Customer Reviews

Some Stupid With a Flare Gun

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a killer Pony CD! While it's got all the quirkiness and insight of their other CDs, it has an edge and power that is different from thier other releases. As great as Known Universe sounded, that record had a space and distance to it. Some Stupid feels claustrophobic, and a little scary... like being locked in a room with the incredible characters the Ponys always seem to invent. Put another way: Known Universe was like watching animals in a zoo, where Some Stupid puts you in the cage.

The production is first rate, capturing the band as well as the major label releases did and clinging to the power and passion with a different feel.

Pretty as you Please is a very cool little song... dark sadness wrapped in a shiny package. Astronaut is an obvious single, but the rough edges ooze from the keys and effects, making it very disquieting next to todays overproduced/overcompressed sounds. I think this song as a single really shows the difference between the Ponys and what the major labels are shilling these days: it has an honesty, sensitivity lacking in most of today's "hits", packaged with a grit and honesty that would have been scrubbed/edited/processed completely out of existence on anything coming from thier former label A&M (or whomever they are today).

() And there's the last laugh I think: 5 or 6 years after thier signing the Ponys are still making great records while A&M no longer exists as anything more than an empty brand name and a catalog.

Go Ponys Go!

This recording is the strongest yet from the Ass Ponys. It's filled with melodic, well written songs and excellent playing. The production is richer than previous Ass Pony discs, yet it is not too slick.

Many of the tracks ("Astronaut" "Swallow You Down", "Pretty As You Please", "Sidewinder", and "Casper's Coming Home" in particular) are accessible enough for mass appeal, but every track on this disc has enough happening lyrically and musically to keep your interest after many listenings. There is still plenty of rock energy and unique lyrics, only it's even better crafted and more exciting than their previous efforts. Order a copy, you won't be disappointed!

Can you believe that its been four years since their last offering? This is by far their best album. It edges out their classic Electric Rock Music, sadly out of print. This one hits home harder. It's like that book by Sherwood Anderson...Winesburg, Ohio. There all of these interesting characters and stories coming from and inspired by living in a small rural midwestern town. The songs are better this time, even the instrumental one is great. This time the characters are a little stranger, creepier , darker , funnier, & a little too familiar, they hit home and draw you into their world. Chuck can sing well, and that's an understatement. He's got this voice with a high lonesome tone to it. It can break your hear and make you laugh a little too...perfect. The band is very capable with a strapping guitarist. Let's hope the next one isn't four years away. Best rock album of the year...in my humble opinion.

After a lengthy hiatus the Ass Ponys are back and better than ever. The quirky, haunting lyrics of the dark underbelly of the heartland are still here, but are now matched with somewhat more accessible melodies. The Ponys inject some of the pop sensibility that catapaulted "Little Bastard" onto the national radio scene into many of the outstanding tracks from this effort. "Astronaut" and "Swallow You Down" are surefire singles if they ever get any radio play.

I paid over fifty dollars for this cd on ebay...yes I know that I could have gotten it cheaper. At the time, next to the Tragically Hip, AssPonys were my favorite band. I was already well versed in "Electric Rock Music", having bought it years ago, and "Known Universe", having been pleasently surprised years after the fact. I got so into "Known Universe", that the Ponys became my favorite band. If you toil life away in a small town, like I've done the majority of my 28 years; then this will quickly become the soundtrack that allows you to say, "hey, I'm here: are you there?"
Chuck Cleaver is a lyrical genius, in the fact that he has the ability to communicate such powerful emotions using the simplest language available. And while art has taken a downturn the last several years;(personally, I blame Britney Spears) listening to any AssPonys album is always a treasure.
For me, this is their most personal album, and when I hear people whispering their secrets; I want to know the story behing them...
This album opens with "As Pretty AS You Please", an alt-country ditty that's just as shocking as any Johnny Cash song ever produced. They move on, through their obvious single "Astronaut" to a muddied middle of the album that you NEED to be a fan of the band's to digest. Then, with "Swallow You Down", the Pony's seem like they are trying to make it work...
And they do; with "Casper..." and "Kitten"...these songs are filled with such pangs of loss, that you cannot listen to them and not be affected.
I have tried my damnest, corresponding with all the insiders to understand these two songs...but I haven't gotten a decent answer yet.
And I don't want to pry any farther...
Why buy AssPonys?
Because you're moved by something that struck you, specifically, as being so beautiful and so amazing that it captured your rapt attention.
And when I heard "Kitten". it seemed like the leader singer (Chuck Cleaver) was singing to a daughter that died. It actually made me cry...
I'm a big, tattoo'd guy. I shouldn't be crying...

Spooky, emotional, sometimes funny stuff. "Your Amazing Life" is gorgeous, and "Astronaut" should be on the radio. This is a fine album that should be heard.

More consistent than the other two albums. A high recommendation for "Astronaut," Neil Young meets aliens for pure punk pop joy.

Just an incredible slice of perverse Americana as only Chuck Cleaver and the guys could deliver. In a just society, "Astronaut" would have been a huge hit.

This is one of the greatest underground bands around. Although they do not really care if they become "famous" they are in the business for the one true reason of music, to make and perform it for the enjoyment of others. The albums they make are well rehearsed and produced and very professional. The music they make is truly alternitive, not this mainstream stuff passed off. If you like this album check out Electric Rock Music with their only hit Little Bastard. These guys are great! Enjoy and get 'em while you can. You won't regret it.