Ours is a generation tragically obsessed with The Brady Bunch. It's all we have. Thus a Brady-themed SAF song, like a football to the nose, was inevitable. This song was on our 2001 Delusions of Competence CD, and has also been played on the Dr. Demento Show. But as far as we know, Greg doesn't really want us dead. (We're way more obsessed with Cousin Oliver anyway. Come on, Robbie Rist was in Kidd Video!) Fun fact: Ed once talked on the phone with the real Peter Brady, Chris Knight. (And by the way, if you listen carefully to our silly little song, Peter has a special backwards message for you.)
Araby (MP3 - 3.7MB)
This is probably the best of our "weird relationship" songs. Countless times, we've been asked how we came up with this name. (And when we say "countless times," we mean "maybe twice.") Well, as the lyrics suggest, the name "Araby" does indeed come from James Joyce. That's right, "Araby" is our very first pretentious literary reference! All them years of book-learnin' finally paid off. In Joyce's Dubliners, there is a very short story called Araby. (Seriously, it's like four pages! Go ahead and read it. Kevin read it, and usually he sticks with Aquaman comic books.) The song and the story are even linked thematically! Yikes, we must be geniuses.
This is the only love song we know which devotes an entire verse to They Might Be Giants. In fact, Ed couldn't resist referencing a couple of Giants songs musically during that verse. (Can you find them?)
"Araby" was written and first performed in 1998. It's fun to watch us play this song live, because during the verses, Kevin has little or no time to breathe. One night, he actually exploded. Many audience members have told us that they really relate to this song. We're thrilled that we have tapped into how messed up and confused you all are. Enjoy!
An Axl Christmas (MP3 - 1.9MB)
In the wake of the complete public apathy towards our 1991 album Looks Like Rain... Tastes Like Chicken, we released "An Axl Christmas" as a holiday single. As far as we know, this is the only Christmas song about Axl Rose ever written. You're welcome. The nifty lead guitar work (including the eerie Slash-ripoff line that kicks the whole thing off) is by Mike, our usual way-too-good-for-SAF guitarist.
"An Axl Christmas" went on to become our biggest hit. (But then, what was it up against?) The song became quite popular on the Dr. Demento Show, and appeared on the show's Funny Five countdown during the holidays throughout the early nineties. (Dr. D still sometimes includes "Axl" in his holiday shows!) It was even featured on one of Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes compilation albums, alongside tunes by artists such as "Weird Al" Yankovic and Barnes and Barnes. The song was also picked up by a few Boston-area radio stations.
Despite its questionable shelf life (always an issue when it comes to novelty songs), "An Axl Christmas" remains a sentimental favorite for us. We invite you to dust off your G'N'R tapes, roast a few chestnuts, and enjoy.
Coffee And Cartoons (MP3 - 2.8MB)
This one goes way back to before we were the Sponge Awareness Foundation, when we were still known as the Wombats. If memory serves, it was written in 1989! Anyway, if there is a quintessential SAF song (and let's hope there isn't), this is it. We've performed it at nearly every live show we've ever done. Hopefully, someday, someone in the audience will figure out what it means. And hopefully they'll tell us.
"Coffee And Cartoons" was on our 1991 album Looks Like Rain... Tastes Like Chicken. However, the version here was recorded a year later, for the SAF computer-animated cartoon Not Your Nightmare. Pitching in with a killer saxophone solo (which now serves as the theme tune for Kevin's weekly podcast, The Flopcast) is our friend and longtime collaborator John (who, in addition to sax, can also play everything else).
By the way, although you'd never guess it, this is a love song. Maybe that's why it doesn't make any sense.
Roberta Is Strange (MP3 - 2.9MB)
This was an instance of stumbling upon a song name and then writing a song around it. The back wall of Kevin's fourth grade school was covered with graffiti, including the intriguing statement "Roberta Is Strange." This phrase haunted Kevin for the next ten years or so, before resurfacing as the inspiration for this SAF classic.
"Roberta Is Strange" appeared on our 1991 album Looks Like Rain... Tastes Like Chicken. In fact, this is the original album version of the song. Check out that mood-setting railroad crossing sound effect.
Perhaps someday the original Roberta will come to a SAF show, and we'll learn exactly what was so strange about her. But more likely, we'll just get punched.