Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston: The Lucky Sperms

These are the musical last rites of three rather carefree and oblivious artists. We all know who Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston are - like them or not, they are wide-eyed creative children toying with instruments who thankfully counterbalance the over-saturated music business of controlled and jaded musicians. Unlike the pair's previous collaboration, It's Spooky, Somewhat Humorous is more of a connoisseur's insider peep into their brains, but somehow is more overall accessible to the masses. The album is very Daniel Johnston - indeed, his "yoke is heavy" here - and his cartoon punk pop piped out through a flickering garage sale television makes you cringe and chill with delight at the same time. Chris Bultman (the bridge between the two) and Fair provide another angle - their contributions are a facsimile of tuning into a late night AM pirate radio show that consists of bootleg recordings of Bob Dylan and Lou Reed taking over some pub's broken piano while desperately trying to unlock the mysteries behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Half of the fun is trying to listen to this album and wondering why they made it.