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As Grandma Sparrow, Joe Westerlund (Megafaun, Califone) explores the fun and silliness of children’s albums through lavish orchestration and sound collage, creating a debut full-length full of smiles, laughter and psychedelia.
Grandma Sparrow & his Piddletractor Orchestra sounds like comedy composer Spike Jones found himself in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon after an acid trip involving The Beatles‘ Magical Mystery Tour. Munchkin voices frolic among catchy musical numbers, while Grandma Sparrow gathers the kiddies for story time. It’s Negativland doing a Monty Python record with the twisted humor of Butthole Surfers, or maybe somebody gave David Cassidy too many mushrooms and left him stranded in Mr. Rogers‘ Land of Make Believe. As hilarious as songs like “Existential Mothersnakes” and “Nap Time: Twelve Tone Lullaby” can be though, there is an equal appreciation for the intricacies of music theory. Where a vast majority of compositional music is performed with a frown, Westerlund, in his alter ego, is simply having fun with it, and his genuine happiness is completely infectious.
For those of us who still love cartoons, children’s stories and television, and parents who just can’t get away from them, there’s Grandma Sparrow, the Soupy Sales for adults. Rekindle that inner child and giggle. It’s good for you.
