Rating:
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 07/22/2008
At first glance, the comedy duo
Red State Update may look like a
Blue Collar Comedy Tour ripoff, but they're the darlings of progressive online magazine
Salon.com and on the buddy list of "those liberal nonproliferationists"
CNN. Thanks to their video submission, it was on said cable news network that young bumpkin
Dunlap (played by
Jonathan Shockley) and the overalled,
Uncle Jesse-esque Jackie Broyles (
Travis Harmon) got to ask the Democratic presidential hopefuls about
Al Gore, drawing a tongue-in-cheek insult from
Joe Biden plus an appearance from
Mike Gravel on their
YouTube channel. A series of videos posted to the video-sharing site earned the two a sizable following, so it isn't much of a surprise that they would strike while the iron is hot and get to cashing in. What is a surprise is how their debut CD satisfies with hilarious novelty songs being added to the act alongside their usual commentaries. Here
Jackie and
Dunlap skillfully execute their layered, ironic style, which is
Stephen Colbert meets
Kinky Friedman on the set of
Hee Haw. There's jibber-jabbering about the
Bonnaroo-bound hippies who pass through
Jackie's store in Tennessee and impressions of various celebrities fishing their wristwatches out of clogged garbage disposals, including
Peter Ustinov and
Michael Douglas "of
Jewel of the Nile fame." While these down-home exchanges are just as entertaining as their videos, the wonderful songs are what make the CD so easy to recommend. The cowardly rave-up
"Iraq (I Don't Wanna Go)" features the great "Two things in Iraq you'll never find/WMDs and my behind" plus the sage advice that "Iraqi porn is awful."
"Noodles, Powder, Water & Meat" is
Jackie's moving ode to "hamburger dinner in a box," and
Dunlap's quest for that ever so rare
"Stripper Without a Kid" shouldn't be missed. Well-rounded with amusing talk and belly-laugh songs,
How Freedom Sounds is an essential album for fans of kickass political commentary or anyone who quits his job once Talladega time rolls around.
~David Jeffries, All Music Guide
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