this wasn’t today’s album a day. this was two weeks ago. i had a serious computer hard drive problem and i am just not getting back into it.
anyways …. it’s tenacious d this time. comic actor jack black and his musical sidekick kyle gass. some people don’t know about this part of jack black’s career.
back before he was a mainstream actor in movies he was just a guy doing performance stuff in comedy clubs around los angeles.
the real musician of the duo is kyle glass. his style isn’t super distinctive but he is a great player. jack mostly sings.
it’s funny stuff and musically it’s very listenable.
the only problem i’ve ever had with tenacious d is that, while it’s a clever parody of what a ‘tenacious d’ might actually be like, it seems to put on while it’s putting on. i always feel like it’s a pure goof, even when it borders on something really melodic or interesting.
an upcoming entry will be on flight of the conchords. they seemed to bridge the gap between parody and musicality. they are goofy guys and it’s a comedic put on, but when they play music, you get the impression that those characters believe what they are coming across as. it’s sweeter, it feels more authentic and musically, it’s more honest. i like tenacious d very much, but i often find myself hoping for that same kernel of something more tangible from them, too.
jack black has a great voice and the lyrics are often hilarious (and very nasty), but i feel like it’s more mugging than a musical performance. what i mean by all this is that this is as much a comedy album as it is a music album.
and as comedy it’s great. as musical performance…it’s …. fine. but sometimes, while listening to them, i just wish they’d quit clowning and sing something without goofing, because kyle and jack have a great sound together, that’s all.
below hear the title track:
below, see some vintage tenacious d. it’s the first of the shorts they did for hbo. paul f tompkins introduces them at the club…
