The Maine Campus

CD: Caesar Pink

By Mario Moretto, Opinion Editor
Posted on 3/26/09 at 2:47 AM EST.

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Courtesy of The Imperial Orgy

Working for the style section of The Maine Campus, we get many CDs in the mail. Usually they're new releases by artists we've at least heard of, but every once in a while, a weird artifact from the past shows up. Lewistown, Penn.'s Caeser Pink & The Imperial Orgy's 2006 opus "All God's Children" is one of those gems.



A little background info, courtesy of the interwebs. The Imperial Orgy is a cross-media art and activism project founded by Caeser Pink, lead songwriter and vocalist on the album.



The band's Web site says, "Whether musically or socially, the Imperial Orgy excludes the prejudiced. The music fan who limits their tastes to a particular style of rock and roll, or who are uncomfortable with a socially open environment, will surely find some aspect of the Imperial Orgy offensive. But for those who have no restraints to hold them back from savoring the feast ... the Imperial Orgy is waiting."



That sums it up better than I ever could. With that in mind, let's move on to the review portion of our programming.



Upon looking at the cover, which features a dinosaur, Mickey Mouse with a Nazi armband and a rather peeved-looking black child with an assault rifle, I thought I was in for lo-fi outsider music or post-punk insanity. Checking out the song lyrics before listening to the album only further supported my assumption. "All God's Children" includes lines such as "Goddamn, I don't understand / How your religion makes you kill a man / Jesus Christ, it just doesn't seem right / All God's children wanna fuss and fight / Holy s--- ain't it time to quit / If that's your religion don't believe in it."



Boy, was I wrong in speculating the sound about to hit my ears.



The first track, "Mickey Mouse World," exposes Caeser Pink's old-timey rock 'n' roll stylings. Caesar's voice is reasonably melodic, and the music is genuine danceable fun rock. There are even sultry female back-up vocals and "woo-ooohs."



All three songs - yes, three, it rings in just under 12 minutes - after the first track follow suit. Catchy pop-rock hooks, surf beats and homage to classic rock icons like Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith fill out this surprisingly fun do-it-yourself album.



The best song, by far, is "Dinosaurs (A True Story)," which may or may not be about a one-night stand with Robert Plant. Enough said.



Of all the words I could choose to describe Caeser Pink & The Imperial Orgy, I would choose "fun." Surprisingly, this album has gotten stuck in my head more than any other album I've listened to for a while. The thinly-veiled political messages aren't anything groundbreaking or shattering, but I'll be damned if it didn't have me tapping my foot and singing "My baby's in love with Robert Plant" at the top of my lungs.