Here’s one I’ve been saving because … well, I’ve been too lazy to break out the USB turntable.

1994 was a great year for the Breeders. Last Splash had just turned platinum and “Cannonball” was crossing over from Alternative Nation to Top 40 radio, something completely unthinkable today. Sadly, it would also be the final year of the group in its most popular form, as success screwed with the band’s heads. But for a time, the Breeders could do no wrong. So if the band wanted to release a single available only on 7″ vinyl, then heck, sure! And make sure the vinyl is lime green! Okey dokey, Deals! Oh, and we only want to put one new song on it and not one, but two covers. Genius! And we’ll make a video to promote the B-side, not the A-side. Um, sure!

“Shocker in Gloomtown” (download) was one of the two covers on the Head to Toe single, a song originally by fellow Daytonians Guided By Voices, who also appear in the video, peering through the garage windows. It’s also the shortest and best track on the single, an under two-minute blast of punk hooks, raw production by Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis, and almost remedial guitar as Kelley Deal learns to play in front of all of us. (more…)