Consistently one of my favorite bands since discovering them in the mid-Nineties, a new (old) Beat Happening record is kind of a common occurrence over the past couple of years. I thought I had it all and had heard it all...until I came upon this version of "The This Many Boyfriends Club."

For a band that, to me, feels like it is timeless and pure and realized to perfection, "The This Many Boyfriends Club" may just be the best example of WHY I feel that way. All feedback and unrestrained emotion, "sung" (if you can even call it that) live out of tune and just...bare. It is the first song I ever attempted to cover entirely on my own and to only NOW hear the version that was first released is a bit of a shock to the system.

The power conveyed by the song is only equal to the fact that as much as I love it I somehow never heard this version in the intervening 30 plus years since it was recorded and released. Though I've listened countless times, I'm still not sure I really *know* what this song is about and that only adds to the charm. It feels vaguely up to interpretation and that always gives art an even stronger pull in my opinion.

"Crashing Through" on the a-side, again, a version I was previously unaware of, is also stellar. Beat Happening is just the unadorned truth and I sincerely hope that the next twenty years of my life have as many new (old) Beat Happening records as the previous twenty have. Always a great reminder and inspiration and solid example that there are no rules and you can do absolutely whatever you want.