Windbag, a frequent contributor to this here web-log, hails from Salt Lake City in Utah, the seat of the Mormons aka The Church of Later-Day Saints (The LDS). Thanks to him, we have a plethora of Mormon-culture artifacts, such as:"Sons of Provo," a hilarious mock-umentry film about Everclean, a Mormon boy band. The soundtrack is not only a spot-on parody of those psuedo-r'n'b teeny-bopper groups, but a gentle tweaking of the impossibly wholesome squeaky-clean image of the LDS. Jokes from the film like the band recruiting a new member from his job in the scrapbooking department of a crafts store might not seem too crazy, but this is a religion that traditionally has not allowed even a hint of rebellion or free expression. Anyone who leaves the church is sometimes shunned by family and friends, so any satire is a bit radical.
Everclean "Everclean" - "...like Listerine"
Everclean "Dang, Fetch, Oh My Heck" - How to swear in Mormon; quite a lot of musical diversity in this track
The Saliva Sisters, a female song-parody trio, would seem to have slightly more pointed spoofs of Mormonism, and the state of Utah in general, on their album "Delusions of Granger." But their "Spit Happens" album doesn't get specific - songs like this Led Zep parody could apply to department store-obsessed housewives anywhere:
The Saliva Sisters "Stairway To Nordstroms"
This brilliant acappella rendering of the theme to "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" has nothing to do with Mormon life (near as I can tell), but it is Halloween-appropriate:
The Saliva Sisters "Hitchcock" - These gals can sing, no?
So what is it that they're all satirizing? Brace yourself for a full album of...(dramatic sting) singing children!!
Songs For A Mormon Child - Delightful moppets shriek out hits like "I'm A Mormon," "I Want To Be A Mother" in which a little girl claims to want "...4, 5, 6 babies", and (gotta love this title) "Hey Everybody! It's Family Night!" You've been warned...
Thanks windy!
3 comments:
Youse is welcome. I hope you enjoy the Parakeet Training album on a 2-pocket EP I sent you, that Jimmy Carter the President song poem, and the Mormon Cowboy album, DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN, by Stan Bronson. The second (empty) cover of that Stan Bronson 1966 private press Lp seems to be autographed, too. Guy is still working the album on CD, and SONGS FOR A MORMON CHILD is available on CD through LDS BOOKS, or possibly SEAGULL BOOKSTORE. I picked up ten copies of SONS OF PROVO CONFIDENTIAL DVD/CD for $2 each (90% discount!) locally when the stores dumped it--local theater chain here wouldn't show the SONS OF PROVO er, "film," because it wasn't, um, socially approved by the chain's owner. Windy
Wow, "Sons of Provo" was Banned In Utah! That's amazing, it really is so innocuous.
Yes, I did indeed get your latest batch, haven't had a chance to listen/record yet, but I see many song-poem 45s in your future, oh lucky M4M readers.
And a sequel to this post coming soon as well...
The newer releases of "Songs for a Mormon Child" lack the charm of the original, primarily (pardon the pun) because adults sing most of the songs.
Tracks from the original album (pictured in your blog post) can be found at http://mormontracks.com/ for downloading individually. Nice alternative to the "batch" download, and the link is less likely to expire. Enjoy!
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