Farce the Music

Nov 23, 2016

New Video: Western Centuries - Weight of the World

From their excellent album of the same name.

Blast from the past you need to know: Midwest punk legends, Boris The Sprinkler

by Robert Dean

If you’ve got a hankering for something truly strange – there’s a blast from the past you need to get your brain around. Boris The Sprinkler was an oddball, eclectic pack of weirdoes from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and boy were they a deliciously strange mix of everything meth-fueled nightmares were constructed of.

Take parts Mr. Bungle, The Ramones, the Reverend Horton Heat, and maybe Frank Sinatra’s sleazy cousin, and maybe some string cheese. Throw in some rubber chickens, maybe a tranny hooker or two and you’ll get near what these left of center Wisconsin punk rock pranksters were up to.

On their debut, 8-Testicled Pogo Machine, Boris The Sprinkler full tongue French kissed their way into the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay punk scene. The songs feel like wild parties and are a pure portrait of an era of punk when bands still drew up those great flyers with magic markers and maybe some basic computer skills.

Boris The Sprinkler has some moments that harken to sweaty bars, and bad nights on cheap booze. The songs are irreverent and even better after all of these years. One of the best things about Boris The Sprinkler is the sheer easiness of the songs – not by a technical standard, but by which they stand. I have such warm memories of this era of punk, maybe because it’s mine, but more because it’s the era that slithered in just after when everyone was so severe. The songs are catchy and without any preaching of idealism, and in many ways, that’s refreshing on so many levels. There can only be one Clash, and the world has enough carbon copies of Joe Strummer.

But no Boris The Sprinkler – I doubt these guys cared who came off the spaceship unless they promised Transformers comic books and some YooHoo. But, that’s what made them great, it wasn’t about the music, the scene or the songs, it was simply about existing in your skin and having some fun in the process.

If you’re looking to dive into something odd, and just ridiculously entertaining, pull Boris The Sprinkler up on YouTube, and buy some records if you’re into it. Fifteen year old you really wants you to.