I was especially curious about The Japonize Elephants' La Fete Du Cloune-Pirate since it's from Bloomington, Indiana, the college town that plays host to Indiana Univeristy, where I received my BA in Economics and French (nope, never used either) as well as my law degree. Before you laugh, though, it's important to know that Bloomington, Indiana, is actually a hotbed of musical activity. Okay, it used to be. Maybe it still is.

Dig back deep, deep into your collective punk rock memories and reconstitute bands like MX80 Sound, the Gizmos, The Dancing Cigarettes, and a ton of other super progressive, ‘way before it's time stuff that predated the Sex Pistols and Laurie Anderson by like 5 years.

Fast forward to John Cougar BoyScoutCamp (I know, I know), who also got his start in Bloomington, and still maintains his studio in nearby Belmont, Indiana. Not for nothin', right?

It's 1982 and Punk Rock has hit Indiana.....Paul Mahern forms the Zero Boys in Indianapolis and all hell breaks loose. Zero Boys records still sell well in Italy. Go figure.

More recently, bands like Datura Seeds, Arson Garden, Brown Betty, Steve Kowalski's Army, and Mysteries of Life hail from Bloomington (or Indianapolis, same difference)....Paul Mahern operates a studio in Bloomington. Hey, we've all gotten older.

So, I thought that maybe something else odd was happening. And maybe it is.

I don't know where this band is from, as they claim to be from Zorlock, Land of the Lost. And lost they might be. The instrumentation is that of a Klezmer band (think Jewish Traditional Music) and the lyrics mostly concern drinking beer and other southern Indiana treats like "My huntin' boots on, my hair short/long, goin' ‘bout 80 ain't nothin' goin' wrong....till my axle broke and my gasket blew, coughed up a lung and lost all of my chew" (chew is a tobacco plug, for those of you from someplace where people wear ties). Lyrics from "Lady Larmoucifier".

It's hard not to love a song calld "Firefighters In Yer Briars" and "B.E.V. the Magic Robot." "Soysauce pasta parmy-john Rossi on the side" Lyrics from Rossi special. And you can do weird middle eastern dances to it! Bonus!

The band is pictured wearing homemade looking Halloween masks, the kind that a serial killer in a cheap movie might wear. There's a Residents quality to this music that is quite intriguing. But remember, it's pretty much Klezmer happening here, so think Residents at Passover Seder. Then I think you've got it.

Humorous, entertaining, nicely played.....if you don't listen to the lyrics, you'd think they were playing it mostly straight. Once you read the lyrics, you realize that this record could only have been released in Bloomington, Indiana....and my old friend Tony's words ring true "Who says there's nothing to do in Indiana? There's lots to do! You just have to make your own fun!" Ah, how true. Nothing like a dearth of true culture to make people wake up and invent something worth doing.

(Secretly Canadian Records, 1703 North Maple Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47404)

Got a Few Seconds?

"Welcome to Songfinder brought to you by Play from Columbia House. This CD contains actual previews of today's hottest music from 14 of the most popular music categories. Each track has music from different categories so you can skip around to listen for music you like. We'll tell you a little about each artist and song and then play you a preview. After each song we'll give you a selection number for easy ordering. While you're listening to the music you can follow along with the brochure that came in the package. When you discover the name of those songs that you've been hearing over and over again on the radio or ones from new artists you like, you can jot down the number on the enclosed card, send it in and your music will be delivered right to your door." "Over and over on the radio" is the understatement of the year, isn't it? This is how my new favorite CD starts out. Listening to this CD is a lifesaver for those of us who have to interact with the mainstream public. Once you listen to this about 3 times, you can identify all mainstream music on the spot, and offer tasty tidbits about the artists....just imagine the possibilities for lame office cocktail conversation! You'll be the hit at all singles bars! Heck, you could even talk to people in line at Kinko's! Hey! The Kinko's here in the Marina used to BE the singles bar! Kill two birds with one stone! Sample tidbits: Who has a multi plantinum debut album with that spent over 100 weeks on the Billboard 200? It's Matchbox 20! Here's their smash hit " Three AM" from their album "Yourself or Someone Like You". Selection Number 168161 Third Eye Blind's multi platinum debut album has yielded 4 hit singles including "How's It Gonna Be?" Here's their breakthrough hit "Semi-Charmed Life", [20 seconds of music]... That was Third Eye Blind, from their album "Third Eye Blind", Selection Number 188151 In their first single to cross over to adult charts these Bay Area punk rockers came up with this melodic single. Here's Green Day with "Time of Your Life" [20 seconds of music] That was Green Day with "Time of Your Life" from their album "Nimrod" selection number 226001 Remember when Green Day was cool? Well, almost cool? Do you wonder if they're cowering under their beds in shame at the though of the blurb on my favorite new CD?!!? Let's face it: mainstream pop music has redeeming qualities. A lot of these songs have great hooks. They have nothing else, of course, but on this CD, all they give you is the hook! That's right, their sample of music is about 20 seconds long, which makes it just the right length. These pop songs can all hold up for 20 seconds. If you have no friends, you can also pretend the Columbia House narrator guy is talking to you personally, too. He sounds so friendly! Hey, we can all stand to learn something. For example, I did not know that the Barenaked Ladies were from Canada. Could this be Canada's first band since Bachman Turner Overdrive? As I've mentioned in previous reviews, every time I'm at the gym (my source for mainstream music) I hear these songs and I think, "Is this Hootie and the Blow Fish? I think this is Hootie and the Blow Fish." Of course, it never is Hootie and the Blow Fish, but what do I know? Now I know who sings all of my gym songs...

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