George Hrab's release Vitriol - New Books, Etc - plus Jim Richardson's Gonzo Science - Sound Recording Review

Only rarely does a music compact disc pop up with any real relevance to skeptics, though not one but two recent recordings found their way to our offices.

George Hrab's release Vitriol (Geologic Records, 2001) combines warped humor with clever lyrics and a decidedly skeptical / rationalist point of view. Of particular interest to skeptics are tracks such as "Skeptic" (sample lyric: "your astral projections are coming along / your chakra and chi are both growing real strong / your cold disappeared after nine short days thanks to the words on the whole earth displays") and "Speak to You," which challenges TV mediums such as John Edward who claim to speak to the dead. Why, he asks, would dead loved ones only speak to their grieving relatives through a fast-talking, glitzy medium in a television studio?

Trying to describe the "sound" of Hrab's music is pointless, so I'll just pass on how he describes it: "a bizarre amalgamation sometimes described as rock-folk-rap-jazz-fusion-prog-acoustic-funk-hiphop-world-classical-p op-tetro-electronic-fit free music." For what that's worth.

The fourteen tracks include "Monkey Hip Dysplasia," "Cruel Spines," "Simple Simian," and "Shoe." Of the best non-skeptical songs, "I Want a Nun" is a sophomoric, sacreligious gem in the vein of Frank Zappa, and "B3: brainsbodyboth" describes the quest for women who are not just beautiful but intelligent as well. Overall worth a listen for skeptics and the curious alike.

On the other end of the spectrum, sort of, is Jim Richardson's Gonzo Science (Earthology Records, 2001), a CD which, according to the cover, offers "science heresies, rogue paradigms, and phat beats." The songs are mostly Richardson giving short, quasi-rhythmic, quasi-logical expositions on various paranormal topics, backed by what are apparently the aforementioned "phat beats."

Tracks include "Down With the Big Bang," "MoFo Aquatic Ape," "Cryptozoology," "Carl Sagan: Buzzhound," and "Debunking the Skeptics." One of the best, or at least most listenable, is "So You've Seen the Virgin Mary," a somewhat tongue-in-cheek account of Virgin Mary sightings around the world.

Richardson seems firmly planted in heretical science, with a perhaps too-open mind. Along the way he takes some select straw man swipes at skeptics, with bald statements such as, "In their zeal to defend the mundane, skeptics have developed a pathological aversion to the anomalous." If listening to a chipmunk voice discuss the criteria of adequacy--and warn you about the fallacy of the appeal to tradition--sounds like fun, this is your CD.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group