I Told You I Was Freaky

How is it NOT worth buying??
I was ecstatic upon receiving this album, and am glad to say it still does not disappoint. If you have any sense of humor in the absurdities of popular culture you will love the ridiculousness that is Flight of the Conchords. I have heard that a lot of people think they are "juvenile" and their jokes fall flat-- I can only say that the jokes went right over their heads, probably due to pretentiousness and a proverbial stick up the butt. That sounds weird, I know, since FotC is generally very silly rather than full of witticisms... but I think most are so used to comedians making fun of everyone else rather than themselves. It's a subtle mockery of modern music, but it's not really insulting. Oddly enough, I can appreciate rap (and rappers) more, after listening to "Hurt Feelings"... before I couldn't see any humor (or anything worth listening to) in rap. If you're reading this, you probably know at least something about FotC, or have seen one of their songs on youtube... You know they're silly. What I want to say is that the methods in their madness have brought a fresh perspective to comedy that is sorely needed. Like I said, most comedians (that I have seen) make fun of everyone else, which is funny, yes, but eventually gets stale and bitter. But Flight of the Conchords does it better: they show that lighthearted humor can be seen in any situation. In essence? Don't take everything so seriously. Not only will you look (and feel) perpetually constipated, you'll miss out on this prodigiously hilarious band.

Nothing Compared to Their First Release
Like most comedy acts, Flight of the Conchord's first album was stellar; the result of years worth of stand up and experimentation with both successful and failed bits. Unlike their contemporaries, however, Flight of the Conchords' show on HBO forced the duo of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement to write an entire season worth of musical numbers in a very short period of time. Their second album reflects this accelerated writing. I Told You I Was Freaky opens extremely well with "Hurt Feelings," a brilliantly written and rhymed rap with Flight of the Conchords' satirical take on the backing tracks of many popular hip hop artists. The remaining highlights of the album are found in the other musical style parodies. "We're Both in Love with a Sexy Lady" features the nonsensical conversations between Bret and Jermaine that fans have grown to love with a blatant stab at R Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet." Further along in the album, "Fashion is Danger" mocks the most ridiculous of synthesizer driven 80s tracks. Unfortunately, with these exceptions, I Told You I Was Freaky is an otherwise forgettable album. While the entirety of the album is humorous, many of the songs fall flat compared to Flight of the Conchords' previous work. Club hit parodies "Sugalumps" and "Too Many Dicks" are crafted well, but were clearly written to accompany video from their show. Their first album was forged without television in mind, but in this new chapter for the duo, I felt lost without visuals. There is no greater example of this than on "Petrov, Yelyena, and Me," a track about three people stuck on a boat with two of the three turning out to be cannibals. Without the video that accompanies the song, it is sure to be the most skipped track on the CD. After a lackluster second season on HBO, it is possible Flight of the Conchords will turn back to the standup that made them stars. If this happens, I think we can expect an excellent third album from the duo after they've had time to truly put their comedic minds to work at a reasonable pace. Until then, this album is worthy of a listen, but is not one to be played over and over again like their first effort. Similar Artists: Tenacious D, Stephen Lynch, Weird Al Yankovic Track Suggestion: Hurt Feelings

I like it alot...
I love the song parodies in the second season. I'm sure the guys got production help with these, so what, they are just so well done, funny, and dead on. Some of the best music parodies ever, classics. I keep reading that the first season had much better songs, and that the first album had much better songs. I beg to differ. The first record had some of the better songs left on the EP anyway. These songs have helped make my pathetic dismal life a little bit more tolerable... or at least provide a distraction. I wish I could move to New Zealand, will they take immigrants? They have many cool endemic creatures and conifers.

How An LP Should Be
I'm not going to go into much detail on the music except to say that I like it and its just as super catchy and infectious as the last album. What you should know is that this collection (in the LP format on vinyl) is a perfect synthesis, or maybe distillation is the better word, of a certain aesthetic that dominated American pop albums of the 70s. Not in sound but physical presentation. Embossed art against cream background, gate fold, and lyrics AND guitar tab in beautiful full color booklet!!!!! AND A BIG POSTER OF THE FULL LP ART?!?!? TOOOOOOOOO MUCH! All for under 20 bones. I almost forgot....You get the MP3s too!

Disappointing, but with some great highlights.
I own 4 flight of the conchords CDs (Folk the World Live, the Distant Future EP, Flight of the Conchords, and this one) and this most recent one is easily my least favorite. There are highlights to be sure: "I Told You I Was Freaky", "Sugalumps", "Too Many Dicks", and "You Don't Have To Be A Prostitute" are all really catchy and really funny, but the rest of the CD doesn't compare with the stuff on Flight of the Conchords, which was pretty much great across the board. Even some of the songs I like best on this CD end abruptly, in stark contrast to the groovy, stretched out feeling which permeates songs like "Ladies of the World" and "Business Time" on the previous CD. "Petrov, Yelyena, and Me", which sounds relaxed and funny on Folk the World Live, sounds rushed and awful on I Told You I was Freaky. Likewise, the version of "Angels" is much better on Folk the World Live than it is here. All in all, I have great respect for both the musical and comedic talents of these two gentlemen, but am disappointed with the way this CD came out, both in terms of some of the material and in terms of the arrangement/production. 13 songs should come in at a little longer than 33:50 when you've got as many ideas and as much talent as Jemaine and Bret do. It's hard not to think that these songs and this CD were put together a little too fast.