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Loudon Wainwright III
Strange Weirdos
Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up
(Concord)
First Appeared in The Music Box, June 2007, Volume 14, #6
Written by John Metzger
At their best, Loudon Wainwright’s endeavors play like excellent romantic
comedies. After all, he has been proven time and again to have a distinctive
knack for breaking hearts while causing laughter. Strange Weirdos, his
most recent project, is no exception. With producer Joe Henry in tow, Wainwright
was about to begin crafting the outing when Judd Apatow asked him to provide
material to his latest picture Knocked Up. (Apatow, of course, is a
veteran of the smartly conceived television programs The Larry Sanders Show,
Freaks and Geeks, and Undeclared, though his biggest claim to fame
to date is The 40-Year-Old Virgin). Undeniably, Apatow and Wainwright
share a skewed perspective on life — in fact, the duo previously had worked
together on Undeclared. Knocked Up’s plot — which revolves around
an unexpected pregnancy and the relationship that ensues — is suited perfectly
to both of their styles. Still, movie soundtracks and proper albums are
different animals with distinctive goals, and rarely do they function completely
in synch.
Although Strange Weirdos fares better than most like-minded pursuits,
it is impossible not to wonder if Wainwright’s initial vision for the set was
diluted when his songs were co-opted for use in Knocked Up. For the
record, there’s nothing inherently wrong with his new material. In fact, his
cinematic depictions of life in southern California — most notably, on Valley
Morning and Grey in L.A. — rank among the best of his career, and he
delivers Peter Blegvad’s Daughter as if he had written it himself. While
Strange Weirdos’ title alone is enough to make one crack a smile, the
tune that bears its name also contains this stabbing realization: "If I let you
know me then why would you want me? But each day I don’t is a shame." It is a
commentary that not only serves Knocked Up’s storyline of two people who
have been thrown together by fate, but also captures the paradoxical stumbling
block of a great many relationships in real life.
Elsewhere, however, Strange Weirdos falters because it feels a tad
scattered. The inclusion of a pair of moody instrumentals by producer Joe Henry
(Ypsilanti and Naomi) is nice but unnecessary, and the lyrics to
X&Y feel slight, even if Henry’s sympathetic production turns the
biological aspects of sex into a religious experience. In the end, however,
Strange Weirdos finds Wainwright successfully rebounding from the
disconcertingly unfocused Here Come the Choppers. His stellar backing
band — which includes multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz as well as guest
appearances by Van Dyke Parks and Richard Thompson — elevates even the
endeavor’s lesser cuts.  ½
Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film "Knocked Up"
is available from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
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