One could if they wanted sum up the Venture Bros. series on [adult swim] as "a parody of the 1960's
cartoon Jonny Quest" and leave it at that. One could - but one shouldn't.
Even if the source material and inspiration came from Quest, the
series has reveled in sending up all manner of comic book superheros, spy
movie supervillains and secret agent trops over the years. Each fictional
organization that comes along is more absurd and their relationship with
each other more inscrutable -- the Office of Secret Intelligence (OSI),
The Guild of Calamitous Intent, S.P.H.I.N.X. and The Doom Factory just to
name a few. It's perhaps fitting that the late avant garde music
icon David Bowie, voiced not by himself but James Urbaniak, was a super villain
on Venture Bros. - it's just that kind of show. My personal favorite voice actor
on the whole show is Patrick Warburton - he brings just the right level of
over-the-top insanity to the muscle bound blonde-haired agent Brock Samson.
I think it's clear at this point I enjoy the show, and one of the many reasons
I'm fond of it is the music of James George "J.G." Thirwell. Perhaps David Bowie
became an arch-villain in the show simply because it would have required too much
chutzpah to cast the show's musical composer, but he certainly displays a talent
for subterfuge and disguise that even The Sovereign would envy. If I took the
time to talk strictly about Thirwell's alter egos and side projects it would
take up the rest of the review, so let's cut to the chase and say his best known
may be Foetus. He's had a very
eclectic and inventive career, and like the aforementioned Ziggy Stardust he's
never been one to be held to one musical style. His ability to tap into any
genre and make it his own breathes life into the scenes of the Venture Bros.
show, giving it a score to rival your favorite Hollywood blockbuster films.
With "Music of the Venture Bros. Volume Two" Thirwell continues to show the
same passion for providing a musical method to the masterfully madcap mishaps of
the Venture clan. The tracks range from whimsical to deadly serious and hair
raising, but the real treat is getting to experience them without the excellent
voice cast talking over it and unintentionally reducing it to background noise.
Tracks like "The Chosen March" come to the fore here, as good a send-up of a
patriotic parade route tune as you're likely to hear, both loving tribute and
tongue in cheek riff on composers like John Philip Sousa. "Optimistic Space
Travel" shines too with it's overly enthusiastic "zoom zoom zoom" singers and
the feel of a campy 1960's classroom science film, which coincidentally is how
it comes across on the TV show too when discussing the scientific advancements
of the ORIGINAL Dr. Venture. You can hear it in the background below at
the 31 second mark -- I was looking for a longer clip but they're hard to find
(probably to keep the home video and digital distribution sales up).
If you're asking "How does this all fit into hip-hop?" well I'd have to argue
that any emcee worth his salt would want to rap over the slinky funk of "Scenester"
on this soundtrack, and it's far from the first all-instrumental album we've
reviewed on this website. Some of it simply stands alone without need or want of
any accompanying vocals whether actors or rappers. "Hank Goes It Alone" has just
the right level of dark piano keys, high tempo percussion and zany xylophonic melody
to create the feeling of both danger and excitement that Venture Bros. takes to
insane and routinely hilarious heights. That's another reason J.G. Thirlwell is
the man best suited to score this show - among the many names his Foetus alias has
been resculpted under the potentially offensive "Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel"
and "You've Got Foetus On Your Breath" top the list. The wrong personality type
will take both horribly wrong, and the right will recognize that it's so far
over the top it that seeing people take umbrage only makes it even funnier.
It's pretty much the same reaction I have any time some Christian conservative
group complains for the ten millionth time about how offensive South Park is.
I'd have to imagine their list of complaints about Venture Bros. would be just as
long if it weren't purposefully part of a late night TV block MEANT for adults.
I still can't help but wish there was a rap version of "Volume Two" that had
MF DOOM rapping over "Battlestations" and J. Cole spitting on "Ready For Takeoff"
but I can say that just like the previous volume J.G. Thirlwell's music stands
on its own. If you're a fan of the show the soundtrack is a must have and if you're
not listening to it will make you want to watch to see how the score fits in to
the action.
Music Vibes: 8 of 10
Lyric Vibes: n/a of 10TOTAL Vibes: 8 of 10
![[Music of the Venture Bros. Volume Two]](../coverart/OST-VB2.jpg)
One could if they wanted sum up the Venture Bros. series on [adult swim] as "a parody of the 1960's
cartoon Jonny Quest" and leave it at that. One could - but one shouldn't.
Even if the source material and inspiration came from Quest, the
series has reveled in sending up all manner of comic book superheros, spy
movie supervillains and secret agent trops over the years. Each fictional
organization that comes along is more absurd and their relationship with
each other more inscrutable -- the Office of Secret Intelligence (OSI),
The Guild of Calamitous Intent, S.P.H.I.N.X. and The Doom Factory just to
name a few. It's perhaps fitting that the late avant garde music
icon David Bowie, voiced not by himself but James Urbaniak, was a super villain
on Venture Bros. - it's just that kind of show. My personal favorite voice actor
on the whole show is Patrick Warburton - he brings just the right level of
over-the-top insanity to the muscle bound blonde-haired agent Brock Samson.