Cassetteboy - Parker Tapes

Sorry for the non-posts, I have been: a) a little swamped under with exams and coursework deadlines, and b) without internet access. So to make up for a week of puffy eyes, worry lines and chewed fingernails (all stress indiuced), here's something to put a smile back on my face and hopefully yours.

Cassetteboy is sort of the cut-up equivelant of those joke viral emails you get sent from bored work-mates - you know, the ones where they superimpose celebrities faces into amusing .jpg scenes, designed to amuse office-workers everywhere. They poke fun at George Bush's lack of brain cells and Paris Hilton's... well, what isn't there to poke to fun at when it comes to Paris? Just when you thought that DJ Yoda was the craziest cut-up musician on the planet, along came Cassetteboy.

The two young men who make up Cassetteboy have described their work as taking celebrities and making it sound like they're talking about sex or drugs. Which, basically, it is - but there's a lot more depth to this record. The first few tracks are only a few seconds each (there's 98 tracks in all) and at first they jump along awkwardly. Then, 9 tracks and less than 2 minutes into the album, 'Joliver' kicks in. Suddenly I found myself not only turning up the volume to listen closer, but also grinning like an idiot to myself. Once they've finished introducing themselves (there are of course a handful of the obligatory 'Cass-ettte-boooooy' hip-hop openings) and the actual music kicks in, and the vicious humour picks up pace, this album is awesome. Arguably it's level of humour still hovers at Team America level, but when you hear Jamie Oliver's familiar voice saying "I'm a little tosser, I'm a little bit wet, I'm not too deep"... well, try not to crack a smile. On a more musical level, the bizarre celebrity audio-scenarios make for some strangely appealing rhythms and beats.

I chose 4 tracks here for you, but with the best part of 100 tracks that are equally as entertaining and catchy, I sincerely suggest you get hold of the entire thing. Listen out for everyone from Judge Judy to Homer Simpson.

Joliver
Large Father
Dogs Dogs Dogs Dogs, Oh Yeah, Dogs
Brian Cardboard And His Swaying Stance

Buy this album from Rough Trade