The Swirling Eddies - "Zoom Daddy"

The Swirling Eddies - Zoom Daddy

1994, Alarma

1. I Had a Bad Experience With the C.I.A. and Now I'm Gonna Show You My Feminine Side

2. Mr. Sharky

3. (Disco) Love Grapes

4. Nightmare at Elks Lodge

5. The Golden Girl of the Golden West

6. Sweet Mother of God

7. The Twist

8. God Went Bowling

9. Multipurpose Man

10. Pyro Sets a Wildfire

11. Some Friendly Advice

12. Art Carney's Dream

13. Holy, Holy, Holy

14. Zoom Daddy

I bought this shortly after I posted my Outdoor Elvis review and someone left a comment suggested I get Zoom Daddy. I just have one thing to say to that person: THANK YOU SO MUCH! The Eddies' third disc is something of an enigma. While the previous effort was pretty easy to classify, this one is well... unique. In fact, my first time through I asked myself, "What the heck am I listening to?!" Be forewarned, Zoom Daddy takes a few listens to sink in. Probably the first thing I noticed is that despite the humorous song titles this album is serious as a heart attack. While some of the imagery is amusing the points that are being made are somber and grave - pondering the deeper mysteries of God and the human condition. "The Twist" is a heartrending depiction of Christ on the cross and "Art Carney's Dream" is a farce with one of the most beautiful refrains I've ever heard ("Then I caught sight of You/And Your beauty broke my heart"). The music itself defies classification. You really just have to hear it for yourself because I really have no way to describe it. "Nightmare at Elks Lodge" is an strange little ditty that oddly enough, sounds just like the title describes - slow lounge verses with an off time chorus. The atmosphere of the song makes me think of the game Bioshock. The guitar parts are filtered through some strange effects and Tim Chandler's bass seems a lot more upfront. Of course, since I think Tim Chandler is one of the most underrated bassists out there, this is only a good thing. I still amazed at how wonderful, poignant, and thrilling this album is. Highly, highly recommended!

Useless Fact: The band drops the silly nicknames they'd used on the previous album. OR this is a bunch of impostors if the liner notes to Sacred Cows are to be believed.

Sixpence None the Richer - "Divine Discontent"

Sixpence None the Richer - Divine Discontent

2002, Squint

1. Breathe Your Name

2. Tonight

3. Down and Out of Time

4. Don't Dream It's Over

5. Waiting On the Sun

6. Still Burning

7. Melody of You

8. Paralyzed

9. I've Been Waiting

10. Eyes Wide Open

11. Dizzy

12. Tension is a Passing Note

13. A Million Parachutes

I remember when I got this the first time that I didn't like it much. I thought it was an attempt to cash in on the commercial success of "Kiss Me" with a whole album geared toward the mainstream market. However, I've been giving this a second chance and I have to say I've enjoyed it a lot more this time around. Is it really more commercial? You bet. "Breathe Your Name," "Tonight," and "Waiting on the Sun" are just begging for radio airplay. I've been wondering whether the new direction is something the band wanted to do or something they were pushed into by the label. Though it would seem odd that Squint would push anyone into anything but maybe that was after Steve Taylor left. Anyway, I still enjoyed those pop tunes. Then there's the beautiful and mesmerizing "Melody of You" with the finger-picking guitar strain and Leigh's melodic, soft vocals make that track a standout. I also enjoy the Crowded House cover, "Don't Dream It's Over." The only song I don't really care for is "Dizzy." I'm not sure what it is but I get a little bored with this tune. I don't think this is the best the band has done, but it's a lot better than I originally gave it credit for.

Useless Fact: This was the last disc before the band took an extended hiatus.

Crashdog - "Cashists, Fascists, and Other Fungus"

Crashdog - Cashists, Fascists, and Other Fungus

1994, REX/Grrr

1. G.O.P.

2. ?School

3. My God

4. Family Tree

5. George's Poem

6. Option

7. Hateedge

8. Same Old Pain

9. Helpless

10. The Tale of Two Parties

11. Five

12. Intolerance

13. Cradle

14. Monster

15. Sept. 1994

16. Eve of Destruction

I got this recently because I'm trying to fill out my Crashdog collection and I remember enjoying this back in the day. Unfortunately, this didn't turn out as good as my memories would have me believe. Despite the fact that I said the band changed their sound in my Mud Angels review it really hasn't changed. It's still old school punk albeit without Spike Nard's trademark feux-British timbre. He gave the band a distinct sound and I don't think former guitarist Andrew Mandell is really up to the challenge. His voice got on my nerves after awhile he almost sounds like Gene from Lust Control only Andrew sounds like he's seconds away from passing out. The other problem with Andrew in front of the mike is that it takes him away from the guitar. Crashdog's guitar parts have, to me, always been far more technical, vibrant, and alive than most bands of this ilk. How many punk bands do you know that had honest-to-goodness leads in their songs? Not many I would wager. Sadly, on Cashists you won't hear anything like that - it's just standard punk power chords. Though the album isn't without it's bright spots. I think it starts off strong with "G.O.P." and "?School" and ends strong with the phenomenal "Sept. 1994" (featuring Bones Krogh back on bagpipes!) and cover tune "Eve of Destruction." I kind of wish the whole album sounded like those last two tracks as they are by far the most interesting thing this platter has to offer. Maybe that's why Andrew went on to form Ballydowse later on... hey... maybe I'll like Ballydowse. Gotta check them out at some point.

I'd also like to bring up one little nitpicky issue about the lyrics. They're a lot more political this time around (not that Crashdog ever shied away from politics). That' doesn't bother me but what I thought was funny was when in "My God" Andrew sings, "My God/ Doesn't hand out disease as punishment." To which I said, "Um... yes he does... and has! Read the Old Testament!" Now I know what he's saying - that H.I.V. isn't specifically designed by God to punish people, but the statement he makes is false. God has done that and may still do that. That doesn't mean he doesn't love us. I know I just sounded like I contradicted myself, but I didn't.

Useless Fact: Crashdog did one more album called Outer Crust and a "greatest hits" CD called 7 Years to Nowhere before calling it a day. As stated before, Andrew went on to form Ballydowse.

Hedberg, Mitch - "Mitch All Together"

Hedberg, Mitch - Mitch All Together

2003, Comedy Central

1. This CD is in Stores

2. Sandwiches

3. Not Track Five, Not Chainsaw Juggler

4. Teeth

5. Candy Bars

6. Houses

7. Pop

8. The Pipe

9. Business Cards

10. Sesame Seeds

11. Three Easy Payments

12. Arrows

13. Saved by the Buoyancy of Citrus

14. Mitch in the S'th

15. Bed and Breakfast

16. X

17. Movie Pot

I got this the same time as Strategic Grill Locations. I think this one, being shorter, and a better ratio of funny jokes to lame ones. It also kept me sane on my long car ride. I think I must have listened to those two CDs ten or eleven times while driving. I think I even got lost around Washington while this disc was playing. My disc also came with an extra DVD with a couple of Mitch's sets on it.

Useless Fact: After Mitch died an album was released called Do You Believe in Gosh? It really sucks that he died. He was really funny.

Hedberg, Mitch - "Strategic Grill Locations"

Hedberg, Mitch - Strategic Grill Locations

1999, Comedy Central

1. The CD Jokes

2. Koalas

3. Highlights

4. You Were Good

5. Shaving Too

6. Minibar

7. Beret and Pancakes

8. The Velcro Wallet

9. Dry Clean Only

10. Gambling

11. My Necklace

12. Acting

13. Lynn

14. Tomatoes

15. Six People Isn't Convincing

16. Cookies

17. Oatmeal

18. Smackie the Frog

19. Frogs and Bears

20. Fire Exit

21. The Dufrenes

Mitch Hedberg helped me get through the 22-hour drive from my hometown of Elmira, NY to my new residence at the time in Deltona, FL. I love Mitch - he's so weird. I first heard about him from a friend in college who told me about Mitch's penchant for totally random one liners. "This shirt is dry clean only, which means it's dirty!" For this particular set he's got a guy backing him up on bass so while Mitch is doing jokes you hear this walking bass-line through the whole thing. It's kinda cool... makes the set almost like a cracked out Peanuts special. Speaking of cracked out... I can't say for sure but I'm almost positive that Mitch is high during this set. After all, he openly admits to using drugs. Some of the jokes don't go over very well and I think if they would have shortened this disc some it would have been better. Though the good jokes totally cover for the total random crap jokes.

Useless Fact: According to wikipedia the album title is from a joke that wasn't included on the CD. Seems like you'd want to keep the titular joke on the album but that's just me.

Barren Cross - "State of Control"

Barren Cross - State of Control

1989, Enigma

1. State of Control

2. Out of Time

3. Cryin' Over You

4. A Face in the Dark

5. The Stage of Intensity

6. Hard Lies

7. Inner War

8. Love at Full Volume

9. Bigotry Man (Who Are You?)

10. Two Thousand Years

11. Your Love Gives

I got this not too long after I got Atomic Arena. I remember because I was in 7th grade and it was during Christmas. I got this along with Seventh Angel's Lament For the Weary and I also remember I had gotten real sick. I think I spent a whole day in my room sleeping and I wasn't prone to getting that sick. Whether or not that had anything to do with me not like this disc for a long time I don't know. For some reason this just didn't do anything for me except for "Out of Time" and I think I liked that song because the feux newscast in the beginning is funny. I finally checked this out again after years and years and you know what? I don't know what the heck was wrong with me. This is every bit as good as Atomic Arena if not better. Certainly the lyrics are better that's for sure.

Useless Fact: Someone told me once that the beginning of "Out of Time" was taken from some movie. Probably one of those 70's Christian end times movies. You want to have some fun? Get some friends together, get pizza, and find a copy of "Thief in the Night." It's hilarious!

Sixpence None the Richer - "My Dear Machine EP"

Sixpence None the Richer - My Dear Machine EP

2008, Independent

1. My Dear Machine

2. Amazing Grace (Give It Back)

3. Sooner Than Later

4. Around

So a couple years ago Sixpence put out this little EP of shiny brand new songs for download on some obscure website I'd never heard of. By the time I had heard of it, it was way too late to get them. Thankfully the internet is a big place and I did find these tracks though shadowdy means *manic laughter!*. It's a fantastic EP - but it's really just enough new Sixpence to piss me off. These songs are among the best the band has written... ever. If this is indicitive of the new stuff then they need to get an album out post-haste. "My Dear Machine" is a fuzzy pop song that could be a hit single if it had been released by a label. The other songs are great and Matt Slocum's lyrics carry that same blend of spiritual longing and sadness like in "Amazing Grace (Give It Back)" "You're in every place/ In every time/ And yet You're so damn hard to find/ Please Lord, give it back to me." The infectious chorus of "Sooner Than Later" will stay in your head for days. I really, really wish this band would put out a new album!

Useless Fact: I'm not sure if this came out before or after The Dawn of Grace. I've heard rumors of a new album on the horizon but haven't heard anything concrete.

Engvall, Bill - "Dorkfish"

Engvall, Bill - Dorkfish
1998, Warner Bros.

1. Factory Outlet Malls
2. Flying
3. Smokers
4. Weather and News
5. Bungee Jumping and Parachuting
6. My Daughter's Growing Up
7. T-Ball and Indian Guides
8. Minivan
9. Discovery Channel
10. Dorkfish
11. Whale Watching
12. Broke Food
13. More Here's Your Sign
14. Bronco Busting
15. Deer Hunting
16. I'm a Cowboy
17. Here's Your Sign Christmas

Whereas Here's Your Sign had a lot of great laugh-out-loud jokes this one is more focused on amusing stories. I don't usually laugh as much at this one but I do love listening to his crazy stories. There's also a little bit of "Here's Your Sign" in there too. Not much else to say on this one.

Useless Fact: Both Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall have bits about taking their wives hunting. I have no idea why you would do such a thing.

Engvall, Bill - "Here's Your Sign"

Engvall, Bill - Here's Your Sign

1996, Warner Bros.

1. Introduction

2. I Love Golf

3. Going to the Fair

4. We've Got a Full House

5. Here's Your Sign

6. Nobody Disciplines Their Kids Anymore

7. Things Have Changed

8. Caught Big Time

9. I.G. Joe

10. Baby Barf and the Turkey Hunt

11. Tell Me What I'm Thinking

12. Love Magic

I hate stupid people. Almost as much, if not more, than Bill Engvall. So this CD is pretty much a classic for me. I work at an auto parts store so I have plenty of great stories about people who should be required to wear signs. Like people who come into the store and don't know what kind of car they drive. Or husbands that send their wives to pick up something except they haven't given anything but the vaguest clues about what they need. Or the people who say they need a headlight but can't, for the life of them, decide whether they need a high beam or low beam. Or the people who don't actually know what the name of the part they want which leads to descriptions like "I need the thing by that other thing near the front with the top on it... do you have that?" Ugh, I could go on all day. If these people wore signs that would help me out immensely.

Now what was I... OH right, Bill Engvall. This disc is hilarious. I still laugh at the state fair bits.

Useless Fact: I remember seeing Bill on VH1 and some other random comedy shows WAY before he got famous. He was always really funny.

Foxworthy, Jeff - "Have You Loved Ones Spayed or Neutered"

Foxworthy, Jeff - Have Your Loved Ones Spayed or Neutered
2004, Warner Bros.

1. Have Your Loved Ones Spayed or Neutered
2. Airport Security and Rental Cars
3. TV and its Side Effects
4. Oreo Generation
5. I'm Next in Line
6. Grocery Stores
7. Courtesy Sniffs
8. I Believe

Here's the biggest problem with this disc - if you've seen the Blue Collar movies then you've pretty much heard everything on this album. So when I got this one I was a little disappointed but only because I've heard much of the material before. Still it helped me keep my sanity on long car rides and it's still pretty amusing even though it doesn't produce any gut-busting laughter. The bit about interpreting his wife's dreams always gives me a chuckle.

Useless Fact: Larry the Cable Guy helps out on the encore track with their new thing called "I Believe."

Foxworthy, Jeff - "Totally Committed"

Foxworthy, Jeff - Totally Committed

1998, Warner Bros.

1. Introduction

2. You Can't Give Rednecks Money

3. Sophisticated People vs. Rednecks

4. Faded Genes

5. I Still Don't Know...

6. The Rules of Marriage

7. Protect Our Stuff

8. Every Single Hair On Her Body

9. I Don't Want to Be Single Again

10. Encore

11. Totally Committed

I think Jeff was on fire here. This is a hilarious set from start to finish. There were times driving that I laughed so hard I was afraid I was going to yank the car off the road. "Blue stingray boots!" "How do you get 300 people on a bus?!" yeah... great stuff. Probably my favorite out of all the comedy albums I have.

Useless Fact: "Totally Committed" is a mash-up country song with Jeff's stand up material over it.

Foxworthy, Jeff - "You Might Be a Redneck If..."

Foxworthy, Jeff - You Might Be a Redneck If...

1994, Warner Bros.

1. Introduction

2. Words in the South

3. You Might Be a Redneck If...

4. Life as a Father

5. Single Life is Just Too Hard

6. I Love Being Married

7. You Might Be a Redneck If...

You might be wondering why I'm putting up comedy albums on a site that's almost all music. Simple really... the stuff is on my ipod. I've got a lot of fond memories of listening to this stuff driving back and forth between Elmira, NY and Ft. Wayne, IN when I was in college. Finally... it's my blog and I'll do what I like... and you'll like it!

*AHEM* Anyway, this is obviously the album that started the whole "redneck" phenomena. I think a lot of people will be with me when I say that ship has sailed. Thankfully most of Jeff's comedy isn't even about redneck stuff. It's just about life and relationships and what not. It's also pretty funny. To this day even after hearing this disc a million times I'm still amused by the party stories ("Hey Officer Mitchell! I though you said you didn't want to come back out here again tonight!) and the single life stories. While I've long since gone past the point of laughing out loud anymore - I STILL like this. I think that's saying something.

Useless Fact: Jeff's actually got a few tapes and CDs that came out before this major label deal. You can usually find them at truck stops. I am not making that up.

Tourniquet - "Crawl to China"

Tourniquet - Crawl to China
1997, Benson

1. Claustrospelunker
2. Crawl to China
3. Enveloped in Python
4. White Knucklin' the Rosary
5. If I Was There
6. The Tell-Tale Heart
7. Bats
8. Proprioception: The Line Knives Syndrome
9. Tire Kicking
10. If Pigs Could Fly
11. Crank the Knife
12. Stumblefoot
13. Imaginary Friend
14. Going, Going...Gone
15. America

For me 1997 was one of the worst years in music. I honestly cannot think of one good album (in the Christian scene) that came out. Crawl to China is no exception. I'm not sure what was going on here only to say that they must have been trying to appeal to a wider audience. Problem is nothing here is really done well. There's a few cool songs like "Crawl to China" and I love the silly "Bats" but other than that I'm just in awe that a such a great band like Tourniquet could put out such an terrible album. I would have liked it better if they would have just sold out completely and done hookier-hard rock songs but man... there is nothing here to hold on to. Nothing's really metal, but nothing's really radio friendly either - except the ballad. The cover pictured is the new reissued one and I picked it because the original cover art is crap.

Useless Fact: As I understand it the band had no say in the original cover art. It was something that Benson dreamed up. Benson. Like... the label that Carman was on. Yeah... definitely a low point for the band.

Lavigne, Avril - "Under My Skin"

Lavigne, Avril - Under My Skin

2004, Arista

1. Take Me Away

2. Together

3. Don't Tell Me

4. He Wasn't

5. How Does It Feel?

6. My Happy Ending

7. Nobody's Home

8. Forgotten

9. Who Knows

10. Fall to Pieces

11. Freak Out

12. Slipped Away

Here's the funny thing about Under My Skin, some people were saying this was a "darker" and "more mature" Avril. That is a load of pure horse-hockey. Under My Skin is just about every 14 year old girl's journal set to music. Every song is about some boy not being nice to her or whatever. The songs all sound the same - a quiet intro/verse with a loud chorus. There are a few flashes of what could possibly, maybe, be considered "mature" if we used the loosest possible meaning (mainly in "Nobody's Home"). I will say, however, that I like the message of "Don't Tell Me." I can't even consider this forgivable, guilty pleasure fun like the first one. This is just teenage moping. Heaven knows we don't need any more of that.

Useless Fact: Did you know that Avril covered Metallica's "Fuel" around this time? Yeah, it was about as bad as it sounds.

Lavigne, Avril - "Let Go"

Lavigne, Avril - Let Go
2002, Arista

1. Losing Grip
2. Complicated
3. Sk8ter Boi
4. I'm With You
5. Mobile
6. Unwanted
7. Tomorrow
8. Anything But Ordinary
9. Thing's I'll Never Say
10. My World
11. Nobody's Fool
12. Too Much To Ask
13. Naked

Not a huge fan of Avril, no sir ree. My wife likes her though, not as much as she used to that's for sure. Truth be told Avril's first album isn't really terrible and at the time it was a nice break from all the slutty pop princesses that dominated the pop scene. You just have to appreciate it for what it is - young teenage girl music. Not great - not crap just sort of there. Neither me nor my wife really listen to this ever, yet here it sits, on my ipod taking up space. Oh well...

Useless Fact: At one time "Complicated" was the most played song on the radio...like... ever with something like over 9,000 plays. That's crazy! It's not THAT good of a song!

The Swirling Eddies - "Outdoor Elvis"

The Swirling Eddies - Outdoor Elvis

1989, Alarma

1. Outdoor Elvis

2. Driving in England

3. Urban Legends

4. Tiny Town

5. Attack of the Pulpit Masters

6. Mystery Babylon

7. Arthur Fhardy's Yodeling Party

8. Hell Oh

9. Blowing Smoke

10. Hide the Beer, the Pastor's Here

11. Hold Back the Wind, Donna

12. Knee Jerk

13. Don't Hate Yourself

14. All the Way to Heaven

15. Rubber Sky

16. Coco the Talking Guitar

17. Yer Little Gawd

18. Billy Graham

19. Potential

20. Strange Days

21. Elimination (The Band That Won't Go Away)

It's amazing that the Eddies have been out all this time and I had no idea they actually wrote songs. Let me explain. The first and only Eddies album I've heard was Sacred Cows which was funny, but nothing that I really want to listen to regularly. Well, I saw this on Mike's Blog over at In Defense of His Hands (link at bottom) and I thought I'd check them out. Holy Crap! I didn't know the Eddies wrote songs, let alone such awesome ones! Really the Eddies are just Daniel Amos with a few guests (like Gene Eugene from Adam Again) so it shouldn't surprise me so much. Imagine Daniel Amos with a bit more craziness and you have a good idea of what the Eddies sound like. Some of these tracks like "Outdoor Elvis," "Mystery Babylon," and "Rubber Sky" became instant favorites. Ol' Camarillo has a way of fusing deep spiritual meaning with silliness. Again, special thanks to Mike over at In Defense of His Hands for providing me with another band to add to my growing CD want list!

Useless Fact: "Hide the Beer, the Pastor's Here" is a protest song of sorts against some bible college's rules against drinking and R rated movies. Several colleges are mentioned in the lyrics including Taylor University and Fort Wayne Bible College. I graduated from Fort Wayne Bible College (though it was called Taylor University when I went there).

Austrian Death Machine - "Double Brutal"

Austrian Death Machine - Double Brutal
2009, Metal Blade

Disc One:
1. Double Ahnold
2. I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle
3. Let Off Some Steam Bennett
4. Who Writes These Songs (The Real Bomb Track)
5. It's Simple, If It Jiggles It's Fat
6. See You at the Party Richter
7. Hey Cookie Monster, Nothing is As Brutal As Neaahhh
8. Who Told You You Could Eat My Cookies?
9. Come On Cohaagen, Give These People Ehyar
10. Who Is Your Daddy, and What Does He Do?
11. Come On, Do It, Do It, Come On, Come On, Kill Me, Do It Now
12. Allow Me to Break the Ice
13. Conan, What is Best in Life?

Disc Two:
1. Intro to the Intro
2. T2 Theme
3. Hell Bent for Leather
4. Time Travel: The Metallica Conspiracy
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Iron Fist
7. Recalling Mars
8. I Turned Into a Martian
9. Killing is My Business...And Business is Good!
10. Tactically Dangerous - Cannibal Commando
11. Gotta Go

I did not expect to like Austrian Death Machine as much as I did. For the uninitiated, Austrian Death Machine is a side project of Tim Lambesis from As I Lay Dying. I've never heard As I Lay Dying so I can't say how they sound compared to this. But what I can say is that Austrian Death Machine is full throttle, fist-in-the-air, pounding thrash metal.

And it's awesome.

The first half of the album is based off of various Arnold Schwartzenegger movies like The Terminator and Predator. The Governator himself even chimes in here and there with "poignant" observations (like when he makes fun of Tim for his "cookie monster" vocal style). Of course, the biggest concern with a disc like this is that the comedy aspect would overwhelm the music and be nothing more than a fun novelty disc. I was pleasant surprised that the music contained herein is really, really good. The first track, "I Need Your Clothes..." has an infectious riff with an equally catchy gang vocal. You'll no doubt be head banging and belting along with them. The rest of the songs follow in a similar fashion - with some great face-melting leads thrown in as well.

The second half of the album is full of covers from bands like Metallica, Motorhead, and Megadeth. They're pretty decent covers even though the vocalist can't "sing" at all which hinders him in the songs with any melody whatsoever (like the Judas Priest cover). Still they're really fun to listen to and at the end of the disc I was a little overwhelmed with all the pounding but satisfied. While I don't know if I'd want disc after disc of this, Double Brutal was a fun listen and the music is something you can go back to and enjoy after the "Ahnold" bits have worn out their welcome.

Useless Fact: Does anyone know who does the "Ahnold" impression on this disc? It's a really good impression I have to say.

DigHayZoose - "Strugglefish"

DigHayZoose - Strugglefish

1991, Brainstorm

1. Think About It

2. Psychadelic Mommy

3. Water's Way (Intro)

4. Water's Way

5. Slow Serious

6. D.H.Z.

7. Ozeptune

8. Strugglefish

9. Dad Song

10. Love Song

11. Express

12. Brighter Daze

I don't even really know why I'm putting this up here. I own the CD but I don't have it on my Ipod. I got this after hearing MagentaMantaLoveTree thinking that it would be another brilliant fusion of sounds. What I got was a frenetic, sloppy Red Hot Chili Peppers clone. The opening track, "Think About It" is okay, but I just can NOT get into the rest of it.

Useless Fact: Dion, the bassist from Hot Pink Turtle, once said on a message board that the guys from HPT told DHZ that they needed to sound more like HPT. If that's true they must have taken their advice.