The Frogs, the Gods Themselves, Ball Bag
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Like a Midwestern Fugs, Milwaukee brothers Dennis and Jimmy Flemion used subversive, sometimes crass humor and folk-rock structures to make you reassess the value of seriousness in music. The Frogs leapt to cult notoriety with their ludicrously lewd 1989 LP It's Only Right and Natural—which finally received a reissue last year. On it, the Flemion bros flouted decorum and religiosity, and celebrated homosexual licentiousness and narcotics. Racially Yours (1993) controversially tackled racial issues with the duo’s trademark brashness. The Frogs became infamous for meshing hilarious lyrics with sincere music, an unconventional approach that they’ve executed brilliantly. Now the surviving Flemion, Jimmy, is touring behind a newly excavated album from 1986, 1st, with Lemonheads mastermind Evan Dando helping out, and despite the songs being more than three decades old, one imagines that they’ll penetrate noggins with a rancid freshness. Don’t forget to shout a request for “Who's Sucking on Grandpa's Balls Since Grandma Ain't Home Tonight?”
by Dave Segal