Neil Hamburger Takes a Bite Out of Nickelback

Posted on Apr 4th 2008 12:00PM by Jonah Flicker
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Folks who can't seem to properly separate their garbage from recycling and alt-rockers who make garbage music are just some of the banes of comedian Neil Hamburger's existence. "It causes stress to think about the folks who have to pick chicken bones out of what is supposed to be clean office paper," he tells Spinner. "They are unsung heroes, much more so than these garbage entertainers, such as Nickelback, who get all the glory. Yet the folks who work behind the scenes processing trash so that it may be made into something useful are paid only a fraction of what Nickelback receives for polluting our earth with their rubbish music."

This is just one of the many topics covered on Hamburger's new country album, 'Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners,' out this month on Drag City. Hamburger uses his nasal singing voice and sharply self-deprecating wit to infuse the record's ten songs with both bathos and pathos. Backed by an incredibly talented band, his lyrics may be funny but the music is dead-on serious country. "We're looking at this as more of a 'personality' record than a country record, in the vein of the great albums in the past by Leonard Nimoy, Telly Savalas or William Shatner," Hamburger says. "Country was the right choice for the music. I am not into the click-tracks and techno type of sound."

Hamburger deadpans his way through songs like 'How Can I Be Patriotic (When They've Taken Away My Right to Cry)' and 'Please Ask That Clown to Stop Crying' with the gusto of the country greats he admires: Hank Williams, Ferlin Husky and Porter Wagoner. "I have been told that the record has an overwhelming feeling of melancholy about it," he explains. "I'm not sure that is the most commercial route to take. But I stand by this record completely. I am also very proud to have been backed by such a stellar group of storied musicians."