Search - Richard Cheese :: Lounge Against the Machine

The Same Machine, Now With 60% Less Rage!

Christopher Dudley | Laurel, MD USA | 03/16/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very funny CD if you know the original songs, or even if you just know a few of them. The best part about it is that RC makes the songs amusing without changing a single word. In a time when most of the top-selling music is all about rage and angst, Richard Cheese takes the lyrics of some favorites and rearranges them in the context of snappy, jazzy lounge music such as you might hear Wayne Newton singing in Vegas. You almost expect him to end each song with "Thank you, I love you all, enjoy the buffet!"

The liner notes explain just how Richard Cheese thought that these songs had great lyrics that would appeal to wider audiences if they were just played more clearly to show their social significance. The irony of this statement is played out in full at particular points on the album, such as when he croons "Rape me, my friend" in his swingingest, loungiest best. I recall that the satirical "Politically Correct Fairy Tale" books had a similar introduction about making the stories safe for children.

It's a fun album to listen to. Some of the lounge versions of the songs are pretty cool in themselves. I like "Come Out And Play" and "Creep," as well as "Last Resort." It's a great send-up of what sells in today's music market. But somehow it fails to offend, even for those who like the originals. I give it four stars because a couple of the tracks aren't so much amusing as annoying. But it'll have you thinking about what other songs would make good swing versions."

The greatest cheese for the buck

Ryan Lawler | Westville, NJ USA | 10/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While this disc is in no ways imaginative or musically innovative, it is easily worth the cash as a memento of the years when an unhappy clash of cultures came to a head. Richard Cheese's mix of today's unimaginative alterna-pop and equally unimaginative retro-lounge act is a beautiful ridicule of both form and content. In many ways, "Lounge Against the Machine" is more effective than recent pop-spoof acts (ala Weird Al) as it captures the ludicrous nature of the song by keeping the original lyrics and simply changing the context. This is ever-so-poignant in his rendition of Sublime's "The Wrong Way" and his often tasteless cover of Nirvana's "Rape Me." At the same time, the contrast of Cheese's happy-go-lucky lounge act with lyrics of rape, prostitution, violence and murder strikes at the tradition of a lounge culture used to pushing kitsch to an extreme. "Lounge Against the Machine" is, at its essence, a stark portrayal of a society stuck between a horribly self-righteous discontent and a painfully self-conscious escapism."

Very cool, quite funny, not too cheesy

robjphat@yahoo.com | Nottingham, England | 10/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is just amazing. The concept of the album is that singer Richard Cheese and his band take a bunch of well known alternative rock songs and cover them in the style of a lounge/ swing jazz band. It may sound very cheesy (sorry about the pun), but most of the songs are played straight and the way the songs make a perfect transition to this genre just highlights the quality of the originals. This sort of thing has been done several times before (e.g. Moog Cookbook, Pat Boone's metal covers album) but this is the most successful and entertaining. Obviously those without a sense of humour will hate this but I would recommend any open-minded rock fan to buy this because it's both funny and professionally done."