$1.98

Sold by music on Tradebit
The world's largest download marketplace
3,247,664 satisfied buyers
Shopper Award

MP3 Eric Schwartz - Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis

In-Your-Face But Lucid Video/Audio Single Diatribe Against The Religious Right

2 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Angry, FOLK: Political



Details:
As printed in THE BOSTON HERALD


Dirty Ditties Give Schwartz A Leg Up
By Daniel Gewertz
Friday, August 27, 2004

At first, Eric Schwartz crooned ``nice'''' pretty ballads on the Bay State coffeehouse circuit. Then he began offending politically correct folkies and delighting his more open-minded fans with outrageously dirty, hilariously satiric songs, sort of like an X-rated Tom Lehrer for the 21st century.

     But for all the impudent wit, Schwartz''s blush-inducing ditties remained obscure.

     This summer, one outrageous, homemade video changed all that. The song? It''s called ``Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis.'''' Very few of its lyrics are appropriate for a family newspaper. The song cogently attacks the religious right''s penchant for trying to legislate sexual morality and does so with an explosion of shameless, brilliantly worded barbs. The video, made in Schwartz''s apartment for ``about five dollars,'''' brings his fearless humor to a whole new level.

     Schwartz''s video received more than 40,000 hits on his Web site in July. Countless other sites have linked to or downloaded the video. Despite the song''s gleefully blasphemous tone, five Clear Channel radio stations have aired ``Keep Your Jesus'''' on their morning shows. It''s even been heard in the buckle of the Bible Belt: Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

     ``This is a story partly about the Internet and its power. I''ve gottene-mails from as far away as Australia and the Netherlands,'''' said Schwartz, who grew up in Newton and whose father is a dean at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine.``This video is a perfect marriage of medium and message: politics, dirty humor and visuals.'''' (The visuals are just Schwartz in a variety of outfits, including an Uncle Sam suit and a Jesus wig and beard.)

     The political slant of ``Keep Your Jesus'''' suddenly makes Schwartz''s libidinous glee socially important. It skewers the religious right at the same cultural moment that millions of Americans are asking - to quote one of Schwartz''s few printable lyrics - ``Who are you to turn your views into my laws?''''

     His earlier sex satires, including the cheerfully offensive ``I Swear She Said She Was 18,'''' were guaranteed to outrage the left-wing feminist crowd.

     ``Profanity to me is political. When I was at Tufts, political correctness was at a height. People weren''t just being told to watch what they said, but to watch what they thought. They called my lyrics misogynist, because people weren''t allowed to be pissed off at women anymore, just men. I get pissed off when my anger is less valid than someone else''s.''''

     Schwartz is a likable guy who is able to get laughs with some of his more blatant lyrics because he obviously has a warm heart. He may have called one album of pithy, filthy satires ``Pleading the First: Songs My Mother Hates,'''' but he cares what people, including his mother, think of him. Schwartz admits, however, that ``an underlying sense of tantrum'''' is behind much of his humor.

     ``Pete Seeger once told me that a song of mine, `Who Da Bitch Now?'' didn''t bring people together. But that isn''t my intent. I say what I need to say, even if it''s just: I''m mad as hell. And if you agree with it, maybe you really needed to hear it said. The folk singer Patrick Sky told me what I do is diatribe, but that''s good, because America needs diatribe.

     ``My work can be childish,'''' he admitted. ``Maybe my funniest stuff is my most blasphemous. But I don''t want to be beholden to any one political leaning. Like Lenny Bruce, I want to retain my ability to say absolutely anything.''''

     Schwartz, who lives in Brooklyn, is making a rare Bay State appearance tomorrow at 6 p.m. at the Barre Folk Festival. Deb Cowan, Michael Troy, Gideon Freudmann, All About Buford, Freddy White and others play earlier. Call 978-355-2186. You can view ``Keep Your Jesus'''' at https://www.tradebit.com.

File Data

This file is sold by music, an independent seller on Tradebit.

Our Reviews
© Tradebit 2004-2024
All files are property of their respective owners
Questions about this file? Contact music
DMCA/Copyright or marketplace issues? Contact Tradebit