RECORD CRACK: P.S. I Love You – The Mummies’ “Shitsville”
The Mummies remain one of my all time favorite bands, but I was too broke to see them when they reunited and toured last year. Actually, the truth was that I was at the Baconfest in Portland and I could not afford to stay the night before. Fuck me, right?
Anyway, The Mummies had great songs, cool and funny picture sleeves, and this was one of my all time favorites. The record was released by the Seattle-based Regal Select record label, but the photo was shot somewhere in California. While this could happen today in a post-9/11 world, it would lead to immediately blog and news coverage, constant misinterpretations, and just stupid crap. All The Mummies wanted to do was wrap themselves up, go on the freeway, and take a photo. The middle finger takes it over the top, and it works perfectly. It’s not simply the Mummies salute, but the idea that someone was driving along, seeing a mummy ride on his bike, and flipping the bird. My picture sleeve was done with a baby blue/turquoise manipulation, but the original photo was used with a repressing of the sleeve.
(If you’d like to see other photos shot on the day of the Shitsville 45, click here.)
What do you think?