90's Hit Parade #56

Cibo Matto - Birthday Cake/Know Your Chicken

Cibo Matto were one of those bands that were all the buzz for a couple minutes, then mostly forgotten. Maybe that's OK. The album of food-obsessed, hip hop inflected electronica from a pair of Japanese-American chicks didn't sound nearly as weird and wonderful six months after I bought it as it did on that first listen. But watching these performances, especially the one of "Know Your Chicken," convinces me that at least these songs deserve their place in the canon (throw "Beef Jerky" in there, too). I mean, this stuff is just off the charts for coolness, the noisy choruses, the tight beats, the surreal lyrics. Maybe I should dig this CD out and re-evaluate.