Liam Lynch – Fake Songs: #860 of best 1,000 albums ever!

Why is Liam Lynch’s Fake Songs on my best 1,000 albums ever list?

More than a one-hit wonder album? Whatever.

What does Liam Lynch’s Fake Songs mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?

If you recall Liam Lynch and Fake Songs, it’s likely due to the song, “United States of Whatever,” in which Lynch, invoking the persona of a hilariously slacker hipster, consistently responds, “Whatever,” to different (highly rando) interactions that he has.

But even that short description is way over-intellectualizing the comedy and coolness of the song. It is funny and weirdly clever somehow, but most importantly at a minute and thirty-one seconds, it rocks with a garage punk simplicity that gives the song a sweet propulsion. And by the time we get the final, “Because this is my United States of Whatever!” you want a lot more.

Taking a step back though, it’s pretty easy to write off Liam Lynch as the Whatever Guy. But Fake News has a bunch of songs that, like Lynch brethren-in-arms Flight of the Conchords and particularly Tenacious D, know how to combine real musical chops with real and surprising laughs. Not at all easy to do, but when done right… chef’s kiss.

There are a lot of other ridiculously fun songs on Fake Songs. In the spirit of the album title, there are a bunch of songs with titles like “Fake Bjork Song,” “Fake Depeche Mode Song,” and “Fake Talking Heads” song.

By far my favorite of these is “Fake Pixies Song,” which is a frighteningly good imitation and satire of the Pixies at the same time – which is the very best kind of song parody. It’s also so good that if you played this for me I would honestly think it was a real Pixies outtake or live rehearsal track of some kind, with vocals that feel only slightly different than Frank Black’s. And keep in mind I’m an enormous Pixies and Frank Black and Kim Deal fan.

“She took the train to Keh-YO-TOH!” alone kills me with hilarity.

What’s more, we get Jack Black of Tenacious D (and EVERYTHING) fame – Jables himself – teaming with Liam Lynch on the rather kind of audaciously amazing “Rock and Roll Whore.”

Pop culture stuff that’s somehow related to Liam Lynch’s Fake Songs

The use of non-verbal ”Ehhhhhs…” that precede the response of WHATEVER! In “United States of Whatever” remind me a lot of the “passwords” that Scott Pilgrim uses in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World to gain entry (the first time!) to the club that evil ex Gideon AKA G-Man owns. “Whatever” the song and Scott Pilgrim the character and movie share a lot of the same nerd-angsty-hilarious-slacker DNA.