Review

"There's a time to live and a time to die/I smoke Elvis Presley's toenails when I want to get high." So begins the Butthole Surfers's eponymous 1983 EP, repackaged on Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP with its live 1984 follow-up. The line, together with the caustic, hellacious instrumentation of "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave," accurately sums up the band's bizarre, hilarious, and ultimately intellectual shlock-core. And since the Buttholes launched their 20-year voyage down the crazy river with these EPs, they're essential listening for fans. Besides the entire live EP, the set includes a second previously unreleased encore, "Sinister Crayon" (recorded for the first EP), and a demo version of "Something."