Austin’s Asylum Street Spankers’ Spanker Madness (out March 21 on Spanks-A-Lot) celebrates the age-old tradition of loadin’ up the bong and suckin’ in some of that wonderful funny smoke I hear so much about in the news. That’s right, another fine release dedicated to big fat bongloads! Following in the stumbling footsteps of Cheech and Chong, the Goats’ “Wake and Bake,” and Cypress Hill’s entire musical catalog, the Spankers join this growing tradition. Also sharing in the joys of reefer madness are Gwar (“Nitro-Burnin Funny Bong”), DJ Wally (“Mr. Beaver Smokes a Tree”), and my favorite, Harm’s Way & the LSCH Clan (“Chong Sized Bong”). An all-acoustic vaudeville band, the Asylum Street Spankers create their own dope atmosphere by merging blues, country, Hawaiian, and all kinds of other musical styles. Some would call it a smoker’s soundtrack to the art of getting high. To prove this, and to make sure I got the full effect of Spanker Madness, I set out to listen to this album and the other songs I mentioned while smoking bong hit after bong hit—and then to write this column. The day began when I woke up at 3am, put in the CDs, and now at 11pm, I’m getting ready to tell you exactly how my good friend the Chronic helped me listen to all these great songs. Except that at this point I don’t feel like writing; I just want a bag of Chee-tos and four gallons of water. I would say the CD is a success!

Listen to John take big fat bong hits mornings on KCMU 90.3 FM and on the Web at www.kcmu.org from 6-10am every weekday.