The Oxymoron's Dancing on Billy's Grave should be considered one of the "important" albums to come out of Dayton in the early 1990s. Though not garnering national attention like Guided By Voice's Bee Thousand or The Breeder's Last Splash or having a distinct sound like Brainiac or even Cage, the Oxymorons were a great local band that could have existed anytime and anywhere since the late 1970s. Their sound is somewhat traditional in the punk/power-pop vein with a steady attack of guitars, bass, and drums, as opposed to the "alternative"/grunge bands of the era with alternating quiet and noise. With their final album, Dancing on Billy's Grave, the Oxymorons had the swagger and craftsmanship of a group to be reckoned with. Heck, they took shots at the independent press' wonder kid at the time "Billy" Corgan. ("Smashing Sour Grapes") Dancing on Billy's Grave is built on one quality song after another. On a 19-song album there are only a few throwaways. The band had three songwriters. The lyrics are "smart" with many turned phrases and play on words (listen to 'Taoist Lumberjack'). The band offers Gen X credibility by including audio clips from the movie Heathers. And, "Yes I P.C." has one of the best bitter chorus to sing along with that a listener will ever find. Don't hold my hand / It's too heavy on my heart I am not sure if this was the desired intention, but an underlining theme develops on Dancing on Billy's Grave. Death is everywhere on this album. This can be seen in the albums title, the opening track ("Day of Reckoning"), and in the lyrics of two of the band's greatest moments: "Unearthing your Grave" and "First time today". Death is the past (in the form of relationships) and the struggle is to move on. If I had a Top 10 List of Dayton songs, "Unearthing Your Grave" would be near the top. Ben Schelker's opening wailing blends into a tight and fast number, building to a multi-part chorus (the whole song could be the chorus). Without the lyric sheet, you cannot quite make out what is being said, but you can feel the loud, raw emotion. What more could one want from a song? The recording quality of the whole album is very live-in-the-studio. On many of the songs, Nick Atkinson's drums are in the forefront. Patric Jones' vocals can be heard in the background of the acoustic flavored 'First Time Today'. As the song builds to its crescendo, the electric guitars have completely overtaken the singer. I am sure a record label producer could have cleaned up the sound and the Oxymorons could have sounded like Filter, but Dancing on Billy's Grave is what it is. There is a band just like the Oxymorons in your town. If they put together the best of their material, they might be lucky enough to record their own Dancing on Billy's Grave to sell at shows and local record shops on consignment. I am not trying to belittle the Oxymoron's achievements, but I can see why this album did not lead to instant national success. At the same time, Dancing on Billy's Grave will always be one of my favorite albums.