Harvey Danger - Where have all the merrymakers gone?

Now we'll climb out of the hole of disturbing behavior and ask Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone? 

If you remember Harvey Danger at all it's because Flagpole Sitta was the promo music for the movie Disturbing Behavior. Don't make that face, you remember, "paranoia, paranoia, everybody's coming to get meeeeee....." These guys never set out to get famous, and all things considered they didn't, so success! 

I kid, what really happened was they recorded a few songs and shopped those cassette tapes around. An intern heard one of those tapes and said "i want to put out a full album by these guys." They gathered up all those early recordings, rerecording only cost about $3,000, and people actually liked it. By the end of 1997, though, sales slowed and the band was ready to break up. Then they put that song in that movie and presto chango. Harvey Danger did make a second album, but it got lost in label limbo in the midst of lots of corporate legal bafoonery, no support for the tours they were supposed to tag along with, and that's the band. 

If yesterday's Hole brought out your latent speluncaphobia, then you'll be pleased to know this album is significantly more jovial, conceptually non-essential, funner-er. We start off with a description of the plot of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, spoilers and all. It's like Glenn Danzig and Randy Newman collaborated to tell you what Jimmy Stewart is doing, that he has vertigo, and extrapolate on the whole lady who looks like a dead lady who isn't actually dead thing. Then the hit song, which is not a track-2 cool down, so this is automatically a top half album in my book. Then Wooly Muffler, a 3rd masterpiece. 

There's a danger though, 3 bangers in a row can easily turn into "welp, that's all i need, don't care about the rest." I only point it out because i don't remember a single thing about the next 7 songs. Guess i need to pay better attention this time around. It's hard though, i mean i'm writing about a fantastic lost in the shuffle band from 1997, but the overhead speakers are just blaring an endless loop of Glen Frey's The Heat Is On. I haven't heard that song in like 15 years, and i barely even remember Beverly Hills Cop. Strong showing for Judge Reinhold, but if we're talking Eddie Murphy movies then i'm an unashamed The Golden Child fan. That movie is exactly my favorite kind of terrible. 

But Harvey Danger, that's what we're trying to focus on. Can't though, The Heat Is On is just way too freakin' weird. The working theory was always that my subconscious throws up music as the interpretation of the day before the day that is now. If that's the case then i can only assume my brain took the fact that it's been disgustingly hot and humid for weeks, added in yet another in a seemingly endless stream of "yesterday's shooting" in Ft. Dodgy as fuck (presumably a cocaine related disagreement about interest rate swaps), and said "yep, i'm fried." Pat Benatar can't in good conscience sing Hit Me With Your Best Shot anymore. Texas is doing their biennial "we're gonna secede" nonsense. 

Danger, Will Robinson, the reactor core is leaking "i can't care anymore" juice all over the floor. Get me to the Private Helicopter! 

Imma need everybody to calm the hell down. 

Sucks that i only made it through Jack The Lion on my lunch break, 'cause this is awesome. It's noisy, it's nerdy, it's even funer-er than i gave it credit for. I'll have to remember to pick back up after the rest of work. 

If, at this point, you're concerned about how ADD this review has gotten, don't be. I just mailed a 5-digit check to the construction company for the great job they did making the outside of our house not suck as much. If you've never done that, then you don't even know. I'm not sick, but i'm understandably not well. Wish i had time to just keep sitting here listening to it though. Oh well, such is life. At least i still have all my appendages, and i got a wrap around porch to look forward to sitting upon out of the deal. Toodles.