There was a hefty stack of records in a black metal cabinet. This was my first winter break of college, and I had returned to campus early in order to pitch in around the student-run radio station, operating with the usual short staff that corresponded to those days when classes weren’t in session. Besides keeping all the on-air shifts filled in our shortened programming day, there was a backlog of albums from the late fall and early winter that needed to be sorted through. The major releases had duly made their way to the rotation, so this pile was entirely comprised of relative obscurities or material that plainly had no place on our airwaves. As for the former, there’s always a chance to discover a true gem among a group like that, and nestled right in the middle of that pile was an album with an odd cover featuring a childlike painting that looked like two cats sharing a big slice of watermelon. It was an album that I grew to love like few others that I discovered solely because of my place at the radio station. It was the self-titled album by the Frogs.

What little fame (of infamy) the Milwaukee band achieved was largely due to subsequent releases which found the group engaging in an extended paean to depravity, a tuneful assault against the blossoming of political correctness that was taking place. Monumentally successful bands such as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam celebrated the Frogs, covering their songs and recruiting them to serve as an opening act. The Flemion brothers, Jimmy and Dennis, had the wacked-out audacity to indulge in the raunchiness that was forever going to be out of reach of these artists who had been embraced, to at least some degree, by the music industry. They could live vicariously through the Flemions’ fearlessness bred by a detachment from consequences. The Frogs didn’t really lose anything when they recorded a song as filthy as “Baby Greaser George” or tried to release an album with one of the members in blackface as a cover. On the contrary, it fueled their bizarro legend.

I saw the value in those hijinks, the aggressive subversion of social norms standing as one of the few ways left to challenge the stultifying system, but I remained solely a fan of that first record, which was largely devoid of lyrics designed to cause offense. There were little flashes of weirdness throughout, but it was generally a smart, colorful collection of crazily catchy songs. If it’s not representative of what earned the band its small, twisted place in broader music history, it’s got an unassuming, lo-fi perfection that I personally value far more.

Earlier this week, word came in that Dennis Flemion went missing after jumping into a Wisconsin lake while boating with some family and friends. A couple of days later, his body was recovered from the water. Gerard Cosloy, formerly of Homestead Records (which released the Frogs’ sophomore effort, It’s Only Right and Natural) and now co-owner of Matador Records, posted a remembrance of Flemion that openly hopes “he’s remembered as a really sweet guy first, and a hugely talented artist second.” It will be a little easier for me to live up to that aspiration since that sweetness comes through in abundance on my favorite record by his band. “Because you put the moon to shame.” Who can argue with that?

The Frogs, “Layin’ Down My Love For You”

(Disclaimer: It appears to me that The Frogs is out of print, at least as a physical object. However, their entire catalog is available for digital purchase at CD Baby, including two new releases: Count yer Blessingz and Squirrel Bunny Jupiter Deluxe. I post this song as encouragement to check out more of their music through making a purchase. I still maintain that the self-titled debut is a great way to spend ten bucks, but any of the other offerings are as well-suited as anything you’ll ever find if you want to shock and amaze your friends. As Cosloy put it in his remembrance, “There are few ‘what the fuck was that?’ moments in music that quite compare to someone’s reaction the first time you play them The Frogs.” I’ll surely take the song down if asked to do so by anyoen with due authority to make such a request. I may take it down in relatively short order anyway. If someone wants it, they can throw a buck the Frogs way. For now I want it up, though. It’s my way of saying goodbye.)