Puscifer

The most-viewed YouTube clip starring Puscifer, Tool leader Maynard James Keenan's twisted side project, is "Cuntry Boner," which features MJK, his drawers distended by a massive faux erection, twanging out lines such as "I've fucked Minnie Pearl" over a stomping hoedown beat. "V" Is for Vagina's title promises more of the same, but it's actually a trickier proposition, merging often lyrically lewd satire with music that frequently stops short of jokiness.

"Vagina Mine" epitomizes this odd combination. Images like "This vagina mine, one track, tunnel vision now" are about as subtle as a Def Comedy Jam routine, but musically, the track is dark and doomy, with a deadpan Keenan intoning over heavy drumming and atmospheric guitar samples that undercut potential laughs. A similar approach colors the mock gospel lament "Rev. 22:20." Lines such as "Christ is coming/And so am I" seem funnier on the page than they do in the song because Keenan commits as much to creepiness as he does to comedy; but if he's not going to pop a "Boner," he might as well stick with his Tool.