Customer Reviews

Stupid People Shouldn't Breed

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The cleaned-up version of "Chemical Imbalance" used to play on our local college station during the early 90's. I taped it on a few mix tapes (couldn't get enough of it!) and finally bought the cassette of "Stupid People Shouldn't Breed."

Unfortunately, a few years later, my car was seized by the state cops for ... um ... some misbehavior on my part. I never got the car back, nor did I get any of my favorite tapes, which happened to be in the car at the time. Skatenigs were in my daily rotation at the time, so I was out one great tape (along with many others).

Fast forward to the year 2000 -> -> -> I've moved 1200 miles away; I'm back on my feet, I am a respectable citizen again; I'm also 38 years old. As soon as I had found the best music shops in town, I set about my search for "Stupid People Shouldn't Breed" on CD.

It turns out that I had to special order it; only the very best shop was able do it for me. (This is before I discovered Amazon, but the music shop had it to me in a week.)

Now, I have my Bach, I have my Beatles, I have my Johnny Cash, Hendrix, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Jane's Addiction, B.B. King, Plasmatics, Zappa, James Brown and the Barber of Seville. But I also have Skatenigs. That's what sets me apart, though I wish that everyone could hear them. (It's a mission!)

For Christmas I gave my 17 year old daughter a mix CD that included "Chemical Imbalance" (sans the long spoken intro - her mom wouldn't like it, I don't think). I may be 41, but that tune still puts me into a trance. My right eye nearly closes ... my left eye half closes ... my head moves back and forth ... and then the entire band comes in !! AAAAAHHH!!!!

The whole CD is great, though. A lot of interesting sound samples.

I like "Poundsauce," with the samples, "you take your chances with the law - justice is only a roll of the dice," and "like someone on a rampage." And of course the "what the f$*%!" sample that is used like a percussion intrument during the bridge. It's a repititious tune, but good background for a party or some kind of dancing - or just to jam along with.

"Fight Da Suckas" is an anti-racist tune. Even if you don't listen to the lyrics, it's a good tune.

"Loudspeaker" uses its title and the singer's (lack of?) dynamics (he shouts) as a metaphor for the radical right's oppressive attitude. Deceptively mild sound samples from right-wing speakers are interspersed, and repeated for emphasis, while the singer says absolutely nothing offensive other than "shut up and listen."

Other than that rather abrupt "request," which is repeated a few times, the singer says nothing offensive but rather describes a desire for understanding. The background music is raucous and disturbing, which coincidentally is just how the radical right appears to many freedom-loving patriotic Americans. Sometimes the rest of us do want to say, "shut up and listen" to the holier-than-thou sect, but we're too polite to do so.

The last tune on the CD, "Roadkill," is a great driving song. The whole CD is great for when you're on the road, but this one really is the best. "Backwoods motherf*@$#&%!" "Roadkill all over Texas!"

A driving beat. "I'm not coming back!" "I know what I'm getting and the getting is good!" "Roadkill all over Texas!" "Whaddyou think I am, some sort of a piece of s#*%, I'm a human being."

"I'd like to bite the hand that feeds me ... so ... feed ... me now!"

Truly, one of the great albums of all time. I have Mingus, I have Miles, I have the Beatles, I have Bela Fleck ... All great, but my collection would be seriously lacking without "Stupid People Shouldn't Breed."

Oh, I should mention "Horny For Evil." I can't describe how it starts. You'll either fall off your chair laughing or pop the CD out in disgust. Don't pop it out! It's a Biohazard-style thrash-fest.

Don't pass this one up if you like metal. I'm not even a serious metal fan - Metallica, sure, but I'm more grunge/punk/dirty blues. Not those nasty hair-metal bands from the early 80's. These guys, Skatenigs, grab you by the boo-boo and don't let go until they're ready to. I just wish I could have seen them live.

GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! "Stand Tall and Fight"!!!

After reading the other reviews, I had to add mine: I acquired this album when the frat-boy drug dealers in the apartment next door "moved out" suddenly in the middle of the night. The building management wasn't aware they were gone, and the whole complex looted the apartment. By the time my daughter told me what was going on, all that was left was a blender and some CD's. I had never heard of Skatenigs, but this album instantly became the theme to my daily carpool ride to work.

I'm now 44, and I still love it. It's just B@!!$ to the Wall, full-out "I'm fed up with this crap, and I'm not gonna take it, but by god, I'm gonna sound cool while I'm at it!" raging metal.

I'm also someone who listens to all kinds of music, and this album is in my all time Top Ten. It's THE best for venting pent-up aggravation, and the songs are much more "hooky" than you would expect.

Heck, just the album title alone is worth the purchase!

The CD you will always keep. Normaly I don't like poems on music CDs. I paid for music not for writers but this one is different. Probably one of the best text openings. Don't understad why the CD (and the band) is so unknown.

"As immaturity may be a result of certain chemical imbalances... so may the fr*gging Skatenigs" produce one of the ten greatest albums of all time. From the opening rap "redundant in new wave black, up the b*tt, stuffed, mucked up, sucked" through such timeless tracks as "Sh*t Authority" and "Horny for Evil" to the most bizarre song with a positive message of brotherhood ever produced, you will love this album. If you buy this album not only will they "p*ss on your mother's best collectables", but you will truly say "I've got it made!"

Like the previous reviewers pointed out, this is one of those albums that don't pretend to be more than they are: good, simple and no-braining fun. This wacky band clearly refuses to sit on a high horse, as the stupid, inane and zany lyrics demonstrate (just take a look at the album title...no need for further proof). Good for us. Music doesn't need to be intellectual all the time. So leave all the symbols, metaphores and deep meanings aside and enjoy this piece of nice industrial hard rock. Ministry and White Zombie fans should call it a treat.

NOTE: to whom it may concern, story is that Ministry's Al Jourgensen actually produced this record. He just didn't want his name to appear on the album credits because he and Skatenigs main man Phil Owen got into some fight after the album was released.

Stole it from a friend, then a year later he stole it back. Fair play and all that. Finally bought the album on CD and it is part of my travelling 24. For all instances? No, but when I need something like Skatenigs, why not play the original? Still remember the first time I heard the CD, climbing the three flights of stairs to math class. Only other experience comparable was first hearing the first song on Clutch: Transnational Speedway League, also on the stairs leading up to math class. Anyway, just ordered What a Mangled Web We Leave and would definately recomend this to anyone who wants to be aurally kicked upside the head.

What is it with theft and this album? My brother bought this in the early '90s and it was stolen along with the rest of his CD collection out of his truck. So it it has been until now that I finally got to listen to this only because I was checking out RevCo, heard of Skatenigs and bought this album a week ago.

It is a very damn good metal album. The influence of Wax Trax!, RevCo and Minstry is all over the sound of this album. It is exceptionally crisp, crunchy and clear and perfect for blasting out your audio system at odd hours of the morning. It's just pure awesome! No wonder it gets stolen so often!

Included with the album printed on its inlay card is a collage. A smirk crossed my face as I saw the unmistakable bald visage of El Duce of the Mentors within it! Good company, indeed!

Anyway, just to be on the safe side, invest in a good anti-theft system and some extra locks if you buy this disc. You should also burn it it to a backup CD-R and play from there.

Hard, crunchy early 90's rock at it's best. Nothing fancy, but filling in a meat and potatoes kind of way. Love so many songs on this album!

I bought this piece of crap for somebody else. He seems to like it,

but if this title was forced on his parents he would not be here!

I hate to just repeat what everybody else sez, but this is one of the all-time dumb records. Everything about it is dumb, from the name of the group to the way the group looks to the cover art to (especially) the music. That don't mean it's bad, though.

Sometimes you're just in the mood for dumb.

I first heard of these guys when they showed one of their videos on Beavis & Butthead. The video made me laugh out loud even without B&B's comments. They had one goofy looking guy in the band that was wearing something like a ballet costume and another with a Stetson hat and cheap looking halloween make-up. The shots of the band playing was intercut with clips of skateboard idiots suffering violent mishaps while trying to jump down staircases, etc. After seeing the video, I had to go out and buy the record.

It isn't really very good, but it's the kind of record you put on when you have people over and you want to get them to say "what the h-ll is that?"

Would I recommend it? Yeah, for special occasions. It's loud and fast and that makes up for a lot.