Are a Drag

Are a Drag
Studio album by
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
ReleasedMay 18, 1999
GenrePunk rock
Length25:58
LabelFat Wreck Chords
ProducerRyan Greene, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes chronology
Have a Ball
(1997) 		Are a Drag
(1999) 		Turn Japanese
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Las Vegas Sun(favorable)[2]
The Maneater(favorable)[3]
Maximum Rocknroll(mixed)[4]

Are a Drag is the second album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, released in 1999 on the Fat Wreck Chords independent record label.

The album is made up mainly of show tunes. The album's title alludes to the fact that most of the songs on the album feature vocalist Spike Slawson singing songs that were originally performed by female characters in their original stage shows/movies (with the exception of the Phantom's part in "Phantom of the Opera", "Science Fiction/Double Feature" which was sung by a female traditionally, but more popularly by Richard O'Brien in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and "Rainbow Connection").

The album's cover features the members of the band dressed up, in drag, as five characters from the musicals represented in song: a member of A Chorus Line ("What I Did For Love"), Annie Mudge from Annie ("Tomorrow"), Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz ("Over the Rainbow"), Sandy Dumbrowski from Grease ("It's Raining on Prom Night"), and Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Show ("Science Fiction/Double Feature").

Like many other Gimme Gimmes albums, Are a Drag contains many elements of mash-up - more specifically, musical allusions to punk or power-pop songs in their covers. The intro to the song "My Favorite Things" quotes "Generator", by Bad Religion, and at the end of "Tomorrow", Fat Mike can be heard singing "Mommy's alright, daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird" - a lyric from "Surrender" by Cheap Trick.

Geoff Carter, writing in the Las Vegas Sun, described the album as "infectious" and "oh-so-satisfying", though warned that it may become less enjoyable with repeat listening.[2]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLyricsMusicMusicalLength
1."Over the Rainbow"E. Y. HarburgHarold ArlenThe Wizard of Oz1:32
2."Don't Cry for Me Argentina"Tim RiceAndrew Lloyd WebberEvita2:29
3."Science Fiction/Double Feature"Richard O'BrienO'BrienThe Rocky Horror Show2:34
4."Summertime"DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward, Ira GershwinGeorge GershwinPorgy and Bess2:10
5."My Favorite Things" (contains an interpolation of "Generator" by Bad Religion, written by Brett Gurewitz)Oscar Hammerstein IIRichard RodgersThe Sound of Music1:52
6."Rainbow Connection"Paul Williams, Kenneth AscherWilliams, AscherThe Muppet Movie2:18
7."Phantom of the Opera"Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe, Mike BattAndrew Lloyd WebberThe Phantom of the Opera1:45
8."I Sing the Body Electric"Dean PitchfordMichael GoreFame1:44
9."It's Raining on Prom Night"Jim Jacobs, Warren CaseyJacobs, CaseyGrease2:57
10."Tomorrow" (contains an interpolation of "Surrender" by Cheap Trick, written by Rick Nielsen)Martin CharninCharles StrouseAnnie1:31
11."What I Did for Love"Edward KlebanMarvin HamlischA Chorus Line1:46
12."Cabaret"Fred EbbJohn KanderCabaret3:24

Personnel[edit]

Additional musicians[edit]

  • Karina Denike - backing vocals
  • Sara K. Fisher - backing vocals

References[edit]

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ a b Carter, Geoff (1999-05-14). "'Star Wars' sound could only come from Williams". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Access World News.
  3. ^ Foerster, Jonathan (1999-06-16). "'Gimmes' punk up Broadway". The Maneater. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Access World News.
  4. ^ MacLean, Hal (August 1999). "Music Reviews: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - "Are a Drag"". Maximum Rocknroll. No. 195. Retrieved 2024-03-02 – via Internet Archive.
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