Track 12 - The Rising of the Baboon

These are the original lyrics to "The Rising of the Baboon", from the Baboon Rising album, as transcribed by Mark Rathke in the liner notes, circa 2000:

Over all the years some things stay true
Fads they come and go, others they stay new
Time and time again hobbies never die
Though mediocre perseverance lies
All joking aside more are to come
Sloppiness is to blame that's what makes it fun
The epitome of nausea not likely to get known
Stripped of any dignity all that left at home
What should be embarrassing is embraced with joy
Rising up like a baboon in what makes no sense at all
Things all thrown together like a dumpster at the mall
It's not the most talented act at the show
It never would have even made it in the know
As bad as it is and as sick as it sounds
Time has a way of sticking around
Though this is the case of the rising baboon
There is more to this animal than you hear in a tune

And here is a copy of the "Rising of the Baboon'" MP3 that mark pulled off the original CD:
TheRisingOfTheBaboon.mp3

This track is a fantastic demonstration of the 'new' Baboon Rising sound, versus the old one. The same irreverent lyrics about an inconsequential topic (in this case, Baboon Rising itself) are there, but the tone of the song is a lot more serious. In fact, I'd wager that if you heard that song playing in the background, and couldn't make out the lyrics, you'd probably think it was about something a bit more serious than it actually is.

It's also interesting that the lyrics of the song are so dismissive of the musical construction and content of Baboon Rising overall, yet at the same time, given the history of the band, this song itself stands out as a contradiction to that. It's actually well crafted, well played, and well recorded. Even the vocals, while not my cup of tea, are well done. Was it recorded with that irony in mind?

I've said before that Baboon Rising reminds me a bit of Ed Wood. The passion becomes more important than the output. Ed Wood movies are interesting, however, primarily for just how awful they are. BR can be pretty awful sometimes, but the difference being that the Wood movies were attempts at legitimate film, whereas Baboon Rising not only recognizes it's sloppiness, but in fact (often) relishes in it. Or, as Mr. Rathke put it, "Sloppiness is to blame, that's what makes it fun!"