A blog about Bloomsbury Academic's 33 1/3 series, our other books about music, and the world of sound in general.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Lux Interior, R.I.P.

Sad news about the passing of the Cramps' frontman, Lux Interior. We do have a proposal under consideration for their Songs The Lord Taught Us album - and it's a good one.

Here's a clip from their legendary performance at Napa State Mental Hospital in 1984. Enjoy...

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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

lux died years ago...now he's dead again and he'll die again....

Anonymous said...

This is certainly a book that needs to be written. The story of Lux and Ivy is a modern epic and deserves the 33 and a 1/3 treatment.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. Timely fortune for the prospective author, perhaps?!

The Lux/ Ivy story has to be told. The band were superb, influential, insane...the epitome of rock n' roll. So glad I got to see them tear up the London Astoria a couple of years back...great memories.

Anonymous said...

do it! we need this book more now more than ever!

the cramps were the coolest band of all time, into trash culture long before the rest of us were so f**kng hip... actually they deserve more than a book, they need their own 3-D movie!

Anonymous said...

The Cramps shared a rehearsal space with the Fleshtones in the mid-70s. Here's Peter Zaremba's comment:

"Keith​ [Streng] knew Lux and Ivy much bette​r than I. I was lucky​ to have seen their​ first​ perfo​rmanc​e here in New York.​ It was total​ly amazi​ng.​ I'm very sadde​ned by his death​.​ It's a remin​der to appre​ciate​ the artis​ts we are lucky​ enoug​h to be conte​mpora​ries of. - Peter​ Zarem​ba

Anonymous said...

There is a noticeably somber mood in the E. Vil. -- people are truly mourning Lux. Seems like everyone loved the Cramps, and has a story to tell about seeing him whip it out, or drink beer out of a shoe, or smash a mic stand, or fellate a microphone... it is a tremendous loss.

Anonymous said...

I buy a 33 1/3 book about "Songs the Lord Taught Us" It's like one of the classics album and now will Lux passing but this would make a great tribute please publish it. Lux Interior R.I.P.

Anonymous said...

I won't claim to be a Cramps freak or anything, but I have owned their records and did see them open for - of all bands, The Police - about 30 years ago in Glasgow, UK. The Napa video - the whole thing - is a classic. There has to be a 33 1/3 on this band, and Songs the Lord Taught Us is a good record - they deserve to be treasured much more widely than they were. I pitched a proposal in this round (for Van Halen) and of course I'd love to get the contract, but I wouldn't mind not being picked so much if we got - out of all the other bands / acts proposed - a Cramps book.

billykek said...

Sad news from another great band that owes a great deal of their trashy image to the dolls.

Mr. Soul Motion said...

No disrespect to the greatness or the trashiness of the New York Dolls, but the Cramps' trashy image was entirely different than the Dolls' trashy image. Different reference points, different garbage cans, different pilfered 45s, different outfits.

High heels I will grant you.

billykek said...

Sure, and no disrespect to the Cramps, but there's a definite lineage from one to the next to the next. Perhaps we can all agree the Dolls got the ball rolling on the style eventually picked up and modified by the Cramps (and that I'm trying to plug my proposal, wink wink). Either way, what's important is that the Cramps represent a vital moment in punk rock history and Lex's passing is a sad moment.

billykek said...

edit: Lux

Anonymous said...

RIP Lux - remember him here:

http://musicthatjumpedtheshark.com/groups/display/92

Mr. Soul Motion said...

hey billykek - I figured that was your motivation ;). And no disrespect for the Dolls and their sublime trash instincts. The standard Cramps quote about the Dolls goes that they thought everyone in New York City was going to look like the Dolls, but it turned out it was all denim and boredom.

I thought your post was a good point of discussion re: two of the best rock 'n' roll bands ever. The Dolls were glamor, the Cramps sleaze. Bette Davis vs. Betty Page. The Dolls were Stones, Shangri Las, and starlets; the Cramps were Sun, surf, and strippers. The Dolls were trash, the Cramps garbage men.

They were both Bo Diddley and doo wop.

Good luck with your proposal - either Dolls album deserves a 33 1/3 IMO.

billykek said...

Shoyer,
Couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I think we've made internet history by coming to an agreement.