People Who Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World is the second studio album by American folk punk band Andrew Jackson Jihad. The album was released by Asian Man Records on September 11, 2007.
The title is derived from a line in Kurt Vonnegut's novel Hocus Pocus[6] which itself is a reference to Barbra Streisand's song "People." Sean Bonnette, AJJ's frontman and co-founder, told the Phoenix New Times the band was "heavily into Kurt Vonnegut Jr. at the time of the recording."
The album was recorded and mixed by Jalipaz Nelson at Audioconfusion in Mesa, Arizona. This was a change for the band which had primarily done home recordings previously.
Ten years after its release, Ben Gallaty, AJJ's bassist and co-founder, observed the album's tempo was "really fucking fast" and that they "rarely had a spare moment in a song," especially when compared to the band's subsequent music.
The album artwork was illustrated by Ryan Piscitelli.
I like punky folk-rock bands with well written lyrics. I think this niche in musical history started with bands like Violent Femmes and proceeded with Mountain Goats and Cat Power. They produce songs with a certain urgence that it only limited by the acoustic instruments. A feeling that can not be reproduced by a distorted electric guitar, because that sounds all too easy.
This particular folk-rock album is also a great one with interesting lyrics. Best songs are "Rejoice", "Bad Bad Things" and "People". The only mistake is the unnecessary "Mrs. Robinson" part in "People II: The Reckoning" (while the rest of that song is not too bad).
A dear friend introduced me to many folk punk artists back in the day (Paul Barbeau, Pat The Bunny’s countless projects, the works). I recall this being a personal discovery though. There’s an inescapable corniness here, but the energy in the performances outweighs it threefold. The essence of a folk punk classic
Somehow have never listened to AJJ before. This is so fun and I love it and once the album finished a similar playlist started and it just kept me so happy I let it play.
This album doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's the point. The singer is a poet. His words speak for themselves. Absolutely love this!
Favorite songs: People, Rejoice, Survival Song, Bells and Whistles, People II: The Reckoning, Personal Space Invader, Bad Bad Things, Brave as a Noun, No More Tears, A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit
Least favorite songs: Randy's House
5/5
A freak folk classic, one of those albums that defines a genre following its release. I always appreciate AJJ's breakneck approach to the usual singer-songwriter fare, throwing words and instrumentation together into a chaotic mix that all somehow works together. It's a heady blend that requires active listening, and pushes the bounds of what you'd expect from the typical ho-hum guy with a guitar tracks that seem to be everywhere on the 1001. Great add, cool to see such a small but strong corner of the indie sphere getting some recognition here.
I like how all the vocals and instruments sound like they had this album for homework due by midnight and they remembered they have to record it at 11:35.
In the words of the band's bassist, the tempo is really fucking fast. It fits the manic lyrics so well. It's like I'm being yelled at by a lunatic, which I think was the intended listening experience. Strong 4/5.
This felt like if Neutral Milk Hotel made a punk album. The array of instruments, the singer with the average voice and long drawn out notes and the depth in lyricism all match. Except NMH were a bit more conceptual and AJJ was more song to song. It was okay but if I wanted to hear the tambourine and organ with a guitar this wouldn’t be my first choice. 6.0/10
I enjoyed this. Clever, offbeat and briskly-paced. Mildly unsettling lyrics at times, but highly listenable.
Fave Songs: Brave as a Noun, Rejoice, A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit, Randy's House
Ok, so yes, the universe is a cold and indifferent void.
But the world -and your life- is basically a mirror. While it is chaotic and cruel and beautiful and unfair, in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
If you think that the world hates you, it might be because you’re an insufferably pompous twat with a fucking annoying voice.
So glad someone added this. One of the things I enjoyed about the pandemic was playing music while I was working. For some reason during those times the Spotify algorithm determined that I needed to start listening to folk punk. It was so right. I did need folk punk in my life. Since they I regularly play a wide variety of the genre.
This is a great example of the style and hopefully a gateway to people listening to more.
Overall I enjoyed this one, the off the wall lyrics were at times amusing and others I was not sure what I was hearing. It was good that I kept listening through a second time before I realized it had started over.
Not without its charms, but I find this particular vein of pseudo old-timey, rootless roots music pretty played out, particularly in the vocal style, which was especially monotonous here and too clever by half. Not to be overly harsh though, it was generally good enough fun and didn't overstay its welcome.
A solid collection of songs from freak folk pioneers AJJ. Good songwriting and fun (if often a bit extreme) lyrics, but some pretty rough recordings and a lack of variety (though admittedly the album’s only 25 minutes) that holds it back from its full potential. I think AJJ really nailed their sound a few years later on Knife Man, which is far more confident, exciting, and better produced
Mezcla de ska, música celta y algún toque más improvisado. En líneas generales, bien. Canciones divertidas y alegres. Sin enganchar especialmente, es todo un aire fresco de estilo
Real 2007-era Cracked dot com ass band name & sense of humor. The folk-"punk" works pretty well, though—it was very frantic and hyperactive, which made it more interesting than most indie folk of the time.
Torn between judgemental horror and amusement it's catchy and interesting in a kitsch lo-fi way.
Worth listening to again in order to appreciate in a deeper way.
Ah I’m sure the frontman has something interesting to communicate in his lyrics, but I just couldn’t get past the grating sound of the vocals by around the 4th song. Such an odd thing, to be a singer who can’t actually sing. Cool cover art though.
The cover makes me think of bun bun from Sluggy Freelance, but I'm sure that's only me. This is like a angrier less likable one note version They Might Be Giants. Quick songs with lots of clever words very fast, fun to sing along to. Unfortunately nothing pulls me in enough for me to give it time it would take for this to grow on me. I like the spirit but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Sorry, but I didn't enjoy this. Not really for me. It's quite raw, samey and vocally annoying. I've recently said punk is just not my thing, mix it with folk and that hits even more true.
I did not like People Who Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World. I can't decide if it's bad or weird or both but it did nothing for me until the zany take-off of Mrs Robinson in People II: The Reckoning, and that was just because it was a familiar tune. I think it's a 1/5 because it's more bad than anything else.