Description
Bongwater – The Big Sell Out – Cassette
The Big Sell Out is an album by the American alternative rock band Bongwater, released in 1992.
Bongwater was known for their eclectic and avant-garde approach to music, blending elements of rock, folk, psychedelia, and spoken word. The Big Sell Out features the band’s signature quirky style and offbeat humor, with songs that explore various social and cultural themes.
Some tracks on The Big Sell Out include “Nick Cave Dolls,” “Obscene and Pornographic Art,” and “One So Black.” These songs showcase Bongwater’s unconventional songwriting and unique sound, which often incorporated unconventional instrumentation and experimental production techniques.
While Bongwater may not have achieved mainstream commercial success, The Big Sell Out remains a cult favorite among fans of alternative and indie rock from the early 1990s. The album’s off-kilter charm and creative innovation continue to resonate with listeners who appreciate its boundary-pushing approach to music.
As much a performance art troupe as a band, Bongwater was the brainchild of guitarist (Mark) Kramer, chief of the Shimmy-Disc label and a former member of Shockabilly, and actress Ann Magnuson, best known to mainstream audiences for her role in the ABC sitcom Anything But Love as well as the feature film Making Mr. Right. Kramer and Magnuson first met at her downtown New York nightspot Club 57, where he engineered the sound for her performances with the all-female percussion group Pulsalamma. After forming Bongwater in 1985, the duo enlisted avant-garde guitarist Fred Frith to record their 1987 EP debut Breaking No New Ground, a crazed neo-psychedelic set typified by Magnuson’s surreal narratives. Inspired by her dreams about major celebrities and fellow downtown NYC denizens.
After garnering a reputation for their anarchic live sets, Bongwater re-entered Kramer’s Noise New York studios with ex-Phantom Tollbooth guitarist Dave Rick and former Shockabilly drummer David Licht to record 1988’s sprawling two-LP opus Double Bummer, a wildly experimental collection peppered by bizarro-world covers of Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll, Pt. 2”. Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” (retitled “Dazed and Chinese” and sung in Mandarin) as well as media satires like “Decadent Iranian Country Club” and “David Bowie Wants Ideas.” The follow-up, Too Much Sleep”, a collection of lo-fi recordings mottled with dialogue fragments, sampled answering machine messages and television soundbites.
With 1991’s The Power of Pussy, Bongwater parodied sex in all its forms; a European tour with rhythm guitarist Dogbowl in tow followed, but Kramer and Magnuson’s complex relationship soon began to unravel, and after one final record, 1992’s The Big Sell-Out, the duo parted both personally and professionally. The dissolution of the partnership was acrimonious, and resulted in a protracted legal battle which ultimately resulted in Shimmy-Disc’s bankruptcy. Magnuson, meanwhile, mounted a solo career, issuing The Luv Show on Geffen in 1995.
Shimmy Disc Records
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic seal
Track Listing
1. Ye Olde Backlash
2. The Real Thing
3. Free Love Messes Up My Life
4. You’re Like Me Now
5. I Wanna Talk About It Now
6. What’s Big In England Now?
7. Schmoozedance
8. Celeberity Compass
9. When Johnnie Dies
10. The Big Sell-Out
11. Over The Credit Line
12. Flop Sweats
13. Holding Hands
14. Flute Of Shame
15. On The Cusp Of 1970
16. Her Litigious Nature
17. Love Song
18. Everybody’s Talking
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