Dharma Bums

Not to be confused with acoustic-folk band the dharma bums: (To get to the The Dharma Bums page without being incorrectly re-directed back here, use this link until the bad reidrect is fixed: http://www.last.fm/music/+noredirect/the+dharma+bums) The Dharma Bums were a Portland, OR based combo who dished out a trio of long players in the late '80s to early '90s. Relatively linear for the "college" circuit, the Bums opted to pursue a no-frills tact when it came to thier brand of rumbling, yet often sweetly jangly guitar-rawk.

The Dharma Bums were a Portland, OR based combo who dished out a trio of long players in the late '80s to early '90s. Relatively linear for the "college" circuit, the Bums opted to pursue a no-frills tact when it came to thier brand of rumbling, yet often sweetly jangly guitar-rawk. Kurt Cobain was a big proponent of the band, although he was wont to name-drop the Vaselines and Raincoats exponentially by comparison. The allure of the dayglo-green clad sleeve of the 7" in question, wasn't so much the grungy a-side, "Givin' In," rather it's flip, a remake of the Flamin' Groovies iconic and invariably gratifying "Shake Some Action."

Haywire is my Dharma Bum's album of choice, which doles out a dozen Replacements cum early-REM nuggets, none indelibly brilliant, but recommendable nonetheless. As an extra bonus, I've tacked on "Shake" (not to be confused with their aforementioned rendition of "Shake Some Action), the b-side to their "Haywire" 45. "Shake" is a resplendent, chiming pop tune that on certain listens I swear outdoes anything on the album. Would love to hear any Dharma Bums material that predates these recordings.