Published on Mar 16, 2000
It’s kind of hard to believe, but Barry Hansen – best known to
the world as Dr. Demento – has been spreading his own form of
musical anarchy now for 30 years. He’s helped introduce such
artists as “Weird Al” Yankovic and re-introduce others like Tom
Lehrer to the world – and has mercilessly put us through having to
hear people like William Shatner sing. (Side note: I want to meet
the sonofabitch who thought up those “Priceline” ads where
Shatner’s fronting a band again – and kick that guy right in the
groin.)
Now, Hansen and long-time partners Rhino Records have released
Dr. Demento’s 30th Anniversary Collection – Dementia 2000!,
a two-disc set that covers the best (as well as the worst) of
novelty tunes for his rabid fans. It’s got great moments, painful
moments, hilarious moments, and moments where you may feel death is
a better option than listening to a certain song again. Then again,
that’s all part of the area of music known as “novelty,” a term
that Hansen would probably dispute.
Yankovic, who owes his career to Hansen’s initial support,
repays the favor with three inclusions on this set, all of them
highlights. From his original Star Wars parody “Yoda” to his
tribute to “The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota” to his
bare-bones rip on Queen with “Another One Rides The Bus,” Yankovic
shows why he could well be the master humor musician of all
time.
Moments like this often make
Dementia 2000! an absolute riot. The late Mel Blanc’s “Daffy
Duck’s Rhapsody” is a stitch, and shows that the Looney Tunes
characters could easily come to life outside of the cartoon
setting. (Why this track hadn’t seen the light of day for so long,
I don’t know.) “Deteriorata” might not ring a lot of bells, but
National Lampoon’s straight-laced parody of the inspirational poem
“Desiderata” (put to music by Les Crane in the ’70s) stays so close
to the original that it’s unbelievable. (Side note: my dad had me
search for nearly three years for that song, and I finally found
the
Desiderata album for him back around 1993. Now, every time I
go to the used record store, I see a copy in some el cheapo
bin.)
From Lehrer (“The Elements”) to the long-gone, lamented Frantics
(“Last Will And Temperament,” “You Were Speeding”) to Phil Harris
(“The Thing”), anyone who grew up with some of these songs and
sketches will fall in love with them all over again. Worthy of note
also are Corky & The Juice Pigs (“Eskimo”), Loudon Wainwright
III (“Dead Skunk”) and The Arrogant Worms (“Carrot Juice Is
Murder”). But if you have to listen to just one song, choose Big
Daddy’s “Hamster Love” – a song so funny that I almost wet my
pants. (I’m embarrassed to admit that the sound of hamster parts
“cooking” – well, it made me hungry.)
But there are some tracks on
Dementia 2000! that deserve to be thrown back. Chuck Berry
deserves a better fate then to have a lame double-entendre song
like “My Ding-A-Ling” remembered (not to mention his only
chart-topper). I had forgotten how bad a song Jimmy Cross’s “I Want
My Baby Back” really was… and if I ever – and I mean
ever
– have to listen to Mrs. Miller’s version of “Downtown” again,
I’m going to have to kill someone.
There were a few surprises that lay in the jewel case, however.
As much as people want to shag Leonard Nimoy for trying to sing
(hey,
anything to make us forget about Shatner), “The Ballad Of
Bilbo Baggins” really isn’t that bad – and I hate to say it, but
the chorus has been embedded in my head for days now. On the other
side, the original version of Bonzo Dog Band’s “I’m The Urban
Spaceman” was a bit of a letdown – but I’ll always prefer Neil
Innes’s performance in
Monty Python Live At The Hollywood Bowl. Travesty, Ltd.’s
“Rock And Roll Doctor” is a stitch – and the sad thing is, I knew
people in college who probably would have listened to a show like
the one they make fun of.
Dr. Demento’s 30th Anniversary Collection – Dementia 2000!
is still very much worth the money and time, but just like the good
doctor’s radio show, there are moments that you wish you could
escape from. (On the radio, you turn it off; on the CD,just press
the advance track button.) Whatever your view of these 42 songs, we
should be thankful that someone cares about the misfit children of
the music industry to keep them in our daily thoughts.