Chumbawamba rips on American values

Britain's favorite anarchists, Chumbawamba, are at it again with a new compact disc titled "WYSIWYG," short for "What you see is what you get." But this disk gives a lot more.

The cover inlay features a poster-size picture of two dogs having a good time, but listeners are treated to an even better experience with this excellent compilation of sarcastic lashes at contemporary society in Britain and the United States.

The album starts very promisingly with a ridicule of the boy band craze, with the song "I'm With Stupid." Further in on the disc we find "Pass it Along," a wonderful, critical and satirical look at Microsoft, virtual shopping and gated communities. "Where do you want to go today?" the band sings, "somewhere you can never take me."
 

Not only are the full lyrics listed in the inlay, but lengthy essays follow each song, explaining the band's stance on the issues they sing about.

About the issue of gated communities, the band says: "Neighborhood Watch is all that keeps the angry criminal underclass from kicking down the front door and slitting throats/Public space is becoming a thing of the past/Universal and Disney capitalize on our craving for crowds and bustle by supplying sanitized theme park versions of streets. It's a junk food version of urban life."

The band also takes a lunge at various "homosexual scandals" in the tabloids, with the brilliant "I'm Coming Out," dealing with the bustle around Rock Hudson and Freddie Mercury.

Displaying a great span of musical talent, the band has included a version of "New York Mining Disaster 1941," a Bee Gees song from 1967, long before the disco times. A great folk style song, it sheds new light not only on Chumbawamba but also on the Bee Gees.

The album's musical style is impossible to describe, with styles ranging from country to disco, folk, children's tunes, funk and plain old rock.

But a common denominator for the album is the constant focus on "happy" songs with deep, biting satirical comments, like in "Celebration, Florida," where the band mocks the residents of the Disney-created town.

"There's a bake sale at the schoolhouse, and they're selling innocence," the band sings. "They're keeping out the deviants to protect the residents."

Michael Flatley and his "Lord of the Dance" tour gets their bottoms stomped  in  "Jesus in Vegas," with the lyrics: "That show biz gets right up your nose, one more little line then everyone back to mine."

Charlton Heston would rather not have heard the lyrics on "Moses With A Gun," Tipper Gore would have done nicely without "Ladies For Compassionate Lynching," and any American would recognize the contents of "Dumbing Down."

A splendid contemporary social satire, and it even has some good tunes.

This album addresses all the faults you were just too numb to see, in a refreshing and creative way.