Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets (side A)

Even as I remember the diversity and oddity of Meat Puppets' self-titled 1982 debut, it still manages to amaze me. At times, it sounds a bit like hardcore, with its sheer energy and persistence. Other times, the blues and country riffs come to the foreground and the songs slow down a bit. The vocals, though, never quite fit, as any of those genres have vocals more in the foreground—on Meat Puppets, the vocals fit right into the smear and cacophony. Spot's recording, while sounding a bit odd, definitely captures the band's immediacy and energy. The front cover collage is iconic, but the weird line drawing on the back is far more terrifying.