The cover of THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME by Logs In The Mainstream is a shot across the bow, as it were, of EMI Records, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, etc. An obvious send-up of the MEET THE BEATLES cover, this was in best memory last attempted by The Residents on their infamous BEAT THE MEATLES album, resulting in a flurry of injunctions and lawsuits and some inadvertent collectors items. The cover captures the spirit of Logs In The Mainstream in general and THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME in general: playful, while seriously well done.
Logs In The Mainstream is the brainchild of the somewhat enigmatic Mole, a singer songwriter from the Monmouth, New Jersey area who formed Logs In The Mainstream in 1990 and who has been releasing cassettes and CDs of the band ever since. THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME is the fourth release on Mole’s Corporate Greed label, and, interestingly enough, the first release from the band since 2003. Obviously he’s not tossing this stuff off but somehow walks the fine line between playfulness and artistic care.
The important thing --- for me anyway --- is that while Logs In The Mainstream treads into the whimsy of They Might Be Giants (known around my house as “They Might Be F”.… never mind) Logs In The Mainstream avoids the irritating nasality that seems to infuse so much of TMBG’s music. It’s ballsy, too; not many bands would have the cheese to open with a cover of “Gotta Get Up” by Nilsson, but there it is on THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME. And let me tell you, a lot of the tracks on THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME really rock, like “Grateful,” with its retro guitar lines (and some hilarious lyrics) and the instrumental “Cliff Diving.” There are even bagpipes on “Don’t Come To Maryland,” with the lyrics “Don’t come to Maryland/if you don’t like fishin’/and if you don’t like fishin’/ then get off of my lawn,” and builds from there until it sounds something like an Irish drinking anthem. The titles pretty much tip you off: “Tequila & Power Tools” (about driving a nail into foot while drinking), “If Hitler Had Sideburns,” and “Another Logs In The Mainstream Song” say it all by themselves: Mole is not right. He and the rest of the boys are serious players, however. Bob, in particular, has his stuff together on bass. Behind the humor and the informality, however, these guys refuse to let the music get away from them.
There’s not a bad track on THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME. You might need to venture into the central Jersey area to see Logs In The Mainstream perform but I would think the trip would be worth it. Hey don’t distort reality, but they do bend it a bit.
