Hokus Pick - "Snappy"
Year: 1997
Label: Freedom
Favorite songs: I'm So Happy, We Are the People, Sliver, True Believer, Naturally
Lyric sample: "Liar, liar, pants on fire / Though I'm flawed, I aspire / To be God, the entire / Thought is odd, but I'm a die hard / And when my selfishness retreats / I like the guy I sometimes meet / He must be shy, he waved goodbye / Before I offered him my seat // It comes so naturally to me / My selfish personality / It must be something in my genes / It comes so naturally to me"
It's a shame so few people know of Hokus Pick. I was introduced by a friend who, though the usual web of kids who find odd and obscure things to show each other, had come into possession of the song "I'm So Happy," which is undoubtedly their most famous title. It's a fun, bouncy, ska-like pop rock number with an undeniable chorus: "I'm so happy / Feeling snappy / My life is rosy / I'm feeling comfy-cozy." The humorous verses explain the singer's best day ever, but there may be more than meets the eye. This seemingly carefree ditty ends with the stinger "Will there be sorrow / When I wake up tomorrow?" Is this an admonition to live in the moment? A celebration of the good things in life? A send-up of Christians who act like everything is perfect in their lives but who really live with hidden struggles? Just because we have a fun-loving band in Hokus Pick doesn't mean we have a totally shallow one, though they have their moments ("Let Go Let God" is a pretty obvious cliche).
The whole CD does not sound like "I'm So Happy." The boys from up north definitely have a strong sense of humor that permeates the record from the lyrics to the horn section (which interestingly enough remains anonymous in liner notes). However, while "We Are the People," and "Our God" move at a quick pace, there are a lot of varying dynamics to be found on Snappy. The anthem "True Believer" starts out so quiet it can be hard to hear at all before bursting into a longing chorus. "God For a Day," and "Nothing More" are plodding, quieter reflections. "Let Go Let God" works its way through some dark, tense verses and then comes welling with distortion on the chorus, as well as in the bridge which contains perhaps the funniest guitar solo I've ever heard. It rides the line between being genuinely funny and genuinely bad, in true awkward "The Office" fashion. "The Comfort Song" is perhaps the closest companion to "I'm So Happy." Overall, it's a very likable, laid back collection of songs infused with both faith and wit.
I didn't love this record right away. It had to grow on me. But now that it has I like absolutely every song, even the slow ones. Hokus Pick finally found their match at Freedom records. Snappy is far and away their best sounding album, much superior to, say, Bookaboom, which was muddy and at times completely incomprehensible. And I haven't even mentioned a major selling point. Of all the records I've ever owned or listened to, this one has the greatest hidden track I've ever heard of. Not content to simply fill space with a remix or some such thing, Hokus Pick has gone in an entirely different direction and recorded a fairly lengthy radio-style audio story documenting their (alleged) rise to international super stardom. The whole thing is completely ludicrous but contains some truly entertaining moments. I would almost go so far as to consider this one of the great 90's Christian albums, commercial success or not. It's certainly unique and is definitely worth hearing. Hokus Pick has said, "Take God seriously and everything else lightly, because life is rather funny." I could hardly agree more.
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