By Jeremy Quintin
Elm Staff Writer
A break from the Concert Series has given me a chance to write a long awaited review for an album that I believe everyone on campus is in desperate need of hearing. I speak of “Midnight Slushie”, the latest album of musical wonderment and literary genius spawned from the awesome minds of Koo Koo Kanga Roo.
If you don’t know who Koo Koo Kanga Roo are, they’re basically the musical prodigies who will save us from the hellfire of death metal and will carry our ears to the promised land of friendship, ninjas, pirates, slumber parties, and unicorns. More accurately, they’re Neil and Bryan, college roommates who decided to put together the most upbeat, entertaining, and interactive live show that has never before witnessed, which is pretty much what they do each night they perform. Each of their songs act as a set of directions for the audience to follow, making sure that everyone not only has a good time, but gets involved as well. So for example, when Neil and Bryan ask you if you’re their best friend, you will have no choice but to shout back “Heck yeah!” and fist pump the air.
“Midnight Slushie”, is quite literally about those five things listed in the promised land. The album starts off by letting you know that, “You are the coolest dude in the universe.” Each word is said twice, creating a rhythmic repetition echoing in your mind, emphasizing that you are indeed the coolest dude in the universe. It’s a bold lyrical start that creates an astounding self-discovery in the listener, a shock that prepares you for the upbeat lyrical content to follow, but not for the emotional spring of happiness that will bounce you through this entire album. Every continued phrase of happiness functions as a call back to the over-arching theme of this album: you, being the coolest dude in the universe. Neil and Bryan are lyrical geniuses.
The exciting album continues by teaching you how to become a ninja, as Bryan teaches you how to ninja chop, followed by ninja kicking. Since you’re required to kick at this part, I’m not sure how the duo expects this song to go down during a live show, but I’m sure it will end with everyone unconscious. What could be better? Then, in an odd and conflicting fashion, the next song teaches you how to become a pirate. Suddenly the listener is caught between two worlds, one of shrouds and one of pillaging. Truly it’s a brave move designed to build confusion for the sake of comedy, but come on, pirates and ninjas hate each others’ guts.
More seriously, Koo Koo Kanga Roo’s music cannot be judged based on any lyrical wisdom or musical composition. The composition itself is nothing special, but as any fan will tell you, that’s not the point of their music. The point is to have a fun, wicked sweet, out-of-this-world time. They inherently acknowledge the silly nature of their music by producing it, and of course that silliness is what makes the album so much fun to sing, to dance to, and to scream ,“There’s a party in my PJs!”
Before listening to this album, I was in a rather dampened state of mind. Listening to Koo Koo Kanga Roo more or less pumped my head out of its depression and into ecstatic happiness. I know that this album won’t be for everyone. Some will find it’s too silly or over-the-top. However, if you like silly stuff, and if you ever find yourself in a funk, just take the “Unicorns are Real” pledge with Neil and Bryan. At the very least, you’ll know that unicorns are real, you super-cool ninja pirate PJ-wearing dude.