Al Franken – The O’Franken Factor Factor (The Very Best of the O’Franken Factor) – Artemis Records

Mildly amusing, dedicatedly far-left political humor taken from Al Franken’s radio show on Air America. Pre-election material that’s not really new or as good as other stuff Franken’s done (especially written material). None of the interviews or the like is real, which is somewhat disappointing. This is probably better for soundbyte material (see 1/14) than actually playing a track.
Best part is (ironically)when he’s not being political on 17. Also see 2,5,12

FCCs scattered throughout (3,9,11,16) – check individual track before playing

1. (3:16) 15s musical intro (sounds like generic Grateful Dead-esque material) Mediocre piece w/ a mediocre Bush impression. Jokes focus on Bush’s military record (lack thereof). Drags on a bit. Might provide some good sound bytes, e.g. “Pilot guy” part is funny
2. * (1:50) Musical piece w/ some clever lyrics. Biting attack on Rush Limbaugh – right-wing politics in general, pill addiction in particular (FCC: ass?)
3. (2:31) Conversation w/ Catherine (the co-host) about how to react to an emergency on live radio. Becomes a Strom Thurmond impression about his “colored daughter” (FCCs: pecker, screw, sexual/racist) Mildly amusing.
4. (3:07) Report from Wally Balloo at Heathrow airport interviewing a passenger about long waits caused by the threat of terrorism. Passenger is a terrorist, but Wally doesn’t see it. Obvious, morbid humor – not too funny.
5. * (2:53) Bush flip-flopping piece w/ musical soundbed. Sweeping criticism about everything Bush – not always really flip-flops, just bad policy. Drags on a bit, but Franken’s “flip/flop” noises make it worth it.
6. (2:58) Anne Coulter hidden mike impersonation. Catch her being snobbish about the food and racist towards Hispanics.
7. (0:16) Sarcastic look at the Wall Street Journal’s Op-ed page; title says it all.
8. (2:22) Klezmer musical intro – cute, non-discriminatory Jewish jokes are the vehicle for a simultaneous attack on and support of the New York Times. Musical outro.
9. (4:30) Laid-off worker is now a male-prostitute in order to support his family. FCC: Sexual nature, oral-sex discussion – harsh critique of job loss + outsourcing.
10. (3:05) Interview with Deep Throat in which he reveals well-known “secrets” about Bush, Cheney, etc. Amusing concept, kind of a weak execution, though.
11. (2:55) Vegas lounge song about hypocritical vice. FCC: mild sexual references, “whore” - “asshole” is censored
12. * (1:10) Starts with an alarm-sound: Condoleezza Rice near tears - can’t handle the pressure of a terrorist attack. A harsh Richard Clarke takes over. Pretty scathing but funny look at the former NSA.
13. (0:18) Another joke about lying Republicans. What else to say?
14. (4:22) Brassy, orchestrated “Masterpiece Theatre”-sounding intro/soundbed. Karen Hughes (a Whitehouse speechwriter) talking to Prince Bandar about all sorts of Bush/Saudi incest while they gorge themselves on appetizers at a “posh Washington cocktail party” for the Texacos. Sometimes amusing, definitely drawn-out. * Ends with an amusing Kissinger impersonation that would make a great soundbyte.
15. (1:57) Military song (starts off like 20th Century Fox theme) that criticizes Bush’s aircraft carrier appearance/speech
16. (1:51) Coulter still locked in the green room – enraged, hypocritical tirade (Maybe FCCs: goddamnit and bastards?)
17. * (2:41) Apolitical, but one of the funnier parts of the album. They try to have an “audio crawl” equivalent of the scrolling text on TV. Gets especially funny for last 45s when audio crawl is brought down to a whisper.
18. (3:36) Interview w/ Robert Hudnut – Arthur Anderson accountant for Enron case now talking about “Accountants Without Borders” – amusing critique of corporate accounting, but a bit long
19. (1:30) Starts with triumphant strings, typewriter soundbed throughout. Talking about a correction that makes a campaign contribution figure more extravagant esp. in light of lost jobs/outsourcing.
20. (4:45) 20s musical intro – features an Indian stand-in because Al has been fired b/c of budget cuts. Heavy handed jokes and criticism, but you might find it funny.
21. (0:55) A slightly bizarre, mildly amusing commercial that all leads up to the last line: “Because unlike gays, terrorists can breed” – critique of right-wing sensationalism and distractions from real issues
22. (3:50) Dick Cheney and Antonia Scalia go duck hunting w/ a rifle and an assault rifle. Jokes mostly about incestuous relationships/luxury among the powerful. Some funny stuff, but particularly drawn out.
23. (2:55) Another Deep Throat interview that has some funny parts (“Are you familiar with the internet?”) but there’s no need to have two of them on the album
24. (0:18) Bush on Mozambique
25. (1:05) Coulter #3 – more rage – tearing the room apart
26. (3:09) Abu Ghraib prison song – flippant apology in a 40’s radio style (complete w/ female background singers) that criticizes the apologies and shifts of blame
27. (8:55) Very long – certainly not 9-minutes worth of entertainment, but some funny stuff. Brief run-down: Marching band from IL (critique of the war). Three different Scottish bands play “Heart of Oak” Garfield and Rugrats floats. Block-long Haliburton “float” with Playboy bunnies on top. Tina Turner sings proud Mary. Entire interim government blows up. Critique of lots of things, including parade announcers (?).