Two decades of bad taste from Anal Cunt
by Matt Sullivan
As one of grindcore's most notorious torchbearers, Anal Cunt test the bounds of taste and decency in such an extreme fashion that a cult following was all but guaranteed.
Coincidentally or not, years after the band's formation in Massachusetts in the late '80s, fellow shock rocker G.G. Allin penned a song that shares a title with the band's patently offensive name, and, just as cult audiences swear by the misunderstood genius of that buffoon, there's no shortage of supporters claiming the work of Anal Cunt as subversive brilliance. Both Allin and AC mastermind Seth Putnam mine much of the same territory to fan the flames of controversy—misogyny, homophobia, racism—but in Putnam's case, each subject is pushed to such ridiculous extremes that one couldn't possibly take him seriously.
Musically there isn't much to take seriously either. The songs are typically half a minute long, featuring fast but generic riffs and indecipherable vocals. What made the band notorious is the song titles. Popular templates include calling things gay ("Recycling Is Gay," "Pottery's Gay," "Anyone Who Likes Dillinger Escape Plan Is Gay," "The Word Homophobia Is Gay"), praising terrible things or people ("Sweatshops Are Cool," "Deadbeat Dads Are Cool," "Hitler Was a Sensitive Man"), baiting women-haters ("I Pushed Your Wife in Front of a Subway") and even the occasional dad-joke ("Our Band Is Wicked Sick [We Have the Flu]"). These happen to be the tamer examples in their catalog, so, for many, Putnam's drug overdose and resulting coma in 2004 seemed an act of karma.
But even with nerve damage that restricted him to a wheelchair for many months, he still sees fit to play songs like "You're in a Coma," claiming that the incident didn't cause him to lose his sense of humor. Dark comedy enthusiasts and/or anti-Semitic and homophobic misogynists can rest easy knowing their poster child is still an asshole.
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Comments (1)
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You actually covered it in the last paragraph. Still makes cripple jokes even after being one for a while (and I believe that there was a good chance he was going to be one forever). Never lost his sense of humor. This is one of the longest running gags going. Don't get me wrong, he is an ass. But we like him that way.
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