Chumbawamba - What You See Is What You Get ( WYSIWYG )

Chumbawamba became a household name in 1997 with the success of the working-class salute "Tubthumping," introducing the world to the Leeds, England-based band and their communal-living ethics. The follow-up, WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), lacks a muscular mug-swinging anthem to rival its predecessor, but it still delivers repeated potshots to plenty of politically incorrect high-profilers. While their 1986 debut, Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records, stampeded out of the gate pointing an accusatory finger at alleged Live Aid bandwagon jumpers, their stance on WYSIWYG seems far more tame. There is no lack of evil in the year 2000, but jabbing at everything from technology monoliths to the fashion world to Jerry Springer hardly raises an eyebrow. Even their mockery of Christianity ("Jesus in Vegas") seems passé. Regardless, the absence of heavy-handedness makes for a respectable collection of socially minded pop vignettes, perfect for those who enjoy their antiestablishment rhetoric served up with a snicker rather than a scream. --Beth Massa Amazon.com

What You See Is What You Get and its songs

the WYSIWYG sessions from Chumbawamba are probably one of the best albums out there to listen to. it features just about every type of music genre placed throughout the album and gives respect to each song with a great sense of humour. i recommend WYSIWYG not only for the love of the music, but for the love of the lyrics and life the songs give to the music of WYSIWYG May 7, 2007

Possibly Chumbawamba's best CD

I have all of Chumbawamba's CDs, and I think this is my favorite of them all (although their overall body of work is consistently strong with no real weak links). WYSIWYG is a concept CD--every song (except one) is under 3 minutes, making for lots of songs aiming at lots of targets. It skewers modern political, social, and pop culture.

Chumbawamba explains the CD concept best in the liner notes: "All power to the Focus Groups! For now Peter Mandelson, spin doctor supreme, gathers around himself a think-tank of buffoons who try to guess what 'the people' would like. What would we like? A huge Dome, with Disneyland inside it. We'd like Pat Boone, Cliff Richard, and Puff Daddy to sing three-part harmonies at the opening. MC Hammer could dance, Britney Spears and a troupe of pre-pubescent girls could sing to old men about sex. We'd like soaps, Titanics, and sliced white bread. We want Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' in a clip frame, and our football goalposts made bigger so we get more goals. And we want our political experiences distilled into three-minute pop songs by Chumbawamba."

If you listen to this, it will be hard not to truly laugh, wince, and feel thrilled that there is still great art being made, by people who really care. In a word, it's special. January 5, 2007

Good tunes, powerful messages

Enough to turn most anybody into an anarchist, if only for 70 mins. December 26, 2006

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Five years after my brother bought this, I pulled it out again. Its pretty entertaining. April 12, 2006

Fantastic!!

I don't know how Chumbawamba can be considered a 1-hit wonder. They have done many songs that could and should be hit songs. This album has a few examples: "She's Got All The Friends", "Celebration, Florida", "Pass It Along" (which was featured in a car commercial), "I'm In Trouble Again", "Standing Still", and others. Their version of "The New York Mining Disaster 1941" is wonderful. They deserve more recognition in the US of A. February 17, 2004

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