The Dead Milkmen ‘Not Richard, But Dick’ (1993)

It certainly didn’t reign supreme upon its release, and indeed it may not be one of the decade’s number one records, even in some revisionist sense. But in its place, 1993′s Not Richard, But Dick is absolutely considerable. The Dead Milkmen always had a way with feelgood melody, even if asinine lyricism danced on the roof, but where it came off wonderfully clunky in the ’80s, the 1990s threw some slick overtop, centered the tattered pop vocals of guitarist Joe Jack Talcum (known at this time as Butterfly Fairweather) and–well, otherwise it was still the beloved Dead Milkmen. But as poor sales for Not Richard, But Dick caused Hollywood Records to dump the band and let the album fall out of print, relatively few fans got to know the wouldn’t-leave-your-head catchy “Jason’s Head,” “Little Volcano” and “I Started to Hate You,” some of their best, most singable songs since Eat Your Paisley, 1986. The album was also a personal favorite of the band’s members and deserved more fanfare than it received.