Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I BE AN RETARDED

Those of you jonesing for more Zoogz Rift might want to check out the numerous free album downloads of Big Poo Generator (and the various other names they record under) for a similar low-brow-humor-vs-high-brow-music approach. There's none of Zoogz' anger or paranoia here, tho - this is pure silliness. The music is complex, almost slick, but vocals are usually sped-up Chipmunk style. Most of the lyrics concern "poo" and/or "retards."

These guys were a big deal on the original mp3.com a decade ago, topping their popularity charts with songs like "I Be An Retarded." I was pretty obsessed with that tune - so dumb (the lyrics are nothing more then the phrase "I am retarded" repeated over and over), but so musically solid, boasting a great melody and chord structure. Turns out the group had its roots in a Chicago-based Led Zep tribute band, which explained their
impressive chops.

Big Poo Generator "Please
Kill Us" - Synths, guitars, and Chipmunks are joined by occasional bagpipes (!) and, on "Foodballs," an opera singer. Equal parts self-indulgence and brilliance (it's a fine line, isn't it?), tho the latter can be found in: "Mr. Poo" ("you are eating poo, my friends..."), "Rear Entry Pants," "Toilet 4 2," the epics "Gorgon 5" and "Mr. Hamburger"...the (s)hits just keep coming.

The Wacky Ball Kickers - Theatrical songs almost as musically rich as, say, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," but I doubt even the most outrageous '70s glamsters would touch classics like "Sing It, Mrs Ass" or "I'm Gonna Kick Myself In The Balls".

Hemorrhoy Rogers "Cream of What
" - This 100-song, 2 hour mind-melter features their "hit," here named "I'm Retarded (Remix)." Mostly stripped down to just guitars and vox, this might seem like an endurance test at first, but keep listening - plenty of yummy nuggets like "I Can't Go To The Bathroom (Fart Contradictionary)" pop up, like corn in poop.

In an age of novelty music made family-friendly by folks like Weird Al and They Might Be Giants (both of whom I like, by the way), this relentlessly tasteless crew are a welcome breath of foul air.




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

how sad that you thought it was okay to use the pejorative version of retarded. mock the disabled much?

Mr Fab said...

hey anon, I was hoping that I made it clear that it wasn't me that was using the term, it was the band. Just quoting them. And also thought it was clear that their style is an infantile sense of humor mixed with complex music. If you listen to their music it's pretty obvious that they're not intending to "mock the disabled" any more then they intend to actually eat "poo."

(Re-reading that last sentence reminds me once again why Rolling Stone has never asked me to write for them...)

Buttress O'Kneel said...

man, dude, fuck - i can't thank you enough for leading me to Haemorrhoy Rogers. i've been listening to (my own personal 40 minute hand-picked 'best-of' version of) Cream of What nonstop for days now. i kinda expected it to be a one-joke scatological bore-fest, but I AM HOOKED. my brain may never recover.

thank you, mr fab.

Mr Fab said...

You're very welcome! We've been "avant-tard" for years 'round here.