Wig in a Box: Songs from & inspired by "Hedwig & The Angry Inch"

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/28/03 at 10:44pm

This cd came out last week and is a benefit for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of The Harvey Milk School in NYC and it is GREAT.

Okay, I've only heard two thirds of it, but I love it. My favorites so far, Sleater-Kinney & Fred Schneider of The B-52s doing "Angry Inch," especially when he sings "T*ts of clay!" the way he sings "Rock Lobster!" Also great, Imperial Teen doing "Freaks" (from the movie), The Breeders doing a primo "Wicked Little Town," and the inimitable Polyphonic Spree on "Wig in a Box." A must for any fan of the show is John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask doing a new song, "Milford Lake."

Get it. It's descended from a REAL rock musical and it's for a good cause.

Updated On: 10/28/03 at 10:44 PM

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 10/28/03 at 10:50pm

Thanks for the post. I was really looking forward to this CD coming out and then I forgot about it. Now I'll go out and pick it up tomorrow.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/28/03 at 11:05pm

I still need to get this--I hear Cyndi Lauper's "Midnight Radio" is awesome--and how could it not be as she is perfect for that song!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/28/03 at 11:09pm

I haven't even gotten to Cyndi's track yet... it's followed by a reprise of The Origin of Love by the great Jonathan Richman. I've never heard the band Spoon before, but they deconstruct Tear Me Down and then turn it into a Rolling Stones bluesy thing that is very effective.

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 10/28/03 at 11:13pm

Wig in a Box is previewed right here on Broadwayworld.com in "upcoming cds." There are links to Off Records and Amazon. After today, you'll find the listing in "upcoming cds" --> "view recent releases."

Updated On: 10/28/03 at 11:13 PM

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 10/29/03 at 7:33am

Cyndi's version of "Midnight Radio" is incredible But, skip the Yoko Ono track. You'll never recover.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/29/03 at 8:33am

Yoko is actually mentioned by name in Midnight Radio and the only one who is who recorded a song for this tribute album. She's one of "the misfits" Hedwig identifies with and gets that Hedwig salute every night in the show.

[magruder]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 10:11am

Namo, thanks for recommending the "Wig in a Box" tribute album. I already have the cast recording and the movie soundtrack, and had been hesitating purchasing it, but the proceeds going to Hetrick-Martin Institue won me over. I picked "Wig" up the other day, and really love it. Interesting to hear some of the different takes on the material, and many of my favorites do echo yours: the Sleater/Kinney & Fred Schneider "Angry Inch," The Breeders' "Wicked Little Town," Polyphonic Spree's "Wig In a Box" and Cyndi Lauper's incredible "Midnight Radio".

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 10:36am

I'm glad you like it as much as me. I know people have a visceral negative response to Yoko that is based on the myth that she broke up the Beatles (like Lennon didn't have a mind of his own!). But her version of Hedwig's Lament/Exquisite Corpse works on multiple levels.

"I was born on the other side, of a town ripped in two..." clearly takes on an even deeper metaphorical meaning since Yoko was a survivor of the US atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima. "I gave a piece to the rock star..." too.

Yoko's a daring experimental visual artist, so it is triply meaningful when she sings Exquisite Corpse, a song that is itself named after a surrealist art technique. The whole thing is a perfect marriage of art and reality, or do I mean surreality? Also, did you notice how Cyndi Lauper really gets into belting "And YOKO! And Nina! And MEEEEE!"

It's just too perfect.
Exquisite Corpse

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 11:14am

I bought it yesterday--it's really fun hearing these different interpretations. Cyndi ROCKS! =)