MF and the GG’s always give me time to reflect on my musical upbringing, since they cover old shit and make it listenable. My parents never listened to a lot of music beyond The Kingston Trio (Who the Dropkick Murphys cover and modify, by the way, with “Skinhead on the MTA”) and The Limelighters, so I don’t have many musical scars to excise. That covered, I don’t even pretend to know dick about Del Shannon. I’ve heard “Runaway” when standing in line to get gas, but the Gimmes grow it some nuts, get it faster, scuff it up and I like it quite a bit. It may be the way that Spike sings, but the way the Gimme’s present a song, I actually listen to the words and like it more than I could possibly enjoy the original. “Hats off to Larry” is a big, ol’ fuck you to a chick. The narrator’s happy that a girl got dumped by Larry because the girl previously fucked him over. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are single-handedly overthrowing AM radio by making those moldy oldies, polishing them up with punk spit (and a drum track), and makin’ ‘em golden.
–todd (BYO)