Desert Island Discourse

I guess this is just a tradition now. Last April Fools, we decided to play a prank on ourselves by covering a terrible band that became a joke on someone else's terms. This April Fools, we're covering a band that wanted to be a joke, but also serious, and failed at both, while still being wildly successful. This week, we're covering the first half of the discography of Canada's greatest musical crime: Barenaked Ladies. If you're American, you probably know Barenaked Ladies as the "chickety china" guys, thanks to the breakout success of "One Week." But in Canada, they actually have a hugely devoted fanbase, dating all the way back to the incredible success of their first album, Gordon. To this day, you can find both diehard enthusiasts and actual critics earnestly praising and defending their work. Millions of people love this band. We do not. We didn't go into this band hating them—neither of us really listened to them before, and we were hoping to find some hidden gems and surprises in their impressively l