> Fringe

Conchords don’t fly as high on record

McKenzie and Clement funnier to watch

By Darin Kwilinski

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Personally, I was wondering where “If You’re Into It” and “I’m Not Crying” were, but nay good reader, they are not to be found.

Good comedy is hard to come by these days. With the likes of Dane Cook suffocating you with the same loud, obnoxious, re-hashed jokes, it can be difficult to come up for air and take in a sweet breathe of fresh funny. I assure you though; putting down your overplayed Dane Cook album is well worth the effort once you hear Flight of the Conchords.

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s latest media adventure is oddly named “Flight of the Conchords: Flight of the Conchords.” The self-naming wouldn’t be so peculiar if they hadn’t already released their album, “The Distant Future” in 2007. Maybe New Zealand’s “former fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo” (as they refer to themselves) are referring to their new hit HBO show, “Flight of the Conchords.”

The album plays like a greatest hits compilation from the show, which is all well and good, until you realize some of your favorites might be missing. Personally, I was wondering where “If You’re Into It” and “I’m Not Crying” were, but nay good reader, they are not to be found.

Instead, the album consists of remixes from the show. You’ll hear updated renditions of hits like “Business Time,” “Robots,” and “Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros.”

As they were recorded specifically for their new show, they could likely be the way they had always intended the songs to sound. However, if you have only heard the version of “Business Time” from their original HBO special, you’ll be in for a mixed-reaction surprise when you hear its newest incarnation.

Now, I love Flight of the Conchords. I’d almost venture to say I was into them before they were big, but that might seem a little pretentious. Yet, every time I listen to one of their songs on CD, but don’t see the visual comedy of McKenzie and Clement, a little part of me dies. Okay, it’s not THAT dramatic, but it’s definitely a sore spot.

Think about the first time you saw Flight of the Conchords. Probably on YouTube, right? A friend showed you their HBO special where it was just the two of them and their guitars, or maybe it was a clip from their new show. The point is, you SAW them. With only the audio, the experience seems half complete, as McKenzie and Clement’s performances are so much fun to watch.

It’s not that the album isn’t funny. You’ll get a chuckle in every song for sure, but fans will mostly remember the first time they SAW the song.

I would recommend “Flight of the Conchords: Flight of the Conchords” to any hardcore fan of McKenzie and Clement. For the casual fan, it’s a pleasant listen through once or twice with a good laugh here and there. However, you won’t be synching “Leggy Blonde” to your MP3 player for the car ride home any time soon. Also, if you were able to get tickets to the Flight of The Conchords show at the Pabst May 11th, kudos to you. I’ll see you there. If you didn’t, well…there’s always YouTube.

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