” with Cher and their version of “I’ve Got You Babe” complete with dig at Sonny Bono.  It’s a fucking mess, as was most of the album.  Time has not been kind.

Never buy into nostalgia.

Thesaurus moment: morbid.

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