Album: The Bruce Lee band
Artist: The Bruce Lee band
Released: 1996; Asian Man Records
There has been a lack of new releases coming across my metaphorical desk this week; so, while we wait for a few new records to drop later this month, I thought I would share with y’all a record from my youth that I think is pretty good. Back in the early 00s, the internet was still relatively new and music discovery was still done the old fashion way by knowing a guy that knows a guy. In the case of this particular album, my love of it began by liking the band Less Than Jake because they played them on the radio in the college town I used to live in before moving to rural Ohio and then finding out that they stood in as the studio band that helped record this album. That was my whole motivation for mail ordering (that is the way you got music back in the day when you lived in the middle of nowhere) this cd. What I got was something that was truly amazing.
I guess that we will start with my favorite song on the album. It is called “Don’t Sit Next To Me Just Because I’m Asian”. It is a very tongue in cheek song that tells a story of the time a student attempted to copy off of Mike Park’s graduation test and him, knowing what the person was up to, answered all the questions wrong and waited for him to leave, then changed the answers, causing the other student to fail that test. The song also talks about how it is upsetting to Mike that he feels that people only act like they care about him because they think he is smart solely because he is Asian and how he feels they don’t actually care about who he is as an individual. The song is great because of the aspects of outsmarting the ‘villain’ in the story but more importantly, it is a very earnest portrayal of how racial stereotypes can be harmful even when they are generally perceived as positive. As you can imagine, living in rural Ohio where the population is easily 90% white, no one was really talking about racism, especially not in a way that resonated with me the way this song always had. I could easily credit this song for starting setting me on the political path I walk today.
“Proud” is another noteworthy song for me. It is pure 90’s ska punk distilled into what I consider a classic DIY anthem. The horns just go absolutely hard and the ska guitar is fast and infectious. The song is about being proud of the work and effort put into creating music and about not caring about fame or fortune. When I think of 3rd wave DIY ska, this is one of the songs that plays in my head.
Another song that I think captures more of the tongue and cheek nature of the album is “Going Insane”. It’s a real bop that features extremely surreal lyrics. It’s just fun and endlessly re-listenable.
Lastly, I want to talk about some of the quirky parts of the album that I absolutely love. Four songs on the album either make reference to classic TV shows, or are just the actual theme song of a show. It’s more accurate to say they were classics when the album was originally released by Gen Z standards; they would be considered ancient television. I just thought this was cool when I was a nerdy kid, and frankly still do. Next, 2 songs are sung in Korean. This was my first introduction to the Korean language and was just a really cool thing for me growing up. While it didn’t inspire me to learn the language, I think that exposure to different things like language and culture makes people more tolerant of others. Lastly, the song “Gerry Is Strong” is just an absolutely fun sing along song that is about Mike and his friend dealing with fender bender misadventure. Seriously, I would sing this to my wife back when we were in High School just to get a rise out of her.
This album played a part in shaping the way I perceive the world and who I am. It means a lot to me. So much so that I have chosen to write about it almost 30 years after its release. I think you should check it out if you have never listened to it. If you have, I think now is a great time to give it another spin. This album is pure nostalgia for me and I hope you all enjoy it as well.
If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—> Purchase The Bruce Lee Band by The Bruce Lee Band digitally via Amazon Music