Heh. You make it sound like a quick fix for leaf's bitching. Maybe I should rename it the "leaf on his soapbox" thread.
I tend to write a hell of a lot when I
review something, so I'll try to keep it simple.
Punky Brüster - Cooked on Phonics
Cooked on Phonics is the hilarious story of a fictitious Cookie-Monster-voiced Death Metal band, Cryptic Coroner, and their realization that the real money is in punk.
So it's 1996. Strapping Young Lad's debut album,
Heavy As A Really Heavy Thing, was released the previous year, and whilst the album's success was slowly building in most places, the Japanese market bought it up in droves. Around the same time, a bunch of famous Metal bands were radically changing their style for the money that only a mainstream crowd can bring. SYL's frontman, Devin Townsend, figures this is an interesting concept to roll with, and asks Sony Japan if he can make a parody punk rock album for a laugh. They agree, and Punky Brüster is formed.
Despite the fact that the album managed to climb to number three in the Japanese charts, it was never commercially available outside of Japan for many years. Apparently Century Media feared that fans of Townsend's work wouldn't get the joke. See, thing is, this album's metal playing punk, taking the piss out of both, and therefore it's gonna alienate all the serious fans of each genre. So what are we left with? Everyone that has a sense of humour.
The story begins with Cryptic Coroner stepping up to play a seemingly ordinary gig, only to break a string and find themselves improvising punk rock to keep the crowd from attacking them. And so Punky Brüster is born. The story follows the band in their quest for more money; from breaking a string onstage, to firing and hiring a manager, to having a groupie run in terror after finding a metal poster on the bedroom wall, to winning a Grammy. There's more to our tale of "the punk phenomenon of the century," but them's the highlights.
The music is a fairly standard affair, but then, that's the point. As the back cover proudly states, "Hear the authentic "Punk-O-Phonic" recording quality! Gawk at stunning three-chord song structures! Wince through a lot of bad filler material!" Even so, the song writing is more complex than your average punk band, and maintains that "Townsend" feel. The songs are strong enough to stand up on their own, and lyrically really stand out as some of Townsend's greatest sarcastic genius moments.
In short? If you're looking for a chuckle, look no further than Punky Brüster's
Cooked on Phonics.
and cats.
