Everyone should at least have a vague idea of the cultural phenomenon that was
South Park. Sure, it's become generally accepted by American society, and its popularity has greatly subsided, but there's no doubt the 7 years ago,
South Park was all the craze with teens across the country (and I'm sure elsewhere, I just don't particularly know). Thus, the popularity finally spawned a feature length movie,
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. Receiving relatively rave reviews and a good amount of financial success, the movie was undoubtedly successful on all levels. One of the stranger aspects of the movie, however, was the fact it was something of a musical.
The soundtrack to
South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut is honestly one of the most fun albums I've listened to in ages. I've been stuck in a rut lately; sure, I've been getting to hear great new music and discovering old artists I had never heard of, but often those artists just don't have a sense of flair. Sure, they're great technically or can compose one hell of a song, but I can't just have a good time listening to most of it. Then, I watched the movie this soundtrack derives itself from, and I had the bright idea to acquire this soundtrack. And honestly, it's probably the brightest idea I've had since I created fire.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker are rather unique singers, to say the least. Sure, it's impressive that they're able to pull off voicing ten different characters on a weekly basis, each with a distinct and unique voice, but for them to be able to pull off so many different voices singing is quite an accomplishment. Admittedly, this is a comedic musical soundtrack, so it's not like they're on the level of Elton John or, for a more apt comparison for Mary Kay Bergman (main female voice actor/singer), Irene Cara. However, they give extremely varied performances, from Trey and Matt giving the high pitched vocal performance on
Uncle Fucker, to the Trey then doing crooning (as, of course, Satan) on
Up There, and finally Matt's strange and suave adaptation of Saddam Hussein on
I can Change, it's truly magical. In a completely juvenile way, but magical nonetheless.
The most interesting part about the vocal performances on the first half of the album is the way Matt and Trey get it all to harmonize. Without the advantage of having multiple singers, Matt & Trey had to sing each part individually and layer each vocal track over the other in hope that it would all come together. Somehow, it ended up being the most interesting and enjoyable part of the soundtrack.
What Would Brian Boitano Do? is completely driven by the strange and hilarious harmonization between Matt and Trey's singing as the children, and much of the comedic aspect of the alum is built on moments where all of the sudden there will essentially be 15 vocal tracks, all being sung by either Matt or Trey, but where each is so subtly different that its sublime. The final 30 seconds or so of
La Resistance (medley) is the epitome of this, with nearly 4 different songs all crashing into each other at the same time, but being wrangled in by the fact that it's all so incredulous, that you just can't help but think "Damn, f
uck Canadians."
As with most musicals,
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut has a massive amount of variety in the songs it contains. The albums opener,
Mountain Town, is a sweet song sung by the main South Park kids Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny. It's the most broadway-esque song on the album, and the flutes are both completely out of place with the subject matter, and it makes it all the more interesting and exciting. Then there is the blitzkrieg marching anthem
Blame Canada, perhaps the most famous song on the album. It's unfortunately one of the weaker songs on the first half of the album, as the whole marching tone doesn't translate as well onto audio-only, but it's still a fine example of the extremes the boys go to here.
It's Easy Mmmkay is a basic sing-a-long, with a rather biting commentary against how censorship gets thrown about today, and of course with a chorus of children thrown in for added effect and cuteness.
They're a few songs from the movie that do stand out far from the rest of the pact, however.
Up There, Satan's ballad, is actually an emotionally touching tune about loneliness and despair. A piano and chimes laden song, Trey gives his performance on the album as Satan, crooning about how alone Satan feels in the Underworld, and his declarations of how he could fit in "up there." It's undoubtedly the most surprising song on the album, as the falsetto finish is truly haunting. Then, there is the sitar-driven, Middle Eastern flavored
I Can Change, of course sung by Matt as Saddam Hussein. It's a sleazy song, as Saddam attempts to once again seduce Satan, and has something of a burlesque feel to it. Of course, the real reason it's a highlight is the incredibly horrendous impression of Saddam, but the whistle solo sure does help. Speaking of solos, the best one on the album is featured on
Uncle ***er. Yes, the song is filled to the brim with unnecessary profanity and all sorts of other inane and entirely too childish things, but the fart solos that are featured on the song are nothing short of genius, and help it to become an anthem for Chili lovers everywhere.
Speaking of
Uncle ***er, let's begin discussion on the second half of the album with that cover. Yes, the last 7 or so songs (and half of the albums length) is taken up a myriad of artists covering a variety of tracks from the album, and one of the strangest is
Shut yo Face (uncle ***a). Driven by
Trick Daddy and
Trina, it's a mainstream rap song complete with sexually explicit lyrics and echo-y chorus. Truly the pinnacle of musical achievement of the 90s, to be sure. Directly preceding that is a random Chef (Isaac Hayes song),
Good Love. It's unfortunate to see what Hayes has become; sure, it’s supposed to be a joke song, but the fact he's such a caricature of himself there is all the more of a painful reminder that his
Shaft days are long over.
There are still some excellent songs to be had though, although most of the covers are quite lame.
D.V.D.A, known for doing a variety of songs for Matt & Trey's various side projects, contribute the punk-y and rockin' cover of
What Would Brian Boitano Do?, and it's one of the most energetic songs on the album. They also add some awesome lines, such as
"I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings", complete with "oh-oh's" and a slow descent into near growling. The strangest song I've heard for at least 5 hours, though, is
Rupaul's version of
Super. Ditching the previous flamboyant ballady feel, and instead has turned the song into a flamboyant europop song, complete with "
super bitch" being repeated over and over for two minutes of the song. It's still a surprisingly dancey song, and just adds to the extremely strange mix of music Trey & Matt have packed onto the soundtrack.
I would be remiss in not at least dedicating a section of the review to points where the album obviously fails. First and foremost, this is a completely juvenile, cheesy, and devoid-of-any-seriousness soundtrack. If you’re not looking for a good time, you’re not going to get any satisfaction out of this at all. Sure,
Up There is an undeniably brilliant tune, but most of the rest of the album would collapse if put under any real criticism. The next part is, that only half of the album is truly a soundtrack to the movie, and that half is clearly stronger in every aspect this album prides itself on. The covers at the end are nifty and occasionally incredibly enjoyable, but in essence they’re just punk or techno versions of songs from the first half, and aren’t nearly as funny or catchy as their counterparts.
Luckily. All that really means nothing in the end. You shouldn’t be looking into this album if you don’t want a rollicking good time. If you’re not a fan of South Park, you probably won’t like this. A fan of musicals in general has a good chance of enjoying this if they like other satiric and comedic musicals, but the rampant profanity on the album may turn even them off. However, if you’ve ever enjoyed an episode of the series, you love musicals or songs that parody cultural icons and values, or if you want completely inane and impossibly catchy show tunes, this album is in a nutshell perfect for you.
- is the review done? Good. Now listen, there are two songs I didn’t want to mention the main part of the review, as they’re far too glorious to be described in such a crude format.
Eyes of a child may very well just be the most biting musical commentary on adult ignorance when it comes to the youth of America ever recorded, all told through the “eyes of a small child”, and is the embodiment of the record. Secondly, yes, there is an extremely grand version of the Canadian national anthem,
O Canada. Who does it feature? Why, none other than Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of
Rush. Yes, it’s probably the single greatest version of
O Canada ever developed, and the mimicking voices of Terrance & Phillip in the background taunting Geddy are an absolute treat for anyone. Oh, AND IT'S GEDDY LEE AND ALEX LIFESON OF
RUSH!!!!
. (this worked better when I thought my post was the first after STL's)
