D.R. Hooker – The Truth 7.8

D.R. Hooker is the man presented on the cover of this album. To call him weird would be an understatement. Apparently he enjoyed rocking the ‘Jesus Freak’ look, and listening to the lyrics, he tried preaching it as well. Collectors drool over the vinyl for this. Unlike most of collector’s desperate longings, the music on here actually backs up the reputation.

Recorded during the beginning of the end of hippie culture, it is a fairly strange recording. Including a lounge-y track “Forge your own Chains” which warns against taking drugs and alcohol (can’t dig what you’re doing/I won’t know you pretty soon), it embodies odd. One of the hardest rocking songs is called “The Bible” and perhaps Creed should’ve listen to this, so they could’ve avoided that lame watered-down sound while still trying to earn converts. Shoot, it is fantastic with heavy guitars and an unrelenting organ. 

Vocals aren’t half bad either. He knows what his strengths are, and we’re thankfully able to avoid any attempt to strain his voice too terribly. The backing band does what it is supposed to, and there’s a decent amount of noise/distortion to flesh out the song. 

According to the linear notes, this was recorded in New Haven, Connecticut. D.R. just walked in, recorded it, and left. Whatever he wanted to do, he knew it way before he ever recorded it. The arrangements are clever, inventive, and surprisingly sophisticated for a guy who looks like a smelly hippie. The songs flow together quite nicely and it is a shame we never saw more from him after this.

Das Racist – Shut Up, Dude 8.2

People may remember these guys from their song “Combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell” which was a blast. But that little song didn’t really accurately display all of their talents. Yeah, that song is here, so you really have nothing to worry about.  Honestly though, there are many better songs than that on here.

What I like most is the almost kaleidoscopic feel to the whole album. Ideas are tossed around constantly, always keeping things in a constant state of flux. Plus, there’s a few tracks on here that remind me of the time my friend took a Valium, had several Espresso shots, and went on to play soccer with a few other people in Washington Square Park. At least that’s the feeling I got from the hyper-activity of “Chicken and Meat”. 

“Rainbow in the Dark” basically describes almost all of my experiences with White Castle. I particularly enjoyed it being called “the hellhole store”. “Nutmeg” is a marathon of ideas that barely catches its breath.

Humor takes prevalence over most of this, like the sarcastic treatment of Billy Joel, the Space Race, Tao Lin, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, the Vietnam War, Sarah Palin, etc. The humor doesn’t feel forced at all, it goes well with everything else they’re doing here. If you're able to figure out how any of those things fit together, you're the audience for this. 

Basically, I can see how people would have almost a knee jerk reaction to hate this. Depending on your perspective, you could find this as a bunch of over-educated snots trying to show off how cool they are in a style befitting the highest echelons of hipster. You’d be completely missing the point if you did that, and you’d probably be somewhat jealous of them to maintain that position. I'd say this is a smart, hyper article album with little downside or pretension. Put simply, this is a fun, fun record, and I had a blast listening to it again and again.