Up And Rising: Flight Of The Conchords
It’s Wild Bill’s birthday, and a totally righteous gift he bought?himself yesterday on New Music (& DVD!) Tuesday was the first season of the super-rad new?HBO series Flight Of The Conchords. Based on the musical act of the same name, the?duo of New Zealanders?Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement best resembles a less-vulgar, more-awkward version of the Jack Black-helmed Tenacious D.
Known as?”(formerly) New Zealand’s fourth-most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo,” Conchords follows the meta-trials and tribulations of the boys as they try to survive New York City.?But the path to fame is not easy, thanks to limited resources, a useless manager (Rhys Darby), an obsessive fan (Kristen Schaal) and accents which?do not easily?translate into American dialect.
Although the show is brilliant in its understated absurdity, perhaps its biggest downfall is the deficiency of music. Although the Conchords’ tunes are tied into the show at key points, they are often cobbled into shorter forms. Why is this disappointing? Along with their talent of?acting fabulously out-of-place, the boys are great musicians with fun ideas. Whether their songs muse on the intricacies of croissants, robots or partying, each tune is built upon a foundation of sly musicianship. Meshing reggae, soft jazz, gentle pop and techno, the mishmash of styles creates enough of a quirky groove as to be quite listenable without the crutch of television.
Unfortunately, truly great FOTC material is hard to come by (legally)?in the States.?We have to wait until next year for their first?studio full-length, which leaves for slim pickens in the meantime: a rare live album called Folk The World Tour, an even rarer recording of their brilliant self-titled BBC radio series, and a 5-song EP titled The Distant Future, which does little to whet the appetite of the most voracious fans. Sharp Notes will admit that there is a torrent file?out there which has every track culled from the show so far, but in fear that the RIAA will come in the night and steal our iPods, we simply suggest you purchase Season One and wait patiently for more new material.
“She’s So Hot…BOOM!” (live):?shes-so-hotboom.mp3
“Inner-City Pressure” (from Flight Of The Conchords):
Categories: Intense Videos, Up And Rising Wednesdays
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