Stendhal Syndrome
by Josh Smith and Jack Mueller
*Tap tap*
Josh Smith: Is this thing on?
Jack Mueller: So that's our big return, huh? Hope you didn't lose any sleep chipping turds like that out of comedy's Vault of Shame.
JS: It's good to see you too. Are you ready to get back into this?
JM: Are you fucking kidding me? Hit me with a refill and tell the stooges what they're in for.
JS: In this episode, we're covering Life Fantastic by those multi-talented weirdos, Man Man.
JM: Calling these guys “weirdos” is a hell of an understatement. Let's go with “hyperactive looney bin escapees.”
JS: I don't think it's humanly possible to describe the spectrum of oddities that make up this band.
JM: Well, anyone who's heard these guys has a pretty good idea what to expect, but this one sounds less like an episode of The Muppet Show in Hell and more like an amphetamine-fueled Tom Waits grinding out the soundtrack to some long-lost Alfred
JS: Actually, that's a spot-on description of Life Fantastic. It might be a little darker than Hitchcock, though. Lynch, maybe?
JM: That's probably closer, but there's a classic horror creeping through it.
JS: Absolutely. And lyrically, it's just brilliant.
JM: Brilliant? I'll admit that there are some great lines, but I wouldn't go that far.
JS: You can't tell me that verses like, “I'm not a scoundrel / It's just the suit that fits me” didn't grab you on the first listen.