Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities

Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities
Studio album by Circle Jerks
Released	June 20, 1995
Recorded	1995
Genre	Hardcore punk, alternative rock
Length	34:21
Label	Polygram
Producer	Niko Bolas
Circle Jerks chronology
Gig (1992) Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities (1995) The Show Must Go Off! (2005)

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Allmusic	[1]

Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities is the sixth and final studio album by the Circle Jerks, which was released in 1995.

Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities was the band's only full-length studio recording since their 1989 disbandment and 1994 reformation, and also their only release on a major label. The reunion of the Circle Jerks did not last; after several in-band problems and guitarist Greg Hetson's involvement with Bad Religion, they split up again and would not reform again until 2001. The album is out of print.

Track listing

1. "Teenage Electric" – 2:44
2. "Anxious Boy" – 2:06
3. "22" – 2:42
4. "Shining Through the Door" – 3:01
5. "I Wanna Destroy You" – 3:05
6. "Sinking Ship" – 3:45
7. "Brick" – 2:14
8. "Fable" – 3:37
9. "Dog" – 2:53
10. "Grey Life" – 2:48
11. "Exhaust Breath" – 3:00
12. "Career Day" – 2:23

Personnel

• Keith Morris - lead vocals
• Greg Hetson - guitar
• Zander Schloss - bass, guitar, sitar
• Keith Clark - drums, backing vocals

• Dix Denney - guitar
• Suzi Gardner - backing vocals
• Debbie Gibson - backing vocals (on "I Wanna Destroy You")
• Niko Bolas - producer, engineer, mixing
• John Paterno - engineer
• Brian Soucy - assistant engineer
• Paul Q. Kolderie - remixing
• Sean Slade - remixing
• Mary Hogan - production coordination
• Darrin Ehardt - art direction, design

Miscellanea

• Track 5, "I Wanna Destroy You," a cover of a song by The Soft Boys, features backing vocals from pop singer/songwriter Deborah Gibson, who had just wrapped up a solo album with the same producer the Circle Jerks were using, at the time they were recording the album. Gibson later made a surprise appearance at the Circle Jerks' performance at punk mecca CBGB's to perform the song with the band.
• The song Dog's lyrics are taken directly from the opening monologue of the film My Life as a Dog (hence, the track's title). The song and movie both reference Laika, the "Russian space dog," having starved to death after several months in space. This is commonly believed, but one of the Russian scientists responsible for the mission claimed Laika died after only 5 to 7 hours in space.
• The cover art is a distorted photo of microcephalic circus performers "Zip" and "Pip" (Elvira and Jenny Lee Snow) who were famed for their roles in the controversial 1932 MGM film "Freaks."

References