Bongwater
Box Of Bongwater
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NATN Recommended
Bongwater
Box Of Bongwater
Shimmydisc, 1999
RiYL: |
What viewers may not know is that actor Ann Magnuson had an alternative fan base from her gig as chanteuse for the now defunct New York experimental art rock band Bongwater. Although the band broke up in 1991, folks can hear its entire song catalog with Box of Bongwater, a recently released four-disc box set.
Despite its silly name, Bongwater, the duo of Magnuson and studio geek/guitarist Kramer, crafted sophisticated pop. Magnuson has a lovely singing voice, the band's covers of the folk ballad "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" and Roky Erickson's "You Don't Love Me Yet" were hauntingly pretty.
But art rock is art rock, after all, and Bongwater wasn't content if it wasn't doing something zany.
Hence, the ambitious reworking of Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused" sung in Chinese.
Bongwater's real forte, however, was a hybrid of spoken word/monologue wherein Magnuson let loose her comedic chops, brilliantly skewering rock stars, the Hollywood elite and right-wing politicians. (Basically, Kramer wailed on his guitar and made funny noises while Magnuson ranted.)
If you're the type who loves the hip, acerbic wit of stand-up comedians Janeane Garafolo and Sandra Bernhard, or the catty prose of Dorothy Parker, Bongwater is for you.
Granted, a four-disc box set might be an overwhelming -- not to mention pricey -- means of introduction to a pretty obscure band.
Want to start slower? Check out 1990's The Big Sell Out, the band's tongue-in-cheekily titled "commercial'' album. Or, if it's just an Ann Magnuson fix you need, watch those "Anything But Love reruns." But the box set may be safer, you forget how bad Richard Lewis' hair was.
GINA VIVINETTO |