Album of the Week: Blonder and Blonder by The Muffs

Once upon a time, I actually enjoyed the sounds of pop-punk music. I was influenced by the writings I read in the now defunct fanzine Flipzine. Thanks to Flipside, I was introduced to the infectious sounds of bands like Groovie Ghoulies and The Muffs. The year was 1994. I was living in Milwaukee, WI as a college student. I bought a cassette copy of Blonder and Blonder by The Muffs. This album came out just shortly after Green Day's Dookie album which exploded on to the music scene. I couldn't get into Green Day like every other person at my college but I did dug The Muffs's sound. It was so ridiculously catchy especially songs like "Oh Nina", "Sad Tomorrow", and "Red Eyed Troll". I just loved Kim Shattuck's gravelly vocals. Unfortunately pop-punk became a thing of the past for me when bands like Green Day, Blink-182, and Good Charlotte turned the genre into some of the most dreadfully boring music I ever heard and I moved on.

This past weekend I came across the remastered version of Blonder and Blonder. I didn't hesitate and bought it (along with Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain). Listening to this album brought back fond memories of the first time I heard the album. What I have appreciated about the music The Muffs made was how short, fast, and catchy the songs were. Most of the songs barely clocked in over three minutes, few being over 3 1/2 minutes long. It is a wonderful album that got overlooked by in a scene by the Green Day's Dookie. I am very glad I picked up this album over the weekend. I completely forgot how much I loved The Muffs and this album in particular. It definitely brought me some joy in my life in a reality that is fraught with fears and unpredictability.