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The Hot Dogs:Self-Titled
Maybe I don't understand this album because I'm not fromPortland, ME but certain aspects of this record are quite perplexing no matter where you live. The lyrics are extremely nonsensical, so it's hard to take them seriously when theres a song titled "These Are the Pants" and the song has words like "So I heard that your pants are after me." Don't misunderstand, I appreciate Captain Beefheart and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd just as much as the next person, but I don't think that those are the levels of wry humor that this album aspires to. The album is confusing in that it is very difficult to focus on it as a whole when certain tracks are stellar musically and lacking lyrically and other tracks seem to have entertaining lyrics with boring backing music. It's hard to define the singing style of lead vocalist/guitarist Jeff Badger. His voice is reminiscent of Jello Biafra, but the band does not have the same musical intensity as the Dead Kennedys, so that comparison might be lost on some especially those who would insist that this is a "punk" band. The music on this self-titled release is certainly fast at times, but there has traditionally been a message to punk rock, and this album has songs called "Choke on Pop" and "Record Company Executive." While these songs might address the U.S.'s woes such as obesity among children and P3 trading respectively, there is no course of action provided. Hopefully the Hot Dogs are not one of those bands who make silly music, and then try to be ultra-pretentious about it by saying that there are some serious issues in their music which are disguised by a playful demeanor; because I would feel worse for them if that were the case. Instead, it's probably better to say that this album does have its moments where it delivers the crunching rock dosage that we can't ignore, but in the end, it's hardly essential listening.
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