Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
arts/music

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Are a Drag


FieldValue
nameAre a Drag
typeCover album
artistMe First and the Gimme Gimmes
coverMe First and the Gimme Gimmes - Are a Drag cover.jpg
releasedMay 18, 1999
genrePunk rock
length25:58
labelFat Wreck Chords
producerRyan Greene, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
prev_titleHave a Ball
prev_year1997
next_titleTurn Japanese
next_year2001

Are a Drag is the second album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, released in 1999 on the Fat Wreck Chords independent record label.

The album is made up mainly of show tunes. The album's title alludes to the fact that most of the songs on the album feature vocalist Spike Slawson singing songs that were originally performed by female characters in their original stage shows/movies (with the exception of the Phantom's part in "Phantom of the Opera", "Science Fiction/Double Feature" which was sung by a female traditionally, but more popularly by Richard O'Brien in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and "Rainbow Connection").

The album's cover features the members of the band dressed up, in drag, as five characters from the musicals represented in song: a member of A Chorus Line ("What I Did For Love"), Annie Mudge from Annie ("Tomorrow"), Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz ("Over the Rainbow"), Sandy Dumbrowski from Grease ("It's Raining on Prom Night"), and Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Show ("Science Fiction/Double Feature").

Like many other Gimme Gimmes albums, Are a Drag contains many elements of mash-up - more specifically, musical allusions to punk or power-pop songs in their covers. The intro to the song "My Favorite Things" quotes "Generator", by Bad Religion, and at the end of "Tomorrow", Fat Mike can be heard singing "Mommy's alright, daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird" - a lyric from "Surrender" by Cheap Trick.

Geoff Carter, writing in the Las Vegas Sun, described the album as "infectious" and "oh-so-satisfying", though warned that it may become less enjoyable with repeat listening.

Track listing

Personnel

  • Spike Slawson - vocals
  • Chris Shiflett (a.k.a. Jake Jackson) - lead guitar
  • Joey Cape - rhythm guitar
  • Fat Mike - bass
  • Dave Raun - drums

Additional musicians

  • Karina Denike - backing vocals
  • Sara K. Fisher - backing vocals

References

References

  1. [{{AllMusic
  2. Carter, Geoff. (1999-05-14). "'Star Wars' sound could only come from Williams". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
  3. Foerster, Jonathan. (1999-06-16). "'Gimmes' punk up Broadway". [[The Maneater]].
  4. MacLean, Hal. (August 1999). "Music Reviews: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - "Are a Drag"".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Are a Drag — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report