Mudhoney “Superfuzz Bigmuff” 1988. Sub Pop Records. Today, February 21st, is Mudhoney guitarist/singer Mark Arm’s birthday (b. Mark McLaughlin, 1962). Superfuzz Bigmuff was Mudhoney’s first EP release (following their first single, the mind-blowing “Touch Me I’m Sick” – that track later appeared on the 1990 Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles). Closing in on its 30 year anniversary, the EP still sounds revolutionary: dirty grunge that combines the best sounds of punk and metal: raw emotion and mosh-pit melody. “Need” and “Mudride” for example, are so raw that Arm’s voice practically bleeds while “Chain That Door” is Motörhead-level catchy speed. The sample from the movie The Wild Angels that intros the ridiculously intense “In ‘n’ Out of Grace” is a summation of the grunge/punk/metal credo: We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna be free to ride. We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man! … And we wanna get loaded!