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People Like Us, "Recyclopaedia Britannica"
Mess Media
This "best of" collection of woozy, kitschy plunderphonia looks back onten years of PLU releases over the course of 30 tracks. The finermoments foster nostalgia for childhood memories you've never had, asVicki Bennett's strong suit is the whimsical collage of sounds thatappeal to the immature side of her audience. Uneasy listening, bathroomhumor, gaudy polka jaunts, field recordings and happy singalongs allemerge from the blender as a dadaistic children's record. That's not tosay that this music is unsophisticated; many of the juxtapositions arebrilliant. The closest comparison I could make would be Stock, Hausenand Walkman, but PLU does not shoehorn the samples into beat-orientedelectronic music. People Like Us has a very personalized approachthat has more to do with the silly innocence of Spike Jones than thedark cynicism of fellow cut-uppers Negativland. But this innocence issavagely taken advantage of on "If someone touches you," which ishilarious but will have you feeling creepy for laughing. Sort of likethe deviant side of Paul Rubens creeping onto the set of the Pee WeeHerman show and molesting the talking chair. The parts of this recordthat fall short for me are some of the vocal snippets pulled from radiointerviews and TV call-ins as they just don't share the exotic appealof the musical constructions. But the slow spots don't take too muchaway from this highly entertaining retrospective.
This "best of" collection of woozy, kitschy plunderphonia looks back onten years of PLU releases over the course of 30 tracks. The finermoments foster nostalgia for childhood memories you've never had, asVicki Bennett's strong suit is the whimsical collage of sounds thatappeal to the immature side of her audience. Uneasy listening, bathroomhumor, gaudy polka jaunts, field recordings and happy singalongs allemerge from the blender as a dadaistic children's record. That's not tosay that this music is unsophisticated; many of the juxtapositions arebrilliant. The closest comparison I could make would be Stock, Hausenand Walkman, but PLU does not shoehorn the samples into beat-orientedelectronic music. People Like Us has a very personalized approachthat has more to do with the silly innocence of Spike Jones than thedark cynicism of fellow cut-uppers Negativland. But this innocence issavagely taken advantage of on "If someone touches you," which ishilarious but will have you feeling creepy for laughing. Sort of likethe deviant side of Paul Rubens creeping onto the set of the Pee WeeHerman show and molesting the talking chair. The parts of this recordthat fall short for me are some of the vocal snippets pulled from radiointerviews and TV call-ins as they just don't share the exotic appealof the musical constructions. But the slow spots don't take too muchaway from this highly entertaining retrospective.
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