Dusk of the Dickies

Doctor X posts this from the Red Devil Lounge:

"God I loved that band...1st Cali punk band signed to a major label...used to open for the Ramones from time to time. They rocked, and they were funny. Who else could get away this? But they went off the tracks and disappeared with all my other favorite bands - the Mumps, the Swinging Madisons (if your kids ask what 1982 was like, show them this), Blotto. They were too fun to live. Punk started out angry and killed anything that wasn't. The Dickies died, and the Dead Kennedys did the deed.

"They sure were good for a while there, though. According to my objective musicological analysis, 'Nights in White Satin' is one of the three greatest rock songs ever committed to vinyl. The Father is 'Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress', smouldering, juvenile, and perfect. The Son is 'Girls Got Rhythm', which Sepp Gruentagg has proven scientifically to rock harder than anything else has ever rocked (specifically, at 2:31, although one of my impudent students argues for 2:22). The Holy Spirit, though, is 'Nights in White Satin' (sorry about the costumes), a totally committed, manic reimagining of a great precursor, discarding all that was false in the original, reaffirming all that was right, and touching it with the magical healing power of ROCK, without changing a note.

"Apart from creating one of the three greatest rock songs in history, the Dickies have one other claim to deep musical significance. Before the Dickies punk bands mostly covered good songs. It wasn't really understood yet that almost any song could be a rock song. After 'Gigantor', it was obvious, and the way was clear for a thousand imitators.

"I have a weakness for uneven acts, and if The Dickies didn't invent uneven, they surely perfected it. No band has better exemplified the aphorism that "there's a fine line between clever and stupid." The Dickies often managed to be clever, stupid, serious, foolish, good, and bad, almost in the same breath ('She's a Hunchback', '83). But they were never dull, and no one walked out of their shows feeling bad.

"The Hollies and AC/DC get their due, still touring, working the crowd like an ATM machine. And the Dickies tour too. Not for money or fame, I wouldn't think, but...and this has always been their secret...for fun. Real rock is fun. Here they are at the Red Devil Lounge a couple weeks ago, practicing their art."