Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

I initially hated RABBIT HABITS by Man Man. Forget the skeet pile; it almost went out the window on Route 65 southbound about ten miles north of Nashville, right about where the fireworks stores start to pop up. I’m glad I didn’t do that, though, as after a couple of more times through it I’m…what? Charmed? Confused? In love? All or none of the foregoing?

RABBIT HABITS is the second long-play from Man Man, a Philadelphia combo that is fronted by keyboardist/vocalist/madman Honus Honus. Half of the time I think they are brilliant, and the other half of the time they sound to be like they are 300 pounds of bullshit in a 150 pound bag. They are probably both, geniuses engaged in a giant put-on.

Man Man is known for its exuberant stage performances and from an energy standpoint RABBIT HABITS does not disappoint for a minute. Think Tom Waits on speed, Zoot Money, Bonzo Dog Band, Captain Beefheart, Zappa, even, at times, The Fleshtones. Okay, not The Fleshtones, but you take my point. My guess is that if you are over 30 you’re going to have to listen to RABBIT HABITS two or three times before it starts to sink in, and even then you might not want it to. If you’re under 30, you still might not get it. But you should try.

Man Man, collectively, play half a million instruments, and all of them and a few others show up on RABBIT HABITS. Keyboards, vibes, guitars, drums, horns, violin, everything but the kitchen sink…actually, that might be in there, too. And, with a couple of exceptions, forget the titles as an indicator. “The Ballad Of Butter Beans” is not a ballad, but a vibes-driven romp with hilariously obscene lyrics that is the type of song that would have been played by the house band of the nastiest dive at the end of the worst street on the baddest side of town, the place where you only went on a dare. I HATE vibes, but I like “The Ballad of Butter Beans.” Go figure. “Big Trouble” could easily pass for a Tom Waits tune, especially with a lyric like “when you look right through me girl/it sucks me down the street.” I mean, what a great line. It’s perfect. I’ve never heard it stated quite that way, but you talk about your instant attraction, and that sums it up perfectly. “Hurly Burly” and “El Azteca” could be an unrestrained B-52s fronted by Peter Zaremba. Yeah. And if you were expecting “Mysteries of the Universe Unraveled” to sound like a Pink Floyd tune, nope. It sounds more like a New Orleans funeral dirge played by a transvestite brass band led by Tom Waits through Central City at 2:00 a.m. as an interlude in the middle of a night of serious, ah said, serious, drinking. Yes, I just read that over and it sounds wild, and it is. Accordingly, “Doo Right” sounds soooo out of place, being a doo-wop tune that is done more or less straight, with just Honus on piano and vocal, but that only lasts for about two minutes. I think it’s just a set up for the rambunctious, insane “Easy Eats or Dirty Doctor Galapagos” which will hit you like a board across the face in a dark room. Things don’t get sedate until the end, on the Leon Redbone - like “Whale Bones,” but by then you’re exhausted.

Man Man and RABBIT HABITS makes demands. I have a feeling that RABBIT HABITS only begins to cover the exuberance of Man Man’s live performances. They’re in the middle of a totally insane world tour, and I have a feeling that by the end of it there will be several holes ripped into reality. Is RABBIT HABITS for everyone? No. I’m still not entirely sure that it’s for everyone. I like it more and more with each listen, however. I might even buy a tee-shirt, if they have them.