Frank Zappa posed the question, and provided the answer. Does humor belong in music? Obviously, I think so, and after you hear this absurd and occasionally surreal mix, there is a reasonable chance you will too. Granted, this mix is not exactly a face-melting music tour-de-force from start to finish, but that is also part of the point. If not a life-changing catharsis, music, at the very least, can be fun.
There's a lot of West coast flavor on this one, featuring four Vancouver acts alone. The Fugitives throw down a whimsical spoken-word interpretation of music history, while the fabulously named Phatty Phatty & The Roaches live up to their hype. The all-ages collective Duplex! takes a turn toward the Talking Heads on their ode to sandwiches, and if you haven't heard of Dan Mangan yet, prepare to see his name popping up everywhere you look from now on. As Mugatu would say, "he's so hot right now."
You will also likely remember when and where you were when you first heard the post-ironic ballad from electro princess Adira Amram for the rest of your life. Adira recently landed back home in New York after from her now-infamous tour with Kid Koala's The Slew. Every night, her intimate rendition of "Mom Song" brought the house to a standstill, followed by sporadic tucking and rolling.
That said, I'm not sure if tracks five through eight are supposed to be comical, and Mangan's "Robots" is more cute-funny than spit-take, knee-slapping, laugh-out-muthafckn'-loud funny. But hopefully they will at least bring a smile to your face. People tend to like Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, getting drunk off leaks in the ceiling, and hearing children giggle, so I think I've got my bases covered.
01. The Fugitives - "Music (Live)" (Find Me EP)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: The Fugitives
02. Adira Amram - "Mom Song" (Hot Jamz For Teens)
- Start time: 4:04; Links: Adira Amram
03. Phatty Phatty & The Roaches - "Stanley" (Stanley)
- Start time: 7:20; Links: Phatty Phatty & The Roaches
04. Duplex! - "That's How We Make A Sandwich" (Worser)
- Start time: 11:15; Links: Mint - Duplex!
05. Why? - "Even The Good Wood Gone" (Eskimo Snow)
- Start time: 14:43; Links: Anticon - Why?
06. Alpha Channel - "Mexican Space Program" (Exotic Tales)
- Start time: 19:03; Links: Omelette - Alpha Channel
07. Bassnectar - "Window Seat" (Cozza Frenzy)
- Start time: 25:06; Links: OM - Bassnectar
08. João Orecchia - "Midnight Serenade" (Hands And Feet)
- Start time: 32:16; Links: Other Electricities - João Orecchia
09. Vinyl Life - "Take It Off feat. J-Zone, Ray West, & Tru Pro" (Vinyl Life)
- Start time: 35:20; Links: Tape Theory - Vinyl Life
10. Dan Mangan - "Robots" (Nice, Nice, Very Nice)
- Start time: 37:56; Links: File Under: Music - Dan Mangan
