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All Hat No Cattle CD review:
“Songs of the Bushmen” by Harry Shearer
Comedic actor, writer, director and musician Harry Shearer’s new CD
lampooning the Bush administration is well worth checking out. And don’t
just take our word for it.
The right wing already is recoiling with self-righteous horror at Shearer’s
musical dissection of Dubya and his crew. Billboard ads for Shearer’s
just-released “Songs of the Bushmen” have been refused by Clear Channel –
the arch-conservative radio station and outdoor advertising conglomerate –
because the CD cover features President Decider with a bone through his
nose. How’s that for an endorsement?
To gauge political or cultural hot buttons here at All Hat No Cattle, we
occasionally utilize the CAST Barometer (Conservatives Are Soiling
Themselves): If the far right finds something particularly objectionable,
it’s often because there is an intrinsic truth or some highly redeeming
social value to the statement or issue. Using the CAST Barometer, “Songs of
the Bushmen” registers 8.2 on a 10-point scale because it really pisses off
neo-cons with some inconvenient truths.
Here are a few lyrical tidbits from Shearer’s tribute to Bush and his
legacy.
A think tank did the counting
The numbers still could rise
Total what we were told before the war: 935 lies …
Couple hundred thousand Iraqis
Said their early goodbyes
It’s the gift that keeps on giving, thanks to 935 lies
-- selections from “935 Lies”, a bluesy piece (and our personal favorite)
about the Bush Administration’s illegal war
He was the soul of loyalty
Wouldn’t even look at a drink
Now it’s the reward of royalty
Scooter’s skatin’ past the clink …
No cooler for the Scooter
In a way that was the point,
He’s still free to bend over
Scooter’s rescued from the joint
-- selections from “No Cooler for the Scooter”, a soft jazz rendition on the
prison pardon granted to vice presidential hatchet man Scooter Libby after
his felony conviction
Karen do they love us again?
Do they see Uncle Sam as their friend?
Does their heart swell with pride
Knowing God’s on our side?
Is the whole hatred thing on the mend?
-- from “Karen”, a lilting country ballad dedicated to former White House
Communications Director Karen Hughes
“Songs of the Bushmen” contains seven other songs, each dedicated to a
different player in the administration:
"Gym Buds" (Condoleeza Rice)
"Stuff Happens" (Donald Rumsfeld)
"Wolf on the Run" (Paul Wolfowitz)
"Turd Blossom Special" (former Karl Rove)
"Carrot Soup" (John Bolton)
"Who Is Yoo" (John Yoo)
"Smooth Moves" (Colin Powell)
“Songs of the Bushmen” was released July 1 by Courgette Records on
digital platforms including iTunes and
Amazon. The CD is a follow-up to Shearer’s release last year of “Songs
Pointed and Pointless”, which was nominated for a Grammy for best comedy
album. Although his latest musical effort seems headed for similar success,
Shearer admits to a twinge of regret over the imminent departure of the Bush
Administration because it will be “sorely missed by comedy writers
everywhere.”
"Songs of the Bushmen." See it
here.
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About Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer is best known to millions worldwide over the past two decades
because of his voice work on The Simpsons television show, in which he plays
the characters Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, Rev. Lovejoy and Scratchy.
The Los Angeles native entered the entertainment industry in his teens with
guest appearances on TV shows including The Jack Benny Program, General
Electric Theatre and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
In 1968, Shearer joined a news satire team at KRLA-AM called The Credibility
Gap, which developed a strong fan following with comedy such as alternative
live commentaries on the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena. The Gap crew formed
a band to play local clubs and eventually recorded a number of comedy
albums.
In the early 1980s, Shearer and friends Michael McKean and Christopher
Guest, along with director Rob Reiner, began to incubate an idea for a fake
documentary about an aging heavy metal band. The resulting movie, This Is
Spinal Tap, became the granddaddy of the “mockumentary” genre.
Shearer's other film credits include Real Life, The Right Stuff, Portrait of
a White Marriage, The Fisher King, Godzilla, The Truman Show, Small
Soldiers, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.
On TV, he has been a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live during two
different time spans.
Theatrically, Shearer has collaborated with writer Tom Leopold and composer
Peter Matz to create the book and lyrics for an original musical about J.
Edgar Hoover titled J. Edgar!: The Musical. The play premiered at The Aspen
Comedy Festival and currently is being developed for Broadway.
On radio, Shearer's one-hour satirical sandbox Le Show is heard weekly on
stations worldwide.
In 2006, Shearer released his first novel, Not Enough Indians (Justin,
Charles & Company). The book takes a darkly comic look at the proliferation
of Native American gaming and what happens to a fictional town when it
transforms into the sovereign nation of a long lost tribe. The critically
acclaimed novel is also available in paperback and on tape.
In 2007, Shearer plunged into the on-line video universe when the Harry
Shearer Channel became a cornerstone of My Damn Channel ( (www.MyDamnChannel.com),
an entertainment studio and new media platform specifically created to
empower artists to co-produce and distribute episodic video content. Each
week a new political or pop culture satire written by and featuring Shearer
is unveiled.
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