James Kochalka Superstar

(Dot Dot Dash)
by Scott Hefflon

There is no sane way to review this CD. 44 minutes of songs, covers, sounds and either madly witty lyrics, or stupid-as-hell stories/parodies. Or something like that. It also comes with an 18 page comic book. Stoned elves, running through the woods with a boner, getting punched out and pissed on by aliens… ya know, comics. And the songs? Well, “Magic Finger (It’s my Dink!)” has become a daily necessity. Some sing gayly along, others run screaming. From there, stories of James and his penis, his attraction to dresses, more fairies, love problems with high school girls, rainbows… ahhh, they just spill from his lips. His golden vocal chords cracking in such an endearing way, the borrowed keyboard from the mall (complete with Salsa Syncopation) blending gloriously with Casio sounds, and the riffing of rock-on guitars make this CD a must get. The 11 minute ending (12 songs, most of which are actually that Beatles’ piano chord from “A Day in the Life” fading out over and over and something about “Twinkle Twinkle”) is great. James has great pop sensibility and can find a hook even with his pants on.