Dusty Peppers, Crabs in a Bucket

DUSTY PEPPERS, CRABS IN A BUCKET

Review by: Ryan S.

Released: Self-Release, 2023

Grade: Letter grades do no justice to this brilliant piece of social commentary

Recommended tracks: 1

FCC unsafe: n/a

Dusty Peppers is an artist who has only released this song, but is open to joining a band, if anyone wants to email him. Crabs in a Bucket is not just a song about crabs in a bucket, it’s a song about the existential dread of a world in which societies actively try to prevent the masses from changing and growing in positive ways. Maybe it’s a wake up call to the all-consuming dangers of capitalist expansion, or maybe it’s a rallying cry against the colonialist values entrenched in Western society, I don’t know. What I do know is that this song made me feel something, which makes it high art in my opinion. That’s not to say that I think this is a good song, by any means, but even saying that betrays the very core of this song, which asks us to look past our own polarizing opinions about the world, and ask ourselves, what are we as individuals willing to do in order to affect systemic change, when the complacent masses continue to fight for the status quo?

Fun Fact: The music video for this song features the 80’s-90’s comedy character, Ernest (portrayed by Dusty Peppers), being chased by the 80’s-present day horror icon, Chucky (also portrayed by Dusty Peppers).

RIYL: King Missile, The Presidents of the United States, or Butthole Surfers

1. A comedy/rock song about crabs in a bucket.