Misfits - Come Back

In preparation for the 2010 Halloween Countdown and the season overall, I (like previous years) started listening to horror punk and rock sometime around mid-September. This usually burns me out two weeks into October but I think this year might be different. There's something special in the air, outside of the saturation due to coastal hurricanes.

I can tell because I actually listen to 'Come Back' by the Misfits instead of skipping over it. I don't know why I used to do it; it's one of those strange habits, the kneejerk instant reactions that stick. There are a lot of records sitting in my collection that are half-listened and currently await the day when I don't reach for the NEXT button whenever that one song comes up.

'Come Back' is different from most Misfits songs. The most obvious is that outside the regular song length, this clocks in at five minutes - an eternity for an 80's hardcore band. It's also very slow, a low crawling thudding with no high notes and nothing but static. Compared to hits like 'Astro Zombies,' 'Hybrid Moments' and 'She,' it's like the Misfits ripped a couple bong hits and decided to mellow out. Closer to 'London Dungeon' than any other song, 'Come Back' is this gnarling lament of a corpse crying out for a raven to devour the carrion this body has become. It's almost sexy.

As the Misfits are known for being clear with their influences, a la the 1950's dowop/bebop of such songs as 'Skulls,' 'Horror Business' and 'Some Kind of Hate,' I think that 'Come Back' is a tribute to another Misfits influence - the Stooges. I would not be surprised if Glen Danzig had a copy of 'Raw Power' or the first Stooges album and played it until it was worn down. Something like 'Come Back' would fit right in between 'Down on the Street' and 'Dirt.' 

I might be wrong. Check it out for yourself and let me know in the comments.