Bobby Conn

King for a Day (Thrill Jockey)

By Anne C. Johnson
Published: March 7th, 2007 | 2:43pm

While Bobby Conn’s 2004 album, The Homeland, was an indictment of American values and the war in Iraq, King for a Day contemplates the fantasy worlds we have chosen to lose ourselves in to avoid these bleaker realities. This current project is Conn’s Don Quixote and he has enlisted his touring band, the Glass Gypsies (Colby Stark, Sledd, Monica BouBou), and others, like Tortoise’s John McEntire, to help carry out this ambitious, foolish dream.

The record was conceived as a soundtrack and from the Queen- and Styx-influenced “Sinking Ship” to the marvelous funky ode to Lindsay Lohan et al. (“Twenty One”), there is a definite 1970s vibe to King for a Day. Conn has the tongue-in-cheek pomposity of a modern day Meatloaf, but mostly he brings to mind Robbie Williams (“When the Money’s Gone,” “Things”). The title track retells a disgustingly true story involving the band, adoring fans, and shrimping (toe sucking). This bossa nova perfectly illustrates how musicians especially get caught in the netherworld between fantasy and reality.

The whole of King for a Day fits together thematically but is somewhat disjointed. More than a few songs are funny but lyrically and musically strong enough to rise above mere gimmickry. His targets — especially Tom Cruise and Scientology — are fair, if not easy game. But Conn’s timing may be off — the Associated Press placed a week-long ban on “news” of Paris Hilton the same month the album was released. Has the excessive celebrity gossip phenomenon finally reached critical mass?