Saturday, August 14, 2010

'THROW YOUR HAMS IN THE AIR!'


If the idea of Jewish rappers named Ice Berg and Dr. Dreidel (and whose manager is named Meshugge Knight) makes you laff, then M.O.T. (Members of the Tribe) have an album for you: "19.99," which actually came out in 1998. As usual, I'm decade behind. The music's pretty basic, but abundant lyrical cleverness rewards repeated listenings. They even go gangsta:

M.O.T. "Kosher Nostra"

and reference old-school jams like "Double Dutch Bus" and "Cars With The Boom" while rapping about fine deli meats:

M.O.T. "Double Dutch Lunch"

M.O.T. featured members of Martini Ranch, a band with a pretty weird history. One of their members, Bill Paxton, became a succesful actor, so with the doors of the entertainment world opened to them, they got the likes of Cindy Wilson of the B52s, Devo, and Judge Reinhold to appear on their lone album. James Cameron, no less, directed one of their music videos.

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