3 Balloons
The always outrageous king of vocal comedy has returned for another installment of comedic performances. "3 Balloons" takes Lynch's comedy to an even more bizarre level than previous albums. Before listening to a Stephen Lynch album, remember to try to have an open-minded attitude without taking too much offense. This comedic performer makes it very obvious that he is joking, and a very serious listener may not enjoy any of his work.
The first track begins sort of mellow with Lynch talking about anticipation of something important. "Waiting" is actually about waiting for an AIDS test result, which doesn't sound funny at first. Once he begins singing about what put him into the doctor's office in the first place, Lynch's lyrics are much more entertaining.
There are four songs on the album with the title, "Dear Diary," that deal with mock diary entries of dead celebrities. The irony in the songs is that they were all written as entries from the celebrities the day of their deaths. Anne Frank, Christopher Reeve, Marvin Gaye and Rodney King are featured in the different songs, and the lyrics are pretty entertaining.
Two songs that are better left to be discovered by the listener, but are some of the best comedic works by Lynch are "Medieval Bush" and "Hallelujah." The tracks deal with different parts of the female anatomy, and musically are quite catchy. Lynch's music is typically just an acoustic guitar with a live audience laughing in the background, but this album was done in a studio with a lot of new instruments.
"Crazy Peanuts" is a great song for anyone who has ever been a fan of Charles Schulz's "Peanuts." All of the famous characters are sung about, and the song will get stuck in your head for days after first listening. This song is one of the least explicit tracks Lynch has put on any of his albums, and it could be a nice starter song for anyone who is new to the comedian's work.
An introduction to "A History Lesson," has Lynch talking to his friends about how he supposedly used to be an elementary school history teacher. This is automatically funny since Lynch can be explicit in his songs, and the comedian starts to sing some of the music he created as a way to help his "students" remember history facts. Gandhi and Ben Franklin are some of the famous people he pokes fun at, and this track is funny due to the idea of Lynch ever being allowed to even sing in front of young children.
"3 Balloons" is a song about a nervous man smuggling cocaine into the country on an airplane. It begins with a man professing his desire to see his loved one by traveling by airplane, and quickly shifts into an uneasy ordeal of hiding drugs in odd places. This song is a testament to the kind of comedy Stephen Lynch writes and performs, and the extra background music on the entire CD helps his work really shine.
Comedy can be offensive to some, and making sure you understand Lynch's type of humor is crucial. His previous works include songs about cross-dressing, cannibalism, kitten assassination and French hobos living in America. This album would not be the best to start with if you are new to his music, but it is a great compilation of his songs when you are ready to experience his latest works.