Inactive

[TMBJon]

Hopefully they'll bring a giant drum on stage for Al's live performances of "Inactive" too!

I would count on it! The drum is a major centerpiece of the video too. Big spotlight opportunity for Bermuda!!

[The Sporkman]

I would count on it! The drum is a major centerpiece of the video too. Big spotlight opportunity for Bermuda!!

Maybe not Bermuda, though, unfortunately. In the live performance video, you can see that the regular drummer has a part to play on the regular drum kit while the lead singer and bassist(?) play the huge drum.

[minnick27]

I see them bringing it out and blocking Ruben and have him peeking around the drum during the song and whoever hitting the drum near wherever he comes out

[Bruce the Duck]

Here's a thought completely out of left field. Any chance Al might have brought in Musical Mike on this track?

The last time Musical Mike made an appearance was 20 years ago on Headline News, and that seemed like a way of celebrating Al's career on that last track. If MF is possibly Al's last album, it would be neat to have Musical Mike back. I chose this song because A) It has a rather complex musical arrangement, and in listening to it Musical Mike would fit right in, and B) If the song is going in the "Callin' in Sick" direction, Mike's "hand" noises would go perfectly with the theme.

If it did happen it would probably only be at the end, like with Headline News. And seeing as it's been so long since we've heard from him on an Al track, it's probably unlikely, but just a thought I had while listening to the original today.

[bizarreblair]

Here's a thought completely out of left field. Any chance Al might have brought in Musical Mike on this track?

The last time Musical Mike made an appearance was 20 years ago on Headline News, and that seemed like a way of celebrating Al's career on that last track. If MF is possibly Al's last album, it would be neat to have Musical Mike back. I chose this song because A) It has a rather complex musical arrangement, and in listening to it Musical Mike would fit right in, and B) If the song is going in the "Callin' in Sick" direction, Mike's "hand" noises would go perfectly with the theme.

If it did happen it would probably only be at the end, like with Headline News. And seeing as it's been so long since we've heard from him on an Al track, it's probably unlikely, but just a thought I had while listening to the original today.

I wish! I had dinner with Mike, Damaskas, and Jovial Joan a few years ago. Mike said it's been years since he's done anything at all with the hand music thing, and I got the sense that he had no interest in it anymore. Disappointing, right? Having said that, if Al asked, who knows?

[Bruce the Duck]

Yeah, that was more just wishful thinking than anything else. It was such a cool surprise at the end of "Headline News" with Mike and the accordion.

[WesY2K]

Are we still speculating what this could be about? I just thought it would a funny idea if this was the lament of a middle aged man about how everything starts hurting while you are getting old. Something like:

I'm waking up, a cracking in my bones
I sound like Rice krispies, ya know
Welcome to the old age, to the old age
Welcome to the old age, to the old age
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
I'm really inactive, really inactive

Yeah, we know Al will come up with something more clever...

[WeirdAbbott]

I'm really looking forward to this one, but as someone previously mentioned, I hope it isn't a "You're Pitiful" 2.0. (Just like I hope "Handy" isn't a sequel to "Hardware Store" and "Foil" isn't a sequel to "Livin' in the Fridge").

Anyway, I was thinking...if an inhaler sound effect isn't used in the inhale/exhale part in the beginning, I'll be incredibly disappointed.

[Bruce the Duck]

I'm really looking forward to this one, but as someone previously mentioned, I hope it isn't a "You're Pitiful" 2.0. (Just like I hope "Handy" isn't a sequel to "Hardware Store" and "Foil" isn't a sequel to "Livin' in the Fridge").

I don't understand why people make these judgements that if a song has a similar theme to another song, it diminishes the quality of the song. Was "Hardware Store" diminished because he had already done two other songs about home improvement previously? Was "Jerry Springer" a "rehash" (I really hate that word) of "Talk Soup?" No! In fact, I'd argue that both of those examples were superior to the previous songs.

And even when the songs aren't an improvement on the topic, they can still be perfectly enjoyable regardless. "Do I Creep You Out" was a good song, despite Al already covering the topic of creepy stalkers in "Melanie." Probably the best example of similar topics in songs - "Grapefruit Diet" wasn't nearly as good as "Fat," but it was still an enjoyable song, and the music was vastly different, making it a separate and different experience from "Fat."

And by the way, just based on the title, I'd guess that "Inactive" would be closer to "Callin' in Sick" than "You're Pitiful," which is good, because "Callin' in Sick" was kind of weak lyrically for me, so I'd welcome an improvement on the concept.

[TMBJon]

Anyway, I was thinking...if an inhaler sound effect isn't used in the inhale/exhale part in the beginning, I'll be incredibly disappointed.

Unless the reason he's so Inactive is because of what he's breathing in...