[.ca] Lounge Against The Machine

From Amazon.co.uk:
On Lounge Against The Machine, alt-rock hits get the Vegas treatment way before their time. Vocalist Richard Cheese and his piano trio really know how to warp a song. Rage Against The Machine's "Guerilla Radio" sounds smooth as silk, if incredibly schmaltzy, in the hands of this wayward lounge act. The Dead Kennedys' "Holiday in Cambodia" gets completely defanged in Cheese's rendition. And it's definitely strange to hear the rage drained out of Nirvana's "Rape Me" and replaced with bland, mindless enthusiasm. The tone of these covers is so far removed from the originals that at times you forget what you're really listening to. At moments like these, Cheese and the boys sound like some anonymous combo going through the motions. But then you'll hear the singer let loose with some foul language or croon a harsh line and it sounds downright strange and funny. Lounge Against The Machine can be tiresome at times, but it certainly takes the piss out of these songs. --Fred Cisterna

terrible:
I heard some of the songs off this cd at a store and I have to say it is a disgrace to every single band whos songs are on the cd. It is not funny, entertaining, or original in any way, and if Kurt Cobain were to hear the Cheese guy sing Rape me, he would be rolling in his grave. So take the 12 bucks for this cd and go out and buy the cds with the actual songs on them. I would have given it 0 stars, but the lowest it went was 1.

come on, give it upp for Cheese!:
dis is da singel bestest al bum yu can buy! itz got all my favrite toons frum da erly 90's and dey have been remixed wit a vengence. His softly croonig voice singing aboot rape and cutting life intoo peces jest melts my hart! da classics have been taken to an even classicaler levul!!!

Very funny, but Black Velvet Flag was funnier...:
Seriously....if you like this, check out Come Recline by Black Velvet Flag. Similar schtick.

Perfect Parodies:
Most song parodies don't hold up to repeated listening, no matter how hard they make you laugh the first time around. (Seriously, how many times can you listen to a "Weird Al" album all the way through?) Richard Cheese's "Lounge Against the Machine," which reinterprets Gen-X Rock-of-the-Nineties hits as lounge music, is different. This is an album you can listen to several times over. There are several things that raise this record above the level of your average Dr. Demento silliness. First, "Cheese" is parodying two genres for the price of one. He's not just poking fun the angst-ridden anger of the songs he covers, he's also mocking the lounge revival, so the humor works on two levels. Second, he's an accomplished singer, and he and his band have taken a lot of care in arranging the music--more than you'd expect from a jokey record like this. Third, some of the songs work frighteningly well as lounge numbers--Radiohead's "Creep" in particular. The joke wears thin on Cheese's followup "Tuxicity," but if you appreciate this sort of thing, "Lounge Against the Machine" is definitely worth owning.

It's a finger snappin' good time!:
What a shame I can't give this album more than 5 stars (a centillion stars would be more appropriate). Like a vociferous wacky mold this album grows on you. It screams "Camp!" into your ear until tears of laughter form. Why Mr. Cheese did not receive a grammy for this album shocks & confounds me. Mr. Cheese's prevalently sagacious selections are perfectly suited as lounge songs in the most amusing and entertaining way possible. It is impossible to describe with words the magic that is Richard Cheese. You have to listen to this album for yourself.

• Nookie/Break Stuff (originally by Limp Bizkit)
• Guerilla Radio (originally by Rage Against The Machine)
• Come Out And Play (originally by Offspring)
• Closer (originally by Nine Inch Nails)
• Wrong Way (originally by Sublime)
• Bullet The Blue Sky (originally by U2)
• Creep (originally by Radiohead)
• Last Resort (originally by Papa Roach)
• Rape Me (originally by Nirvana)
• What's My Age Again (originally by Blink 182)
• Smack My Bitch Up (originally by Prodigy)
• Fight For Your Right (originally by Beastie Boys)
• Only Happy When It Rains (originally by Garbage)
• Suck My Kiss (originally by Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• Holiday In Cambodia (originally by Dead Kennedys)
• The Rockafeller Skank (originally by Fat Boy Slim)