Chumbawamba

If there's one ironclad rule of pop history, it's this: The monkey types Hamlet only once.
Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" was a glorious novelty shot, coming out of nowhere to
crunch disco beats and leftist punk outreach into one jolly roger of a drinking anthem. But
"Tubthumping" had nothing to do with the band's previous history of dreary, well-meaning
indie rock, and even less to do with the bumbling adult pop of WYSIWYG. These... More >

Waddaya know, the money's been good for them--22 songs in 47 minutes, an unslackening stream of infectious invective and simplistic satire, too jolly to accuse of contempt. "I'm With Stupid" isn't about ordinary people even if "Dumbing Down" is, and for the most part the tunes are so cheerful and the mood so up that the songs feel like jokes the whole world has been waiting for a chance to laugh at. Really, wasn't it about time for one called "Hey Hey We're the Junkies"? Even if the junkies in question are addicted to media? (Grade: A-)