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Can — ”Mother Upduff”

A curious psychedelic relic vaguely reminiscent of The Velvet Underground’s “The Gift,” “Mother Upduff” relates a story (apparently an urban legend) about a couple who take the father’s mother on vacation to Italy, only for her to get killed by, um, a giant octopus. The couple strap what’s left of poor old Mother Upduff to the roof of the car and drive back to Germany, or at least they do until the car — along with its macabre cargo — gets stolen en route. The fact that “Upduff” is a bastardization of “up the duff” — i.e. pregnant — only makes the whole thing even stranger. A metaphor about motherhood/parenthood? A flight of absurdist whimsy? Too much acid? Only Can’s notoriously erratic first vocalist Malcolm Mooney could tell you for sure.