You think you’ve heard it all – why shouldn’t you, when every single day hordes of musicians come out with their own interpretation of one or a dozen genres? Well once in a while you ought to come across a band like The Art Punk Band. They make absolutely no sense outside of themselves and their musicality is, at best, questionable. They sound really weird. However in a sea of nice-but-forgettable music, weird is good, if only to serve the purpose of expanding your mind and your musical tastes.
“Zeno and the Happy Cats” is the second album of Dr. T, Tha Baron, and Rev. Paul of The Art Punk Band. The core musical instruments used were keyboards, drums, electric and acoustic guitars, and tambourines to create a folksy sound. Other instruments played may as well be hollow trash cans or a piece of solid wood to provide the beat. It doesn’t matter though. What really makes this band unique is the crazy, poetic lyrics, such as those from “The Park”. Observe:
She spent fifteen wrecking years in the belly of a bank
Now her knees are on backwards, her tongue is forked
Her eyes more than blank
Such monstrous deformity can only
Come from prolonged, untreated contact with money
So stop spending your time around money
Just go to the park
“Hair Of Angels” is a song you might not want young children to hear:
Gonna build a ladder from the hair of angels
Gonna build a ladder
…and I’m gonna sell my kids to the jungle man
With his cooking pot and his cooking pan
I’m gonna sell my kids to the jungle man
If you want something more traditional, I recommend “Dances With Shadows” and “Happy Cat”. Both have a happy, folksy sound and a nice melody to go with it. In fact I suggest you listen to these tracks first before the weirder ones in the seven-track album; it will get you acquainted with what the band is trying (or not trying) to do. Anyway, the more I listen to this hippie album the more I like it. Indeed, it’s an acquired taste.
Related Links:
The Art Punk Band on Jamendo
The Art Punk Band on Last.Fm
The Art Punk Band on MySpace
