45. Barenaked Ladies--Gordon

 #45: Barenaked Ladies: Gordon (1992)

Top-Notch Tracks: "If I Had $1,000,000," (HJ200 #198), "Grade 9," "Enid," "King of Bedside Manor"

Album Depth: "Hello City," "Brian Wilson," "Crazy," "New Kid On the Block," "Box Set," "I Love You," "What a Good Boy," "The Flag"

Weak Links: "Wrap Your Arms Around Me"

Problematic Song: "Be My Yoko Ono"

Stand-Out Lyrics: "If I had a million dollars--if I had a million dollars, I would buy you some art--a Picasso or a Garfunkel."--"If I Had $1,000,000"

"Got into the classroom, all my knowledge was gone. I guess I should have studied 'stead of watching Wrath of Kahn."--"Grade 9"

"It took me a year to believe it was over. And it took me two more to get over the loss."--"Enid"

"I had a dream that I was 300 pounds. And though I was very heavy, I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground."--"Brian Wilson"

"He's subtle on the dance floor. He's suave around the bar. He's a quick draw with a lighter. He's a pseudo movie star."--"King of Bedside Manor"

"I'm a new kid on the block, and though I may not be Johann Sebastian Bach. Well there's no need to be afraid of us, though it just might be your daughter on our bus."--"New Kid On the Block"

"I know that when I say this, I may be stepping on pins and needles, but I don't like all these people slagging her for breaking up the Beatles."--"Be My Yoko Ono"

"I can get a job; I can pay the phone bills; I can cut the lawn, cut my hair, cut out my cholesterol; I can work overtime, I can work in a mine; I can do it all for you. But I don't want to."--"Enid"

"Went out for the football team to prove that I'm a man. Guess I shouldn't tell them that I like Duran Duran."--"Grade 9"

"Styx! Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto."--"King of Bedside Manor"

"If I had a million dollars--if I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a K-car--a nice, reliant automobile."--"If I Had $1,000,000"

Barenaked Ladies: Gordon

Album cover: 5 out of 10. What does it mean? It's red, white, and blue for 'Merica, but they're Canadian, so it's a bit confusing. And if the word "Gordon" were any longer, the font they used for it would become completely unbearable. Having said that, as balls go it's a pretty pleasant ball, isn't it?

Comments: Ah, the grunge movement! In the early 1990s, rock music became dour and depressing and dirty and grungy. The happy synthesizer sounds of the 80s were gone, and so were the Flock of Seagull hairdos. Everyone looked like they hadn't showered in a week, and they didn't give a damn about anything. Shouldn't being in a rock and roll band be fun? Apparently not.

And then the Barenaked Ladies showed up. (It's always a good thing when the Barenaked Ladies arrive!) (Okay, I promise, that'll be my last joke about the name of the band/nude women.) (I'd call them "BNL," but that sounds too much like a failed McDonald's sandwich to me.) Anyway, Barenaked Ladies came along, and suddenly it was fun to listen to the radio again. Did Barenaked Ladies singlehandedly rescue music in the 90s? No. But, they certainly brightened things up a bit.

This album was released in 1992, and was apparently a big deal in Canada at the time. It didn't really come to my attention, though, until Barenaked Ladies released a live album called "Rock Spectacle" in 1996, and the local alternative radio station put "If I Had $1,000,000" in the regular rotation. I distinctly remember backing trailers in to the warehouse at Smith's when the line, "I would buy you some art--a Picasso or a Garfunkel" won me over. The rest of the song is great, too, with it's mentions of Kraft dinners, dijon ketchups, K-cars, and green dresses.

I bought the album, and "Grade 9" immediately became another favorite, with its reenactment of the junior high years and sampling of Rush and the Peanuts theme hitting the sweet spot for a guy who's always ready to look back fondly at the good old days (that weren't always good.) And then, to top it off, toward the end of "King of Bedside Manor" the Barenaked Ladies simply shout out "Styx!" and start singing "domo arigato, Mr. Roboto." Fun, fun, fun, indeed.

And most of the other songs are good, too. Which brings me to the problematic song. For years, "Be My Yoko Ono" had been one of my favorite songs on this album. I thought of it as a fun, funny, and harmless little song. But, a couple of things have changed how I look at the song. For one, I used to think it was fine to make fun of Yoko Ono. I, personally, didn't find her very attractive, nor did I care for her music. She was an easy punch line. But, as I've grown older, eventually matured (at least a little) and fallen in love myself, I've changed my mind about Yoko. Watching the video for John Lennon's "Nobody Told Me," it's easy to see that he was very much in love with her. And if John Lennon is in love with someone, what the hell business is it of mine to make fun of her? He loved her; he was happy with her--that should be all that matters.

The other problem I now have with the song "Be My Yoko Ono," is the spot in the middle of the song where they mock Yoko's singing with a few seconds of babbling gibberish, meant to show how bad of a singer Yoko is. But, I've now come to realize that gibberish noise that I used to think was funny is actually racist. In light of the recent shootings of Asian Americans in Georgia, and the increase in violence against Asian Americans (fueled in part by the addled lunatic who resided for a time in the White House), the systematic racism these people have to endure has come more to my attention. What I once thought of as harmless and funny has lost some of its appeal.

There are a lot of things I used to find amusing that I now recognize as racist, sexist, or just plain wrong for any number of reasons. How do I reconcile what I used to think with what I now think? It's a tough question, and one I don't really want to answer at this moment and in this forum. (Remember, I started out this entry by rejoicing in how Barenaked Ladies helped pull us out of the dour depression of the grunge movement.) I don't have the answers. All I know is that we should all eat more Kraft dinners. (And use the fanciest dijon ketchups with them.)

Up next: Meet Kathy's husband, Will Robinson.