The Frogs
Hopscotch Lollipop Sunday Surprise
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The Frogs
Hopscotch Lollipop Sunday Surprise
Scratchie, 2001
RiYL: Ween, Moldy Peaches, Melvins |
There's the few that know about his son Ween. Ween was an over all-good kid. He was a fan of smoking pot, making some noise and saying dirty words, but always in a good-hearted manner. Sure Ween didn't do so hot in math class, and his teachers found him to be a distraction, but he always had good friends and he did pretty well on the quiz about the female anatomy in Biology.
Then there was The Frogs. The Frogs did not work well with others, and spent almost every day in the principal's office. It wasn't for making fart jokes, snapping girls' bras or saying "fuck" like his brother Ween though -- it was for making racial slurs, taking out his penis in class and calling any male who looked at it a "faggot". People had to wonder what was going to happen when these illigitmate Zappa offspring grew up and got jobs.
The front cover of Hopscotch Lollipop Sunday Surprise depicts the Flemion brothers clad in easter bunny costumes and merrily toting a giant lollipop. That same piece of candy also happens to be the design on the actual disc that holds the thirteen songs in question. Parents, please warn your children -- do not take candy from strangers!
Over the years, The Frogs have run the gamut of song styles and subjects, ranging from a collection of songs about homosexuality entitled It's Only Right And Natural to an opus that goes by the name of Racially Yours, a study of prejudice that sat on the shelf for several years because pretty much no label wanted to put their name on the product.
The thing that I find the most unusual about Hopscotch is how mellow it is. In fact, half of the songs on the album seem to be "love songs". On songs like "The Longing Goes Away" you sit there waiting for Jimmy (still in his rabbit costume) to talk about making love to a young boy, but instead the song ends on a "nice" sentiment. In a way, that's almost even more disgusting. It's like the dirty old man that your mother warned you about is now telling you that he likes your shirt -- it's just weird!
The album opens with a rather sweet sounding gesture entitled "Whisper," on which Jimmy invites a lover to whisper those three little words, but like a venus fly trap later reveals that his lover will end up once again scratched by his claws. Jimmy The Easter Bunny has apparently become rabid.
Thank God The Frogs have trouble remaining consistent, and several songs later Jimmy sings straight-faced that he could love you if you could wear nipple clamps for him. But he feels no remorse for the "fucking know it all" who should know already "how to blow" him. And just when you thought that they had ran out of ways to offend you, The Frogs serve up a lovely cover of Bob Dylan's "Billy."
I could warn you that The Frogs are just not for anyone, that it takes tons of patience and open mindedness to get past their vulgarity and sarcasm before you can realize how talented they are as musicians and song-crafters. I could warn you that Jimmy's voice is something of a challenge to get used to at first. I could even warn you that Hopscotch jumps effortlessly between acoustic power ballads and electronica-decorated rockers that make the band's sound completely impossible to put a title on. However, I'm not going to -- I'm just going to warn you to never, ever take candy from a stranger in an Easter Bunny costume.
BRAD CAFFEINE |