Crash Test Dummies are best known for their 1993 worldwide hit “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” yet the Canadian band put out six more albums after that before going on hiatus in 2005. CTD is back this week with Oooh La La (Deep Fried) but in a brand new incarnation. Mainman Brad Roberts (now based in New York City) wrote and recorded the album with producer and engineer Stewart Lerman (Antony And The Johnsons, Marshall Crenshaw, Roches) using ’70s musical toys such as the Optigan for the majority of the LP. (The two were joined on Oooh La La by longtime CTD backing vocalist Ellen Reid.) The result is the happiest-sounding record of Roberts’ two-decade career. Roberts will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.
Roberts:
Outside, tempers flare, blaring horns
down in the street, there
where, lately, the rain pours down
in improbable frequent storms,
the city skyline lit each night.
Lighting strikes, and the sirens begin.
Smoke billows great grey
pillows into the sky—
and then the long hiss
as the hoses drown out
this near miss.
The clubs keep on pounding
through the walls, the sound pouring
into the street, where a clutch of patrons
stand outside and smoke cigarettes
in yet another improbable storm.
They brag awhile, boozy with bravado,
then take a long piss.
Playing fireman, the yellow arcs hissing
from each penis. Mind your shoes, lads—
Last night we had a near miss.
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSAEVHbDMME
