Crippled Children Suck

Collected in its full on the Stud Powercock compilation, which was released on CD at pretty much the same time, Crippled Children Suck on its own makes for just the treat that any self-respecting vinyl fetishist who loves the Meatmen needs -- unsettling as that prospect may be. The original Crippled Children Suck EP is the core of what's here, along with various other studio and live tracks fleshing out everything to make an entertainingly disgusting experience, if so wished. "Crippled Children Suck" itself is actually one of the band's best, taking on the most sentimental target imaginable (and therefore the most ready of stupid contempt) with the brusqueness that Oscar Wilde referred to when talking about how there was nothing funnier than a crying child. The one studio track that didn't appear on We're the Meatmen album itself, "Spread Scat Boogie #2," casts a fair amount of contempt on things over a rumbling Bo Diddley beat while using call-and-response vocals in a way that could theoretically be outlawed in some countries. "TSOL Are Sissies" turns up here as well as on Stud Powercock -- an outtake from the We're the Meatmen concert, it really should have appeared on there if only to see what in the world the response track would have been like. If nothing else, it's an anthem for those who hated L.A. punk and still do (and anyone who heard the bad hair metal version of the band from the late '80s couldn't be blamed). Besides studio takes on such supposedly well-loved tracks as "Blow Me Jah," which, if it weren't actually a straight-up punk track, could arguably be the worst attempt at reggae yet asserted, the original demos of the group surface as well -- "Tooling for Anus" may lack the perversely hilarious skit from the Blud Sausage EP, but otherwise the sentiment remains unchanged. ~ Ned Raggett