Frogs drummer missing, presumed drowned

Dennis Flemion, one-half of Milwaukee outsider-pop duo The Frogs, is presumed dead after disappearing while swimming in a lake with family and friends. As of Monday evening, his body had still not been located. He was 57.

Possibly the most deliberately button-pushing act in the history of indie rock, The Frogs spent most of their three-decade-plus career on the margins despite having several LPs and singles released by high-profile labels like Homestead and Matador. Their stage show mixed DIY costuming (most notably a pair of six-foot wings lead singer Jimmy Flemion, Dennis' younger brother, regularly wore), deliberately simplistic song structures akin to Jonathan Richman, and deadpan lyrics about topics like race relations and homosexuality, many of which satirically espoused extremist views guaranteed to make just about any audience feel uncomfortable.

The Frogs' high-profile fans included Smashing Pumpkins, whose bassist James Iha released several Frogs discs on his label Scratchie Records, and Beck: the "That was a good drum break" interjection in his 1996 hit "Where It's At" is actually the first line of "I Don't Care If You Disrespect Me (Just So You Love Me)," from 1989's hugely controversial gay-themed album It's Only Right and Natural.