The Cheesiest Covers Ever
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine.
It's safe to say that lounge music died in the 60s. It would seem that Richard Cheese (real name Mark Jonathan Davis) didn't get the memo. Cheese and his band, Lounge Against the Machine, take songs ranging from metal to pop and hip-hop; turning them into sometimes catchy, sometimes-hilarious lounge tunes. The band is made up of Davis/Cheese, Bobby Ricotta (Noel Melanio) and Frank Feta (Brian Fishler).
Davis comes off as kind of a dick. In most cases, that would be easily dismissed as the style of the music, but actual events can back up this assumption. A few weeks ago, Richard Cheese was playing the Coverville 500 in Las Vegas. Before the event, he demanded that the other performers' levels be lower than his. During the beginning of his set he complained that his levels were too low. He even went as far as to turn his back to the crowd and text the concert organizer to complain. Later, he demanded that the audience members put away their cameras and video recorders. Note that the event is known for the freedom it allows the audience to take pictures and record video. When the audience refused to stop recording, Davis walked down from the stage, took a spectator's camera, turned it off and threw it back at the guy. Later on, he allegedly spit his drink at another person using a camera. What a douche.
Crappy behavior aside, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine make some pretty fun songs. They range from Radiohead's "Creep" to the theme from The Brady Bunch. All of the songs are pretty simple, as most lounge music is. Vocals are accompanied by drums, stand-up bass and piano. Sometimes horns are thrown in and maybe a Theremin in a couple instances, but there's not much variance. The real enjoyment in these songs comes from hearing tunes you know completely changed from their familiar sound to the mellow or upbeat lounge sound.
Posted by Cory Roop on Aug 25, 2008 @ 7:30 am