Two wonderful albums, trashy and innocent at the same time, from Nashville Tennessee's Be Your Own Pet.....guitarist Jonas Stein, drummer John Eatherly, bassist Nathan Vasquez, and of course, in the continuing "Growing Bored" tradition of "Kick Ass Chicks", vocal heroine Jemina Pearl.The self titled debut came out in 2006, I know many who hated it passionately and likely still do, but some people, ya know......this is fun stuff here. Sort of like, maybe, a poor-man's Yeah Yeah Yeah's with Pearl playing the "roll" of a "junior" Karen O? Something like that maybe. Amatuerish as hell, slopy, short. blasts of garage punk, the LONGEST track clocking in at 3:00, we get gem after amatuerish gem, such as "Fuuuuuuuun", "Bunk Trunk Skunk", and "Let's Get Sandy (Big Problem)".....this is a fine album, if you are one of them there "haters" then go piss up a rope!
And guess what? The second album, "Get Awkward" is way much better! (yes, I DID say "way much").....this great, a future classic which is so fuckin great that THREE tracks were left off the US release for being "too violent" (YEAH!): "Black Hole", "Blow Your Mind", and the teen revenge classic "Becky" (I'd be doing you an injustice if I didn't give you the proper UK version).....
These kids released a few EP's as well before calling it a day.....I have one of them, at least, "Summer Sensation" which repeats a couple of tracks, but also gives us a couple more semi-classics.....Be Your Own Pet were destined for a short shelf life. They did not enjoy much commercial success, but frankly, I loved them, and these are great fuking records. Punk-ass kids who can barely play their instruments, fronted by a potty-mouthed teen-slut queen? What in the FUCK could be better than THAT? If you are an old timer like me, check these out with an open mind,and see what the fuck I am talking about. This is the shit that rock n roll SHOULD fucking be, and thanks to Be Your Own Pet for some FUCKING GOOD TIMES!
BE YOUR OWN PET-01Threser's Flail/02 Bunk Trunk Skunk/03 Bicycle Bicycle You Are My Bicycle/04 Wildcat!/05 Adventure/06 Fuuuuuuun/07 Stairway to Heaven/08 Bog/09 Girls On Tv/10 We Will Vacation You Can Be My Parasol/11 Let's Get Sandy (Big Problem)/12 October, First Account/13 Love Your Shotgun/14 Fill My Pill/15 Ouch
GET AWKWARD-01 Super Soaked/02 Black Hole/03 Heart Throb/04 Becky/05 Kelly Affair/06 Twisted Nerve/07 Blow Yr Mind/08 Bummer Time/09 Bitches Leave/10 You're a Waste/11 Food Fight/12 Zombie Graveyard Party/13 What's Your Damage/14 Creepy Crawl/15 Beast Within
Links in a little bit......you 50 year olds like me, please comment on this.....I love these discs and hope I am not the only one who still feels rock n roll can be fun, dirty, amatureish, obnoxious, and FUN (yes, dickweed, I know I said "fun" twice)