Mike Watt "Hyphenated Man"

(Clenched Wrench) Watt has this bizarre collection of songs billed as a rock opera, sans regular narrative, but what it really reminds me of is that great Half Japanese album where they do one song about a specific monster for each letter of the alphabet. What makes this odd bird of an album so great is that each song about "Beak-Holding-Letter-Man," "Man-Shitting-Man," "Cherry-Head-Lover-Man," "Jug-Footed-Man," Fryingpan-Man" and the 25 others is really just a short, thoroughly descriptive song about that actual hypen-man. Sure it's great that the music successfully builds upon the humor/art/innovative jazzy sensibilities that go back even before the hypnotizin' 50 tracks on Minutemen's "Double Nickels" album, but what's best is that this really is what it is: freakishly fascinating description songs about weird -- yet recognizable - kinds of men. That's Watt I'm talking about!