March 12, 2004

Dub Narcotic Sound System "Degeneration Introduction"

Get funky! Get down! Dub Narcotic gets dooooooooowwwwwwwwwwn! Get down with the Dub Narcotic. Thick like syurp on the cream, Dub Narcotic covers your scene! I wanna be the cream in your chocolate, girl, the sugar in your tummy, come on over and let's get funky! Girl get down and dirty with me, I'll take you places your mama never wanted you to see. It ain't nasty if you don't want it to be--Dub Narcotic will set your love heater to sultry! Girl, let meme slip you out of that shirt, and give you my lovin' baby--it won't hurt!

I'm sorry, I've never been able to listen to Dub Narcotic Sound System without getting funky on my own--which is the point, by the way--and I always come up with my own lyrics. It's hard to not to want to be Calvin when Calvin Johnson gets down with the systematic Dub Narcotic sound. Hell, he reclaimed The Robot as his own, wearing those big pink earmuffs and singing B-52s. Campy? You bet. Silly? Definitely. A joke? Hardly. You don't work with Willie Mitchell if you're a joke. Calvin's always taken fun very seriously, and Degeneration Introduction is no exception. Now stripped down to a smooth trio--gee, Calvin likes it in threes, doesn't he--the sound is slick, streamlined and F.U.N.K.A.Y! Just dig Heather Dunn belting out "Fuck Me Up" with every ounce of her soul, or the way they all get down and dirty and spacy on "Mates' Revenge."

Of course, it doesn't always work, but then again, it never does. The absurd political commentary--"Bush is being pimped, there's no escaping it" in "Blood Flow" is painfully obvious and serves as one of Calvin's lowest points. The song is only saved by the sexy, sultry, porn soundtrack wackajawaka. Damn, it's good, and it makes you overlook the juvenile lyrics. Plus, as always, you really have to be in the mood for this kind of record, or else you'll be bored with it. It's meant to soundtrack having a good time, but it doesn't always put you in the mood for a dance party. But, again, that's nothing new.

Still, those are minor quibbles, and they're ones that have followed around Dub Narcotic since their inception. Degeneration Introduction doesn't upset the apple cart, and I wouldn't want it any other way. While they've grown tighter and smaller in number, the party ethic is still firmly in place. Without it, Dub Narcotic Sound System wouldn't stand a chance of being anything more than novelty. Maybe they are, but they're a great novelty, and if they come to your town GO SEE THEM OR ELSE YOU'LL MISS THE PARTY OF THE YEAR.

--Joseph Kyle

Label Website: http://www.krecs.com

No comments: