May 3, 1999

I Don't Give A Damn

The descent of dancehall reggae into juvenalia would be sad if it weren't so funny....

7 / 10 The descent of dancehall reggae into juvenalia would be sad if it weren't so funny. Goofy exists entirely as a figment of his own imagination - an accomplished young comedian who pokes punctures in the swollen egos of Jamaica's underground stars. And he's so good at this, he's got Beenie Man, Sanchez and others queueing up to laugh at themselves.

/img/Goofy599.jpg Of course, he's ridiculous. Anyone who records a tune called 'Somebody Just Poop' attached to a crisp digital rhythm and frighteningly realistic sound effects is not entirely sane. Yet again, there's also something sublime about the way Goofy sounds (to the untrained ear) like any other bad bwoy raggamuffin pretender. It's only closer attention that reveals his merciless mockeries.

'Normal' sets the tone with a cry for a celebrity-free world where everyone is, er, normal. The exaggerated 'Whining Machine' goes one better and deals with the curious case of the dancehall-loving woman who 'whines her body' 24 hours a day (even the preacher has to drop his Bible to come and observe the phenomenon).

Even sillier is 'Goofy's Laugh', punctuated by a verbal emission like a startled antelope. By the time 'Slam You And Leave' extols the virtues of monogamy to the strains of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' everyone's in stitches.