Bloodhound Gang - Hooray For Boobies

The Bloodhound Gang obviously aren't the best musicians in the world. Their humor isn't exactly "sophisticated" either. So then why is it that their music has sold millions of copies world-wide and been nominated for a Grammy? That's a question that I ask about just about every artist who has sold millions of their album: Why?

The answer can be seen just by looking at their newest album, Hooray For Boobies. Just by looking at the cover art and title of this record, you can tell that The Bloodhound Gang doesn't take themselves very seriously. Their music is a mix of rap and rock, but not along the same lines as Korn and Limp Bizkit. It's a lot more fun. For this album, the Gang also throws in a bit if dance, electronica, and country for good measure. Not to say that they didn't stick to the same formula that made their last album, One Fierce Beer Coaster, successful. Almost every lyrical topic on OFBC is addressed on Hooray For Boobies: oral sex (Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny = Yummy Down On This), inability to get women (I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks = The Ballad of Chaisy Lain), killing stupid people (Lift Your Head Up High = I Hope You Die), how much the band sucks (Going Nowhere Slow = Mope) and religion (Asleep At the Wheel = Hell Yeah). And again there are lots of songs about how much lead singer Jimmy Pop Ali hates people, except on this album the hate seems to have a specific person in mind rather than just the general populace. I have heard rumors that those songs are about a certain person who left the band, but I'm sure that's not true.

Lyrically the album is good, but not quite as fun as the last one. How could they possibly beat songs like "I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks?" The first ten tracks on this album are the best, with the last half of the album slacking a bit. The first track, "I Hope You Die," took a few listens to get the joke, but now I like it a lot. "Mope" has a cool duet between Jimmy Pop and DJ Q-Ball and is full of samples including "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco and The Pac-Man Theme. "Yummy Down On This" is a bit juvenile to say the least, with it getting quite tiresome by the end of the song with Jimmy Pop shouting "suck it." One good track is "The Ballad of Chaisy Lain" about Jimmy Pop's obsession with the title's porn star. The CD also includes one cover song, The Association's "Along Comes Mary" originally recorded for the Half-Baked soundtrack.

Not every song is a keeper, with their country/electronica/spoken word debacle "A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When The Stripper Is Crying" being long, boring and incredibly stupid. Plus, I think everybody already knew that there was nothing good about New Jersey without the ten seconds of silence which makes up "The Ten Best Things About New Jersey." The Bloodhound Gang's knack for catchy melodies and hilarious lyrics come together perfectly on the tracks "3.14" and "The Bad Touch." I think both will be inescapable hits soon, not that I'm complaining. The latter is the Gang's obligatory butt sex song with a great disco-dance beat. The chorus in this song is my favorite from the album, saying "You and me ain't nothing but mammals, so let's do like on the Discovery Channel." This song was a big hit in Europe, especially Germany, where the album has already gone Platinum.

Even though the Bloodhound Gang has had trouble getting this album released in the U.S. (it will be released February 29th with 31 less tracks than the European version) and despite their lack of any discernible talent and maturity, I think that the album is fun and should be a big success.

[72%]

Buy Hooray for Boobies at Amazon.com!