Here's a project that will test the civic pride of even the most enthusiastic young "My Milwaukee" blogger. For his online album Now That's What I Call Milwaukee, Portland, Ore. comedian and performance artist Sean Joseph Patrick Carney has re-recorded 20 pop and rock songs, replacing the lyrics exclusively with the word "Milwaukee." Featuring 414-ified versions of Dio's "Mother," 311's "Down," and Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." and other rock radio staples, the collection is a true endurance test, remarkable primarily for Carney's commitment to the joke. By the time he finishes the album with an exhausting interpretation of Fastball's "The Way," he's sung the word "Milwaukee" literally thousands of times. It's hard not to admire the guy's commitment: At any point during these sessions he could have cheaped out and trimmed the project to an EP, but he had the follow through to record a full 20 tracks.
Posted for free streaming and download on Carney's website, the compilation is being released in conjunction with a May 4 exhibition at the Bahamas Biennale gallery, 3703 N. Richards St., called "Algonquin for the Good Land." If the rest of the exhibit is anything like the album, expect some serious Milwaukee overload.
