Comments on: The Dead Skunk Guy

The Dead Skunk Guy

dodgygeezer — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 08:55:02 -0800

25 years old and I pretty much had made it. The critics' darling was now a success. So what happened? Why is it that many of you here today aren't quite sure who the hell I actually am, aside from Rufus Wainwright's father? Why is finding a CD of mine akin to archeology? Where were the follow up hits to "Dead Skunk," funny animal songs like "I Met Her at the Pet Store" and "Stay Away From My Aardvark?"
My Cool Life by Loudon Wainwright III

By: Space Coyote

Space Coyote — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 09:02:32 -0800

I love his blatant admission that his 'i wish i was a lesbian' song was an attempt to cash in on a fad before he got too old to drag his guitar around anymore. He rules.

By: sauril

sauril — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 09:12:03 -0800

Dead Skunk has been a campfire favourite of mine for years. Thanks for the insight.

By: chrid

chrid — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 09:52:59 -0800

Great post, I've been a fan of the man for a long time.

By: JanetLand

JanetLand — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 10:14:41 -0800

I am proud to be old enough to always think of Rufus Wainwright as Loudon Wainwright's son.

By: Faze

Faze — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 11:58:57 -0800

I am proud to be old enought to always think of Loudon Wainright as the son of Loudon Wainwright, the author and journalist whose essays I used to skip in Life Magazine. I wonder the elderest Wainwright was any good?

By: Mo Nickels

Mo Nickels — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:05:22 -0800

I'm with JanetLand. I do like Rufus, but I'm afraid I've got three of Loudon's songs in permanent rotation, and only one of Rufus. "Dead Skunk," "I Wish I Was A Lesbian," and "Rufus is a Tit Man" are not those three songs. When I've tried to present people to Loudon, I recommend the album Therapy. "This Year" is a rich, regretful song of another disunified family holiday, and my favorite. There's a good mix of cool introspective ballads, choosy singer-songwriter indulgences, and jokey fun tunes. My first knowledge of Loudon came from a guest appearance on the television show MASH. He fit right in with the wisecrackers, as I remember it.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:11:48 -0800

My first knowledge of Loudon came from a guest appearance on the television show MASH. Me too. I remember him singing that song about tokyo sitting up on the hill. I actually have a vinyl copy of Attempted Moustache sitting in a box somewhere. But Rufus is pretty damned cool in his own right, his cover of "Across The Universe" is a perfect match of siner and song.

By: mischief

mischief — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:20:43 -0800

I remember "Dead Skunk" as being one of the last AM radio songs I liked before I forever shut myself off to that medium, and the name Loudon Wainwright stuck with me because of its singular sound. However, I have no clue who Rufus Wainwright is.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:21:53 -0800

I found it interesting that he makes no mention of "suicide is painless." I love the guy's stuff; his wordplay is astounding.

By: Richat

Richat — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:25:44 -0800

Rufus's version of his old man's "One Man Guy", with his sister Martha singing beeyutaful backing vocals is amazing. Of course, in Rufus' case, the song has could have a slightly different meaning. Chez Richat, we love Rufus. For me, Loudon is alright, but Rufus speaks to me a little more....

By: jonmc

jonmc — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:25:54 -0800

mwhybark, that's cause it wasn't his song. It was Johnny Mandel's.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:19:56 -0800

Boy, was this posted by the right member, or what?

By: lilboo

lilboo — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:33:31 -0800

Great post. I love the whole Wainwright franchise. [The highest-quality merchandise at low, low prices! ;-)]

By: paddbear

paddbear — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 16:01:28 -0800

" I found it interesting that he makes no mention of "suicide is painless." I love the guy's stuff; his wordplay is astounding." "mwhybark, that's cause it wasn't his song. It was Johnny Mandel's." No, well half right. Music by Johnny Mandel, lyrics by Mike Altman. I never really "got" Loudon Wainwright III. Too...twee. Steve Goodman and others were better lyricists.

By: Mo Nickels

Mo Nickels — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 16:22:03 -0800

I agree, jonmc: Rufus's cover of "Across the Universe" is the one song I have of his in permanent rotation. The first time or two I heard it, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He sounded so...abandoned and alone.

By: Mo Nickels

Mo Nickels — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 16:23:13 -0800

"This Year" is a rich, regretful song of another disunified family holiday, and my favorite. You know, I like "This Year," too, but I was describing the song "Thanksgiving." Duh.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 23:56:34 -0800

D'oh! Wasn't he on in the first season, or is that Mandel too? He was! I guess I just figured it was his. I have a clear memory of him actually playing the song. Or, again, is that Mandel, from the film?

By: cell divide

cell divide — Sun, 26 Sep 2004 00:16:49 -0800

I'll never forget the first time I heard of Loudon Wainwright III, it was a couple of years ago when he was on Conan O'Brien. But my memory's just like that.

By: dodgygeezer

dodgygeezer — Sun, 26 Sep 2004 04:12:46 -0800

I first heard Loudon on Jasper Carrott's comedy show about twenty years ago. He seemed terribly out of place, his songs were sometimes completely lost on the audience but he always stuck in my mind. I guess it was his cheery masochism in trying to win over an audience who were stoney faced and unappreciative of zany americans. I still wasn't sure about the songs but I quite liked him. You can read more about his experiences here. A few months after the Carrott series finished, I was watching one of my favorite shows - MASH. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the zany american again and suddenly it dawned on me that this guy might be a bit more than a fly by night. Having said that I've only recently had the pleasure of hearing his records. It's a mixed bag, but songs like Your Mother & I and Westchester County are some of the finest I've ever heard.

By: LeLiLo

LeLiLo — Sun, 26 Sep 2004 19:34:11 -0800

I'm so old I thought Rufus Wainwright was either Bob Dylan or Tim Buckley's son. And I always through of LW III as Kate McGarrigle's (now ex-)husband. I have LW III's first five LPs, bought back in 1970-1975; the success of the skunk song, ultimately, probably ruined his career. People didn't want to hear anything else, even though he had a lot of other fine, understated songs. My favorite: The Swimming Song from his 4th album, which ends with the very nice song, Lullaby. That one starts out "Shut up and go to bed" and includes the lyric "You're not biting you're barking you're toothless / But you're ruthless (you're Rufus)."