Through the Courtesy of Fred's Two Feet

Once again, this morning I've found myself with a little unexpected free time and have used it to continue programming my mix tape work-in-progress masterpiece -- Great Lost Singles of the 80s. In this case, the latest addition is Bruce Springstone's hilarious version of "Meet the Flintstones."



That's without question the funniest piece of rock criticism of the decade (originally released in 1982), but up until today, I had labored under the misconception that it was the work of a journeyman bar band from Delaware. Not so; a Google search turns up the info that it was the brainchild of Baltimore writer, illustrator and cartoonist Tom Chalkley, who conceived of combining The Flintstones and The Boss and provided the raspy Bruce Springsteen vocal as well. I also learned that the thing sold 35,000 copies -- a huge number for an indie single -- before Hanna-Barbera pulled the plug with a cease-and-desist order based on the cover artwork. Even more interesting, the guitar is provided by power pop god Tommy Keene.

You can download the thing (including the B-side, a Springsteen take on "Take Me Out to the Ballgame") here; if you have some kind of bizarre moral qualms about filesharing, you can simply listen to it via the YouTube below.