Negativland
Happy Heroes EP
[Seeland]
Rating: 5.0
Usually, when Negativland ventures into EP country, the result is a
tight, savvy little package worth many a replay. Not so with Happy
Heroes, a continuation of Negativland's fall from greatness.
Okay, so it's not that bad. "OJ Simpson and His Personal Trainer
Kill Nicole and Ron Goldman" is classic Negativland, appropriating
samples from OJ's workout tape with hilarious, if not predictable
results. (Then again, with a title like that...) Out of the eight
tracks on this EP, it's one of the few that strays from the "concept"
revolving around Mertz pills, the magical drug that "makes up your mind."
You get a couple of Mertz commercials and a jingle thrown in with the
OJ track, a weak remix of a weak track from Dispepsi, a song
featuring outtakes from an old Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial, and
some new stuff that, while well done, is ultimately forgettable.
-Jason Josephes