When Genaro graduated and enrolled at Temple, he and Linderman kept up a songwriting partnership through the mail. During high school, Genaro started writing a newsletter about a fictional band called the Dead Milkmen, and the exploits of their lead singer, Jack Talcum. Guitarist and occasional vocalist Joe Jack Talcum (born Joe Genaro) and lead singer Rodney Anonymous (aka Rodney Amadeus Anonymous, aka Rodney Anonymous Melloncamp, born Rodney Linderman) grew up together in the small Pennsylvania town of Wagontown. The Dead Milkmen were formed at Philadelphia's Temple University in 1983. Oddly enough, by that time they were exerting at least a small measure of influence - perhaps more than any of their peers, they paved the way for the legion of smart-assed geek-rockers who ruled alternative radio for a brief period in the mid-'90s. But despite the mixed reviews, the Milkmen earned a devoted cult following (which famously included Detroit Tigers utility infielder Jim Walewander), a few novelty hits on college radio, and even an MTV hit with "Punk Rock Girl." As polarizing as their sense of humor was among critics, it was what fans wanted and came to expect, and attempts to move into more genuine, serious territory during the '90s effectively spelled the end of the band. Critics alternately praised and dismissed the band as geeky, juvenile wiseasses - virtually every review seemed to contain the word "sophomoric," and either you found them funny or you didn't. Playing a basic, happily amateurish brand of punk-pop, the Milkmen skewered popular culture, indie trend followers, and the intellectually challenged, while frequently indulging their taste for tastelessness. During their heyday in the late '80s, the Dead Milkmen led a crop of college-radio jokesters that also included Mojo Nixon, King Missile, and Too Much Joy, among others.
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