by Kunal Mishra
Staff Writer
Nerf Herder: Nerf Herder
(Arista)
Santa Barbara's Nerf Herder, a product of the San Francisco-based My Records label, probably has you curious about its name. Well, you Star Wars groupies out there have probably figured it out.
It's from a line in the movie The Empire Strikes Back, when Princess Leia tells Han Solo that he is a "half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder." The trio uses cheekiness and humor in its observations of the '90s alternative culture icons.
The melodic "Sorry" has an ex-boyfriend declaring himself a loser for his bizarre obsession. "Van Halen" is the track that helped Nerf Herder to get publicity. Lead vocalist Parry Gripp vents his anger at Sammy Hagar for destroying the original lineup of Van Halen. The track incorporates Van Halen song and album titles, like "can't you hear 'Jamie Crying,' she's 'Running With The Devil.'" Both of the songs are from Van Halen's 1978 self-titled debut album.
Near the conclusion of the song, there is even an Eddie Van Halen-esque mini guitar solo. Even though I am a Hagar fan, I tried not to take any offense from the song.
Most of the album's humor, though, gets old, childish and cheesy quickly. These characteristics start to set in during the musically bland and unstructured lyrics of "Nosering Girl," which pretty much showcases how absolutely inert Nerf Herder's bland, self-titled effort is.
Nada Surf: High/Low
(Elektra Records)
In 1993, Nada Surf recorded a few demos. A couple of these songs were put out on a small label that decided to take a chance on a fledgling group. A Spanish label decided to sign the band to do a full album, which was released overseas to some acclaim.
Soon, Nada Surf decided to dump the deal with the Spanish label and head for greener pastures. In America, the trio was able to get Ric Ocasek (ex-Cars guitarist/vocalist) to produce and Elektra as its recording label.
The masterpiece of High/Low, the fruit of Nada Surf's efforts, is the humorous song "Popular." It is a satirical look at high school dating and the high school idea of being popular. The song glides along effortlessly.
The other nine songs on High/Low do not match the uniqueness of "Popular," but they are pleasant diversions and quality alternative pop/rock (relatively speaking, of course). Overall, High/Low clicks.