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I have been sceptical of the popular notion that James Kochalka is the reincarnation of Leonardo da Vinci. It's true they are both artists who favor full frontal nudity and If da Vinci was around today he MIGHT want to live in Vermont, but what other proof is there? Then I listened to Kochalka's compilation album plus music video Our Most Beloved. I mean, I'm from the Woodstock generation and although I mourned John Lennon I never really felt the loss of Curt Cobain. But now, after listening to "Put Down the Gun" for the 20th time I find I have been infected by Kochalka's passion for post-punk rock and roll. Or at least Kochalka's version of it. Wait, you say, that's all well and good but da Vinci designed war machines. What does Kochalka have to match that? Hey, his work is chock full of robots and spaceships that Leonardo WISHES he had thought of. And the album's longest cut "Sleighride to Heck" is the best evocation of a cheerfully nihilistic armageddon since Tom Lehr's "We'll all Go Together When We Go". (Sorry, wrong era again). Anyway, Leonardo and Kochalka - maybe not such a crazy idea after all.

Not only is this a fine album to introduce the unenlightened to the music of James Kochalka, but even if you've already collected his entire discography and played them more times than is probably healthy- this collection will still sound fresh. All the songs included have been remastered, including an entirely new recording of 'P*ssy Gangster' and a breif, poignant introduction to the classic 'Hockey Monkey'. Most of these songs are way too catchy for your own good, chances are you'll learn all the words and have them stuck in your head for weeks.

A DVD is also included with several videos all worth checking out- 'Monkey vs. Robot' has been a hit at festivals and both 'Pizza Rocket' and 'Hockey Monkey' have appeared on Nickelodeon. Keep an eye out for James behind the goalie mask- his mere image was deemed unsuitable for children.

However, it's been about 4 years since any new material from the band was released. A new album 'Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly' was recorded ages ago and apparently Rycodisc is just sitting on it. Let's hope they come to their senses soon...

This guy's whole repertoire is insipid, sloppy three-chord garage-band tripe, with juvenile, offensive, smart-alecky jibberish for lyrics. It almost sounds as though he makes this stuff up as he goes along. In other words, it's everything that rock 'n' roll should be!

Recently, when I was driving a group of us out for pizza, "Twinkle Twinkle Ringo Starr" kicked off on my stereo and one of my friends said, "What the hell are you listening to"?

Without missing a beat, I replied, "James Koh-chook-klas Superstar".

In an era of pretentious, derivative and over-produced rock, I'd given up hope of ever hearing anything fresh and interesting. And then, purely by accident, I discovered James Kochalka Superstar, which is definitely not pretentious, over-produced, or spoiled by some corporate rock marketing department.

Eschewing the current trend of self-important musicians trying to change the world, JKS gives us songs about drinking beer, dirty-minded astronauts, and a monkey who plays hockey. How true to the spirit of indie rock is that?

Like another reviewer said, it almost sounds like JKS is making this stuff up as he goes along but, hey, some of it is really good and the rest is as fun as a barrel of hockey monkeys. It makes you want to go to a keg party, grab some corn on the cob, and listen to your heart because a kiss tastes good in the cold night air.

Good stuff. Pure, sincere songwriting. Highly recommended.

P.S. Thank God for the song "Ozzy & I", otherwise I'd have never been able to figure out how to pronounce "Kochalka". Mmm...word.

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Michael Mihalik is the author of Debt is Slavery: and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me About Money. Learn how to gain control of your finances, pay off your debt, and create financial security!

If you're looking at this guy's stuff, this is probably the album to go with. As you can tell it's a compilation. It has 25 songs and it's about 46(the number of chromosone pairs in a human cell's DNA, coincidence I think NOT!) minutes. See, the actual studio albums are a bit on the scant side. Anyways yeah so james Kochalka's a funny guy...kinda goofy and juvenile, but it's all very tongue-in-cheek(I almost didn't hyphenate that, but I took pity on you, my dearest darling reader). The rock songs(like Monkey Vs. Robot, Talk to the Wookie, Put Down the Gun and many more) on the album are far superior to the ones that sound like the whole thing came from one synthesizer (like Corn on the Cob, Neigh Neigh and Woo Woo, and um...stuff). Luckily I think the rock songs outnumber the electronic ones...then there's some in between,you know how it goes. some of the funnier ones are Magic Finger (because I'm a maladjusted male member of society like that), Put Down the Gun (for all you Nirvana fans out there),and Bad Astronaut (I was fascinated with outer space as a little kid...later on i was fascintated with unruly behavior in the face of utter destruction, so it evens out in this song). Bad Astronaut also one of the catchier tunes. Then there's the epic rocker Monkey vs. Robot and the um...other epic rocker Ocean of Girls. I think those are the bests songs but who knows, maybe I have some kind of epic rocker fetish. The album ends with Even the Clouds Get High, a cynical little singalong about marijuana ("dope"...whatever, i guess I'm not hip enough to say "dope") that turns into an indifferent singalong about Steven the Mouse and how he says high and how he wants to know how you are all doing. Then he runs out of things to say (Steven the Mouse must be just a fringe friend or something) and just contents himself with an "oh yeah!". Good album. Buy it.

Half of these songs make no sense, and the rest are just scatalogical. Some of the songs are just plain hilarious ("Steven the Mouse says 'hi'".... so plain silly, yet I can't get this melody out of my head).

Imagine being a kid again.. Remember singing along to the wheels on the bus go round and round? This album will make you want to sing along with the same gusto you did back at camp pokedypog. Not that you could mind you, this album is not for children. Well actually that's not true. Some of these songs are my kids favorites. "Monkey vs Robot", "hockey Monkey", and "Neigh Neigh and Woo Woo" are his top three. the hockey monkey video was even on Nickelodeon! That video is included on the dvd by the way. As is the vid for my fav kochalka song, "copenhagen china box" The best thing about this video is the way his wife gives a cute litte smile right before he starts singing. It's great and it's what Kochalka is all about, making his friends smile. And you will smile too. Oh and one last thing. The songs have been remastered and sound at least 500 times better than they did before. And there's a comic inside too! Oh, I almost forgot. Steven the mouse says "HI"