This is how I envision the brainstorming session that led to the formation of The Pizza Underground, presented in the form of a one act play:
Scene: A darkened apartment. White Light/White Heat is on the stereo, a half eaten pepperoni pie lays on the table.
PU MEMBER #1: Dude, this album is amazing!
PU MEMBER #2: Dude, so is this pizza!
PU MEMBER #1: Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could combine these two awesome things together?
PU MEMBER #2: Totally! We should start a band!
PU MEMBER #1: But how would we get anyone to listen to it?
PU MEMBER #2: Dude, you’re a celebrity. People will pay attention.
PU MEMBER #1:
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s almost exactly how it went down.
In case you haven’t heard, The Pizza Underground is a band featuring former child star Macaulay Culkin whose modus operandi consists of singing covers of Velvet Underground songs with lyrics changed to be about pizza. “Do you like pizza?” asked Culkin as they took to the stage. “Do you like punny songs about pizza? Good.” And with that they launched into a set that included such tunes as “Papa John Says” and “I’m Beginning To Eat The Slice.” Combine this with the use of a pizza box for percussion and some guy dressed like Andy Warhol milling about and the stage was set for some pizza-themed shenanigans.
It was fun to watch for awhile, but obviously if the band didn’t feature the star of Uncle Buck and Richie Rich, there would probably be about 10 people at this show. It’s a cute, clever concept and amusing for awhile, but essentially it’s the same joke over and over and the joke tends to get old before too long. I’m glad I checked it out, but admittedly, I left before the end of their set. Just like pizza, you want to take it all in before it gets too stale.