The Back Row Hooligans are a band of smart alecks who write children's music for really well adjusted kids. As you can see by the album title, Killin' Folks and Breakin' Stuff, this album is not appropriate for all kids. There's no swearing or anything - but it's kids music of the Mad magazine variety.
The first album any of us ever owned was Weird Al's Dare to be Stupid
Well, Al, we took your dare.
Today, it doesn't seem like there's a lot of "edgy" children's music. There's a lot of great, funny stuff out there (like the songs from Phineas and Ferb), but there's not a lot in between that and the songs from Family Guy. The Back Row Hooligans grew up listening to Tom Lehrer, and to albums like Fink Along With Mad, which had songs like "She Lets Me Watch Her Mom and Pop Fight," "Her Dad's Got Money Cha Cha Cha," and "I'll Never Make Fun of her Mustache Again." This stuff wasn't exactly appropriate for kids, but it wasn't R-rated, either. Mad magazine was full of lyrics to songs about blowing up your neighbors, doing experiments on your baby brother, and rotting corpses, striking a middle ground between "family friendly" music and "adult" comedy. There's not enough out there for twisted young smart alecks.
The Back Row Hooligans have been writing songs all their lives - one of the songs on the album dates back clear to 1987, when Adam made up a parody of "The Old Woman All Skin and Bones," a traditional song (Raffi's version of which caused nightmares for several of Adam's friends, most of whom grew up to be headbangers).
The group's "principal" is Adam Selzer, author of The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History, I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It, How To Get Suspended and Influence People, and several other young adult novels. All of the band members are on the Smart Aleck Staff, producing subversive study guides.
The first album, Killin' Folks and Breakin' Stuff! , is available now.
