Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:42 am
Can't believe there isn't a topic for this yet! Guess I'll get things started. . .
LIVING WITH A HERNIA: Love it! This was the first song of Al's I heard when a friend of mine brought a tape of PP and DTBS to school back in the 80's (I must have been around 13 years old or so.) As soon as I heard it, I was hooked! Of course, for awhile, I thought that these were the only two Al tapes in existence, and listened to them over and over again. Eventually, I got wise and started buying all of his albums. I might have been quicker on the uptake if I had the Internet back then. . .oh well. I digress. LWAH still cracks me up! Not only are the lyrics a hoot, Al's James Brown impression is downright hilarious! Underrated video, too. 10/10
DOG EAT DOG: I didn't used to get much out of this song, but then that was before I worked in an office enviornment or was aware of Talking Heads. Now that I'm knowledgable of both, this song is a classic! One of my favorite concert songs, too. Office Space almost 15 years early! "This is not my beautiful stapler!" 10/10
ADDICTED TO SPUDS: Funny song, although one of those rare Al parodies that (to me) sounds nothing like the original, instrumentally. I think if it had more of the feel of the Robert Palmer song I would give this one a higher mark. 7/10
ONE OF THOSE DAYS: Hilarous song! I love how doom-and-gloom it is, and how it balances the horrific (nuclear annihilation) with the banal (running out of Cheetos). Also, the climax of the song sets the listener up nicely for CAGZ. 9/10
POLKA PARTY!: Ironically, my least favorite Al polka. Just doesn't seem to move like the others, and Al doesn't seem particularly into it. Most of the songs in the medley are kinda boring, too. This is the track I'm most inclined to skip when listening to this album. 5.5/10
HERE'S JOHNNY: At one time, this was my all-time favorite Al parody. Of course, that was back when I was 14 and Al only had 4 or 5 albums out. Plus, Johnny Carson was still on the Tonight Show. I guess his absence has kinda taken the juice out of this one, but I still think it's one of Al's most clever parodies. 8.5/10
DON'T WEAR THOSE SHOES: I'm not sure what this song is about, or what prompted Al to write it. . .but I dig it! It's a strange song, lyrically, but it's got a good beat and you can dance to it. You gotta give points for that. 7/10
TOOTHLESS PEOPLE: It was years before I realized this was a parody. I had never seen the movie Ruthless People , and I don't think the song got any airplay in my neck of the woods. It's amusing enough, I guess. Although I think Al could have picked a more popular song to parody I think. 6.5/10
GOOD ENOUGH FOR NOW: Not a lot of people like this one, but I think it's hilarious! I guess the heavy country sound probably turns people off, but I love how sincere it sounds until you actually listen to the words. I think the idea of an ambivalent love song (a "like" song?) is a brilliant concept. 9.5/10
CHRISTMAS AT GROUND ZERO: Al was asked to deliver a "novelty" Christmas song for this album. . .and boy did he ever! Although he tried it again by turning Santa into a mass murderer in TNSWC, I still don't think he quite topped this one. . .a holiday carol about nuclear holocaust on Christmas Day! Yup. That about covers it! And I'm not one of these guys who started disliking this song after 9/11, either. . .because it isn't ABOUT 9/11! I can't help that people started referring to the WTC site "Ground Zero", even if it is a slight misuse of the term. (Al is actually using the correct definition of GZ, which is "the point of detonation of a nuclear blast.") No sir, the terrorists aren't going to succeed in dampening MY enjoyment of this song! It's continues to be a staple of my Christmas morning each and every year, and it should be of yours, too. 10/10
OVERALL: Don't know if I have a soft spot for this one since it's one of the first Al-bums I owned, but then so was DTBS, and that one is far from my favorite. No, I think this album holds up quite well, and I'm surprised at how underrated it seems to be. This would definitely crack the Top 5 on my list of favorite Al-bums. (My major complaint would be I just wish it were longer. . .it seems so short!) 8.5/10
Meadows
LIVING WITH A HERNIA: Love it! This was the first song of Al's I heard when a friend of mine brought a tape of PP and DTBS to school back in the 80's (I must have been around 13 years old or so.) As soon as I heard it, I was hooked! Of course, for awhile, I thought that these were the only two Al tapes in existence, and listened to them over and over again. Eventually, I got wise and started buying all of his albums. I might have been quicker on the uptake if I had the Internet back then. . .oh well. I digress. LWAH still cracks me up! Not only are the lyrics a hoot, Al's James Brown impression is downright hilarious! Underrated video, too. 10/10
DOG EAT DOG: I didn't used to get much out of this song, but then that was before I worked in an office enviornment or was aware of Talking Heads. Now that I'm knowledgable of both, this song is a classic! One of my favorite concert songs, too. Office Space almost 15 years early! "This is not my beautiful stapler!" 10/10
ADDICTED TO SPUDS: Funny song, although one of those rare Al parodies that (to me) sounds nothing like the original, instrumentally. I think if it had more of the feel of the Robert Palmer song I would give this one a higher mark. 7/10
ONE OF THOSE DAYS: Hilarous song! I love how doom-and-gloom it is, and how it balances the horrific (nuclear annihilation) with the banal (running out of Cheetos). Also, the climax of the song sets the listener up nicely for CAGZ. 9/10
POLKA PARTY!: Ironically, my least favorite Al polka. Just doesn't seem to move like the others, and Al doesn't seem particularly into it. Most of the songs in the medley are kinda boring, too. This is the track I'm most inclined to skip when listening to this album. 5.5/10
HERE'S JOHNNY: At one time, this was my all-time favorite Al parody. Of course, that was back when I was 14 and Al only had 4 or 5 albums out. Plus, Johnny Carson was still on the Tonight Show. I guess his absence has kinda taken the juice out of this one, but I still think it's one of Al's most clever parodies. 8.5/10
DON'T WEAR THOSE SHOES: I'm not sure what this song is about, or what prompted Al to write it. . .but I dig it! It's a strange song, lyrically, but it's got a good beat and you can dance to it. You gotta give points for that. 7/10
TOOTHLESS PEOPLE: It was years before I realized this was a parody. I had never seen the movie Ruthless People , and I don't think the song got any airplay in my neck of the woods. It's amusing enough, I guess. Although I think Al could have picked a more popular song to parody I think. 6.5/10
GOOD ENOUGH FOR NOW: Not a lot of people like this one, but I think it's hilarious! I guess the heavy country sound probably turns people off, but I love how sincere it sounds until you actually listen to the words. I think the idea of an ambivalent love song (a "like" song?) is a brilliant concept. 9.5/10
CHRISTMAS AT GROUND ZERO: Al was asked to deliver a "novelty" Christmas song for this album. . .and boy did he ever! Although he tried it again by turning Santa into a mass murderer in TNSWC, I still don't think he quite topped this one. . .a holiday carol about nuclear holocaust on Christmas Day! Yup. That about covers it! And I'm not one of these guys who started disliking this song after 9/11, either. . .because it isn't ABOUT 9/11! I can't help that people started referring to the WTC site "Ground Zero", even if it is a slight misuse of the term. (Al is actually using the correct definition of GZ, which is "the point of detonation of a nuclear blast.") No sir, the terrorists aren't going to succeed in dampening MY enjoyment of this song! It's continues to be a staple of my Christmas morning each and every year, and it should be of yours, too. 10/10
OVERALL: Don't know if I have a soft spot for this one since it's one of the first Al-bums I owned, but then so was DTBS, and that one is far from my favorite. No, I think this album holds up quite well, and I'm surprised at how underrated it seems to be. This would definitely crack the Top 5 on my list of favorite Al-bums. (My major complaint would be I just wish it were longer. . .it seems so short!) 8.5/10
Meadows