junk rock
I’m sure most of you know The Troggs, those cave-dwelling 60s British invaders, for their pummeling smash hit “Wild Thing,” later covered by a certain Mr. Hendrix who torched his axe at the climax of the song at the Monterey Pop Festival back in the hippie daze of 1967. Their simple, three-chord, two minute pop songs laid the groundwork, in a small way at least, for punk rock. But have you checked out the video for their song “A Girl Like You”? It stands, to me at least, as one of the most charming pieces of naive rock art ever. I dare you to not to crack a smile watching Reg Presley try to “ba ba ba” his way into a young lady’s heart:
These guys are beyond great! But there’s more… a clandestine recording of a heated studio argument between the boys is cited by some as the inspiration for “This Is Spinal Tap”! The infamous “Troggs Tapes” lay bare the absurdity of rock stardom. Sort of. Mostly this clip just captures the frustration of a band at a creative dead end. What to do when the record company expects a hit and you ain’t got shit? Well… scream at each other!
That’s show-biz, baby. A sweet little love song and then “fuck” 103 times in 5 and a half minutes. So it goes…