Intense Records

Philosophy Of The World

Light In The Attic
LITA15112
Rock
12"

Pre-order - Friday 17th April 2026

£33.33 (£39.99 incl. VAT)

In 1968, three sisters from Fremont, New Hampshire strapped on their instrumentsand declared themselves The Shaggs. At that moment begun a peculiar tale thatwould last far beyond the groups five-year run. Dot, Betty and Helen (andoccasionally Rachel, the fourth sister) played in the group on the insistence of theirfather, Austin Wiggin Jr., who was convinced they were going to be big. Years earlier,Austins mother gave him a palm reading, predicting that her son would marry astrawberry blonde woman, that he would have two sons after his mother died, andthat his daughters would form a popular music outfit. The first two became reality,so Austin was certain the third would follow suit.With pure confidence and his mothers bold prediction, Austin decided that hisdaughters would forgo attending the local high school in favor of home schoolinginterspersed with a strict regiment of instrumental and vocal practice, along withjumping jacks and sit-ups. Soon after The Shaggs would enter Fleetwood Recordingstudios in Revere, Massachusetts to record their sole album, Philosophy Of TheWorld, a collection of garage rock tunes that balanced charm and discordance inequal measure. Austin would spend most of his savings not only on the session butalso on the manufacturing costs to press up 1,000 copies of the album (900 of whichmysteriously vanished upon completion).Throughout _Philosophy_... simple truths are revealed through the pen of sister Dot,the songwriter of the band. The rich people want what the poor people got, just asthe poor people want what the rich people got. Your parents love you. There ishappiness in nearness and sadness in the farness.The album failed to fulfill Austins expectations of rock stardom, though the groupremained together until their fathers death, performing frequently at the Fremonttown hall and a local nursing home, no further albums were released. That mighthave been the end of it, until rock band NRBQ discovered a copy at a Massachusettsradio station and re-released it in 1980. Rolling Stones reviewer at the timedescribed it as the most stunningly awful wonderful record Ive heard in ages.Nearly 50 years later, the album ranks among the most polarizing LPs of all time.Some said it was the worst thing ever made. Others felt it was one of the great longplayers of the 20th century. Frank Zappa famously dubbed the band better than TheBeatles, while Kurt Cobain placed the album at #5 on his list of Top 50 favoritealbums. Original copies of the album fetch for $10,000.Decades later and one could argue that maybe Austin was right all along. Were allhere, still enthralled by the purity of The Shaggs.Tracks:Philosophy of the World; That Little Sports Car; Who Are Parents?; My Pal Foot Foot;My Companion; I'm so Happy When You're Near; Things I Wonder; Sweet Thing; It'sHalloween; Why Do I Feel?; What Should I Do?; We Have a Savior