Frugging Lycanthropes!

Well, someone had to do it. I have two friends who came up with exactly the same idea, quite independent of each other, years apart. Namely, making a promo clip out of the fabled dancing Wolfman from Hilarious House of Frightenstein.

This is no less than the great Canadian music video if you're of a certain age and disposition. Which you most likely are, if you're a Sadies fan. You appreciate that the band hops so nimbly between so many things that you love, whether it's Clarence White-era Byrds, Spaghetti country, or, in this case, indisputably authentic sounding garage go-go music. But you also probably cherish that they're one of ours; possibly even the great Canadian band circa 2011, whether Polaris agrees or not. The sound of "Another Day Again" is as much late '60s Yonge Street as it is Sunset Strip. They could have easily lifted a few scenes from The Banana Splits for their vid, but no, in this case, vintage lowbrow Canadiana is infinitely more apt.

What a potent image it is for some of us, that frugging blue-screened lycanthrope and his Tor Johnson-esque dance partner. Add to that its admirably indifferent presentation. Here's a clip that evidently cost somebody a whole five minutes of work. One of those previously mentioned friends has already checked in with me to gripe, "It’s lazy!"

Personally, I'm okay with it, maybe because I'm also lazy. So lazy in fact that I haven't bothered to change my opinion, going on 30 years, that the Cramps made the best music video of all time with "Garbage Man."

In terms of capturing a band's total aesthetic, this is your Gold Standard. And what did it cost them? A hundred, maybe 200 bucks? Still, there is a small but not insignificant chance that the Sadies have finally persuaded me to change my mind on the issue. I just don't see why I have to be pressured into making such an important decision right this minute, goddammit.