There were (at least) two different groups by that name. You may be thinking of the later one, who were from Ohio. The guys I posted were from NYC.
If the Menendez brothers have any justification for killing their parents, the Shaggs would have at least as much if they had killed theirs.
And they show up in my favorite Guster song (“Amsterdam”, a bouncy-yet-dark-yet-fun singalong):
I threw away your greatest hits
You left them here the day you split
Your bass guitar and Shaggs CD
Well they don’t mean that much to me right now…
Two Godz? I did not know that.
I have always felt that the Shaggs were the sound of a band stuck in the situation where they had to practice and play, but they really didn’t want to. So they decided that if they would do it, but not one bit more than they absolutely had to. The result is almost entertaining.
My brother has played bass guitar in local bands for over 35 years. As the band members have changed (many due to military re-postings), they have changed their repertoire quite often.
He has told me several times that the most difficult songs for him to learn are those he hates. “But the vote was 4 to 1 that we play ‘Yummy, Yummy, Yummy’ and we go by majority vote.” (Note: Not the actual song, but I’m afraid that I will be overwhelmed with feedback if I used the name of the actual song.)
Another response to your post: I also Tivo the All-State concert, which in Iowa airs on PBS. There was one year where the band music was atonal and had no discernible melodies. I’m guessing that the director who chose it was asked not to come back.
My mother told me about someone she knew who had to put her husband in a nursing home after his Alzheimer’s progressed beyond a point where he could live at home. One day, she called, and was told that he wasn’t available because he was at bell choir practice. He never had any musical interest or ability, but they had gotten bells designed for children, and it was one of their activities. That may also have sounded better than either of those things.