Something I Learned Today

Punk Rock and Other Assorted Bullshit

Cows - Walks Alone

September 22nd, 2004 | Posted by: Eric | Category: Noise Rock

Red socks, plaid pants, black shirt. Welcome to the crazy world of the Cows.

Cows - Walks Alone.mp3
It took me a good long while to warm up to the Cows, and at this point I’m still unsure of what to think of the band. Some days I love them, others I just shake my head in confusion. If I had to give a touchstone I’d say their similar in mindset to the Butthole Surfers, but with more “ooomph”. Their AmRep catalogue is defined by sloppy playing, noisy near tuneless guitar, and unhinged vocal rants. These albums are exercises in extremes: frenzied noise rock on one track, tuneless droning on another, trombone solos on a third. Not to mention the occasional bugle flourish. The Cows can be maddening to even their most ardent fan.

That said each album has a handful of classics that never fail to hook me. “Walk Alone” is one such track. From 1992’s Cunning Stunts, this is probably the closest thing to a “rock” song the band recorded, a straight up scorcher about some nut in the park. Unfortunately this song is not representative of the band’s sound, but I can’t find one track that truly is. If I had the room I’d include a bunch of others. Someday, perhaps

6 Comments so far

  1. ED September 23rd, 2004 8:56 pm

    Having flown in to MPLS from LA to visit my folks in NFLD for XMAS (1993?), I experienced both a 90-degree temperature difference and my first (last) Cows show at First Ave. I’m a big fan of punk. I’m a great appreciator of noise. Cows, not so much — although I’ll have to admit to screaming along with “Hitting the Wall” every once in awhile. Anyway, the best thing about the Cows’ show was Shannon coming out on stage in a pink bunny costume, chomping a big stinky cigar and doing a really aggressive, slow, skank for the first five minutes. Maybe if they’d brought the ‘Surfers smacked-out dancer along they could have held my interest a little longer . . .

  2. eric September 23rd, 2004 9:15 pm

    I missed the time the pulled into upstate, in retrospect I wish I had seen it just for the historical value. Funny you mentioned ‘Hitting the Wall’ I was torn between that and ‘Walks Alone’

  3. Qasd Busty January 30th, 2007 3:26 am

    Drugs sucks!

  4. E. January 30th, 2007 2:37 pm

    And sucking is a drug to some, fortunately.

  5. Raffaello Rambert April 10th, 2007 12:13 pm

    Nedolgo tolko zhili byli

  6. American Peacekeepers May 3rd, 2008 10:50 pm

    Their song “Organized Meat” is the all-time classic for the Cows. Brings me back to the days of 1982 Hardcore.

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