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Top Ten Reasons Why Gogol Bordello’s Super Taranta! deserves a 4/5 score:

10. The album as a whole seems to be a much more concentrated effort than 2005’s Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike. While Gypsy Punks focused mostly on the Balkan meets Jamaican sound, Super Taranta! boasts expertly composed dance dub in “My Strange Uncles from Abroad,” sharp punk rock in “Forces of Victory,” psycho erotic polka in “Harem in Tuscany,” as well as traditional Eastern European music, kissed with dashes of reggae for added danceability.

9. The extreme violin and accordion playing does not let up for the 65 minutes that Gogol Bordello takes over the speakers. Just when you think violinist Sergey Ryabtsev has maxed out his speed, he will play a measure twice as fast and complex.

8. The broken English of Eugene Hütz is as charming as it is amusing. On the rock-inspired “Your Country,” Hütz talks/sings confidently, "Your country raise you / Your country fail you / And just like any other country it will break you." The song also incorporates a catchy stuck-in-your-head element that was hard to find on Gypsy Punks.

7. The songs are longer than most punk kids' attention spans, but the inventive composition, lively instrumentation, and impassioned vocal delivery keep the album interesting through more than an hour of music.

6. Step 1: Bet your friends money they can’t say “Gogol Bordello” five times fast. Step 2: Count your earnings.

5. The songs off Super Taranta! can inspire Propagandhi-like math equations. For example: Gogol Bordello's “American Wedding” > “American Wedding” starring Jason Biggs and Sean William Scott.

4. Super Taranta! is written as a thematic whole, much like a Hold Steady album with cross-referencing lyrics and recurring ideas. The album highlight “American Wedding” reaches back lyrically to “Supertheory of Supereverything” and the title-track “Super Taranta!.”

3. It’s about time the suburban punk kids and rebellious WASPs of the U.S. got some real culture. Hütz and Gogol Bordello certainly haven’t assimilated into American culture without a fight, and the tales from abroad contain a wisdom and insight that is hard to find in popular music today.

2. The band of Gypsy Punks has made it through the Borat craze unscathed by the Kazakh’s lurid Gyspyphobia and espousal of anti-Gypsy principles.

And the number one reason Super Taranta! deserves a 4/5 score:

1. There are no guest appearances by Madonna.



People who liked this also liked:
Bouncing Souls - The Gold RecordGaslight Anthem - The '59 SoundDropkick Murphys - The Meanest of TimesCursive - Mama, I'm SwollenFake Problems - It's Great to Be AliveMad Caddies - Keep It GoingDead to Me - Little BrotherMetallica - Kill 'Em AllDropkick Murphys - Do Or DieAgnostic Front - Warriors



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    Posted by chickswithdicks on 2007-09-04 00:42:27
    My Score:

    i like how you said his voice made you cringe a year ago in the comments for their previous album, yet now it's 'charming'.

    s'alright.

    Posted by train-bum on 2007-07-17 20:50:20

    Yellowcard isn't even 1/100th the band that G.B. is. F*^k Yellowcard....bunch of sissy lala's

    Posted by PJZ on 2007-07-17 12:43:48

    sweeeeet, i do like their old album a little better tho. FUCK yellowcard!

    Posted by balaka2 on 2007-07-17 12:20:31

    Dug on Gypsy Punks better, but perhaps ill give taranta another whirl. they are the BEST headlining band ever. if youre not having fun there, you just hate life and should go to a yellowcard show. seriously, who are these dweebs with the yellowcard spam? just stop, no one cares

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 10:52 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Score is for the new MxPx. As Mike Herrera would say "It's pretty Goddamn good, mother fucker."

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 2:55 AM (EDT)

    "Also, I like how someone down there mentioned this is the only band worse than Flogging Molly, which easily supports his love for pop-punk"

    how so? this band is awful. i'd rather throw pebbles at my own shit than listen to this tripe

    Posted by train-bum on 2007-07-16 01:36:08

    Oh and Taranta is short for "Tarantella" which is both an old folk-dance-as-cure for people bitten by a tarantula (believed to be poisonous at the time) and a type of Italian folk music (usually played for the bitten). Of course no one believes the spiders are poisonous anymore, but it's fun to dance so why the hell not. "Harem in Tuscany" is based on a tarantella, not a polka as stated above.

    Posted by train-bum on 2007-07-16 01:28:12

    Yeah, I saw 'em in Co. last month and I swear nobody's feet even touched the ground till the band stopped! Mind-blowing. Eugene drinks a bottle of wine b4 every show too! Just to calm down! True story. That guy's got more energy than a power-plant. I'm gonna see 'em again in portland next month. Can't wait.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, July 16, 2007 at 1:21 AM (EDT)

    I can't believe that some people here are comparing G.B. to Yellowcard!

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, July 16, 2007 at 1:17 AM (EDT)

    I just saw them for the first time tonight. Man, was that a great show. They played for 2 straight hours, and the whole time everyone was dancing, yelling, and just going crazy. Good times.

    Posted by klonny on 2007-07-15 18:26:26

    The review was entertaining.

    Also, I like how someone down there mentioned this is the only band worse than Flogging Molly, which easily supports his love for pop-punk.

    Posted by DickAround on 2007-07-15 17:22:10

    Take the gypsy boy.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, July 15, 2007 at 5:16 PM (EDT)

    What new songs has Gogol been playing at their shows?

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, July 15, 2007 at 11:14 AM (EDT)

    thanx for point nr. 1! :-)

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, July 15, 2007 at 10:10 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Give me your tears, gypsy, or I shall take them from you.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 14, 2007 at 2:09 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    score is for the review

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 14, 2007 at 1:59 PM (EDT)

    easily the worst band ever. even worse than flogging molly

    Posted by VictorIkpeba24 on 2007-07-14 12:31:22

    GogolBordelloGogolBordelloGogolBordelloGogolBordelloGogolBordell o

    Easy !

    I speak fluently Italian though, I think it's a bit more difficult for an English-speaking person.

    Posted by dietcokeofpunk on 2007-07-14 09:37:32

    "the new unseen however takes me back to the days of sunday matinee shows at the anthrax in ct"

    agreed, the new unseen rocks.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 10:12 PM (EDT)

    oh i love gogol! dead souls is my favorite!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 1:07 PM (EDT)

    What does taranta mean? !

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 11:40 AM (EDT)

    i was going to make an off the cuff comment about not caring if this bands tour van found its way to the bottom of the grand canyon in a violent heap of twisted and burning metal. then i realized that would be just plain wrong.

    oops.
    -TOBB

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 11:33 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I thought Gypsy Punks was much better, but it's still good. And they're playing here on my b-day, hooray for me.

    Posted by T-Rock on 2007-07-13 11:15:01

    This band is NOT original. The original pioneers of the Gypsy-Punk sound were Yellowcard, who incorporated violins into punk long before Gogol Bordello was around.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 10:51 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    good album. definitely better than their last. american wedding is an amazing song. they sound better when they assimilate more to american punk. ha! eat that shit! selling out ftw!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 10:11 AM (EDT)

    Yeah, the breakdown of some video (that most likely cost more than I'll make in like 5 years) was of NO INTEREST to ANYONE on this site. Jesus H Christ.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 10:09 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I have tried to get into this, not happening at all., now, the new unseen however takes me back to the days of sunday matinee shows at the anthrax in ct...great stuff-oldpunker-

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 10:06 AM (EDT)

    I wish this Yellowcard guy's shtick was actually funny like blinkrules but its just sort of sad. Ban their IP.
    - JD

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 9:39 AM (EDT)

    I was going to quote a new song off Paper Walls, Yellowcard new release, but I'm too disgusted with the post below me to even respond, but I want people to know that none of that is true. The band is very approachable and willing to talk to all fans and is actually made up of a diverse back (many colors and ethnic groups make up the band). They are actually bringing some diversity into the scene! Paper Walls is out this Tuesday!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 9:32 AM (EDT)

    yellow dork are bunch of assholes. i heard once the singer got jailed for raping a 12 year old and then when let out due to paying off the law w/ the faggot kids cash he proceeded on hitting the pipe while fucking the nigger ass in his band.

    Posted by insinceredave on 2007-07-13 08:22:03

    I've gotta say this yellowcard guy has better material than I had back in my 'insincere' days.

    Well done and keep up the good work!

    Insinceredave

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 8:17 AM (EDT)

    I bought their first disc and dumped it into my iPod. I skip forward through their songs when they come up on shuffle.

    I guess it just isn't made for me. I really try to get into it and have complete repect for what they are doing, but it just doesn't connect with me.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 8:14 AM (EDT)

    Punknews has been spamed by the yellowcard fans

    I feel sick

    Posted by danperrone on 2007-07-13 07:42:07

    "grandfather says, 'okey dokey, we will go now'"

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 6:18 AM (EDT)

    Thank you, David Letterman, for the insightful review.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 5:00 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    this band really blows. this is one of those shitty shtick bands that people just suck the nuts off of and inhale the pubes. give me a fucking simple punk rock album over this anyday.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 4:44 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    a band that really created something new without really wanting it...its fuckin great

    Posted by Cos on 2007-07-13 04:15:36

    To my ears, this doesn't have enough of the diversity that made "Gypsy Punks" so wonderful. I remember the more diverse elements (ie. dub/reggae influences) don't appear in the album until its almost halfway done. The sound is more streamlined and less interesting. When they do appear though, its a revelation and reminds the listener what makes Gogol Bordello so special. "American Wedding" is a great freakout song. But what's really missing are the real showstoppers. I don't hear anything in the first three listens that measure up to "Immigrant Punk", "Start Wearing Purple" or my favorite "Illumination".

    If Eugene Hutz is lacking ideas, I'd have been more than happy with waiting another year. Oh well. I'm still going to see them live...

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 2:11 AM (EDT)

    "radio listening conformists".

    HAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHAHA. Oh man, you are totally brainwashed if you believe this. The programmers are the ones who decide to play and how often and guess what, songs that typically get played most do the best, sure they have those "love it or hate it" call ins, but they have computer programs that decide how many times a song is going to get played, based on a weighted number. It's just an updated version of "payola". Yeah, if Yellowcard doesn't do well it's because of those damn conformists. HAHAHAHHAHHA

    Posted by destroyingthescene on 2007-07-13 01:35:14
    My Score:

    This album is great, been listening to it the past few days. Looking forward to the madness that is their live show in September!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 1:26 AM (EDT)

    That's cool that there is another band not afraid to have a violin player front and center. Making waves and saving face!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 12:40 AM (EDT)

    I agree, the cover art is "eye catching". What really caught my eye tonight was the Yellowcard video for their single "Light Up The Sky" it's filmed in a post nuclear type of rubble/city scape and the band is playing (but can't be seen by the surviors). In the end the sky opens up and orange rain pours down on the boys! A top notch effort from a band who stuck to their guns when their 2nd release didn't please the radio listening conformists.

    Posted by ashtraymonument on 2007-07-13 00:24:23

    so now this album has another song from east infection. great haha

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 12:06 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    also some one of the best album covers in a long time haha.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 12:04 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    amen to the madonna performance stinking to high heaven. score is for this album including not having her.