Jesus Was Way Cool

Infobox Single
Name = Jesus Was Way Cool


Artist = King Missile
from Album = Mystical Shit
B-side =
Released = 1990
Format =
Recorded =
Genre = Avant-garde
Length = 2:42
Label = Shimmy Disc
Writer = John S. Hall, Chris Xefos
Producer = Kramer
Certification =
Chart position =
Last single = "No Point"
(1990)
This single = "Jesus Was Way Cool"
(1990)
Next single = "My Heart Is a Flower"
(1991)

"Jesus Was Way Cool" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It appears on the band's 1990 album "Mystical Shit."

Content

In "Jesus Was Way Cool," frontman John S. Hall, over a simple piano figure, delivers a deadpan monologue in which he declares Jesus "way cool" for such skills as healing, walking on water, and turning water into wine. Hall states that Jesus did "anything he wanted to do," and could have surpassed the achievements of Jimi Hendrix, Wayne Gretzky, and Mikhail Baryshnikov in their respective fields. Hall opines that the crucifixion of Jesus was motivated by jealousy of his coolness, and that the resurrection of Jesus is further evidence of said coolness. Hall concludes, "No wonder there are so many Christians."cite web
last =
first =
title = Lyrics: Jesus Was Way Cool
publisher = Farmboy's King Missile
date =
url = http://www.i-mockery.com/kingmissile/jesus.html
accessdate = 2008-05-28 ]

In the liner notes of the compilation "Mystical Shit & Fluting on the Hump," Hall writes of "Jesus Was Way Cool":

Commercial performance

On the strength of "Jesus Was Way Cool," "Mystical Shit" hit #1 on the CMJ charts, and the band was signed by a major label, Atlantic Records.cite web
last = Prindle
first = Mark
title = Interview with John S. Hall
publisher = Prindle Rock and Roll Record Review Site
date = 2003
url = http://www.markprindle.com/hall-i.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-28 ] This series of events led Hall to make a habit of joking, "'Jesus' got me signed to Atlantic Records."

Alternate version

The song appears with slightly different lyrics and a radically different arrangement as "Jesus Was Way Cool (Millennium Edition)" on the band's 2003 album "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life."

References