The Dead Milkmen are offering fans a look inside the recording of their new song “Prisoner’s Cinema” via Weathervane Music’s “Shaking Through” series of short documentaries, which are designed to illuminate the “vision and process of recording music.” Plus, they’re offering a free download, via Bandcamp, of the finished product.
The film captures the Milkmen working with producer Brian McTear and engineer/mixer Matt Schimelfenig at Philadelphia’s Miner Street Recordings, and includes interviews about their process and career, including the pressures they felt after scoring an unlikely hit in 1988 with “Punk Rock Girl.”
In the film, Rodney Anonymous says of recording:
“In the long run I don’t care how it sounds, lets just go and have fun and enjoy ourselves… if it doesn’t sound right you just don’t release it….if you don’t enjoy yourself when you’re doing it that comes through…I have yet to meet anybody that had a really bad time in the studio and made a really good record.”
Below, check out the film.
And head to weathervanemusic.org to learn more about the “Shaking Through” series.
Finally, download the completed track — for free — via Bandcamp.
That was actually pretty entertaining. I’ve never cared about the band one way or the other, but it was a funny little doc. They seem like characters.
Maybe more entertaining still was following the link to the larger “Shaking Through” video series. Lots of interesting studio clips in there, and with just a cursory spin I came across at least one new band I’ll be checking out further.
Growing up I loved the Dead Milkmen. Loved them for the obvious Ramones influenced songs and topics (“Sha Na Na were the kings of Woodstock?”)but also for the weird conspiracy theories. Do yourself a favor and check out their record “soul rotation” and especially the track “the secret of life”. I might try and catch them in LA when they come.