July 08 #1

Sara Asks:

I had a cassette with a cover of the cramps “Human Fly.” I thought it was perhaps Iggy Pop but numerous searches yielded no results. It’s quite a bit heavier than the original and in my opinion even better. I would love to find it. Help me Alan Cross, you are my only hope. Thanks in advance.

Alan answers:

“Human Fly” first showed up on the Cramps’ 1984 album, Bad Music for Bad People and along with “Goo Goo Much” is probably the band’s best-known song. It’s since been covered by a whack of different people. The Fuzztones included it on their 1987 album, Live in Europe. In 2000, a group called Sonovac covered it for a 2000 album called Bomb Boutique, Vol. 2 (which was subsequently re-worked by French DJ Frederic Sanchez on his 2002 self-titled album). But my guess is you had Music for Insect Minds, a 1991 album by Halo of Flies, which was released through Amphetamine Reptile. Their version sounds like Iggy Pop on acid.