Published on Dec 28, 2005
There are social occurrences college students must be
aware of. Being able to quote Anchorman and Family
Guy or knowing most of the Napoleon Dynamite dance are a
few of the current ones, and people who don’t know these aren’t
quite hip. Well, until recently, I wasn’t hip to Tenacious D.
Yes, the album is four years old, but Jack Black and
Kyle Gass are well known among the young crowd, and why not? Two
guys in their 30’s, fat, balding, and here they are rocking out
like there is no tomorrow. They are what every man aspires to
be.
Is there a second that goes by on this album where
the music/skits aren’t tongue in cheek? The whole point is that
these guys aren’t serious, but they don’t care one way or the
other. Tenacious D is the epitome of guys playing music just for
fun. It can’t be summed up any simpler than that.
The ironic thing is, this album stand on its own
musical merits. There are huge riffs, catchy hooks and good
musicianship overall. Sure, the boys get help from industry players
like Dave Grohl and the Dust Brothers, but Black’s and Gass’
“vision” for the album is unwavering. If they compromised by going
all straight on us, I would be tearing this record to shreds.
Luckily for us, they don’t.
Honestly, every track is worth its weight in gold,
but some stand out above the rest. D’s tribute to the greatest and
best song in the world via “Tribute” takes bits and pieces from
Zeppelin and 90’s grunge to craft a song that comes pretty close to
its subject matter (not really). Who cannot but admire the space
rock tale of superheroes Wonder Boy and Nasty Man on the hit
“Wonderboy?” On “Rock Your Socks,” D manages to make Bach sound as
hardcore as the best of them. And if you don’t shed a tear over
“Fuck Her Gently,” you’re probably well adjusted and could stand to
let loose a bit.
How much you enjoy the skits on the album depends on
what kind of humor you’ve got. For those who enjoy a good fart
joke, rejoice! For those who love to hear “fuck” delivered as only
Jack Black can, rejoice! For those who have ever had their
Schnitzel stolen, this album might bring up some painful memories.
All I can say is I’ve listened to this album for a week, and the
skits make me laugh every time.
Forget depressing, “why does the world hate me?”
bands like Coldplay. If you want an album that rocks in the truest
sense of the word while making you laugh, pick up Tenacious D. You
want to be hip, don’t you?