ACROSS 110TH STREET
Tommy Afterbirth is credited with all of the deranged lyrics on the songs by the Gynecologists. Their cheesy covers of hit songs like “Brandy”, “Shape of Things to Come”, “We’re an American Band”, and “Ride Captain Ride” also suit their gonzo style; another song that they recorded was a 1973 hit by Bobby Womack called “Across 110th Street”.
The vinyl album by the Gynecologists that I have, Bukkake Hit Parade (2002) – “bukkake” is a term used in Japanese pornography that is appropriate, but I will let you look it up if you wish – has a different name for the drummer, Pippy Longstocking. (Pippi Longstocking is a popular character in children’s literature having unusual pigtails who was created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren). Despite the apparently comprehensive Hoosier Psychopaths, and unless some of their songs have multiple titles, the 13 cuts on Bukkake Hit Parade include more than a few songs that aren’t on the CD: “Nancy Reagan on Crack”, “M.A.S.H.E.R”, “Dahmer’s Diner”, “Across 110th Street”, and “Sally Struthers’ Tears”.
The omission of “Sally Struthers’ Tears” is particularly surprising, since it is one of my favorites by the Gynecologists (along with “Across 110th Street”). After her run on All in the Family, Sally Struthers made a series of commercials for the Christian Children’s Fund charity where she would often be shown crying. Despite the mercilessly mocking tone of the song, Tommy Afterbirth manages to capture the way she would plead for help for these children at a cost of “pennies a day”.
(June 2016)
