Countdown to Halloween, Day 29: TV Sets and Other Crampy Delights

I’ve always thought of the Cramps as Halloween’s Own Punk Band. I mean, the Misfits are certainly devoted to horror rock, but the Cramps, man… They’ve got the whole Halloweenie package. They were the inventers of psychobilly, after all, embracing not only the monster movie flair…

…but also the supernatural…

…the edge-of-sanity weirdness…

…and the down-and-dirty sleaze of it all.

Plus, their first “greatest hits” album featured 3D cover art!

Has any other band ever embraced Halloween greatness so completely? The Cramps were so great, in fact, that it’s hard to pick just one song for our virtual Halloween mix-tape. So I’m gonna give you two.

First, my personal favorite: “TV Set” in all its low-fi glory, as heard on the album Songs the Lord Taught Us.

And second, a rarity: the Cramps doing a live cover of Zacherley’s “Dinner With Drac.”

 

BONUS CRAMPS!! Here’s a full 40-minute Cramps live set from 1979, just three years after they formed:

And if that ain’t enough Cramps for ya… Well, hell. Here’s an hour-long set from the other end of their career: 2006, just three years before lead singer Lux Interior passed away…