The Shaggs - Wheels

[vampyros1]

They got better and regressed.

[semiza]

The ending reminds of the first time you ride a bike, balance. Check, Pedal, check. Steering, check. Stop and get off. Uh'oh

[AUDIOPHILE1956]

Glad to hear after all those years,,, the drumming,,,, still kept that totally unique hemeola flavour. I bet the underground ''unauthorized '' versions are to die for !!

Brings a whole new meaning to,,, ''this band rocks !""

[EdiblePlanets]

Exhibit A.

The murder weapon.

0:31

[foghat77]

This is the 4th Shaggs video that I've watched/listen to in a row. Please someone get over here and kill me. What...nobody will stop me? Then I'm clicking on another Shaggs video.

[setyourselfonfireeee]

I disliked it because they didn't stay true to their sound

[wanabeknut]

What guitars are they playing? Those axes got killer looks

[ClaasEngels]

Nice drumming, Helen.

[lolimfranco]

what this wasn't even written by them! read the description. and it's not even the original members it seems



[cullyvan]

I DONT WANT THEM TO SOUND LIKE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING :)

[woodsy3252]

freewheeling style? the drums still sound like a drunken sailor cajoling with a group of, well, you get the picture. At least the guitars are in tune (and in rythm) in this one . . .

[55chh]

They've been practising!



[EdiblePlanets]

No singing.

Thats an improvement.

Now if we could just eliminate the drums and guitars. 

[elc1960]

" . . . at the peak of their technical skills" - I love it. They had apparently had a couple of music lessons by this time. The main reason it's less than 90 seconds long is because if it went longer it would have been far too musically challenging to them, sort of like expecting a 5 year old child to be able to play "Moonlight Sonata" on piano. Seriously though, couldn't you just imagine these girls with bagpipes and an accordion in the band?

[jlillie2]

Wow, that was actually less horrible than most of their ...., uh, work...

[omahgarsh]

3 string bass guitars are actually 25 percent easier to play than 4 string bass guitars,it's scientifical.

[lanciafulvia]

The sad thing about it is they have gone from being something totally unique to being just another instrumental group, the same as 10,000 others...i can't believe i'm actually writing this but I prefer "my Pal foot-foot"

[sonicdeath10]

Wait a minute...is this...COMPETENT?! Why yes it is! 

[snoopyflick]

I have to admit i'm torn between this tight, refined version of the Shaggs and the free wheeling style of their Philosophy of the world.

[Danzzition]

omg LEARN TO PLAY INSTRUMENTS but the shaggs remain the same crap

[aaaaaaaaaajgvgjyc]

0:21 I love the three-string bass.

[PorroFirst]

Ariel Pink said this was the saddest record he knew. He used to cry listening to it.

[KingZerxst]

This sounds like Liquid Tension Experiment after listening to My Pal Foot Foot...

[shit311]

is this rly by the shaggs? i know the answer but what happened to them?!?!?!?! lol

[GreatBonFire]

This tune is a little to overproduced, and it doesn't come near "my pal foot foot" when it comes to groove!

[budpurps]

ugliest band ever?

[MrNoelJMIS]

@budpurps hmmm...maybe...or the Ramones.

[jenniferkay91]

i am a fan of all of this music... it's good in a weird way... like daniel johnston or any acquired sound

[jameala]

This just sounds like a bad garage band, certainly much better than that other awful excuse for music like "My Pal Foot-Foot" and "It's Halloween".

[2SilverRings]

@jameala Hey! Foot-Foot is a classic!

[lanciafulvia]

Maybe at the peak of their "technical" skills but, and i can't believe i'm actually saying this..I prefer "my Pal foot foot"..this is just bland cr*p like anyone else can play..they've lost that spark somehow

[sixtieskid062]

I prefer "It's Halloween" . :)

[clumpft]

Learning how to play their instruments was a bad move - A kind of trip into mediocracy.

[1Doz]

Just when I thought I had the Shaggs figured out, they go and play something almost normal. I wonder if the wide variance in their technical skill has something to do with how *coached* they are on a particular recording.

[tonydominoactor]

OMG. IT actually sounds like a SONG!

[JivaRiah]

it still has this great innocence to it, and i can hear some of my current favorite artists' riffs in the riffs from this song.

i'm slowly falling in love with The Shaggs.

[ivycompton]

Yes, this is when the indispensable Shaggs got good! Certain respectable, though I miss their more sincere, more raw, more out of tune, wonderful earlier stuff.

[webwillie1]

Just a few extra drum frills but she was almost in time on this one.

[lazerjim1]

i heart outsider music this rules

[geldofpunk32]

Wow, looks like they actually learned to play in time for their second album.

[Supermeatloaf66]

i love the pix of the bass with only three strings...classis!!!!!

[MMRD50]

That drummer looks like the tall girl that used to beat me up on the playground...boo hoo. The Shaggs are awesome.

[Rodney17302]

lol, they never sold out... they always tried there best from the start... and "You're Something Special to Me" is my jam, and it's one of their more technically advanced songs

[dave1983cm]

I was unaware the shapgs in fact had technical skills.

[mrsgeeway80]

awh no! :O she actually learned to drum

[MuhammedTheDog]

Wow, they really aimed for the mainstream with this one... sellouts. I am glad this was never released. Long live TRVE underground music!

[mugwamp4]

whats this ?? its really disappointing from the shaggs this actually resembles "normal' music!!! they sold out!!

[OrcanLord]

They have no wheels

[phildirt3]

i prefer my pal foot foot

[monaleisure]

I have grave doubts that the melody line, which really isn't too bad, is by an authentic Shagg. It does sound like their drummer though.

[harrytheblurfan]

Wow The Shaggs staying in time? Am I hearing this? Best Shaggs song ever (And it's still shit)

[Mooser42001]

I love foot-foot too! Of course, I will sing it to my cats, and they will love it.

All the Shaggs needed was to hook with a neighbor-friend who had had a few lessons and played keyboards. Straight to the top. Like Heart, but with lots, lots more of it. I love them!

[andrewcgs]

The only song in which they play good, I would say  XD

[HappyDesertSeagull]

Are there any bootlegs of their performances when they got better? I'm interested to hear how some songs from Philosophy of the World sounded like when played more proficiently.

[Mooser42001]

@HappyDesertSeagull: "more proficiently?" What do you mean? When a musician reaches a stage virtually beyond virtual virtuousity, proficiency is not an issue.

Look, put it this way: What guitarist, no matter how advanced his chops, could duplicate these performances? Many will try, of course, as the Shaggs ouvre enters the Great American Songbook, and today's Jazz masters cover these tunes.

Wheels, of course, will be the "Giant Steps" of this century, studied at the jazz colleges.

[friendlier]

@HappyDesertSeagull I saw them live in NYC in 1999, apparently the only show they'd ever played since their original days. It was pandemonium. They only did four songs, but the packed crowd knew every line and sang along. But to address your question: They sounded EXACTLY the same. The opening strum to "Philosophy of the World" still went, "drang drang drang drang..." I loved it.

[wrtlpfmpf]

@HappyDesertSeagull You cannot improve on perfection.

[canadiantothebakon]

@HappyDesertSeagull The only proficient way to play those songs would be not to play them at all.

[kc7fys]

@HappyDesertSeagull Seems like "more proficiently" would remove an essential element of their sound, bringing them into the mediocre. The beauty of The Shaggs was that they landed smack-dab in the middle of avant garde quite naturally. It is utterly impossible to reproduce their sound without pretense and "faking it."



[SWEETANGELUX]

I like so much this band!!

[midoritree]

nice

[lordyamamoto]

I actually feel disappointed that none of their songs quite rock the off-beat different-ness of "My Pal Foot Foot" which I really love. The intense non-conventionality of the songs is amazing, and as much as it hurts me to listen I keep coming back to it and enjoying it. It's not that they're just making noise, they're very intentionally playing something that isn't what we expect as listeners to hear, and it's wonderful yet awful.

[christoast1]

Wow! They've really improved!

[booooooooooodddooooo]

this is bloody great

[Hoglegvid]

Wow.... They're all on beat and fairly in tune...

[caajaa]

fat girls rock

[caseyyjayee]

omg its actually a bit more intime that some of the others... but still wouldnt say its good :S

[belalakaperal]

if the shaggs didnt disband when their father died, i think they could have made some cool music if they just continued with it practicing

[thesnobsupreme]

no but dont you see? thats the whole point--their best stuff was when they sucked! this song is way too institutionalized. their first record was the way to go

[herbienbrian]

very well said.

[paultinsel]

they got it together for the 2nd release

[MiszczBetonmen]

It's great!

[Beck436]

Here we go! Music by The Shaggs I can come closer to enjoying! It mostly just feels like they're finally able to play exactly what they had envisioned earlier but couldn't then perform.

[Junkieman420]

lol i lol'd.

[mjmcnult]

Yes, it's true. This is the Shaggs at the peak of their technical skills.

[pronihilo]

@mjmcnult That is the truth.

[mosheeshel]

@mjmcnult I was surprised that they sounded as good, but then the end of the piece showed me I had the right idea after all and that this is just a fluke

[entheta]

well their musical ability seemed to have improved. whether that's a good thing or not is another thing...

[meddle71echoes]

This is one of the best things I've heard in the last year?

Screw Tangerine Dream, these Femmes have everything.