When he’s not watching classic Conan O’Brien-produced Simpsons episodes, replacing s’s with z’s to make proze seem breezier and more affable, or playing “Sonic Spinball,” fuzzed-out bliss-pop duder Rikky Gage — a.k.a. Free Weed — can probably be found compulsively making tapes and digital releases with associated outfits such as White Fang, The Memories, and Unkle Funkle.
So it’s no surprise that, a year or so after releasing his debut full-length Introducing, Gage is back to hit us up with some more of that good, nostalgic, warble-y Free Weed action: this time via an action-packed, six-track record of ANY classic-Simpsons fan and Sega Genesis gamer’s favorite 1990s alt-rock jams.
Entitled 199Oz. Buzz Clips From Free Weed and Unkle Funkle, the album is set for release November 25 via the Bad Diet label, and it features Gage’s takes on classics from Ween, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Butthole Surfers, Spacehog, and Third Eye Blind. The thing was produced by Unkle Funkle and mastered by Mikey Young, and you can order it now on black vinyl (with a “deluxe” blue vinyl version sold exclusively at indie stores worldwide to follow). Did I mention that it comes with a free poster, featuring artwork (by Dusty Peterman) that riffs on Larry Clark & Harmony Korine’s 1995 movie Kids? Yeah. Could it get any more nostalgic than this?
Oh wait, yes. Yes, it could. Cuz starting today, you can gear up for the full album by streaming the guys’ (fairly faithful) cover of Butthole Surfer’s 1996 anthem “Pepper.” Check it out (as well as the tracklisting) down below and be instantly transported, via Batman the Animated Series’ batmobile, back to that Junior High School lock-in where you smoked a third of a Newport for the very first time and your life changed forever.
199Oz. Buzz Clips tracklist:
01. Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden)
02. Push Th’ Little Daisies (Ween)
03. Pepper (Butthole Surfers)
04. I’ll Never Let You Go (Third Eye Blind)
05. In The Meantime (Spacehog)
06. Man In The Box (Alice In Chains)