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All summer long the Casa de Freak has been dealing with an ant infestation. We put out poison bait, they go away and then they come back. Now it’s fall and they want to move someplace warm. Their most recent swarm reminded me of the classic short story Leiningen Versus The Ants. I’m thinking that a ditch filled with gasoline is in my future. I’ll need some insect-related music to listen to as I make my brave stand against the relentless hordes.

OK Go “Antmusic” (Adam and the Ants)
I palled around with a drummer when I was in high school. He was the only person I’ve ever met who liked Adam and the Ants. He dug that whole polyrhythmic thing they had going on. They were obviously commercially successful, I never knew there were so many drummers out there.

OK Go ditches the treadmills for this nice non-polyrhythmic indie-rock version.

Collective Soul “The Bugaloos” (from the television show The Bugaloos)
The Bugaloos was a live-action kids puppet show from Sid and Marty Krofft, the guys who brought you H.R. Pufnstuf. In an attempt to create a British version of The Monkees, they hired four British teenagers (Phil Collins auditioned but didn’t get the part), stuck antennae on their heads, and made them sing. Their nemesis was played by Martha Rae.

Goldbug “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin)
Having misspent some of my youth at midnight movies, this song always conjures up memories of The Song Remains The Same. Jimmy Page with his theremin. The endless shots of Robert Plant’s crotch. Good times.

This version features a hysterical vamp on the riff from “MacArthur Park.” It’s so very appropriate.

The Zoot “I’m Only Sleeping” (The Beatles)
These guys obviously practiced this song, but it’s got a great casual tossed-off feel.

Archie Roach “Play That Funky Music” (Wild Cherry)
There’s a TV show that’s been airing recently, I think it’s on the Discovery Channel. It assumes that humans just vanished from the planet and looks at what would happen to all we’ve built over time. Each episode deals with a different city. I keep stumbling across it when I’m channel surfing.

It’s a nice enough program but I haven’t seen an episode yet that shows giant nuclear-mutant cockroaches driving around in the cars that we left behind. And if they’re not going to show that they sure as hell won’t be showing us a roach named Archie who gets funky. I just can’t get past that lack of realism.

The Volebeats “Maggot Brain” (Funkadelic)
For some reason the Volebeats don’t include the lyrics in this version. I don’t understand why, it’s poetry that Shakespeare would be jealous of. I too have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe. I was not offended, but I did think that the cream sauce was a bit much.