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Cover of Big Lizard in My Backyard by Dead Milkmen
Cover: Big Lizard in My Backyard

Song · Dead Milkmen

“Bitchin' Camaro” by Dead Milkmen

From the album Big Lizard in My Backyard (1985)

“Bitchin' Camaro” by Dead Milkmen appears on 35 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1986 and 2023. It was first released in 1985 on the album Big Lizard in My Backyard. Its best result is #19 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #68 alternative song of 1986 and #285 alternative song of all time.

35countdowns
9stations
#19best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1986–2023years charted

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Bitchin' Camaro

Video from YouTube (The Dead Milkmen - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Bitchin' Camaro" is the Dead Milkmen's calling card, a cut from their 1985 debut album Big Lizard in My Backyard that never went out as a single and never needed to. College radio in the US grabbed it anyway, and it became the first Milkmen song to catch on and get real airplay. It's still one of their best-known tunes, right up there with 1988's "Punk Rock Girl".

The joke is in the structure. It opens with a long, rambling, shaggy-dog conversation between two characters, then the band stomps on the gas and tears through a hardcore punk blast in honor of a bitchin' Chevy Camaro. Rodney Anonymous and Joe Jack Talcum handle the vocals, Talcum's guitar buzzes like a lawnmower, and Dave Blood's bass and Dean Clean's drums keep it rattling like a muffler about to drop off. The whole band wrote it, and they produced it with John Wicks, who recorded and mixed it with Bob Dickie.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1986 19 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 186 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 23 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1991 94 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1994 45 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 45 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 335 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 1004 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 44 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 198 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 24 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 199 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 170 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 25 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 170 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 56 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 41 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 170 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 40 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 353 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 170 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 55 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 170 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 779 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 44 The Edge KEDJ Top 103 on Independent Radio 103
2006 59 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 664 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 630 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 629 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 651 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 858 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 670 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 692 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 709 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2023 790 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909

Also listed as: Bitchin' Camero; Bitchin Camaro.

Charting alongside it in 1986

Best songs of 1986 →
  1. 1PanicThe Smiths
  2. 2AskThe Smiths
  3. 3Bigmouth Strikes AgainThe Smiths
  4. 4SledgehammerPeter Gabriel
  5. 5Wild Wild LifeTalking Heads
  6. 6Don't Get Me WrongThe Pretenders

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