"Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight" is a song by the American punk rock band

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

. Written by vocalist

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns t ...

, the song was first released as a live recording on their 1982 album ''

Walk Among Us ''Walk Among Us'' is the debut album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released in March 1982 by Ruby Records and its parent label Slash Records. It was the first full-length album to be released by the band, although it was the third to ...

''. A studio recording of the song was later released alongside the track "We Bite" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the 1984 single "

Die, Die My Darling "Die, Die My Darling" is a song by the American horror punk band Misfits. It was released in May 1984 on singer Glenn Danzig's label, Plan 9 Records, seven months after the band's breakup. The song is titled after the 1965 horror film ''Fanatic ...

". "Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight" was later included on the 1986

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' (also known as ''Collection I''), the cassette and CD releases of the album '' Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood'', and the 1996 boxed set '' The Misfits''.

Background and release

"Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight" was first released on the Misfits' debut album ''

'', released in March 1982 by

Ruby Records Ruby Records is an American record label, founded predominantly as a rock music label subsidiary of Slash Records. The original version of the label released seven albums in 1981 and 1982. Ruby was distributed through the same independent distrib ...

, an imprint of

Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative rock, alternative music, befor ...

. This version of the song was recorded live on December 17, 1981 at the Ritz in New York City, and is the only live track on the album. In July 1983, the song was re-recorded at Fox Studio in

Rutherford, New Jersey Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, fr ...

, and this version was included alongside the track "We Bite" as the

of the single "

", which was released in May 1984 through Danzig's own label,

Plan 9 Records Plan 9 Records, originally known as Blank Records, was an independent record label that was founded in 1977 by Glenn Danzig of the horror punk band The Misfits. The label was discontinued in 1995. In 1977, Danzig founded Blank Records as a means ...

. Although they were not included on the original LP version of '' Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood'', all three songs from the "Die, Die My Darling" single (including the studio version of "Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight") were included on the album when it was first released on cassette in 1988 and on CD in 1992. The song was also included on the 1986

'' (also known as ''Collection I''), which would later be included in the 1996 boxed set '' The Misfits''.

Critical reception

Aaron Lariviere of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' ranked "Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight" No. 10 on his list of the 10 best Misfits songs, writing that the song's opening "leads into one of the best Misfits moments ever when the song lurches to a sudden stop. Everything hangs for a second before Danzig screams the title ..and we bash our way through the song in double-time." Chris Krovatin of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' included the song on his list of the 13 "best songs about mothers", calling it a "breakneck Misfits classic". In his book ''This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits'', author James Greene, Jr. writes of the song and its inclusion on ''Walk Among Us'': "Curiously enough, the Misfits chose to break up their debut's slick presentation midway through with a very rough live recording of the proto-

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

half-joke 'Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight?' ..The slightly off-time performance is an interesting palate cleanser but manages to keep thematically with the rest of the album's frustrated outcast mantras."

Personnel

''Walk Among Us'' version

The Misfits *

– vocals *

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup. Biog ...

– bass *

Doyle Doyle is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a back-formation from O'Doyle, which is an Anglicisation of the Irish (), meaning "descendant of ''Dubhghall''". There is another possible etymology: the Anglo-Norman surname ''D'Oyley'' with agglut ...

– guitar *

Arthur Googy Arthur Googy is an American percussionist known for being the drummer of horror punk band The Misfits from 1980 to 1982. Originally from Jackson Heights, New York, he attended Blessed Sacrament elementary school followed by a brisk visit to Newto ...

– drums Production * Mike Taylor – producer * The Misfits – producers * Pat Burnette – producer

Single version

The Misfits * Glenn Danzig – vocals * Jerry Only – bass * Doyle – guitar *

Robo Robo may refer to: *robot, an electro-mechanical device that can perform autonomous or preprogrammed tasks *Automation (robo-), roboticization *Robo (musician) (born 1955), Roberto Valverde, drummer in punk bands Black Flag and The Misfits *Robo ( ...

– drums Production *

Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (produ ...

– producer * The Misfits – producers

Cover versions

The Bouncing Souls The Bouncing Souls are an American punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1989. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk rock scene, they had reignited a "pogo" element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-he ...

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song for the 1997 tribute album '' Violent World: A Tribute to the Misfits''. The song has also been covered by Plasmid.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* 1981 songs 1982 songs Misfits (band) songs Songs written by Glenn Danzig Speed metal songs {{DEFAULTSORT:Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight