Let's Get Ugly with the Vaselines

The Vaselines are an adorable, somewhat depraved twee pop duo from Scotland who only have a handful of recordings from the late 80s. In their time, their music was released on the UK's 53rd and 3rd label that included other seminal twee pop acts like Talulah Gosh, the Shop Assistants, and the Pastels. These original recordings are completely out of print and were always near-impossible to come by in the US.

Fortunately, the Vaselines were Kurt Cobain's favorite band, and he immortalized them in his live covers of "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," and "Molly's Lips." Sub Pop has recently released an expanded edition of their anthology, "The Way of the Vaselines," adding a second disc of demos and live sessions. This amazing collection is being marketed as "Enter the Vaselines," and has gorgeous lime green packaging. For me, the appeal of the Vaselines lies in their twisted, at times rudimentary sense of humor, conceptions of god and romance,and their abrasive, undeniably earnest instrumentation. Eugene Kelly and Frances McKnee are by no means talented musicians or vocalists, but their sound is infectious and distinctly their own.

Vanity Fair called Lolita , "the only convincing love story of our century," and by extension, the Vaselines' music provides some of the most unafraid, sincere probing of the human condition ever put to music by disaffected, self-consciously ironic indie rockers. "Jesus Don't Want Me for a Sunbeam" is a profound examination of religious disillusionment, and "Son of a Gun" is a heartfelt, insouciant look at young love. These beauties make deviant gems like "Rory Rides Me Raw," and their cover of Divine's "You Think You're A Man" all the more affecting.

Son of a Gun

Dying for It

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

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