Home > audiofiles

Review: Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers
By Cassie Hood
hoodc@mscd.edu

Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers Mine is Not a Holy War (Cordless, 2006)

Some fads that die should stay dead. Stirrup pants, for instance, should never become popular again. The same applies to bands that have long since declined into the where-are-they-now file, such as Devo.

In 1991 Devo took a bow and disbanded. Though they were a monumental influence in the New Wave scene of the ’70s and ’80s, their time had come and gone. Since then, the band has played numerous “revival” shows but never made a full attempt to re-enter the music world until bassist Gerald Casale announced his plan to start a solo project in 2005. The moniker he took was Jihad Jerry, and his band was The Evildoers. His unfortunate return to music store shelves is to be mourned.

Jihad Jerry wants people to know that his war is not a holy war but a war on stupidity. It works, if stupidity is fought with stupidity. Mine is Not a Holy War offers nothing more than doltish lyrics that attempt to be political. The music is wrought with Devo-like electronic effects, and the backup vocals could have been performed better by a monkey.

Jerry’s first single, “Army Girls Gone Wild,” comments on the abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. It starts out with a siren set to bad ’70s porn music. Jerry sings, “Private Susie from New Orleans wants you to know who’s your daddy/ She’s gonna make you take one for the red, white and blue.” Suddenly a fox-hunting horn sounds and Jerry goes on to compare the Abu Ghraib incident with the boob-flashing girls MTV features during spring break.

His lyrics are obscene as he sings, “Man down, arms up, toss some salad, reach around, hard time, spit shine, snap to attention, now do the dog.” The most annoying part of the song, besides the lyrics, is the high-pitched screaming, which sounds like a bunch of teenage girls on a rollercoaster. It is a witless attempt to be ironic.

As if there isn’t enough mindless dribble on the album, Jerry included two Devo songs, “I Been Refused” and “I Need a Chick,” as if to remind people just why Devo isn’t topping the Billboard charts anymore. While these songs are remarkably better than the rest, they still fail to captivate even the simplest of minds.

His is not a holy war; it is a stupid war. Jihad Jerry’s attempt to be political and meaningful does nothing but cause people to cringe. He should crawl back into the hole he came from and take this festering excuse for an album with him.