The Kidz are Alright, Part Three
Parsley, 03/29/04
This is part three in a four-part series of articles reviewing pop albums recorded by children.
The Kids of Widney High, Special Music from Special Kids
If you spend enough time listening to and thinking about the kind of music that is increasingly being referred to as “outsider music” you will eventually come up against that artform’s big pressing question, the elephant in the xeno-aesthetic room, the issue you just can’t ethically ignore: when you listen to something like Wesley Willis, The Shaggs, Daniel Johnston, etc, are you really enjoying the music on its own merits or are you just laughing at the freaks? Some people, of course, won’t be bothered by this question, and maybe that’s fine. Others will have to struggle with it, trying to decide whether they can appreciate the bizarre song stylings of the late Shooby Taylor without mocking the man behind the music. In the end, a common resolution seems to be that while one may laugh at the music, the performer should be taken seriously as an artist who’s created something of intrinsic value.
You could certainly question the sincerity of that position. For many people, it’s no doubt true, but I suspect in more cases there’s something insincere about such claims. One way or the other, The Kids of Widney High are the ultimate test case. By the time you finish listening to their debut album, Special Music from Special Kids, you’ll be forced to confront yourself and realize exactly where you stand.
The Kids of Widney High are different from the other kids’ pop groups covered in this series in a number of ways. I suppose you could say they don’t really belong in the series at all, and you may well have a point. One of the most important differences is that, unlike the other groups I am discussing, the Kids write all of their own material (with the exception of one or two covers over the years). I would argue, though, that their material is not very good, which leads us to the most obvious difference between the KOWH and other singing groups: the Kids of Widney High are all retarded.
That last statement’s not really true and it’s extremely unfair. The kids have a variety of disabilities, mental and physical. They all attend Widney High, a special school in Los Angeles for children who would be in special ed classes at ordinary schools. Probably only a few of them are mentally retarded in the strictest sense. But I have no way of knowing what their actual conditions are and as far as I can gather from the record they are just retarded. I don’t want to cram the KOWH into some box they don’t deserve but I don’t know what else to do. The music experts on P2P filesharing services have fewer qualms about attempting a diagnosis; I have seen the group’s music attributed online to “The Retarded Kids of Widney High” or even the needlessly cruel “Retard Choir” (neither of those two words are really accurate — there are very few instances where the Kids sing in unison; more often one or a few performers are featured in a more traditional pop band setting).
So now we come to it — the right thing to do is to approach the KOWH as people, not disabilities. Alright then, let’s do that: their music sucks. Hard. The lyrics are often trite, the singing out of tune, difficult to understand, and generally nonmusical. Taken on its own merits, there is just no way anyone could like this music.
But if we understand this album as the work of some severely challenged young people, it takes on an entirely different meaning. These kids, who much of society would have written off as somehow sub-human, have written and sung a full-length album of songs that are coherent, expressive, and sometimes touching (The backing tracks are arranged and played by a revolving group of studio pros who help the Kids. They’re playing real instruments so it sounds better than Kidz Bop, but not by much. I’d describe the playing as competent but generic.). It’s obvious from the record that they’re having a blast. They go on tour, record CDs, hang out in studios, and generally get the (G-rated) rockstar treatment. By all accounts the project has had a huge positive effect on the self-esteem of several generations of Widney High kids. It’s a great example of how powerful a good idea can be in education and I don’t see how anybody can find anything to criticize.
It’s a great story, right? The thing is, the music becomes pretty much irrelevant in that account. You can feel warm and fuzzy about the KOWH without ever actually hearing them sing “Throw Away the Trash” or “Insects.” The songs on Special Music from Special Kids are every bit as good as what the average non-handicapped kid could make (which isn’t saying much), but that’s not why people like it. Either you enjoy the album in an ironic “laughing at the retards” way or you like the idea of the Kids of Widney High, not the music itself.
Or at least that’s how I feel. At first I found the album engrossing and a lot of fun, but eventually I realized I was just laughing at the freaks and now I don’t think I can really enjoy it anymore. The worst part is that a lot of the singers sound like actual specific mentally challenged people I have known. Now, I’ve laughed at a lot of retards in my day, but that doesn’t mean I feel good about it. When your mind puts a face to these ludicrous voices it’s a lot harder to mock them.
If I’ve been successful in establishing that no one who enjoys the KOWH actually likes their music, or even really considers it as a work of art, there doesn’t seem to be much point in attempting an in-depth review of the album. The Kids have a very nice website with lyrics, several song samples, and even guitar chords, so you can look into this phenomenon for yourself and make up your own mind. They even have great t-shirts you can order if making fun of retarded kids is your idea of a cool new fashion statement.
“Insects” is probably the best-known KOWH song from Special Music from Special Kids or any of their albums, with its unforgettable chorus “You’d better watch out or the insects will get you.” “Throw Away the Trash” is another goofy favorite. Some of the Kids’ songs are more serious, however. “Sixty-five Years Old,” about one kid’s grandmother, is a sadder tune that even approximates soul, while “Ride Away” expresses a desire to escape to a more peaceful world. But my favorite is “Primary Reinforcement.” In this song the Kids all state their names, their hobbies, and which song they wrote. Then in the chorus they thank someone named Barbara for giving them primary reinforcement. I have no idea what they are talking about. A lot of the time I can hardly make out what they are saying. I love it. But then again, I am a terrible human being.
Next Installment: The Langley Schools Music Project, Innocence and Despair