It happened quite innocently. I think someone mentioned an author’s name, or said something that sounded like W.P. Kinsella as we got into my car. Naturally (or so it seemed at the time), this caused my three tone-deaf friends and I (also tone-deaf) to try to impress each other with our knowledge of the lyrics of Moxy Früvous’ Bargainville album (“W.P. Kinsella” being a lyric from the tune My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors). If you have never heard of this group or song, you might think that I was making it up. I am not.

As it turns out, our ability to recall the lyrics from the album was indeed impressive. So, here we were, four heterosexual men, driving and singing loudly and poorly. After My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors, we segue into The Gulf War Song, The Drinking Song, Fell In Love. It’s important to note that of all music to sing badly, harmony-laden a cappella is particularly bad.

Let me clarify something. If you don’t know me, you may be thinking, ‘well, I’m sure he and his jolly friends enjoy singing to each other all the time’. This is not at all the case. Like you, we don’t often break into song with a group of friends. I’m sure, on occasion, we each sing out loud when alone in our respective vehicles, but never when together. That would be weird.

Anyhow, that’s exactly what we did in this case. We broke into song. And not just any song. Practically the whole Bargainville album (or at least 30 second samples of each track). It got me thinking, the odd event that it was. Moxy Früvous rules.

Moxy Früvous. You have to at least give them credit for the ‘u’ with the dots on it. That’s not easy to pull off. Think of Montley Crüe. They deserve more credit than that. If all that comes to mind when you think of Moxy Früvous is King of Spain, then I hereby call into question your Canadian citizenship and loyalty to the Queen.

Bargainville is a fantastic album. It is Moxy Früvous at their best. Self-aware, goofy, smart, and good. Oozing with Canadian-ness. Fell In Love is a good a Canadian song as any penned by Bruce Cockburn or Leonard Cohen. If you know the album, revisit it. If not, keep an open mind, get a copy of it on cassette, leave it in your car for two years, and I assure you that you will not be disappointed.