CD Review – Everybody Was in the French Resistance…Now! (If yo
Fixin’ the Charts (Vol. One)
Cooking Alley Records
The duo Everybody Was in the French Resistance…Now! (Eddie Argos from Art Brut and Dyan Valdes from The Blood Arm) are here to correct everything that is wrong with pop music; by creating answers to specific songs. For instance, they take specific elements of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” to create “Billie’s Genes.” Essentially, the song is telling MJ that yes, the kid is your son. and “you probably have more kids around the world screaming ‘daddy.’”
They also take on the talentless Avril Lavigne on “G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N. (You Know I’ve Got A)” in response to Avril’s “Ricky” ripoff “Girlfriend” where she tries to steal another girl’s boyfriend. (Way to show how “punk” you are.) EIITFR…N! come back with “You know I’ve got a girlfren” and shoo her away.
Classics and traditional songs are also subject to scrutiny. Martha Reeves and the Vendellas’ “Jimmy Mack” (“Hey! It’s Jimmy Mack”), “My Way” by Frank Sinatra (“My Way (Is Not Always the Best Way)”) and the 17th century ballad “Scarborough Fair” (“A Scarborough Affaire”) are also brought up to date with spoken narration and the feel of a Broadway musical.
Everybody is in the French Resistance…Now! does an excellent job with the (rather humorous) retorts to popular songs and they incorporate elements of each song into their strange electro/alternative/musical formula. The first time you hear this album, it is pretty good, but it is one of those albums where you say “That was pretty good,” and then bury it next to that Hanson album you never listen to.
