The Judy's - Moo (1985)

Note: in addition to the 12 tracks from The Moo Album, this CD also contains the 7 tracks of the band's lead singer David Bean's 1983 solo EP, Modomusic. Moo was originally purchased as a cassette, later replaced with an LP. Modomusic was originally purchased as a vinyl EP. Both releases were later replaced by this single CD.

"Does a dog have a Buddah nature? Moo." [sic] - Zen Koan
from the album's liner notes

More New Wave power pop gems from the guys from Pearland. Picking up where they left off with their previous releases, we get plenty of 2 minute songs full of hooks and witty lyrics. The band sticks with its minimalist sound for the most part, but the production is much cleaner. Great job on the remastering. Rumor has it that the Moo album was originally titled "Killer Pussy" but I can't (and won't) comment on that. I can't find my cassette copy of Moo, but I remember the j-card not having the lyrics but instead: "The album has a lyric sheet. You should have bought the LP." Well, the CD doesn't have the lyrics, either, but there's no smartass comment this time, just 19 great tracks. I don't consider my self an "indie" guy, but if I had to give myself that label to listen to this music, I'd gladly do it. I'm a fan.

The band spent some time opening for The B-52's and Talking Heads. Believe it or not, R.E.M. opened for The Judy's in 1981 at Club Foot in Austin. You can check out the band at MySpace. As of this writing, the band's music is still unavailable on iTunes.

Tracks: Nothing to skip here; my favorite tracks from Moo are Teenage Millionaire, Magazine Man, Wilma A Go-Go, Grass Is Greener, Perfect Crime, and Milk (which, appropriately, may be the best track of the Moo songs).

Without question, my favorite track from the Modomusic tracks is Marsha's Car. Other top cuts here are Watch Her Go and Betty-O!. I'm not a fan of Island, but I can't bring myself to skip it. I can't imagine going through my senior year of high school without Modomusic. Hip local music was perfect for a music snob/contrarian like me. One of the tracks from Modomusic, My Imagination, was reworked to sound like a Beach Boys tune and released on a 1984 Elektra LP sampler titled Herd It Through The Grapevine: Ten From Texas which also had local acts like Random Culture, Optimysitcs, and Johnny Reno.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Being big Judy's fans by 1983, my friends and I drove to Houston to buy Modomusic the week of its release.  Most likely we went to the Record Exchange on Westheimer. That place was a laundromat last time I drove by there (which I guess is fitting since I bought an album named Washarama there).

During spring break of my freshman year in college, I drove to Austin and saw the band with Scott at the Austin Opera House.


I found my cassette copy of Moo in San Antonio in the spring of 1989. It was in heavy rotation in my car as work filled my days and grad school filled my nights. I believe the tape eventually stretched to the point I could no longer enjoy it, so I went out and found a vinyl copy.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Washarama (1981)