special introductory
paragraph!
The Crucifucks
Wisconsin
Our Will Be Done
L.D. Eye
No it's not pronounced "The
Crucky-fucks." It's like "Crucifix" see, but they..oh jeece. Led by a guy
named Doc Corbin Dart who literally sounds like somebody's cranky old
grandmother (as my pal CB Smith once said to me, "You didn't tell me that he
sings like that on the whole album!"), The Crucifucks began as a midtempo
punk band with really violent political lyrics, then progressed into a more
musical rock band with really violent INSANE lyrics before Doc turned to
more personal issues (he literally was going crazy - it wasn't
an act. He has borderline personality disorder and lost his family and a whole
lot of happiness as a result), to which he has stuck thus far no matter
where his musical muse has taken him. In retrospect, I have to admit that
that was a long sentence.
This is where it becomes clear exactly how bad my musical tastes are. Throw me any classic - any classic at all - and I'll find something about it to complain about. Revolver? Fuckin' "Here There and Everywhere" sucks Bobby Cox. Dark Side Of The Moon? What's with that awful screaming broad on "The Great Gig In The Sky"? Who's Next? More like Who's Overrated! Yet I can honestly in all my infinite wisdom find nothing to complain about on this album. Songs too slow? Yes they're as slow as the Sex Pistols, but it doesn't matter. They're perfect. Singer's voice so annoying that my fiancee last night demanded, "Can you do something about this CD please?" Yep. But I don't care. I love Doc Corbin Dart's horrid voice. Lyrics stupid predictable punk fare? Yep, but they're so damn violent, I don't mind at all! Riffs no great shakes? No! Yes they are! They're simple and scraggly but great! Their oddness fits Doc's sick world vision perfectly. I love the simple crisp mix. The drumming is by current-Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and is as tempered and studied as Doc's lyrics, most likely squeezed out of his mind as a huge vein pounded in and out on his forehead. The bass lines are great and the guitar sound is REALLY evil-sounding. Not like metal evil, but "guys who think it's funny when bombs kill people" funny. And the lyrics? Can I get to them now instead of just alluding? Okay here I go. Let me switch paragraphs real quick.
Sample song titles: "Go Bankrupt and Die," "Cops For Fertilizer," "Hinckley Had A Vision," "Legal Genocide." Sample lyrics: "Let's kill the fucking pigs if they get in our way/It'll set a good example for the children today/It'll keep kids out of trouble shooting pigs after school/Wasting cops will be the hero's golden rule." Sample between-song samples: the band members all laughing uncontrollably as a newscaster reads a story about innocent people being killed. Yeef. YEEPR! But is it all politically violent? No. A few of the more bizarre songs address unhealthy suburban obsessive issues of the sort that Doc was probably all too familiar. "I am going to empty this ashtray, in about half an hour. Should this glass be sitting on this particular corner of the table?," "I can't find my piece of paper! I should have been more careful with my piece of paper!," "My kitchen counter is flat, and has canisters on it. Does yours? Oh I hope so!"
Those were from three DIFFERENT songs. Scared yet?
This is the stuff that would make your parents shit in their shorts. For all you young'uns who missed out on when Hardcore was really HARDCORE search out Mr. Peabody and his way back machine or something. Play this with all the bass turned off (at full volume, of course) and wallow in Doc's shrill. This shit will peel the paint off your walls. GIVE ME YOUR MONEY/ I DON'T HAVE TO MAKE IT!!!!
Liked the comparison to Syd, Krinkledick. You should write the evening news. You a funny guy. The best review site on the net.
You mentioned the band members laughing at a news report. I am pretty sure it wasn't over a news story about people dying, it was about some vandalism (I think directed towards police property) which I always thought could have been perpetrated by the band members themselves. I could just go put on the CD but I am too lazy to go do it. LAter man.
I can’t remember who played first but I remember is some skinny motherfucker rolling around like a stuck pig and sounding like one too! And let me tell you I’m still looking for that piece of paper to. The Crucifucks changed my life forever and if you don’t like them you never seen them they still influence music today; if you don’t here it try paying attention you fucking faggot. 1984 was probably when you were born, but you were not there so shut the fuck up!
Doc Corbin Dart - vocals
Gus Varner - guitar
Joe Dart (Doc's cousin) - bass
Steve Shelley - drums
Unbelievable - one of the cruelest, most violent and perversely, wickedly entertaining records ever. From East Lansing, too, where I used to live.
I just came across your review site. Cool stuff! I just had a few comments about the first Crucifucks album.
I saw the original Crucifucks line-up play live at a house party in Flint, MI before this album came out. To this day, I mark it as the best live show I have ever been to in my life! They were jaw-droppingly breathtakingly great! Trying to explain it in detail is simply not possible. It was one of those rare circumstances where you just had to be there to believe it. That’s why I was so glad that the first album captured the energy and insanity of these early live performances. If I had to compile a list of the all-time great punk albums, this would easily be in my top three.
Another point about the production: many bass-playing friends of mine have commented that the bass sound on this album is perhaps the best they have ever heard. Just thought I’d pass that along.
Thanks for the cool site!
From what I understand, Mr. Dart replaced his entire band before recording this second album. And if true, it's certainly no surprise once you listen to the record. This is melodic rock music! Parts are countryish, others are almost hippyishly psychedelic, a couple are almost like metal -- but it's NOT punk rock! The guitar plays arpeggios, acoustic passages and leads, and Doc actually SINGS instead of squealing! Some of the songs are really pretty too (especially the title track, one of the honest-to-god saddest songs I will ever hear in my days here on the Lord's Green Pastures, NY).
But it's the lyrics you want to know about, right? Okay, well there are no between-track snippets here, but you DO get a few more alluring song titles like "Pig In A Blanket" (about, of course, killing cops), "Earth By Invitation Only" and "When The Top Comes Off." Most of the real fun lies in the actual lyrics though -- this stuff goes beyond mere political bitching -- lyrics like "If it weren't for all of the friends I've made/I would have bombed more than one fucking holiday parade" sit uneasily alongside Doc's maniacal delusions (in one especially bizarre rant, he exclaims, "You must be wondering how I know all of these things. Well, you know.... I'm God!"). See, I've always considered these lyrics a little too bizarre to be coming from a sane mind - and this was long before I read about Doc's mental disorder. So here it is - even clearer than Brian Wilson and maybe even Syd Barrett -- audio documentation of a scrambled mind. Are you sure about that, Mark? Uhhh no, it's perfectly sane to write lyrics like "Just like the Berlin disco and the chumps inside/And the stupid space shuttle and the fools that cried...." Yes. That's normal.
Musically, I suppose one or two of the songs are a little non-descript (for example, "Artificial Competition" has great lyrics attacking hypocritical liberals but the music backing might as well be from a Cat Stevens songs), but it's the most diverse Crucifucks record available and most of it ranges from wonderfully catchy to just genius popcraft - especially "Pigs In A Blanket," "The Savior" and the aforementioned title track. And even better lyrics than the first time around!
Holy shit.
How on earth could anyone be disappointed by such brilliance?
This is a simply astounding piece of work, and anyone who says the first album's better has got another think coming. "Wisconsin" is definitely not a hardcore album at all, though. The music is extraordinarily varied, passionately played, and catchy, and both Doc's voice and the lyrics drip with pain and disgust. Doc's voice is still very offputting, but that is par for the course. "Pig In A Blanket" is one of the most insanely and spitefully cruel songs ever recorded (is that break with the reversed voice through the cop radio supposed to be there?), "When The Top Comes Off" is the catchiest and scariest song ever written about being a worm in a fishing jar, the unbelievable, musically wistful, and infectious "Concession Stand," and the wrenching pathos of "Wisconsin" strikes to the heart. That break on "When The Top Comes Off," where the guitars are burbling and gasping and shrieking with feedback, while Doc lists all the things that he is, and ending with his infamous declaration that he's God...it's absolutely terrifying. NO one would have thought of that except Doc. And then the band just drives straight back into the song as if nothing had happened? It's a great performance.
But "The Savior" is simply indescribable. Nothing I could say about this song would do it justice.
Some of this material sounds a little influenced by the Buzzcocks, but I don't think they were ever this varied. "Wisconsin" is just amazing, and I can't believe this doesn't feature on any Best of the '80's lists. Well, actually, I'm not surprised - Doc's voice is a definite flaw, and I think he could have done better with some of the vocals here. But so many of these songs are just fantastic. Sad, and hurt, and, frankly, deranged, but fantastic.
Not the entire band was replaced. Gus Varner, the guitarist on the first album, is still playing on this one. I think the bassist and the drummer were, though. But you can't really hear much difference - the rhythm section's performance here, as on the debut, is immaculate. Who were the bassist and drummer on "Wisconsin"? The mix here is not as balanced as the first album: the guitars take much more precendence in the overall sonic picture, and as such, the album is a lot more trebly. Don't worry, though - the drums and the bass sound great still; it's just that the first album was SO well produced and mixed that many albums would have trouble comparing in that regard. Have you ever seen the original cover of this album? It's hilarious! The band's name and the album name are spelled out in that fake-log font you see in Yogi Bear cartoons against a black background, and a cutout of the state that's in blue.
This album is absolutely brilliant.
Beyond perfect. Just the greatest - the kind of package that makes me want to kiss an Alternative Tentacles decision-maker. Not on the mouth though; I don't want Jello Biafra's cum dripping onto my tongue. This is a CD reissue of the first two Crucifucks albums, showing both the bitter punk and insane melodic sides of Doc Corbin Dart and his hired hands. Also features a great bonus track from the first band and a hilarious back cover that got Alternative Tentacles sued. Check it out - it's a hoot!
Most importantly I was also a local touring stage bouncer for Black Flag. I still keep in contact with perpetually self loathing however comically sucessful businessman Henry Rollins. (real name Henry Garfield for those interested).
The point of this ramble was that not only was I a die hard Crucifucks fan, but had the pleasure to see them live after their first release on A.T. prior to Wisconsin. I remember clearly Doc Dart being a diminuative slightly effeminate man. There was no self mutilation to speak of, however their set was cut short when an argument between Dart and a member of the crowd escalated into the spectator mounting the stage and striking Dart with his own microphone. Dart immediately vommited and left the stage. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for that unimposing man and hope that he is doing well. That particular show in Palo Alto CA was like the Monsters of Rock tour. Black Flag, Seven Seconds, Decry, Crucifucks, and The Dead Kennedys. DK was the hardcore version of Van Halen at the time and could not be missed.
I have grown and changed many times in the twenty years since that show. I am currently in the process of being medically retired from the Metropolitan Police Department here in Washington D.C. for Severe post traumatic stress disorder and major depression after fighting on these streets for nine years. So I understand a little about mental illness. I also once again understand hardcores hatred for the system having been a part of it for so long. Strange....Crucifucks...Police Officer.....Back to listening to the Crucifucks this morning in my basement. Thank god for Our will be Done which I purchased in 1995. I no longer have any of my LP's.
As far as scathing lyrics go.. SO ANYONE FOOLISH AND CALLOUS ENOUGH TO WEAR A UNIFORM....SO PROUD OF THE TERROR IT REPRESENTS WILL BE SORRY THAT THEY WERE BORN...IF THEY REALLY BELIEVE THAT THE USA SHOULD ROAM AND RULE THE WORLD...THEN THEIR FAMILIES CAN WIPE THE SPERM FROM THEIR DEAD UPPER LIPS WITH THE AMERICAN FLAG UNFURLED
Thanks for the site and for listening
"We have us a winner of the Tigers Mystery Classic. His name, believe it or not, is Doc Dart of Lansing, and he correctly identified tonight's Mystery Classic, which was ELO's 'Do Ya.' He won forty dollars."
Why in hell would you insert a backmasked DJ's voice over the radio announcing the prize you won in the middle of a vicious rant about killing cops?
I thought the title was an Iggy Pop reference too, actually. Either that or LSD. Apparently Doc now goes by "Little Doc Corbin Dart," and it stands for Little Doc's Eye. He had actually intended to call the BAND that, but was told by the corporate swine at Alternative Tentacles that they wouldn't release the record unless he used the name "Crucifucks."
Because that name carries so much weight in the punk rock community, see.
Ahem. Yes. Okay then. For the longest time I thought this was an EP because it only has seven songs, but it turns out they're just really long songs! It's a 42-minute CD. Unfortunately it's not as consistent as the others. Doc hasn't lost it; he just hasn't tried anything new this time around. Especially musically, we've heard all this before - on his last two albums. "Artificial Girl" is great cowpunk and "Lights Over Baghdad" that begins as a wonderfully bitter attack on American foreign policy ("I saw the lights over Baghdad/they called it some kind of storm on my TV/I never saw a storm that looked like that in the sky/looked more like cowards dropping bombs to me") before becoming even MORE bitter in reference to the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing ("These colors don't run it has often been said/they put a day care center in a Federal building here instead/what kind of coward keeps little hostages like that?... The day your babies were mangled to bits is a holiday of mine."
The rest is... the rest. Lyrically more interesting than most bands, but musically just not too hap'nin. This slowly paced strum rock thing worked on the last one - this time around, it just feels like lack of ideas.
This is the stuff that would make your parents shit in their shorts. For all you young'uns who missed out on when Hardcore was really HARDCORE search out Mr. Peabody and his way back machine or something. Play this with all the bass turned off (at full volume, of course) and wallow in Doc's shrill. This shit will peel the paint off your walls. GIVE ME YOUR MONEY/ I DON'T HAVE TO MAKE IT!!!!
Liked the comparison to Syd, Krinkledick. You should write the evening news. You a funny guy. The best review site on the net.
Doc Dart is the son of Rollin Dart, the President of Dart Bank. They have nothing to do with each other as Rollin is a devout Christian. Doc even sends his mail back unopened. Great son! He is related to Dart Container, Dart Oil, Dart Insurrance, and Dart Medical. He did own that baseball card shop, and his last wife's name was Angie. She is an Angel. He fucked up losing her, and it drove him out of his lunatic mind. Not a long fall.
On a good note, he was cool as hell before the plunge. He taught me to be my own dog. I walked away and have never looked back. My son found this website and had some questions. So now the records straight. That's why the music changed after the first album, because I was gone. It was a simple choice. He wanted Christians to die, I wanted them to wake up.
Besides, I'm still twice as punk as that pussy will ever be. Just not as angry.
Just to prove my point, here's what the crazy old bastards up to now!
www.noleaders.net/anok/news/war/doc
Now it's not good enough for Doc to want to just kill Christains, now he wants to kill America. Fuck You Doc, your just as bad as Jerry Farwell in your own way. So single minded, so little time...... figure it out.
I wish I never would have wrote those songs. For sure I wish I never would have accepted those lyrics. Forgive me world. I was young and stupid.
it's amazing. Doc has out done himself this time. Crustacean has a MP3 of the song "Oblivious" on their site. here's a link :
http://crustaceanrecords.com/mp3s/Oblivious.mp3
welcome back Doc!
Too bad this guy has regrets for participating in something so profound now that he has a kid, or has "matured". I was with MDC (Millions of Dead Cops...as a manager) who played with the Crucifucks many times, and I can tell you that at the time, and even now it seems, the music spoke to a part of society that has been totally left out of any type of "representation" in society. Its easy for this guy to come back 20+ years after the fact and say he's "ashamed" for having participated with the group. However, if he was so ashamed as he claims, why didn't he walk away when he first understood Doc's intentions and lyrics?
Its all just too easy now.
This aside, I agree with a lot of what he has had to say in his lyrics. Christians are not innocent; freedom of choice is an illusion if people by the millions are being soft-sold into a CIA-style war in bed with an agenda with tentacles that stretch back to who fucking knows where. Same goes with any mass indoctrination process (science, intellectualism, politics, television, any of that)... People aren't encouraged to truly make up their own minds; instead, they're railroaded into "ok I give up, I'll let (insert institution here) think for me, because being true to my actual self, as opposed to a role chosen out of a preestablished selection, well that's just too hard". No, instead people pray to mythbusters, south park, snopes, CNN, KKK, WalMart, etc. Often unwittingly. Reality is much more interesting and weird than any overt institution on the planet is allowed to allow us to believe... (no, that's not a typing mistake...)