Dirty words and punky dads
By Dennis Hartley
%*@#!! : The Weird World of Blowfly
Before you can begin to process the paradoxical nature of cult rapper Clarence “Blowfly” Reid, you have to understand that “he” (as, in the singular) is actually a duo. Do I mean that he has a split personality? Not necessarily; after all, in the music business, it’s not unusual for some artists to disappear behind an alter ego (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson) or to “reinvent” themselves on a semi-annual basis (David Bowie, Madonna, Prince), but there aren’t many whose careers can be divided into such mutually exclusive halves as Reid’s. First, there is Clarence Reid, the recording artist whose 1965 recording of “The Dirty Rap” is considered by some musicologists to be the first rap song. He made a few R&B albums through the late 60s; then wrote and produced hits for Betty Wright (“Clean-up Woman”), Gwen Macrae, KC & the Sunshine Band and others during his tenure with the Miami-based TK records through the mid-70s. Then, there is “Blowfly”, a nickname assigned to him as a teenager by his grandmother, who, chagrinned by his tendency to amuse himself and his friends by singing his own “dirtied up” versions of Top 40 hits, allegedly proclaimed Clarence to be “nastier than a blowfly”.
In 1970, an odd metamorphosis took place, beginning with an album called “The Weird World of Blowfly”. It was in fact so “weird” (and nasty) that Reid had to create his own independent label (Weird World), in order to release it in its unexpurgated glory (possibly inspired by Frank Zappa’s Bizarre Records label, which had been created a couple years before). Most of the songs were parodies; with titles like “Spermy Night in Georgia” and “Shittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”. Needless to say, this Weird Al Yankovic meets Rudy Ray Moore persona was the antithesis of the artist formerly known as Clarence Reid, who had been a bit more radio-friendly. The LP was a hit with the “party record” set, as were many subsequent releases throughout the 80s and 90s. Thus, “Blowfly” was born; lewd, crude, and bedecked like a Mexican wrestler. So (some may wonder)…where is he now?
Inquiring minds may want to check out a new documentary called The Weird World of Blowfly (released simultaneously this week in theaters and on DVD), which brings you up to snuff. That is not to say that you will necessarily like everything you learn. Jonathan Furmanski’s film (a sometimes disconcerting cross between This Is Spinal Tap
Obvious freak show aspects of the film aside, there are a few genuine surprises. Reid pays a visit to his mother, where he pulls out a dog-eared Bible and talks about his devout Christian faith. Shooting down another stereotype about hard-partying musicians on the road, it also turns out that Reid has always eschewed drugs and alcohol. Whatever demons lurk in his soul are apparently purged whenever he puts on his mask and cape and takes to the stage (maybe there is a lesson somewhere in there for all of us, nu?). Reid does show himself to still be a solid trouper in performance, whether its playing to five people in a stateside dive bar (the film’s most Spinal Tap moment) or to a concert hall audience in Dresden, where he opens for Die Artze, one of Germany’s top punk bands (although most of the young audience seems stunned into silent bewilderment).
One gathers the impression that Blowfly’s biggest fans these days are fellow musicians; his influence has eclipsed his actual popularity, as it were. A gushing Ice-T, Chuck D., Die Artze’s Farin Urlaub and Jello Biafra would seem to accentuate this point (Biafra joins Blowfly onstage for one of the performance highlights, an exquisitely tasteless cover of The Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia” re-entitled “R. Kelly in Cambodia”). Love Blowfly or hate him, there’s still something to be said for anyone who does his or her part to make the censors twitch. I picture Frank Zappa up there, with a guitar in one hand and a rolled-up copy of the First Amendment in the other, smiling.
Dad, you’re totally embarrassing me: The Other F Word
I could easily go the rest of my life without having one more person say this to me: “Having a kid completely changes your life.” Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bully for you, you’ve reproduced. Happy for ya, Mazel Tov. Congrats. Love to stay and chat longer, but I simply must get back to the Arctic desolation of my studio apartment and resume brooding about a life tragically misspent (thanks for the reminder). Busy schedule, things to do. Check ya later. But enough about me. I’ve resigned to the fact that if I’m still a confirmed bachelor at 55, I’m obviously too narcissistic to have children. Or something.
But you know what? Having a kid completely changes your life, even if you are a punk rocker. Just ask Flea, Tony Adolescent, Mark Hoppus, Rob Chaos or Jim Lindberg. Those are a few of the interviewees in an engagingly candid and unexpectedly touching documentary about punk rock dads called The Other F Word, directed by Andrea Blaugrund Nevins. Nevins follows her subjects on the road, on stage and at home with their families, then does an admirably deft job of tying all the incongruities together.
Jim Lindberg (lead singer of the venerable skatepunk outfit Pennywise) gets a lion’s share of the camera time. Astutely and entertainingly self-aware, Lindberg makes a good front man for the film, delivering the money quote that gets to the heart of Nevins’ study: “It’s tough to be a punk rock hero and still be an authority figure to my kids.” A case in point arises when Lindberg (who co-wrote the band’s anthem, “Fuck Authority”) is observed admonishing his young daughter for calling one of her siblings a “turdface”.
Nevins also weaves in a little history of the punk scene, with a primary focus on the SoCal bands, which adds context and some meaty substance (which helped me forgive the somewhat cliché ADD visual style of the film). The director saves her biggest emotional guns for the final third, when some of her subjects open up about their relationships with their own fathers, which for most were less than ideal (cue the waterworks). This is where the rubber meets the road, and the true takeaway is revealed: I never sang for my father, but I will sing* for my kids (*parents advisory: explicit lyrics).
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