Other album recommendations
I’m hard at work on the next articles, since I have huge plans for VGFlicks this time around. Plus, I didn’t get a mystery box of music last year, so I figured I’d just go through fewer albums this year.
This time, I’ll do things differently by focusing on a specific band. This journey of mine began with one musical act: Nuclear Bubble Wrap (shortened NBW), whom I discovered around 2010. Crazy to think that’s been 15 years. Songs from the band were posted to a forum dedicated to “Weird Al” Yankovic by the band’s frontperson (and one of its singers), Jace McLain, which is how I first discovered them. McLain, one of the founders of Needlejuice Records, still puts out music both with this band and as a part of a few side-projects.
I did buy some physical albums from the label in 2024, including an anniversary box set of NBW’s fourth album, Exploding Head Syndrome (shortened EHS), packed with three additional CDs – so instead of bogging down a whole list of 10 albums with constant repetition, I figured I’d just dedicate an article to covering all four discs. Along with the other album of theirs I’ve got that I haven’t covered yet. And maybe throw in another album that felt like foreshadowing towards the existence of the label.
Once again, I rank from my favorite to the least favorite, starting with…
Psycho Delicacy
This was the first NBW, non-EP album to be made up entirely of original songs (zero parodies) that all have either a comedic or psychedelic edge. Sometimes both. At a sprawling 72 minutes and 21 songs, Psycho Delicacy, released on May 13th, 2014, is NBW’s longest official album, funded through Kickstarter. I backed it; along with the physical CD, my reward included a bonus disc containing demos from their next album, Multiverses, and other random songs.
A few songs on here are directly based on Jace McLain and fellow NBW singer Kyle Thorne’s side-album, Graze the Skylines, which was being worked on at the same time as the NBW album prior to this one, Exploding Head Syndrome. The latter showed the first steps of their turn towards psychedelia. Nowadays, Psycho Delicacy is described as the first of a triptych, alongside the next two, Multiverses and Problem Attic (PA); McLain sees it as an album about anxiety, whereas Multiverses is about depression, and PA is about the sources of both anxiety and depression in the younger generations (both are discussed here).
I won’t lie, this album feels long, and I do think it could have been trimmed in places. The opening songs are great, the last few are also great, and there are some gems sprinkled throughout, but some of the remainder meanders at times. You can tell what the band’s favorite songs are, based on which ones I know they frequently play live, or which ones they chose to provide music videos for; and I can safely say their favorites don’t entirely align with mine. As a common thing for Nuclear Bubble Wrap, they tend to overlay a lot of instruments and effects, which often made lyrics tough for me to understand (remember: English Second Language here, and I love when I understand lyrics perfectly). Still, the adventurous compositions were enough to make me stick around regardless.
Traces of their activism were already noticeable here, like in The Agenda, a song sung by Kyle Thorne that mocks homophobic claims of a “gay agenda” by transposing its arguments to talk against something else (cows), which highlights how ridiculous those arguments are. Several of my favorite songs here tend to be about science-fiction (Lizards in the Sky, Radiation Mutation Transformation, Selfdestruct), with other choice tracks in a variety of moods and at varying levels of silliness or seriousness (the title track, Beyond the Borderline, etc.).
Picking an embed is so hard, I want to feature like 3 or 4 here.
Favorite track:
Heady Exxxplosions: Abracadaver
Before Psycho Delicacy, there was Exploding Head Syndrome, released on September 1st, 2010. While it wasn’t the transitional album from pure comedy to comedy-psychedelia, it was the transitional album from self-recording to professional recording. As a result, the band felt the need to homage it with the Heady Exxxplosions boxset, released in 2023 and comprised of songs recorded between 2009 and 2012; this title is a reference to Heady Nuggs, a similar compilation by one of their musical inspirations, The Flaming Lips. Packed alongside EHS are the EPs that came before (You Are What You Eat) and after (Abracadaver), a whole CD of rarities, a CD of demos and live versions, and a fourth CD of the band’s original foray into lo-fi psychedelia.
In a way, Abracadaver, released on June 10th, 2012, is THE transitional EP, as it has no direct parodies (the band’s very last proper parody song was retroactively added to EHS). It originally featured three songs off EHS, remixed and improved, as well as one song that would reappear on Psycho Delicacy.
The original version of this album only had seven tracks, thus only three remained that aren’t on other studio albums; for the boxset, the tracklist was expanded with four extra songs, some of which I already had thanks to the Psycho Delicacy Kickstarter reward bonus CD.
Once again, the album displays a wide variety of sounds and tones. And themes as well; lots of filk songs here. (For those who don’t remember: That’s the name for songs written about pop culture.) Kenny’s Lament is about Kenny of South Park and his curse, Hulkulele is about the Hulk really wanting to play a ukulele, What Time Is It? (Adventure Time) is a loving tribute to the Cartoon Network show, and Disney Song is… uh… DARK. Special mention to the cover of They Might Be Giants’ Older, which sounds as oppressive as the original.
On Heady Exxxplosions, this album’s tracks are on the same disc as EHS; but I wanted to cover both separately, since they’re so different.
Favorite track:
Heady Exxxplosions: Exploding Head Syndrome
Released on September 1st, 2010, Exploding Head Syndrome was Nuclear Bubble Wrap's first full studio album recorded professionally, and their last to contain parody songs. It bears a noticeable shift in tone across its runtime: The comedy doesn’t go away, but we move from a focus on comedy to songs incorporating absurdist themes, bizarre tones, or a focus on setting up a soundscape.
The biggest critique that can be directed at this album is that it’s rooted in that late-naughts Internet comedy, back when all jokes felt okay to tell and we didn’t think of the consequences of such humor. Edgy stuff we only think about with cringe in hindsight, jokes that were already politically incorrect at the time and are even moreso nowadays. Maybe the band’s inexperience factors into this, as well. As a result, the members of NBW aren’t too proud of quite a few songs on here, especially the ones that either go for low-hanging fruits, and/or gratuitously insult groups of people.
Parody-wise: The original version of the album had Food Belongs In Me, a parody of Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me, a parody which NBW are ashamed of and removed from later releases due to jokes that can be read as fatphobic; it is replaced by Bare Facts, a parody of the Beatles' Dear Prudence about nudism. Captain Abduction (about wanting to meet aliens… to get probed) spoofs Fall Out Boy’s 20 Dollar Nose Bleed. Know Your Power Chords is a brutal mockery of Green Day, over their song Know Your Enemy. Their most famous parody ever is Avada Kedavra, a Harry Potter filk song to the tune of Hakuna Matata, with their friend and fellow musical comedist Steve Goodie as Voldemort.
Also included are two covers, one of They Might Be Giants’s kid-friendly song I Never Go To Work, and one of Neil Cicierega (AKA Lemon Demon)’s very family-unfriendly song Birdfucker. …Yes, it’s exactly what you think it’s about. Hear at your own risk.
Among the album’s songs that aged the worst, there’s Lesbian, which ironically has seen a massive resurgence in the TikTok age, boosting anew the band’s popularity. Or Draining the Lizard on a Dead Gay Wizard, another Harry Potter song, this one about pissing on Dumbledore’s grave; despite being one of the band’s mous famous songs, McLain has often expressed regret since it can be read as homophobic. (That said, they absolutely do not regret disrespecting JK Rowling in hindsight.)
Notably, the album swerves halfway-in towards the band's growing psychedelic edge, with two songs off the side-project Graze the Skylines getting proper studio treatment for EHS. Other songs signaling the start of their psych side go for interesting soundscapes, like Sharktopus and In Space No One Can Hear You Scream being among the best tracks here.
Favorite track:
Various artists: Twenty-Six and a Half
Remember when I said I discovered NBW through the World of “Weird Al” Yankovic forums? One thing I remember from that time was a fanmade project, produced by Jace McLain (hence its inclusion on this list). This 21-track album released on June 14th, 2011 is a tribute to Weird Al, with most songs being direct covers of the American parodist’s body of work, both classics and deep cuts. The title itself is a reference to the number 27, a constant in Al’s lyrics (and “26 1/2" is used in Al's song, Albuquerque).
Several artists from the Funny Music Project (FuMP), which NBW were already a part of at the time, contributed with a song or two. Worm Quartet and Marc with a C, two artists that I covered in previous Needlejuice articles, provided covers of their own. Other comedy artists who contributed to this project and later released music under Needlejuice include MC Lars, as well as Smashy Claw (a former project of Austin Aeschliman, another co-founder of the label, whose new musical project is called The Odd Ditties). Other contributors are famed names of the FuMP (though one name on the album deserves to be forgotten, but… let’s not go there.)
Two tracks here are parodies of Al’s already comical songs. Steve Goodie’s Dumbledore (yep, Harry Potter again) is a parody of Hardware Store, amazing bridge included. Then there’s the great Luke Ski’s My Baby’s In Love With Jon Bermuda (the original was bemoaning the same, but about Eddie Vedder). The album includes two original tracks. The first is Devo Spice’s Weird Al Didn’t Write This Song, about those dodgy fileshare programs (think Limewire or the like) where due diligence wasn’t done and any funny song got attributed to Al, even those with topics or language far too vulgar for the parodist. The album’s closer is Al’s Band, sung and performed by Al’s bandmates Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, Steve Jay, Jim West and Ruben Valtierra. I had read previously that the accordion in Al's Band was played by Al himself, but I could not find conclusive evidence confirming that statement (It would be really cool if it were true, though.)
Because it was produced by Jace, who co-founded Needlejuice, and because it stars many artists also on the label, I like to think of Twenty-Six and a Half as its true first album, years before it was founded. Like a sign of the future. And if its 70 minutes weren’t enough, there’s a whole second album of bonus content, with 29 more tracks across 91 minutes.
I know, I know, there’s a LOT of Harry Potter talk in this article. These songs came out back when it was still cool to enjoy the franchise. I ain’t going back (And I sure as Hell am not forcing you to enjoy those songs if you hate the series and its author, VERY justifiably so!), but these songs are testaments of a bygone era of geekery, like a time capsule from 15-ish years ago.
Favorite track:
Heady Exxxplosions: Demos + Live
The boxset is very thorough and includes a disc of several demos of tracks off of EHS (and others), and live recordings of concerts following the album’s release. But not every demo on it is for a NBW album or EP; let me explain.
The members of NBW are big fans of The Beatles, explaining the tons of Beatles-inspired tracks across their discography. However, they’re also fans of Pink Floyd. And if NBW has stopped making song parodies, nowadays Jace McLain nonetheless keeps the parody aspect alive through a side-project known as Holy Bongwater, which consists of only them and NBW drummer Julia Larson. Two demos of Pink Floyd parodies are included here: Eggos, a 6-minute parody of Echoes, and What Shall We Drill Now?, parodying What Shall We Do Now?, the live version of Empty Spaces during the Wall tour, and one of the best animated segments in the movie based on the album. Some of the demos of NBW songs also have different lyrics at times, compared to the final versions (and that’s when they have lyrics, and aren’t intrumental demos).
The live recordings come from two concerts: One at Nashville’s The Muse on March 28th 2010, and one at MarsCon 2011. Located in Minneapolis, MarsCon is mainly a science-fiction convention, but it has become a hub for the FuMP and comedy musicians, with multiple concert panels; in recent years, those panels have been livestreamed to Twitch. The most notable tracks here are a live version of Avada Kedavra where Steve Goodie joins in, and a few live covers, one of They Might Be Giants’ Why Does The Sun Shine?, and one of Lemon Demon’s The Ultimate Showdown.
Heady Exxxplosions: You Are What You Eat + Non-LP
If EHS was the band’s first professionally-recorded album, the You Are What You Eat (YAWYE) EP, released in 2009, was their first experience in a professional studio. The seven songs mark the real transition between the “high school era” albums, unpolished, inexperienced and kinda bad, to what would come after. Yet, YAWYE is possibly one of the releases NBW are the most ashamed of, though they include it in the Heady boxset for the sake of artistic preservation.
Three of the seven songs here are parodies: One of My Chemical Romance’s Teenagers (now Fan Fiction), one of Weezer's Pork and Beans (now Birds and Bees, one of several NBW songs that’s just a bunch of innuendos and jokes about sex), and Paramore’s That’s What You Get (now Three Steps to Sweet Revenge, which Hayley Williams has allegedly heard and did NOT like. Oops). You can tell that the lyrics to many of these songs were written to be edgy, immature and deliberately offensive, as Jace themselves would admit with some shame; among the poor choices here, there’s one racist joke in Looks Delicious and one use of the R-slur in Birds and Bees. Look, we’ve all done things, and said jokes, as teenagers/young adults that we’re ashamed of.
Retroactively added to this section is Creepy Internet Guy (parodying The Beatles’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps), a song that didn't make it anywhere else, and which I remember enjoying when it was shared on the “Weird Al” forums. Also included are the two NBW tracks from Twenty-Six and a Half, Pac-Man and Bite Me, as well as Food Belongs In Me, the song removed (and replaced) from rereleases of EHS.
The rest of this disc is filled out with rarities, covers, and other recordings from the band at the time…. Very little of which, in my opinion, stands out all that much. The liner notes make it clear that the band (and Jace in particular) thinks very little of most of what’s on here. Thus, again: Hear at your own risk.
Favorite track:
Heady Exxxplosions: Graze the Skylines
Oof, I think the band won’t like me for putting this one dead last.
Graze the Skylines (GtS), released in 2011, was for a long time a side-project completely divorced from Nuclear Bubble Wrap; Jace McLain and their co-singer of NBW, Kyle Thorne, would get together and just do funny songs, as DIY, lo-fi, improvisational and experimental as possible, usually without sense or reason. This side-project’s sessions felt more like “goofing off” amidst the recordings of actual NBW songs. The bandmates even adopted alter egos, Prithee Lake and Maxwell Spenders, and a made-up backstory to pass for some unknown two-piece act formed from a chance encounter. The end result is one of their trippiest creations, but also one that’s not for everybody; I personally don’t like it all that much.
Several pieces of this album landed into official NBW studio releases; two tracks were repurposed for EHS (and the final track here is built off the musical bridge of In Space No One Can Hear You Scream), three were updated into full tracks for the more psychedelia-focused Psycho Delicacy, and I recognized three from the bonus CD received from the Psycho Delicacy kickstarter.
The songs’ titles have very little to do with their contents; the songs were named by Brandon Brown, who later became a major member of Needlejuice Records, contributed in various roles to later NBW albums, and executive produced Problem Attic. The song titles on Graze the Skylines are super long, I’ll refrain from mentioning any, lest I want to double the size of this article!
Sorry guys, that one’s too experimental for me. I struggle to figure out the lyrics to many songs here due to the more lo-fi production and the silly ways some of them are sung. Few tracks stand out from the crowd. And some that do stand out do so for bad reasons, like Revolution 42 (a riff on The Beatles’ Revolution 9), a sound collage of pop culture references layered atop each other, creating an 8-minute cacophony that assaults the ears. Yeah, yeah, it’s a spoof of the noise of the original, I know. Perhaps the better stuff here is what reminds me of the finished tracks from the psychedelia side of NBW, and I’ll be far more likely to return to those over the tracks of GtS.
Picking a favorite was tough because it took forever to think of one that stood out and that I liked enough to put above the rest.
Favorite(?) track:
That's it for now! I’ll probably do another Needlejuice article next year, and I promise I’ll talk about more than one band then. Tune in next week, though, as I’ll start the movie reviews for the year.
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