Still Grating After All These Years

by Lex Marburger

"What is the meaning of this? Poor Harry, I guess." - Captain Beefheart

The assimilation continues. The music that once rang discordantly in the ears of the mainstream cognoscenti (if they heard it at all) is now an accepted item on the aboveground bill of fare. The avant of yesterday has become the garde of today. Not to imply that such migration is wrong - in truth, it's unavoidable and even kind of cheering that the bent brainbuds of experimenters past have worked their way into the genetic code of now. Even so, there remain those who, through the sheer contrariness of their nature, stubbornly resist conforming to the well-drawn form of the norm. Even now. This feature is an ongoing attempt to bring these artists (who have been around long enough to be considered seminal but have yet to impregnate the culture at large) to light.

A MUSIC, AN IDEAL, A CARPET: THE SHAGGS

The Shaggs can be explained in two ways: 1) This band is the inevitable result when fresh minds, unhampered by preconceived musical ideas are given free range and unlimited license to record their ideas before those who dictate what's "Right" and "Wrong" in music can get their soiled mitts on it; or 2) The Shaggs are a bunch of inept musicians who can't play, can't sing, have no sense of rhythm, and were thrown into a studio by their dad after only a few months of even touching their instruments. Both answers are correct.

Despite the Wiggin sisters lack of Official Technical Experience on their instruments, their album, Philosophy Of The World, released in 1969 (compiled with their second release, Shaggs Own Thing, on The Shaggs [Rounder/Red Rooster] in 1988), gathered commentary from Famous Musicians like flies on shit. Frank Zappa said "The Shaggs. Better than the Beatles - even today." Renowned jazz pianist Carla Bley said, "They bring my mind to a complete halt," and Bonnie Raitt probably put it most accurately when she said, "The Shaggs are like castaways on their own musical island." When looked at this way, The Shaggs are one of the greatest pioneers of pop music, creating an identity through determination and ideas, rather than derivation or imitation.

At first listen, Philosophy Of The World shocks listeners into either laughter or outright panic. It seems each instrument was recorded separately, not listening to the other tracks; like they're playing two (or more) songs simultaneously. The drums stay at a solid tempo, as the guitar, bass, and vocals wander around in no apparent key, stutteringly in sync, without any sense of coherence or, it initially appears, talent. But listen further.

There is an intent and skewed accuracy in their songs that doesn't jibe with the "no ability" theory. If you think Shonen Knife is cool because of their blunt honesty and up-frontness, you haven't heard anything yet. The Shaggs play with such determination, you can tell that every note is placed deliberately. How do I know this? Because on Shaggs Own Thing (1975), made a few years after the girls had learned to play more "normally," they recorded accurate versions of "Paper Roses" and "Yesterday Once More," and re-recorded a tune off of Philosophy Of The World, "My Pal Foot Foot," a typical piece of focused chaos. They knew how to play their instruments in a more standard way, and "My Pal Foot Foot" sounds very much like the original, with the same identifying features of Philosophy..., i.e. staggered rhythms, free-floating melodies, etc., which can only mean one thing: They didn't make any mistakes on their first album. All songs were performed the way they were intended. In this light, The Shaggs' music takes on a whole new meaning, locating pure creativity before being processed by the "Rules" of making music. Some listeners might not make it far enough through The Shaggs to hear this epiphany. Some may not even make it through the first track. No matter. What it comes down to is this: No one in music today (or perhaps ever) can match, or even attempt to imitate what The Shaggs did over two decades ago. Their music remains evidence of what a mind not burdened by the weight of "Convention" can achieve.